Hi Y’all, and happy lovely
fall season to you!!
Wow, here in New England
everything outside is vamped up in a glorious display of vibrant pinks,
oranges, browns, golds, reds, yellows, and a little green still hanging
on. The drive along the interstate is
spectacular in some places, definitely worthy of venturing out.
I know – It has been a while since my last post – I’m sorry. Life got in the way: extended travel, house clean-out
and selling, family visiting, etc. I
have missed talking with you thoughJ!
So now it’s time to pick
back up where we left off:
Crazy Decisions
And how to accept and let go
And find Sweet Peace in your decision making.
Last
post we continued with our Crazy Decision series and talked about those decisions
in our lives which are weighing and bogging us down, but that we cannot or should not control, and how/when to log them on our
NO! I Cannot Control list.
Then the next step was to Accept our decision that we cannot do
anything to change or affect that issue, and then let it go without taking back the worry.
But letting go and not worrying – that’s pretty hard to do, right?
Well…not if we know how to let it go – the right way!
Here’s how:
IV. Trust God (Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
a. Believe that God already has
a plan for your life, with your best interest in mind.
Yes, He does!!
{Genesis 1-2;
Jeremiah
1:5;
Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139:16; Jeremiah
31:3; Psalm 36:5-6 (The Message); Psalm 36:5-6 (NIV); Psalm
103:6-18 (The Message)}
God created each one of us
individually, knew each one of us intimately before we were even formed in our
mother’s womb, and had a plan already in mind for our lives before even one of
our days came to be.
“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before
you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A
prophet to the nations— that’s what I had
in mind for you.” Jeremiah 1:5
b. Believe that God will implement His plan in your life if and when you ask Him to.
The important part here
to remember and act upon is the “when you ask Him to” part. You know, all the best made plans in the world
don’t mean anything until we actively put them into motion – right? And if we would like someone to do something
for us, how do they know unless we ask them – right? So why not let God know
you are ready, and actively put His plan in motion in your life by simply
asking Him to? “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and
I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek
me with all your heart. I will be found by you,”
declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from
captivity.” Jeremiah 29:12-14 (NIV) And then believe:
c. Believe that God will handle
all of those things you let go of when you ask Him to.
Again, the important
part here to remember and act upon is the “when you ask Him to” part. “Then
you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to
you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.
And then believe:
d. Believe and trust in your heart that God
has your back when you allow Him to.
But the Lord is with me like a dread champion; therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Jeremiah 20:11
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to
you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
Yes, believe and trust
in your heart. If you find it hard to
believe or trust in God and His providence for your life, then simply ask Him
to help you believe. Ask Him to give you
faith – faith in Him, and in His plan for your life.
My simple story of
asking for faith:
And also realize that when you ask God to do
something for you, you have to step back, let go, and allow Him to do it. I
know this is pretty tough sometimes, especially for us control freak type
people J.
But, to help understand this concept,
imagine if you asked a friend to wash your car for you, but you then proceed to
take your car through a car wash yourself because you are afraid the friend
might not do it. That would make it kind
of difficult for your friend to do what you asked, wouldn’t it?
Same thing with God. If you ask Him to do something for you, believe
that He will and let go and let Him get it done. He may not do it the same way you would have,
but His way will be the right way. Because He is God. And that’s simply how He does things.
“This
is what I want you to do:
Ask
the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you.
Ask
in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you.
Your
joy will be a river overflowing its banks!
John 16:23-24 (The
Message)
Dear readers – what I
want to say here is you are God’s Beloved. He made you
and created you with absolute and forever love.
The Lord appeared
to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an
everlasting love;
Therefore
I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
No, He doesn’t promise that everything in life will
be a bed of roses when we trust in Him, but He does promise that He will help
us, if only we ask. Life rarely goes the
way we want it, but when we put our faith and trust in God to lead us and to
take care of the details, when the hard times come, we are not alone and things
work out for the best.
And
we know that God causes all things to work
together for good to those who love God,
to
those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NASB)
And when we have tough decisions to make, God is
there to help us decide.
So, really, there is no great secret to having wonderful
peace in our decision making, and it is simple to relax and not stress over these
decisions when we take them to God and ask Him to help us.
In simple terms, this means prayer.
In my terms, on a daily basis, it
simply means talking to God,
having conversation with Him, just like He is sitting here with me.
I usually do this while I am breaking down the
decisions and making my action plans. I
tell Him what the issue is, what I think about it, and what I would like to see
happen. But because I know that in His
infinite knowledge and sight, He can see the whole big picture, I ask Him to
direct me. I ask Him to help me feel
comfortable and at peace with what the right thing to do is. And then I open my heart and mind to hear or
feel that peace. And I continue to talk
to Him about each decision until it is resolved.
When the issue is deeper, more emotional or
critical, then it simply means seeking God with all my heart, in quiet
desperation, or maybe even with weeping and wailing, telling Him my worry and
imploring Him to help.
And when I have poured my entire
heart out to Him, laying it all out there –
the worry, the anger, the hurt –
whatever emotions are in my heart,
then I thank Him for listening and ask Him to show
me what to do. I ask Him for His perfect peace in
knowing how to resolve the issue, even if that means letting go and letting Him
take care of it. And again, I “listen”
and “feel” for His peace in the direction I should go.
Sometimes my answer is in a Scripture I read that
speaks to my issue. Or in something
someone says to me. Or sometimes a thought
goes through my mind and I get a sure feeling inside that God has spoken that
thought to me. And I know that God has
answered my prayer. I do what God has
asked me to do and then I can let it go. No more worrying. I am at peace.
Wow, thank you to each of you for hanging in there
and wandering this path of decision making skills with me! For me, it has actually been a little walk
down memory lane as I have recalled my own journey in learning to have faith in
God’s providence for my life. Some
pretty tough decisions, but some amazingly good stuff too J
Until next time, may you delight in the new season’s
colorful freshness and experience a new level of peace in your conversations
with our spectacular God.
Love and blessings,
Mindy
