“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.”—Job 1:20-21
blessed be the name of the Lord.”—Job 1:20-21
The Bible is a mirror to my heart, and in reading this passage, I find my heart to be shamefully fearful of experiencing the tribulations of Job. I am apprehensive of giving my life so completely to God, to say unto Him, Lord, whatever You need to do in my life to make it the witness, the light, the testimony, etc., it needs to be, it’s Yours to do with what You wish. Only You know what needs to happen in my life to make it complete in You, and I give it to You.
I do believe I did just that in my early twenties, as my first step in faith to truly follow Jesus, and it was the best decision I have ever made. But as I mature in the Lord, and time keeps ticking by, I know that sentiment is not often true for me in my daily surrenders to God.
I want my life to be a bed of roses. I want to walk among pillowy beds of ease. I want to have pleasing things to happen to me. I want.
Ironically, when I am in this self-centered frame of mind, my spirit enjoys no peace and no rest.
So often, I am fearful of each step, thinking that the next one may be the one that shakes my foundations, and not in a good way, at least to the eyes of flesh.
I find that I am too selfish to let go of what comforts I have in the present, and thereby neglect the blessings and riches of God that I would have otherwise experienced had I just given Him my worries, my fears, my joys, my successes ... my present and my future.
Really, into whose hands is it better to give my life to?
So often, I am fearful of each step, thinking that the next one may be the one that shakes my foundations, and not in a good way, at least to the eyes of flesh.
I find that I am too selfish to let go of what comforts I have in the present, and thereby neglect the blessings and riches of God that I would have otherwise experienced had I just given Him my worries, my fears, my joys, my successes ... my present and my future.
Really, into whose hands is it better to give my life to?
Oh, Lord, Jesus, help me surrender my all to You in the big and little things, without fear and with complete trust, even if that trust may be timid at first.
Originally written on October 4, 2002, when I was studying the book of Job.
 |
| Barsanesti, Romania (August 2005) |
___________
MY FIRST CONTEST-REMINDER-ENDS TODAY!
In celebration of receiving "50 Likes" on my facebook page and having 50 posts written on my blog as of today, I want to give away one of the pictures on my blog, as well as try and get more readers!
So, how are we going to do this?
I will enter you in my contest to receive a free photo (assuming you want a matted 3x5/4x6 photo of your choice from my blog AND mailed to you free of charge, ANYWHERE in the world!) if you:
- Like my page on Facebook (and haven't already) or if you follow my blog via Google+;
- Sign up to receive emails when I put out a new post (you will need to subscribe to “Receive Emails” on the blog itself and then you will get an email in which you will need to verify you want to receive emails); OR
- Recommend a friend and they like my page, which was the original goal of the contest. Somehow you or your friend will need to let me know they've signed up via a message on my page or some other way.
The contest began yesterday (Tuesday, August 20th), and it will end next Tuesday, on August 27th at midnight (the midnight where you are located in the world!).
This is my first contest, so it may be a work in progress. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions.
Again, the prize will be a matted 3x5 or 4x6 picture of your choosing, mailed to you at no cost, anywhere in the world.
So, here we go. Happy contesting. And God bless you today!
No comments:
Post a Comment