Friday, February 22, 2008

~Silver Lining~

Okay - where to start? This past week, God has been pouring knowledge into me about Him, His Spirit, & the way He works. I still do not fully understand everything that He is trying to teach me, & I know that I will never fully understand God. However, I have faith that if I keep asking Him to speak to me, He will continue to do so until the things He is trying to teach me have penetrated my earthly brain & are soaked up by my spiritual brain.

One thing I learned this week is that depending on God isn't just about peace or ceaseless prayer - it's also about my relationship with God. What is God in my life? Who is God in my life? I realized that I should find my self worth in Him. I need to live to please Him - live for His approval - live for an audience of One. I need to depend on Hm and let Him be my approval, encouragement, & reassurance. He should be what I think about when I wake up in the morning. He should be what I think about when I'm going through day-to-day activities. He should be what I think about when I go to bed at night.

However, having Him on my mind all day is not easy. Often I find it hard to not only pray ceaselessly, but at all! The world offers to many temptations and distractions & I've found that I really have to want to depend on Him, otherwise I simply won't.

Another thing that I've learned about depending on God is that sometimes you have to humble yourself & not be afraid to ask questions. Also, you might have to do some things that you really don't want to do. In any situation, however, God is dependable, even if you have to wait a while to see what He's up to.

Last, but not least, I learned that God greatly rewards those who depend on Him! Even though sometimes we have to go through uncomfortable or even painful situations, it pays off! A couple of days ago, I woke up in a terrible mood. I was worried about everything going on, I was ticked off about stupid stuff, & I was headed for an awful day before I even walked out of my room. Then I remembered this experiment. I sat down on the side of my bed & told myself that I wasn't going to do this. I told God right then that it was all Him. I had the most successful & relaxing day! God is good & faithful to those that depend on Him. He will do great things for those who ask!

Thank you God for revealing new truths to me this week. Help me to not fall victim to the distractions of the world - keep me focused on You. You alone are my strength & my shield. To You alone will my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire & the apple of my eye. Father, thank you for forgiving rough starts, being there when I call, & blessing me more abundantly then I could ask or imagine!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us..." Ephesians 3:20

3 comments:

JasonT said...

I just keep rooting for you. The changes in the way you are approaching your life are producing fruit in you that is already making a difference. Very, very encouraging!

Zack said...

God bless you in this experiment! May you and all who are doing this grow closer to Him! I'll be praying for everyone and checking back often to read this blog.

Terry Rush said...

Silver Lining,

We are always learning. We will always be new every day. We will always be in Kindergarten in faith; not because we can't catch on but because as we do catch on He just expanded on us. As we grow in Him our concept of Him grows at a greater rate.

Keep moving new!