I usually post about the message given in church on Sunday morning but this morning I have been led to do something different. This morning my devotional spoke right to me and my heart. This past week has been a difficult one for me. It seems to be true what they say, "When it rains, it pours." It has been one problem right after another this past week for me. I have cried a lot. Early in the week, I found myself saying, "When you get closer to God, Satan gets closer to you....this is just Satan trying to beat on you." I convinced myself everything was going to work out because I am a child of God. Then Saturday rolls around and I have a health scare. Right now, as I type, it is still unknown what is wrong with me. The scariest part is the unknown. What will be done? What will the outcome be? Is it fixable? Is it life threatening? All these thoughts staring me in the face as I type right now. Satan again, sitting in my head laughing at me for being scared. He thinks he has won.....He is mistaken. I opened my bible this morning to do a daily devotion and prayed that God speak to me. Guess what?! He did.
I am a believer that God speaks to me through the great Book! I often in times of question, just let my Bible fall open and believe God will show me answers on the page it opens to. This morning, my Bible opened up to a special devotional page titled: "FEAR"! Wow! When He speaks, He speaks! It wasn't too long ago that my husband and I walked through a storm of fear. In a past post, I shared the devotional message God gave to me then about being on the anvil and that my faith had been restored when God took care of that situation. I still believe He gave us that situation to help us through other trials......um....like the one I am now facing. Sometimes we don't understand why we go through trials in our lives but I can tell you that it is so you can face other trials with more faith than you had in the last trial. Each time you face trials in your life, your faith builds and begin to realize you can depend on God to carry you through every storm. I want to share word for word what my Bible gave me this morning. This comes from the Max Lucado Devotional Bible.
It says:
"Faith is often the child of fear. Fear propelled Peter out of the boat. He'd ridden these waves before. He knew what these storms could do. He'd heard the stories. He'd seen the wreckage. He knew the widos. He knew the storm could kill. And he wanted out.... Look into his eyes tonight and see fear - a suffocating heart racing fear of a man who has no way out. But out of this fear would be born an act of faith, for faith is often the child of fear. If Peter had seen Jesus walking on the water during a calm peaceful day, do you think that he would have walked out to him? Nor do I. Had the lake been carpet smooth and the journey pleasant do you think that Peter would have begged Jesus to take him on a stroll across the top of the water? Doubtful. But give a man a choice between sure death and a crazy chance, and he'll take the chance....every time. Great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation. It wasn't logic that caused Moses to raise his staff on the bank of the Red Sea. It wasn't medical research that convinced Naaman to dip seven times in the river. It wasn't common sense that caused Paul to abandon the Law ans embrace grace. And it wasn't a confident committee that prayed in a small room in Jerusalem for Peter's release from prison. It was a fearful, desperate, band of backed-into-a-corner believers. It was a church with no options. A congregation of have nots pleading for help. And never were they stronger. At the beginning of every act of faith, there is often a seed of fear."
God is speaking to me it seems, almost all the time. My faith in Him will not be shaken. I know that whatever comes my way, He will use this to build me up and make me stronger for my next little storm. This is not going to be the last and I know that. Walking beside God will not always be a smooth road. Without rocks and roadblocks along the way, I would probably be walking the path alone but I realize that God is there walking beside me. If I walk out ahead of Him, I will stumble and get hurt. If I walk beside Him He is there to save me and help me across these hurdles in the way. I can't do this alone. He has to carry me and He will as long as I am willing to crawl up into His arms. I have to trust He knows what He is doing. He counted these tears and knew this day before I was born. He knows the outcome. I just have to trust and have faith in my God.
I know I am not alone. Many people out there are facing trials too. I pray that you are comforted by the words I found this morning in my devotion. I often can feel God cradling me when I need that comfort. I can hear Him saying, "Fear not my child. I am with you. I will take care of it." It gives me peace to know that my God is so awesome that He does teach me faith through my little storms of life. What has He taught you? Think about it.
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