Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Quiet Moments With God -- See What I Will Do


I've had many memorable days with my sister, Myrn. She and her husband, who live in Alaska, have been here on vacation.

I cherish time with my sister. She lives in a remote area of Alaska and we don't see one another often. While she was here, the weather was spectacular. We had lots of good chats, we ate too much, reminisced, laughed and cried. I'm feeling a bit sad today because she's on her way home.

After saying farewell, my thoughts stayed with my sister and others in my family. And when I read from the devotional, Jesus Calling, the words on the page spoke strongly to my spirit.

"Entrust your loved ones to Me; release them into My protective care. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands. Watch to see what I will do."


I do cling to my loved ones. I'm afraid to let them go and to trust them to God. In my family, it seems we are always have some sort of crisis or other. I pray and ask for God's guidance, His help, His will. And then I worry or come up with a plan to "fix" everything.

Oh how I love the Lord, but I sometimes wonder what happened to trusting Him? I know He loves my husband, children and grandchildren, mother and father, brothers and sisters. And that He knows their every need. They could not be in better hands.

The Lord tells us to pray. What a privilege it is to stand before the throne of God. But too often when my prayer is done that is when my difficulty begins. I want to cling, to manipulate, to come up with a plan rather than trust God to do His work. When I interfere I rob the people I love most of God's specific solution, His gentle and exquisite touch.

Listen for the voice of God. He sometimes asks us to be part of His solution, but often we are to do nothing other than pray and restrain ourselves from interfering. It's glorious to watch God bring about His will in ways we never dreamed possible. I'm convinced God loves to surprise us.

Have you been surprised? Can you tell us about it?


Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

6 comments:

  1. Wow -- I really needed to hear this today. Especially:

    "Listen for the voice of God. He sometimes asks us to be part of His solution, but often we are to do nothing other than pray and restrain ourselves from interfering."

    You've brought me peace this morning, Bonnie. Thank you!

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  2. So happy to hear my words were what you needed today, Kav. I love God's timing.

    Restraining myself is one of the most difficult disciplines of my Christian walk.

    Grace and peace to you.

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  3. made me weep--I so needed the reminder. Thanks, Miz Bonnie!

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  4. Ahh, Patti. You have such a tender heart. God is smiling.

    Hugs.

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  5. It's so true. If others had tried to "fix" our situation, we would never learn that deep down faith the Lord desires to grow in us.

    I LOVE the Jesus Calling devotional. I gave Camille the kids version for her birthday. We read it every night as a family. It speaks to Eric and me exactly where we need it.

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  6. Miriam, sometimes it so hard to stand back and let God do His work, but when I have that's when He amazes me and I see growth and the tenderizing of hearts.

    I'm a "fixer" and I've caused more trouble than I want anyone to know. And I've had to step back, apologize to people and to God and then let God be God.

    Each time, I'm so sorry and frustrated with myself. When will I learn?

    And I also love the "Jesus Calling" devotional. I read it every day, but I like the idea of my husband and I reading it together. He'd like it too.

    Hugs to you, dear friend.

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