Stepping Towards a Fresh Start
Just an aside thought here to brighten your day...
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30
(Maybe bald men and bald babies are to help cut down on God's counting task!)
"In some way, every single scrap of my life, every step and every struggle, is in the process of being fitted together, into God's huge and perfect pattern for good." Claire Cloninger
Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2-3
January is almost over and it seems as if each day in my quiet time the concept of "suffering being for our benefit" comes up. Even at fifty-five years old (and having loved the Lord for the majority of those years) I still fall into the trap of contemplating that maybe if I "get it right" often enough He will be pleased and things will go more smoothly, but no where is that promised.
The other day I read a devotional by Nancy Leigh DeMoss that had me realizing how the Lord wanted me to seek deeply into my heart to consider something. It was as if there were little pieces of dirt under my fingernails and He wanted to get those out. The end result of the probing was refreshing.
Here is what it looked like to encourage you if you feel him getting out the fingernail brush.
I received a very special note from a friend. It was so uplifting that I tucked it away in my Bible to read on a rainy day! Then I read the noted devotional, which was on humility. The writer explained that after a speaking engagement, to a group of ministers, she received numerous notes saying what a great job she had done and how much she had helped them. Being pleased with the notes she filed them away. Later it hit her that she was taking God's glory in what He had done at that conference and she burnt the letters.
My thoughts were promoted to a drawer I have of precious notes written by dear friends and our children over the years. The searching of my heart began and I wondered why I had kept them. While, pride was not the issue, I searched deeply into the possible reasons I had kept those and shared these with my daughter and a friend.
First Possible Reason:
I saved them so that when I die and my children are cleaning out my house they will find them and see I really was a nice person! :) LOL...then I realized with all the junk in our house there is no way they were going to sit down and read letters! (My daughter said, actually she would.)
Second Possible Reason:
I've watched my father pour over old photos since my mother's death and it has kept memories fresh for him So many of those letters are from people God briefly brought into our lives at times of need and I think the written record of what we walked through and the depth of love we shared will keep those times fresh for me. (I wish I had a picture attached to many of them to help me remember the faces.) It also is an excellent reminder of how important it is to get outside ourselves. (I'm struggling with only wanting to help grand babies right now!)
Searching our hearts is a good exercise though. If an endeavor is not about Jesus, it is on the wrong track and we need to switch tracks and start fresh
If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. James 1:5
Pray:
We look to You, heaven-dwelling God, we look up to you for help. Like servants, alert to their master's commands, like a maiden attending her lady, we're watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy. (From Psalm 123) Search our hearts and find any unpleasant corridor and cut it out, forgiving us Father for our wrong mindsets and misgivings.
Thank You that you care about us enough to remove our tarnishings. In Jesus' Name, Amen
