The Gifts We Don't Notice

I think that when we have difficult times, or see others going through hardship, it is easy to demand of God, "Why?!" and to rebel against what is happening. We ask Him for blessings, and we praise Him for the gifts He gives us-as long as they are happy, bright ones.

What would change if we lived the knowledge that everything we have is a gift? And I mean Everything. Even the lost chances, the impossibles, the weariness, the going on and on without an end in sight...

I tend to forget that my very existence is a gift. I, a tiny speck of dust in the Hand of God, do not deserve to have ever lived, much less experienced the countless beauties this life has already held. When I feel that my life is bleak and empty, I must choose to remember that even that bleakness is a gift! Even the tears are treasures.

With this earthly heart I cannot begin to see beyond and grasp the reasons things happen the way they do. Yet there seems to be hope in knowing there is, after all, a reason. Which is also a Gift!

"...But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 

-from 2 Corinthians 4

Be Still and Know

Trust. 

5 letters.

Why, who, what, where, when, and how?

When I made the difficult decision to leave my former job, I was hopeful, even confident, that a new position would become evident within days. I applied, interviewed, and pursued all positions that I qualified for. (and yes, even some that I didn't really qualify for! But hey, let's face it, you'll never know if you don't ask. ;)

Yet here I am, weeks later, still without a job to my name.

It has been a bumpy road. I've clung to Worry because I did not know Trust. Though it wasn't clear at first, I see how God used these last few weeks to teach me-again-what it means to trust.

So why trust? Maybe because the alternative relies not on God, but on self. Worry does not lead us to Christ. Through worry we fall farther into pride and sinful ways of finding freedom from our fear. Trust loosens our grip, turns our eyes to the Lord, and tunes our hearts to hear His voice. 

Trust who? Where sin lies, imperfect motives and actions follow. We humans try to be trustworthy, but the truth is we fail. Not only do we fail, but we are not able to do all or know all. Only one who is sinless and possesses all power is worthy to be trusted. Fully. Therefore, I trust in God. He created Trust and knows the meaning of it. 

What is worth trusting? If God is trustworthy, then the truth He created is also. I can depend on everything He has said, and everything He will say, because it is True. There are many things that masquerade as the truth, especially lies that I create in an effort to mask worry with my human abilities. When my knowledge of God gives birth to my trust of Him, I will see the lies as they are. His Truth cannot be hidden, cannot be denied. 

Where is trust? Is God limited? Is His Truth limited? Is there any corner of the world, any corner of my mind, of my life, that is kept from His eyes and where the Truth may not go? There is none. Where God is, there Trust follows. I can trust Him for everything in my life, with everything in me.

Will trust expire? God holds Time in His hand, for He created Time. When God ends, so will trust. Yet He is eternal and neither will Trust. It is like a boat upon an ocean that goes on and on, a boat which will never sink. I can choose to jump in and out of it, but if I stay in that boat, it will carry me forever. It is guided by God. Trust in God has stood the test of time.

And now for the ultimate question: however does one trust God? I think I've asked this question more than any of the others. I don't have a job yet, and my stomach still wants to tie in knots. Sometimes I want to cry in pain and frustration. I still want to run out and demand a job. But after these last weeks, I've come to the following determination:

Trust is the abandonment of worry. It's letting go of your imperfect ability to swim that ocean, and it's making the decision to climb into the boat. God gave us many talents, skills, and abilities. We think we can save ourselves from any problem, little or big, with those gifts! But we forget so easily that they are gifts. We did not receive them by our own merit. All we have is Grace. 

It's my prayer that from now on, instead of blindly jumping back into worry and swimming it out, I will remember that there is a boat just ahead, waiting to bear me peacefully through any storm or challenge. That boat is called Trust and its Maker is called Jehovah Jireh-my provider.

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Linked up at:

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Of Blessings

It's like blessings are hidden in situations we encounter in life, and we only find them if we search the right path. Maybe this is why we feel as if we're blessed most when we obey God's leading...and yet we cry that He's unfair, we ask why He only seems to bless us at certain times. I wonder how many blessings we run from when we run from His will.

Delightful Apron Giveaway!

My dear friend Jacqueline over at Deep Roots at Home has teamed up with the talented family at Marie-Madeline Studio to give away perhaps the trademark of femininity--a lovely and practical apron. I for one love aprons, and would love to have such a pretty one to wear everyday. If you feel the same, hop on over here to enter the drawing! You never know...maybe you'll be the one to win. Even if we don't, it is still wonderful fun to participate.

And while you're at it, please take a few moments to browse the cheerful wisdom found at Deep Roots at Home and the beautiful clothing offered by the Marie Madeline Studio. Both truly nice sites.

May God bless your day with His smile. Keep close to Him and nothing will pull you apart. And if you have a minute, please comment and tell me how your day is going! I'd love to hear. :-)

~Petra