Job 8:5-6 “But if you pray to God and seek
the favor of the Almighty, and if you are pure and live with integrity, He will
surely rise up and restore your happy home.
When problems come up in your home, or just
in life, pray about them first. Many of
us go to our friends first for advice or comfort. Friends are important, and
God wants us to have them, but He wants us to come to Him first. Turning things over to God shows obedience to
your faith, instead of obedience to your own desires. The Israelites were in the
wilderness for 40 years on what should have been an 11 day journey because
they wouldn’t listen to God and trust Him.
Speak to God from your heart, totally open your heart to Him being
fully aware that you are not worthy to ask Him anything, and ask to feel His
presence. Don’t be discouraged because you feel that you can’t live a pure life full of integrity. Here’s the basic truth. We have the blood of Jesus Christ to make us clean. Job did not.
Job was having a rough time. He lost everything. His children were killed, all of his money
and all of his stuff was taken, his wife turned her back on him, and his health
failed- all in a matter of days. Job
really had to trust God to make it through that time in his life. The words in the verse above were stated by a
friend of Job’s, named Bildad. After you’ve prayed about your problem, go to
your friends. When you’re choosing which friends to
seek out for advice, go to friends that share your beliefs. This helps avoid
confusion and helps insure that God’s priorities will be in their advice to
you. Sometimes when friends are sought
for counsel before bringing a problem to God, it ends up being a gripe session
or a pity party. Nothing is ever
accomplished except for the temporary relief of feeling “Glad I got that off my
chest”.
When we live in truth, God
will lift the burden from our lives. It may not happen immediately..it almost
never does. One reason might be because
you’re trying to force things to happen quicker. He doesn’t need our help. Our worst judgment of our great God is not
believing what He says. You can’t ask Him to do something for you, and not
believe that He will. Now, it is
important to remember that His restoration rarely looks the same as we imagine
it. Don’t miss His answer because you
are looking for something in particular in return. Restoration in Christ is always better, but
not always easily recognized.
What can I do while I am
waiting….
·
Write things down when you face challenges. When something on the positive side happens
in the situation, write it down. It will
help remind you that you’re on the path to it getting better.
·
Volunteer to help others or educate yourself on
issues that others are struggling with.
This may help you to see that your problem isn’t as awful as it
seems. If everyone put their problems in
a pile, and then we had to run and grab some..I’d probably end up grabbing my
own after seeing others. (especially if Job was participating).
·
When the pressure builds, burst out the blessings
that God has promised in His word. If
you don’t, you might cave into that pressure.
Here are some blessings to burst out. Just do it! Say them out loud and
believe them!
o
For I hold you by your right hand- I, The Lord
your God. And I say to you ‘Don’t be
afraid. I am here to help you.’- Isaiah 41:13
o
In His kindness, God called you to share in His
eternal glory by means of Christ
Jesus. So, after you have suffered a
little while, he will restore, support and strengthen you, and He will place
you on a firm foundation.- I Peter 5:10
o
The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay
calm- Exodus 14:14
o
This is my command- be strong and courageous! Do
not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you
go.- Joshua 1:9
Father, I ask you to bless the women that are reading this
and help them to know that You are holding them by the hand and that you are
here to help them. Thank you that you
will restore us, support us, strengthen us, and place us on a firm foundation
after we have suffered a little while. While we are still going through our
troubles, Lord, help us to remember that you are fighting for us, and that You
want us to stay calm and seek Your face. Please give us the strength and
courage we need as we wait for Your restoration. Amen
Contributors: Karen
Bromby, Monica Brown, Kathy Derda, Jamie
Leary, Kim McClure and Kristy Tolley
Love the post Kim, esp. the While you are Waiting part. That is wonderful advice. Another perspective to add to this, that only came to me later on, was this: If we are constantly worrying about our problems, going from one friend to another and complaining, etc., without going to God first, we are MAKING THAT PROBLEM OUR IDOL. I had never thought of that until I read it on one of my devotions last week. I know this will bless so many women.
ReplyDeleteMarla
Marla- This is so true! I plead guilty. I have allowed myself to be consumed by a problem before, and it just made me miserable. Thanks for sharing!
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