Do you encounter a situation where you wonder, "Just what is God doing in my life right now?" If you know me, and let's face it, you probably do if you are taking the time to read this, you know that I will freely admit to asking this question more than once (and sometimes more than once a day). Every now and again I have those days that end up being a perfect storm of old issues, problems, pain, and crisis. When that happens, I start to wonder just what God's plan is for all of it. I had one of those days yesterday. By the end of the day, I started to lose it. I can't be the only one that does this. Yesterday was a bit different though. Once I stopped and took the time to calm down a little bit I prayed a pray. The gist of it was "Dear Lord, I really hope you've got this, because right now I sure as heck don't."
On top of praying, I've been listening to this song quite a bit. I think it's pretty appropriate that this song is called Steady My Heart, because that is what it did for me yesterday. Of course, that wasn't all that happened.
I went to bible study last night and one of the scriptures we read through was Romans 8:28. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." That was not the first time I've heard this verse. I've heard messages on it and sang worship songs about it before. Although for some reason, I finally opened up my heart to internalize it yesterday.
So, is God really using ALL things for my good? The short answer is yes, but when I think about it, it's pretty amazing. Everything that is going on is all going to come together for God's perfect plan and purpose. This doesn't just mean the good stuff. No, it means everything. So, when people are freaking out at you, you have deadlines, people are sick, you find out that a person that took a machete to your heart was married over the weekend, or that person you have been trying to avoid lands right smack on your door step, you have to trust in God that there is a perfect plan in the works. I know this is easier said than done.
So, how can you survive and trust in God's plan when you feel like your life is just too crazy and out of control? Yesterday three things set me straight: Worship, Bible, and Prayer. Worship is pretty easy. For me, I put in some music like the song her and try to listen and internalize the message.
Once you do that, get out your bible and study it. If you don't have a bible, there are plenty of free sites and apps where you can read it there. Verses will pop out at you like Romans 8:28 and bring you peace. You may need help with this, so its important to have friends that you can call to help you through and point you to the right scriptures. I find that God tends to use people and situations to beat me over the head with certain messages. (If you check out www.biblegateway.com you'll see that Romans 8:28 is the verse of the day. Apparently it takes me longer than most to stop and listen.)
The last thing is prayer. I know this is touchy for some especially if you grew up Catholic like me and had to spend a lot of time memorizing prayers. One thing I've learned recently is that there is no right or wrong way to pray. My prayers are very real and almost conversational. I listen to others pray and they are much more eloquent. I used to be jealous of people who could pray like that, but I'm finding that it's more important to actually stop and take the time to pray than to worry about how eloquent you are doing it.
So, fast forward to this morning. I woke much more at peace. Although I don't know how the big picture is all going to come together, I spent today totally confident that everything is going to come together for good in God's time. Now, I just have to internalize some patience. But that my friends will be a different blog entirely.
Blessings until next time...
