Today’s ‘Guest Writer’ is Janet, she was inspired by the gift we gave Lara which said:
Pray ~ Trust ~ Wait
Proverbs chapter 3: verses 5-6 ‘Good News Translation’ (GNT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Never rely on what you think you know.
Remember the Lord in everything you do,
and he will show you the right way.
Listen on YouTube to: Lauren Daigle I will trust in you lyrics
My question is ‘Do we trust God?’ Yes!!!
Do we think he knows best? My answer is ‘at times’
Do we have the patience to wait? My answer is ‘???’
Have you ever bought anything that has to be assembled? You lay it all out and think ‘this is easy – I can do this.’ Then half way through you think ‘perhaps I can’t do this after all’ and then think ‘I should have read and trusted the instructions, waited and thought about them before starting.’
How are your baking and cooking skills? We get the recipe book out, but then go our own sweet way and add a bit more of ‘this’ and a lot more of ‘that’ – and spoil it. Then we realise we should have trusted the recipe and waited for their timings to give me the best results, rather doing it my own way.
How are you at following diets? We go to the shops and buy all the healthy foods, prepare the meal as laid out on the diet plan, and think ‘that doesn’t look like enough, I’ll add more potatoes or a square of chocolate – it won’t hurt….’ And we are then surprised when the diet doesn’t work!
What I am saying is, I go my own way and don’t wait and trust that others know the best way. We don’t follow instructions. We don’t trust them because we think we know it all, and we are sometimes in too much of a hurry to wait for the best results.
I am learning that the first thing we should do when faced with a problem is pray, but sometimes it is the last thing we do. Prayer is powerful. Lift your worries to God in prayer. Ask and he listens, he hears us. He is our loving Father and he knows us and what is best for us.
Trust him and Wait. Waiting can be a challenge. But if we do wait, he will often draw us closer to him and when the timing is right he will show us and lead us on the right path.
Listen on YouTube to ‘God will make a way’
During times of waiting, when circumstances don’t seem to be changing I try to remember 1 Corinthians ch.10 verse 13 ‘Good News Translation’ (GNT)
God keeps his promise,
and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm;
at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it,
and so provide you with a way out.
Pray. Trust. Wait. That’s what my sister and myself have done these last 3 months.
My sister’s granddaughter (my great-niece) was born in Scotland during this awful time of COVID19 and lockdown, and so we have prayed for the virus to ease, lockdown to end, and that everyone stays safe.
Pray. Trust. Wait. More than once as I have prayed for the virus to end and lock-down finish, I have asked God: ‘Can you hear me?’, ‘Am I asking too much?’ But then I remember that nothing is too much for God, so I carry on waiting and trusting. I realise that while waiting I have drawn closer to God.
I never thought I would write about God the way I have done, but this is one of the positive results of lock-down. I have prayed about the right words to close with:
Philippians chapter4: verse 6 ‘Good News Translation’ (GNT)
Don't worry about anything,
but in all your prayers ask God for what you need,
always asking him with a thankful heart.
And wait!!! God will show you the answers - Janet
P.S. from Stephen: Many of you will already have heard that Kevin’s operation was cancelled, and it will probably not now happen until September. Janet wrote her article before this happened, and was going to use Kevin and his family as one of her examples of ‘Waiting.’ What she had written is perhaps even more relevant to Kevin and his family’s new situation:
“Since Kevin found out about his cancer, COVID19 has put obstacles in the time he has had to wait. The whole family have had to be in isolation for 2 weeks. They have had to trust and wait. I’m sure all the prayers that have been prayed have helped them through this waiting time, helped them know and feel the strength of God and the love of God made real through the church family. They have trusted in God and trusted in the Medical skills of those who have operated will operate on Kevin, now God as a loving parent will continue to have his arms around the whole family as they wait for the complete healing we are all praying for.”
As usual, the arrangements for attending on Sunday are that you need to have book-in beforehand. If you haven’t already informed someone, you need to contact me as soon as possible. I look forward on Sunday to sharing more with you from ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ - S