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Well, He did it again.
Still amazes me.
But we’ll get to that in a moment.
On Friday, I received some disappointing news. I’m okay—I’m
not sharing this so you’ll feel sorry for me.
not sharing this so you’ll feel sorry for me.
I’m sharing it to show what God can do.
All weekend, I’ve been fighting a frown. Trying to distract
myself. And yes, ice cream was involved in this attempt! Hehe.
myself. And yes, ice cream was involved in this attempt! Hehe.
The thing is, deep down, I know God’s got a plan for me,
even in this. He’s got it covered. It may be frustrating to me to not know what
that plan is—where each bend in the road may take me—but I trust He knows. And
it’s the best plan possible.
even in this. He’s got it covered. It may be frustrating to me to not know what
that plan is—where each bend in the road may take me—but I trust He knows. And
it’s the best plan possible.
I’m trusting in that too.
While—by God’s grace—I haven’t been absolutely wallowing in
my disappointment too much this weekend, I haven’t been fully embracing
gladness either. While there is some positive in the situation, I often focus
on the negative instead.
my disappointment too much this weekend, I haven’t been fully embracing
gladness either. While there is some positive in the situation, I often focus
on the negative instead.
And I tend to forget—or push aside thoughts of—God’s
greatness.
greatness.
The fact that He’s in control.
He knows why He’s got me where He does.
He planned it that way.
And I can either stomp my feet like a little child, cross my
arms, stick out my lip, and ask, “Why, oh why?”…OR, I can plant my feet on the
firm foundation of who He is, lift my hands in praise, open my mouth, and sing “Our
God is Greater.”
arms, stick out my lip, and ask, “Why, oh why?”…OR, I can plant my feet on the
firm foundation of who He is, lift my hands in praise, open my mouth, and sing “Our
God is Greater.”
Yep, guess what song we sang in church yesterday? Like I
said, He amazes me, as does His timing. Here’s the chorus:
said, He amazes me, as does His timing. Here’s the chorus:
Our God is greater
Our God is stronger
God, You are higher
than any other
than any other
Our God is Healer
Awesome in power
Our God, our God*
And this part is absolutely, wash-me-away,
draw-me-to-my-knees powerful:
draw-me-to-my-knees powerful:
And if our God is for
us, than who could ever stop us?
us, than who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with
us, than what could stand against?
us, than what could stand against?
Indeed, what?
NOTHING.
His power stands. And so does His plan for us.
And even though I don’t always understand it, I wanna
embrace it.
embrace it.
Your Turn: Has God’s
plans for you ever surprised you? Frustrated you?
plans for you ever surprised you? Frustrated you?
*From Chris Tomlin’s “Our God Is Greater”
**Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Lindsay,
Love that song – we just sang it in church this weekend! And I always get overwhelmed by His goodness when we do. Always.
I am praying for you right now, that you would embrace this knowledge, cling to it, and continue to claim it, not just today, but tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.
Hugs,
Becky
We sang it too! I just closed my eyes and let his goodness wash over me. 🙂
And thank you so much for your prayers!!
I love that song! Sorry my sweet for your disappointing news. It can get us down. And that might be a good thing because there is nothing on the planet like God picking us up! Love you. I'll text you later since I'm ahead of you on time zone. Muah!
Thanks for your text and encouragement. Love ya back!
Been here, Lindsay.
Yep, his plans have both surprised me and frustrated me. He gives and takes away.
~ Wendy
Loved the honesty in YOUR post today, Wendy.
I'm sorry for your disappointing news, LindsAy. Take time to grieve, then embrace the new opportunities that come with it.
When Hubby was job searching, great opportunities seemed to be closing. I was frustrated, but now I can see why–God had something even better in store for Hubby. His no is as perfect as His yes.
"His no is as perfect as His yes."
Profound stuff, Lisa. Thank you so much for sharing and for your support!
Sorry again for your disappointing news…but mixed in there was some good news. So try to focus on that today!
God does have some great plans for you. His timing is perfect. When it happens, you'll look back and say, "Ah, now I can see why God had it happen NOW and not THEN…"
And you will glorify Him just as you are now.
Love you!
I know, I know…hindsight is 20/20, right? Thank you for your friendship and encouragement. 🙂
Just want to say I love ya, Lindsay, and I totally echo Ruth–God has great plans for you!
I think one of the signs we're growing in our relationship with Christ is when we do exactly what you said–embrace his plan and his greatness even when we don't understand it. Not easy, but you're proof that it's doable.
Hugs!
Hugs right back!! Love you lots and lots.
Oh definitely, Lindsay!
I love that song and I love your heartfelt faith. Whenever I'm frustrated, the only thing that helps (besides ice cream lol) is clinging to God's promises. Praying for you!
There are so many things we don't understand…but God does. His promises…He is so faithful.
One day Lindsay, you'll be standing somewhere thinking, "wow Father, I can't believe THIS is happening!" and your joy will bubble over to everyone around you.He will be the same then as He is now. Lord of it ALL.
Thank you for this perfectly timed post. I needed this today.
And yes, His travel plans for me were certainly very surprising!! I'm learning something very important this year, it's not when it happens, it's that it happens.
I'm glad this was what you needed today. It's funny…sometimes I think I'm going to write one thing, and something else entirely comes to my fingertips. 🙂
Lindsay,
It is so difficult to accept that "no" when we are so certain the "yes" would be better for us. But I'm slowly realizing the "no"s are delivered with a very silent message: "Trust me, daughter, I know best."
(There must be a lot of disappointments going around in blogger land. My post tomorrow deals with a similar topic.)
I'm sorry you've been dealing with disappointment too! And yes, He DOES know best!
Yes, God has surprised me. I'm so sorry for your news…You're right though about God having a plan for you. Who knows what's right around the corner? *hugs*
You're so right! All we can do is take one more step along the path He's lighted for us. 🙂
Lindsay, your post is such an example of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4… "3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." Not many people would take their disappointment, surrender it to His mighty hands, and let Him turn right around and use it as an ecouragement to others. You've made worship out of it, and it's beautiful.
Aw, thank you, Amanda. Your words just made me smile…big.
Oh, yes & yes. Surprise: Twins! Surprise: You're moving! Surprise: You're putting your children in school (gasp – I thought I was supposed to homeschool them). Surprise: You're going to start a blog! Surprise: You're going to meet a ton of fabulous people who get you! Surprise: You're going to the ACFW Conference in six weeks!
With some of these great surprises, there have been moments of frustration (especially with the twins!), but I'm left in awe that God would entrust all these things to me. Even when the surprises are not what I'd hoped for or wanted (like not homeschooling), I'm still amazed when God reveals the reasons to me later on. Thank you for sharing this today, Lindsay! 🙂
You're right…it's been cool to look back when we can see why He said no at the time.
God surprises me all of the time.
Sorry for your disappointing news…but you have such a heart for God, He will walk through this disappointment with you…and you will sparkle on the other side!
Love your honestly in this piece.
Thank you, Loree! I certainly hope so, if I'm sparkling for Him. 🙂
Lindsay, that is such a powerful song and God knew you needed to hear it again yesterday. I'm sad at your disappointment and am hugging you from here. Every time we encounter disappointment, we have a choice: to stick our lip out and leave it there until bitterness sets in, or turn our face toward God in hope and expect His plans are greater than ours can ever be. You did the latter, and I KNOW He is faithful. He's storing up something amazing that He will blow your wig off with later! And I can't wait to hear about it when He does. Not if, Girlfriend…WHEN!
Thank you for your confidence, Donna! 🙂 It means so much.
We sing that song at church, and I absolutely love it. So much truth!
I do too! It's one of my favorites. 🙂