Scripture and Meditation

So I realize that it has been months since I have written anything on this blog, but for some reason, some sort of relief always seems to come when I start putting into written words stuff that I am learning and beginning to understand. So here it goes- just a bunch of Scripture and thoughts and venting.

I read Isaiah 62 just a little while ago, and there were a couple verses that stuck out to me immediately...

First of all, in verse 4, Scripture tells me that my new name is "My Delight is in Her"! ok wow! God delights in me? Even though sometimes I get angry and frustrated with Him and rebel against Him and doubt that He is working in my life, He still delights in me?

Not only that, but the next verse says "and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." So not only is His delight in me, but he rejoices over me? And Scripture is descriptive...I mean, when a bridegroom has just taken a new bride, he is pretty much the happiest guy ever...and God feels that way about me all the time?! haha maybe I am overreacting a bit, but that just makes me smile a lot :)

Maybe this comparison of God to the bridegroom stood out so much because I had just read Song of Solomon, which, as you probably know, talks all about the bridegroom's feelings towards his bride and vice versa. Just one little verse that I read which exemplifies the mutual affection of the bride and her bridegroom is in chapter 7 verse 10..." I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me"...What a beautiful metaphor! I truly believe that the same goes for us in our relationship with God. He is our Beloved and his desire is for us!

Finally, from Isaiah 40:28-31:

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

I love this passage, but this time upon reading it, the phrase that really jumped out at me on the page was "His understanding is unsearchable." I know this does not really relate to the passages I was talking about earlier, but I just can't read this line enough! I looked up the word unsearchable because I am a dork and I have this great little dictionary widget ;) and the definition was "unable to be clearly understood; inscrutable". So then I was like, well what the crap does inscrutable mean...so I looked that one up to and it was, "impossible to understand or interpret". And now it makes even more sense because that means the verse basically says "His understanding is impossible to understand or interpret" In my opinion, this is really cool because I think that our human understanding is pretty predictable. Let's just be honest, we are very limited in our understanding. We are not meant to know what God is up to! Imagine if we did know...How much would that swell up our pride? If we had all of the understanding that God has, we would not be dependent upon Him at all, ever! We would think, "Well, I know exactly what God knows so I should be able to make this decision for myself. I don't need his input." Talk about pressure. Personally, as much as I complain to God about not understanding what He is up to, I'm glad I don't know it all now that I think about it!

Trust In the Lord

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 

and do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge Him, 

and He will make straight your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you"

1 Peter 5:7

"Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything,

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known to God."

Philippians 4:6

These verses are all familiar ones.  They are verses that I have grown up hearing, and ones that I have committed to memory.  The common trend in these verses is giving our burdens to the Lord.  They are each reassuring, reminding us of God's deep love for us.  Recently however, I have begun to see these verses and others like them in a different light.  When we do not lay our burdens at the foot of the cross we are doing more than causing ourselves heartache, we are sinning!  We are, in essence, saying that we do not trust God with our problems and that we do not think Him great enough to fix them for us.  "For the very essence of anxious care reveals the idea that we think we are wiser than God and are putting ourselves in His place to do for Him what He has promised to do for us"(From Charles Spurgeon's Morning by Morning). Surrendering our worries is certainly not a simple act for us, and I wonder why that is.  Personally, when I am concerned about something, I must give it to God continually, each time I think upon it!  I have seen, countless times, that the Lord is faithful, yet I still find it so difficult to not be anxious!  We are quick to forget all the mighty things the Lord has done.  We, as selfish beings, think that we have better solutions to our problems than God does.  If we would just give these worries completely to the Lord, He would work out even the smallest details.  We don't need to fret!  "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4

This is My Desire

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Ephesians 3:20-21

Isn't it funny how whenever we spend time in prayer a lot of that time is spent telling God what we want and asking Him to fulfill our desires.  There we are, reminding God Almighty, who knows EVERYTHING what it is that we think will make us happy.  These verses hit me hard when I read them because they reminded me that God knows what I want even better than I know.   In fact, there are many times in my life (right now is one of those times) when I am downright unsure of what I want.  Of course I have heard before that God knows exactly what we are going to ask of Him before we even ask, but sometimes we just need to be reminded of important truths like this one.  It is so comforting to me to know that no matter how good my plans are, God's plans are always so much better!  They are so great that I would never be able to imagine them for myself!  Another line in this passage that stood out to me was "according to the power at work within us".  I love that because it points out that these cool plans that God has can be carried out through anyone who has the Holy Spirit working within their hearts!  That God can use sinful me to accomplish His purposes is a truth that continues to amaze me each time I think upon it!  I want to be a part of these awesome plans!  I might not know what God is going to do, and I may not be able to comprehend His ways, but I must be willing to let Him use me in ways that surpass my greatest imagination! 

My Refuge

"For God ALONE my soul waits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

He ONLY is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will all of you attack a man 

to batter him,

like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

They only plan to thrust him down from

his high position.

They take pleasure in falsehood.

They bless with their mouths,

but inwardly they curse.

For God ALONE, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

He ONLY is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in him at ALL TIMES, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

Those of low estate are but a breath;

those of high estate are a delusion;

in the balances they go up,

they are together lighter than a breath.

Put no trust in extortion;

set no vain hopes on robbery;

if riches increase, set not your heart

on them.

Once God has spoken;

twice have I heard this;

that power belongs to God,

and that to you, O Lord, belongs

steadfast love.

For you will render to a man

according to his work."

Psalm 62

At my lowest times, I tend to look to others for comfort and advice.  This is not, in and of itself, a bad thing, as God did create us as beings that desire relationships.  The problem arises when I look to other people first instead of first laying my burdens before the Lord.  I looked up the word refuge and the definition was, "a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble."  God is our refuge forever.  People will come and go throughout our lives, but God is constant, or "steadfast".  I love the word "steadfast".  It just fills me with hope and reassurance. It means "resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering".  That is the kind of love that our Father has for us!  How amazing it is that we have a God that will listen as we pour out our hearts to Him! 

If God wills

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." 

James 4:13-17

Scripture speaks, again and again, about the fleeting quality of this life.  Francis Chan, in his book, Crazy Love, explains it with the analogy that we are all like extras in a movie where God is the star. We have only tenths of a second to shine, but God is forever.  Expanding on Chan's analogy a little more, just like the extras in a movie, we all exist to bring more glory to the star, that is, the Almighty God.

Jesus give us a perfect example of submitting to the will of the One who DOES know what tomorrow will bring. As he goes to the Mount of Olives to pray he says, "Father if you are wiling, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done"(Luke 22:42). Jesus understood that although God's way would not be the easiest way, it was the best way.

God loves His children, and he wants what is best for them. This does not mean that we, as Christians, will get whatever we want. This certainly does not mean that we will not suffer. We may not understand why something is happening at the time, but later we may see that God is using it for good. Sometimes, we won't ever see the fruit of our suffering, but that doesn't mean it is pointless.  We must keep in mind that we are finite and limited in our understanding. 

"Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good." 

1 Peter 4:19 

God Can

"When you can't find the answers to 

All your doubts and fears

God Can

When you are needing someone to

Wipe away your tears

God can

God can do more than you

Could ever ask or think

He holds the power in His mighty hand

When you can't see your way

Just remember this my friend

God can"

I have been a bit discouraged these past few weeks, and today I received a card in the mail with these words from a song printed on the back. These words brought tears to my eyes because I am so grateful that God loves me enough to care what is going on in my life. In hard times, we just have to give it all to HIm and trust that He will work things out for the good of those who love him(Romans 8:28). It is so reassuring to know that in our weakness, Christ is made stronger(2 Cor 12:9-10). I am so glad that I can depend on God to take care of things that I could never handle on my own.

My way or the highway!

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

~Proverbs 16:9

Have you ever had something planned out so perfectly in your head, only to have it happen completely differently from how you had planned?

I know I have. I have found that usually when this happens, I ask God why He doesn't want me to get what I want. This is so selfish of me, but I do it anyways! Who am I to think that I can make a better plan than the God of the universe?! It is way easier to SAY that you are seeking God's will than to actually BE seeking His will. I continually find myself getting bent out of shape when something does not go my way, but I have to learn that God has bigger plans than I do. His plans are based upon his omniscience (His all-knowing nature), so there is an indicator that His plans are way better. I never know everything about a particular situation, but He knows everything there is to know about anything! Wow! That is mind-blowing and very reassuring if you ask me. I am glad that I serve a God who cares about me so much that he does what is best for me, even when I don't necessarily understand it at the time. Who knows what all would go wrong if I got my way all the time :) 

Why Do I Doubt?

So being where I am right now has been exceedingly difficult for me. I don't particularly like the school I am attending, and dorm life certainly is not for me (whether it's for anyone, I'm not sure).  I have been back at school for about a week after a nice break spent at home with the family. This week has been tough, and, I will admit, I has been a very teary one. At the beginning of the week, when I first recognized how upset being back at school makes me, I started to turn to other people for comfort and encouragement, but within the last couple of days I have realized that, while other people can bring me comfort to some degree, only Christ can bring me the comfort and contentment that I crave! So, why don't I ever turn to Him first? Because I am selfish, I convince myself that I can handle it, and I'm stubborn, and I am not trusting God with every part of my life-That is sin! 

Yesterday morning, I was beginning to feel down again, but this time I did turn to God first. I prayed that He would bring me encouragement, and guess what?! He definitely did! After my classes, one of my best friends called me and we decided to go to the rec center and get some exercise. We had a great talk while we were there, and I realized that she is struggling with many of the same things I am. We decided to become "accountability partners," and also that we would be having these "exercise talks" more often :)

It was a Thurs. night, so that meant that it was time for Campus Crusade- our first meeting of the semester. I went, just expecting it to be a normal meeting I guess. We got there and sang a few worship songs, and then one of the leaders announced that we would be watching a Louie(?) Giglio video in which Louie would tell the story of a girl named Ashley. I don't really have time to tell the whole story for you, but you should definitely check it out on youtube or something. Basically, a non-believer, Ashley, who is going through a hard time, is writing in her journal about her new roommate who is a Christian. At first, Ashley is making fun of her roommate constantly, but she begins to wonder why this girl is so different than most people her age. Eventually, Ashley asks her roommate about the difference in her life, and the roommate shares the Gospel with her. Over the course of about two weeks, Ashley goes from hating Christians, hating church, and hating God, to accepting Christ into her own life. Ashley is killed in a car crash a few months after this.  When he was done telling Ashley's story, Louie said something that really stuck with me. He said that if you are like Ashley's roommate, don't give up hope because you never know how close someone is.

Wow. God is good. Those are exactly the words that I needed to hear. You see, all this past semester, I have been struggling with sharing the Gospel with my lost roommate. I pray for her, try to show her God's love, and try to seize opportunities to speak with her about what I believe. I hope that she sees something different in me, but I know that, ultimately, it is God who will draw her to himself.  It's the same for all the other students on campus who I come in contact with each and every day. Even if I don't see any fruit, I won't give up because I never know how God is working in someone's heart. 

Trust God because He can do great and mighty things! He is working in the ways that we least expect, and it is so worth it to wait for Him. He hears our prayers and is faithful to answer them. Don't be discouraged and don't worry! How Great is Our God!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

~Philippians 4:6-7

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; 

yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 

I will ponder all your work, 

and meditate on your mighty deeds. 

Your way, O God, is holy. 

What God is great like our God?

 You are the God who works wonders; 

you have made known your might 

among the peoples."

~Psalm 77:11-14

~Lindsey