I STILL BELIEVE 2… (THE LESSONS)
Hello to you lovely readers, I hope this post finds in you in good health. It’s finally time for the second part of the “I still believe” post. If you missed the first part then please tap on the link below to read and come back to this after. http://yarhsjournal.com/i-still-believe-the-movie/
The first post received a lot of response than I could’ve anticipated both on here and in my private dm and I was really encouraged and elated. It felt good to know that not only were you guys reading but also so willing to help me to get through my crisis. After reading your responses and upon personal reflections, I realized that it all comes down to a matter of faith; faith in God and in His intentions for us.
“Where does my faith end and the will of God begin”.
I have pondered over this question one too many times hoping that somehow I’ll find an answer that will finally make sense and give me the formula to understand the way of God. It recently dawned on me, however, that by asking this question, I implied that my faith and the will of God were two independent factors that somehow had to coexist in order for me to live well as a Christian. On the contrary, as a Christian, I realize now that my faith should be found in the will of God. Placing my faith in God outside of His will is just a recipe for disaster. I surrender all to you, everything I give to You, withholding nothing… “Nothing” here includes my will. So my answer for the above question is, “my faith starts and ends in the will of God.”
“for I know the plans I have for you“ - this is the Lord's declaration- "plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
What I learn from this verse is to trust in God’s intentions for me. God is sovereign and He does whatever pleases Him, and yet ‘nothing’ He does will ever be out of ill intent for us. As humans, we are limited in our knowledge and understanding of God in His entirety and so we may not always know His actual plans or understand His ways but He tells us to trust in Him anyways, because He is all-knowing, all-powerful and He’s working for our good.
“All things work together for good. ALL! The good, the bad, the disappointing…”
Yara
Melissa got healed the first time but not the second. Sometimes our prayers get answered and other times they don’t, at least not in the way prayed for. What happens when God says no?
“Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you will find, knock and it shall be opened unto you” Mathew 7:7
Two stories for reference here; Hezekiah prayed to God to extend his life and God granted him 15 extra years and yet Jesus still suffered the death on the cross though He prayed that that cup pass him by. “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as You wil.” Mathew 26:39 For a prayer such as this, I know that I most likely wouldn’t leave it to the will of God. There have been times when I intentionally left out the “let your will be done” part. What if what I’m praying for isn’t God’s will? I have realized that there’s a certain level of humility and trust that must come with prayer. The humility to say “yet not as I will, but as You will”, because in real sense we don’t even know better than God, and the trust that His will seeks the best for us.
“What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Mathew 7: 9-11
Sometimes it feels like God does not attach any urgency to an obviously urgent situation.
2 Peter 3:9 says “The Lord does not delay in His promise, as some understand delay…”. “When the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen” Isaiah 60:22. No one knows urgent more than God (Sis. Glory). This may not be as easy as it is typing it, but even as I share with you I tell myself too; when we pray those deadline, the bomb is about to go off kind of prayers and nothing seems to be happening, when the clock is about to strike on the 12th hour and we run out of words to pray, we should still learn to trust in the timing of the Lord.
While I’m waiting I’m getting stronger, my faith is rising and I will run on
While I’m waiting I’m lifting up on wings as eagles
I believe, I believe, I will trust in You.
Travis Greene (while I’m waiting)
If God will do what He wants, in His own time, why then should I pray?
“Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord” Isaiah 1:18. Genesis 18 shows a clear example of Abraham reasoning/bargaining with God, when God shared his plans of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah with him. Prayer isn’t necessarily order, receive, thank you, it is communication with God. It is everything you can say to Him when you go on your knees and close your eyes, or when you bow down your head and whisper, or when you lift up your eyes to the hills in hope and anticipation. The adversary would have us be arrogant, angry and stop praying about certain things. Let’s not give him that satisfaction.
“And this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” 1 John 5:4. This is to say that before we even begin to pray, we should have confidence and trust in His will, and then boldly pray according to His will.
We never pray in vain, God never says nothing in answered prayer.
I really believe God gives good things to His Children. The blessing we receive may not always be in the form of the things we ask.
Thadeus
It took a letter from His dead wife to get Jeremy back on his feet ministering again, but he did. Two years later, during one of his concerts, he met Adrienne who confessed to him that the story of Melissa changed her life. In his award winning career, Jeremy has sold over five million albums. He and Adrienne got married in 2003 and have three kids now.
The walk of faith with/in God isn’t a straight one and no one has it all figured out, that is why we need each other.
For a human being following a spiritual God, such challenges are only natural. It’s good to ask questions, we should only be sure not to let them stir unbelief in us.
Sis Glory
What then shall we do with the pain, disappointment and frustration that come with delayed answers or a no to our prayers? I’ll say take those feelings to God in prayer. God knows where it hurts and I believe He hurts with us too.
I still believe, in Your faithfulness
I still believe, in Your truth
I still believe, in Your Holy words
Even when I don’t see, I still believe…
Jeremy Camp (I still believe)
Here are a few more quotes I gathered from your responses in the first post. Be blessed.
The surest way out of this confusion is to trust in the perfect will of God for our lives, even if it hurts.
Faith is no longer just believing that you will receive what you ask for but it is actually trusting God that no matter what you ask for, His perfect will which seeks the best for you is what will come through.
God is worth trusting even when we can’t see.
“No” can mean , you deserve something better or a better place, you don’t have enough resources to handle that let me give you the resources first, you are not mature enough, my child I will delay it because there is danger ahead, what you’re asking will destroy your relationship with me, etc..
Even in the “no”, He’s saying yes. Not the yes you’re expecting to hear but the “I love you with an everlasting love, you’re mine and I’ve got you, I’m handling all of your cares” yes.
May the Lord grant us the strength to keep going, especially when the going gets tough. Best wishes to you all. Stay safe out there.
Xoxo,
Yarh.
Is not about when is okay for you to get your answers or blessings but always in His own Time…. is not about your will but about His will.
Once you understand and have faith in that you will be okay
Right
Wow nice write up ,I still believe
Rightly said Yarh. Our faith in the will of God for us is all we can hold on to in this world of uncertainty.
The LORD bless you Sis.
Amen… bless you too sis.
I’m blessed and filled up. Yarh this is your calling, keep us grounded in the lord. After this week, I guess we all have a testimony. Wether a YES or NO, it will be our testimony of the goodness of God to the world. We all have a unique story and message to the world. Blessed be the name of Lord our God.
Amen