Be still and know...

Psalm 46:10 says 'Be still and know that I am God...' and Romans 8:28 promises this, '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.'

These passages have stayed on my mind alot in the past few months. Right now, I really need to meditate on these verses. An area of my life has been going nowhere for too long. I've tried too hard and I'm constantly getting frustrated with my efforts. I'm not giving up, I just can't keep trying things my way. I have to surrender this thing completely over to God and be still and let Him take over. I will stop physically trying but I will start praying about this and trusting that God is working on my behalf.

My past mistakes in this area can only have been necessary to get me to where I need to be now, especially since I'm putting this in God's hands at this point, finally! So all my past decisions and mistakes will work together for good and God will work out the blessing that is to come. I love God but I know He loves me more. He only wants me to trust Him now, put Him first, and follow His commands and leading in my life. He has His very best in store for me and I have to always believe this no matter what the circumstances.

So tonight, I am still....

Weeding

Have you ever recognized how God removes people from your life? Sometimes you see it as a good thing, but not so much when it's people that you are very close to and care about. I’m going through this right now and it’s been difficult. For the past year or so, God has been weeding out certain people in my life.

Some have been distractions from the path He has chosen for me. These people added in my stumbling and poor decisions making, and distracted me from seeking God first. Once I recognized these people as negatives, God removed them. How did he do it? He hardened their hearts and they abandoned and ignored me. What a blessing!

God also removed a few people that weren’t really causing me to stumble in anyway, but looking back now, I wasn’t growing in my faith with them. Maybe I wasn’t doing my part by being a better Christian influence or vice versa. We were just comfortable with the ‘status quo’. So I’m not sure if these people will come back into my life, only God knows. I have realized that the ones that remain are even more important to me now. I know I have to love them more through giving, understanding, listening, helping, and prayer.

God has removed a couple of very close and dear friends from my life too. They didn't die, move away, or become comatose. I think one of these three may be easier to understand and accept. They just basically stopped communicating with me, stopped being my friend. They were friends that I never expected to abandon me. It has hurt me tremendously. Feelings of anger, confusion, and sadness have evolved during this lose. I've tried to make sense of it all but their behavior has truly baffled me. Right now I can't understand why God has allowed them to become absent from my life. I do know however that this pain has only caused me to lean on God more and trust Him. I still love them very much and pray for them everyday. As hard as it may be to see it, life will go on without them.

Thank God He will never leave me! I may not feel His presence some days, but His word promises that He is still with me regardless. People may come and go, but my Lord is lovingly and constantly present. Amen.

...I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5