tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2722447614945782871.post3062155461186210480..comments2023-09-12T11:31:20.729-05:00Comments on Straight-Friendly: Following PeaceTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01271248501086241494noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2722447614945782871.post-52224681483335733242009-05-11T04:51:00.000-05:002009-05-11T04:51:00.000-05:00Dear, wonderful CM: moments when we resist believi...Dear, wonderful CM: moments when we resist believing are exactly when we must believe. As you so eloquently point out, when we trust God despite our feelings, He never fails to prove Himself and honor our trust. Past abuses and disappointments try to dissuade us--they insist we lower our expectations to prepare for the worst. But "the worst" isn't possible with God and His promises hold true. We err when we harness our faith by measuring our hopes according to the deceitful, unpredictable ways of people we've known.<br /><br />Numbers 23.19 says, "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"<br /><br />'Nuff said...<br /><br />Be blessed always, my precious sister,<br />TimTimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01271248501086241494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2722447614945782871.post-87027032206590768762009-05-11T00:15:00.000-05:002009-05-11T00:15:00.000-05:00Thank you for mentioning that wonderful passage fr...Thank you for mentioning that wonderful passage from Exodus. I have always believed it is presumptuous for us to think our strategies are better than God's. But, despite this knowledge, I personally sometimes fail to believe God will be there. He is always there, of course, even when we push Him away, but there is a small piece of me that doubts He will come to me in particular. Everyone else, yes, but not me.<br /><br />It is the abused child within me that questions Him. That hurt child sometimes wonders if He will "show up this time." But He always did, didn't He? Even when the trusted adults in my life misused their free will and inflicted terrible pain upon me, He was there, cradling me in His arms. In those moments, He permitted my mind to disassociate. This was His gift.<br /><br />I know it is best to "be still" and believe WITH ALL MY BEING that He will fight for me. I never have to do it alone. Never. I need only be still and wait for His clarification. The times I truly permit God to work in my life, great things happen. Bit by bit, I am learning to prepare a welcome place for Him in my heart. Through prayer, I invite Him to guide me.<br /><br />I thank God for His unfailing love. He gave me the most precious gift of my life -- my two children. On this Mother's Day, I thank God for His devotion to me; for the gift of knowing His Son; and for the privilege of motherhood. I did not repeat the cycle of abuse given to me as a child. His strength and unfailing love made this possible!<br /><br />I saw a nice quote today from Epicurus: "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." Truly, God is good. He gives us what we NEED.Britt Elizabeth Verstegenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06973388773198724983noreply@blogger.com