How long have you been coming to H2O?
I have been a member at H2O since we moved to Florida from Michigan in 2004
What do you like to do for fun?
I enjoy exercising (dance, aerobics, Just Dance on Nintendo Wii) :)
I like to plan and serve meals for my family and friends
I like to organize... pretty much anything. :)
Something most people don't know about me?
I wear socks 99.9% of the time. All year 'round.
What God has been teaching me...
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about hope and prayer. I have been taught that the "function" of prayer is to build your relationship with God. That I can understand. I need to spend time with God just as I need to spend time with my family and friends to build those relationships. It's the idea of prayer requests that I have been struggling with and one specifically. We have a strong desire for God to bless us with a second child. God knows my heart. I ask continually for this. I struggle with staying hopeful month after month, year after year. Keeping my hope means that I am open and vulnerable to great disappointment. I struggle with the temptation to guard my heart so that I am protected from the pain. I struggle with requesting a prayer that may not even be in God's will. I don't know His plan for our lives. It may not include another baby and I am continually asking for it. Sometimes I think... why should I ask for this again? The Holy Spirit revealed the "answer" to that question through this passage of scripture...
Phillipians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Two pieces of this very well known and often quoted scripture just jumped off the page this week...
1. "present your requests to God"
There it is. I may not know how my prayer requests will be answered, but I do know the answer to "why should I ask this again?". He tells us to! Through God's word we know that as Christians we are to "present our requests to God" and I will continue to do so.
2. "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds"
This was such a freeing piece of scripture for me. As I read this, I realized that in this struggle that can produce great anxiety...as I am obedient in presenting my requests to God...that "the peace of God which transcends all understanding" will guard my heart. HE WILL GUARD MY HEART! Why would I try to guard my own heart when God can do a MUCH better job?? I can be free to hope knowing that God already has a plan in place to take care of me, if disappointment should come again.
Now, I will be honest... I am still struggling with the temptation to protect myself from the pain of disappointment, but these scriptures are being written on my heart and they are changing me. I know the temptation to doubt and fear will still be there, but I have truth to fight the temptation.
4 comments:
Thank you so much for sharing directly from your heart, Betsy. I know how the waiting and wondering can start to wear you down. How wonderful that you are turning to scripture to find the truth. I pray that God's truths continue to sustain you. But, you know I will be praying most of all that God would give you the desires of your heart. I love you, friend!!
Thanks for sharing your heart and your struggles and the lessons you are learning through Scripture. They are great reminders. I get caught up in so many worries of my own that I forget about doing it too. But it's also a good reminder for me to be continually praying for you and others that have asked. To keep presenting my requests to God on your behalf. Love you!
Thanks, Betsy. Your perspective and struggle is a comfort and reminder. Love you!
I can really relate to the fear of disappointment you speak of. The worry about hoping because it leaves you vulnerable. Thank you for the reminder that He will guard my heart, which doesn't mean I won't hurt, but that He'll hold it together.
Colossians 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
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