In His Hands

O Father, I want to be as pliable as a lump of clay in Your hands and as silent. By that I mean I don’t want to question Your design of me. I acknowledge that You have every right to make me--and to use me--however You wish.

Yet, as You know, Father, I tend to look at other “vessels” You have made and to want to be like them. And, as You also know, I tend to think my many flaws make me of little use to You. Forgive me for demeaning your design of me. You knew exactly what You were doing when You created me. Forgive me for being unwilling to believe You want to use me.

Father, I acknowledge that I am the work of Your hands and that You can and will use me for Your purposes—whether in common or uncommon ways, whether in special service or lowly service. The choice is Yours. I'm content with whatever You choose. I'm excited to see what You will do in me and with me and through me.

Behold as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in Mine (Jeremiah 18:6).

Changes

Year after year, one season ends; another one begins. In books (and in life), one chapter closes; another one begins. People come into our lives; people leave. The tides flow in and out. Flowers bloom; flowers fade. 

Since changes surround us, you’d think we’d learn to accept them more easily, wouldn’t you? But we resist them; sometimes we run from them! However, we'll experience more peace and happiness if only we'll take the advice Jim Milligan (President/CEO of BlueLetter Bible.org) gave in that organization's Summer 2018 newsletter: 

“I pray that as the summer season winds to a close, you will continue to see Christ and what He has done for you. It may look different from what you had planned, but rest in the assurance it will ultimately be for His glory, and your good.”

He's right! And so is Amy Carmichael who said, "In acceptance lieth peace." 

Therefore, it's crucial that you and I not only ACCEPT changes—even those we had not planned, even those we never wanted, even those that terrify us—but that we also REST in the assurance that even those changes will result in God’s glory and our good. Even if we can’t see how that will ever happen, God can see, and He can—and will—make ALL the changes result in glory for Him and good for us.

Lord, I Am Willing

Lord, I am willing

To receive what You give;

To lack what You withhold;

To relinquish what You take;

To suffer what You inflict;

To be what You require.

~unknown

I found that powerful prayer (poem) in a book a friend gave me for my birthday. Its words remind me of this insightful statement (attributed to Amy Carmichael) that Elisabeth Elliot often shared on her Gateway to Joy radio program: In acceptance lieth peace.

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A Part of the Process

In All Things

While praying for a dear friend’s four-year-old grandson who was in the Intensive Care Unit in a children’s hospital, I asked God to make Jax well and strong again. Then, I added, “If that’s Your will.”

As soon as I’d whispered those last four words, I wondered if I truly meant them or if I’d said them merely because I knew I should.

Immediately, I recalled these words from the hymn All the Way My Savior Leads Me: “For I know whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.”

Thankfully, I’ve known those words (written by Fanny J. Crosby in 1875) for many years and have often received comfort from them. For example, once when I was lying on a cold, hard table awaiting a frightening medical procedure that could lead to an even scarier diagnosis, those words, which I’d often sung in church, popped into my brain; and then I knew that whatever happened—good or bad (from the human perspective)—would be God’s will for me. I truly accepted that. Not a smidge of doubt. Only absolute certainty. 

Thankfully, all things turned out well. But if they hadn’t, I would have still believed that God’s way was best, that He knew what He was doing and why He was allowing certain things to happen.

I can accept God’s will for me, but find it harder to let God be God in the lives of those I love. Thus, when I prayed for the little boy, I so didn’t want to give God any leeway with the outcome. I truly yearned for Jax to be fully—and quickly—restored to health and had reluctantly added, “If that’s Your will.”

"O Father,” I prayed. “You have shown me again and again that You do ALL things well, even those that don’t turn out the way I hoped they would. Forgive me for doubting You in any way. Forgive me for failing to remember that You love this precious child, who is much loved and cherished and cared for by his family and friends, infinitely more than they do. Help my unbelief. Help me to fully trust You, even in this.”

And we know 

that God causes everything to work together 

for the good of those who love God 

and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28, New Living Translation

Click here to listen to the Haven of Rest Quartet sing the song mentioned above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEOtFEs0Jos&list=RDBEOtFEs0Jos

Just Bloom!

Flowers don't compete with each other. 

They just bloom, well content to be what their Creator designed them to be.

Might we learn a lesson from them?

Not My Will But Yours

And Jesus withdrew from His disciples about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup of suffering from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done."

~Jesus, Luke 22:41-42