This past week I have really been made aware of two main factors in the Christian life which I unfortunately take for granted and often overlook: God's constant provision and answering of prayer.
I believe that if I stopped to think about these two aspects of God more often, I would stumble in my faith a lot less.
For the past few years, money matters have been a constant issue which persistently prod at my family's mind. Budgets have been tight for most families that I know as well, especially families with college kids. A few days ago I received an email showing the amount of federal aid I would receive this coming year, and I can tell you that I was blown out of the water when I saw it. Not only did God provide, but He abundantly lavished. Yes, there are still payments to be done, but it's doable. God is good. He is good no matter what, but the fact that He chooses to bless me with the most random and incredible blessings expresses His complete goodness and MERCY, simply blowing me away.
Sometimes I find myself struggling to understand why God would allow my father, a hard-working, experienced, brilliant, friendly, godly man to be unable to find suitable work for over three years. While this question looms in my head, my eyes are blinded from the truth of it all. Job or not, God has provided. I have found that through this seemingly negative job situation, my dad has not only made a difference in my life through his determined mind-set and humble spirit, but he has also impacted the lives of an innumerable amount of people. Through the extra time he has been given, he has been able to truly invest himself in the lives of our family and those in our church, and instead of letting the difficulties bring him down, he always finds hope in God's provision. My father is truly an incredible role model, and I strive to love God and people the way he does.
In the realms of prayer, I seem to go through this every few months, where I see how INCREDIBLE God is in His love for me as He hears me, an insignificant nothing, and then answers.
This past week I found my old prayer journal from 2008 and 2009. The encouragement I received from reading through it, seeing all of the answered prayers (definitely not how I imagined they would be answered), reminiscing on these past situations, and meditating on God's goodness, is unable to truly be described in words. As I look back to December 2008, I remember the pain I had over some of these situations, the total helplessness I felt, and the desperation with which I prayed these prayers to God.
Some of these prayer requests:
-"That Chantal would be able to get a VISA and be able to come to the U.S. soon." Dec. 2008
Chantal not only was able to come the U.S. safely without any problems, but her and Jean-Paul are now married and have an incredibly beautiful little girl.
-"That one of my friends would stop doing drugs and to get saved." Dec 2008
One of my high school friends not only stopped doing drugs, but accepted Christ as His Savior.
-"That I would find work" Dec 2008
I not only found work, but I was able to witness to people during the job as well.
-"That my sister would get the funds for college." Dec 2008
My sister, Grace not only was able to afford college, but is now graduated with her Master's in Nursing and is now a Nurse Practitioner.
-"That my sister would find a good godly guy." Dec 2008
Not only did she "find a good godly guy" but she found the best, godly guy for her and they are now married.
-"That this year I would grow spiritually." Jan 2009
Well, this year has definitely been a growing experience, and I am thankful to God for every situation He placed in my life this year to grow closer to Him and be forced to seek His face and find my identity in Him alone.
-"That I would progress in writing." Jan 2009
I definitely feel as though I've really been able to learn more about writing and become more motivated to chase after my Journalism dreams ;]. So much more work to do, but when compared to 2009, I definitely grew in my writing abilities.
-"That my relative would quit smoking and grow spiritually." Feb 2009
He quit that smoking. And he's still going strong (it's been about a year and a half or more). In these two years he also has grown spiritually as well.
-"For my friend to find work." Feb 2009
She has had work for quite a while, and now has an interview for even better full-time position at another job.
-"For my cousin Marc to find an internship." Feb 2009
He now has an incredible internship. It may have taken a while, but God still answered in His time.
-"SATs." Mar 2009
Well I'm in college and finished my freshman year, so I must have passed those SATs.
The lists go on and on, from friends finding work after months of searching, to friends and family being healed without many complications of injuries and illnesses, God has been working. Many of my requests consisted of struggles in my own spiritual life, and while I have by no means conquered many of these, God has grown me through them and allowed Himself to be glorified through these weaknesses.
This is not to say that every request I pray for I expect to get "my way", because really God owes me NOTHING, nor do I even know what is truly best for myself the way my Savior does. This is just to show God's grace in these situations, allowing me and my friends or family to get through these situations, bringing the circumstances to conclude in ways which would glorify Him, even though done in methods I would not expect nor typically choose for myself. Thankfully, other than the choices I make, I am not in control of what happens to me, but rather God, the Creator of the Universe holds me and my situations in His hands always.
I believe that if I stopped to think about these two aspects of God more often, I would stumble in my faith a lot less.
For the past few years, money matters have been a constant issue which persistently prod at my family's mind. Budgets have been tight for most families that I know as well, especially families with college kids. A few days ago I received an email showing the amount of federal aid I would receive this coming year, and I can tell you that I was blown out of the water when I saw it. Not only did God provide, but He abundantly lavished. Yes, there are still payments to be done, but it's doable. God is good. He is good no matter what, but the fact that He chooses to bless me with the most random and incredible blessings expresses His complete goodness and MERCY, simply blowing me away.
Sometimes I find myself struggling to understand why God would allow my father, a hard-working, experienced, brilliant, friendly, godly man to be unable to find suitable work for over three years. While this question looms in my head, my eyes are blinded from the truth of it all. Job or not, God has provided. I have found that through this seemingly negative job situation, my dad has not only made a difference in my life through his determined mind-set and humble spirit, but he has also impacted the lives of an innumerable amount of people. Through the extra time he has been given, he has been able to truly invest himself in the lives of our family and those in our church, and instead of letting the difficulties bring him down, he always finds hope in God's provision. My father is truly an incredible role model, and I strive to love God and people the way he does.
In the realms of prayer, I seem to go through this every few months, where I see how INCREDIBLE God is in His love for me as He hears me, an insignificant nothing, and then answers.
This past week I found my old prayer journal from 2008 and 2009. The encouragement I received from reading through it, seeing all of the answered prayers (definitely not how I imagined they would be answered), reminiscing on these past situations, and meditating on God's goodness, is unable to truly be described in words. As I look back to December 2008, I remember the pain I had over some of these situations, the total helplessness I felt, and the desperation with which I prayed these prayers to God.
Some of these prayer requests:
-"That Chantal would be able to get a VISA and be able to come to the U.S. soon." Dec. 2008
Chantal not only was able to come the U.S. safely without any problems, but her and Jean-Paul are now married and have an incredibly beautiful little girl.
-"That one of my friends would stop doing drugs and to get saved." Dec 2008
One of my high school friends not only stopped doing drugs, but accepted Christ as His Savior.
-"That I would find work" Dec 2008
I not only found work, but I was able to witness to people during the job as well.
-"That my sister would get the funds for college." Dec 2008
My sister, Grace not only was able to afford college, but is now graduated with her Master's in Nursing and is now a Nurse Practitioner.
-"That my sister would find a good godly guy." Dec 2008
Not only did she "find a good godly guy" but she found the best, godly guy for her and they are now married.
-"That this year I would grow spiritually." Jan 2009
Well, this year has definitely been a growing experience, and I am thankful to God for every situation He placed in my life this year to grow closer to Him and be forced to seek His face and find my identity in Him alone.
-"That I would progress in writing." Jan 2009
I definitely feel as though I've really been able to learn more about writing and become more motivated to chase after my Journalism dreams ;]. So much more work to do, but when compared to 2009, I definitely grew in my writing abilities.
-"That my relative would quit smoking and grow spiritually." Feb 2009
He quit that smoking. And he's still going strong (it's been about a year and a half or more). In these two years he also has grown spiritually as well.
-"For my friend to find work." Feb 2009
She has had work for quite a while, and now has an interview for even better full-time position at another job.
-"For my cousin Marc to find an internship." Feb 2009
He now has an incredible internship. It may have taken a while, but God still answered in His time.
-"SATs." Mar 2009
Well I'm in college and finished my freshman year, so I must have passed those SATs.
The lists go on and on, from friends finding work after months of searching, to friends and family being healed without many complications of injuries and illnesses, God has been working. Many of my requests consisted of struggles in my own spiritual life, and while I have by no means conquered many of these, God has grown me through them and allowed Himself to be glorified through these weaknesses.
This is not to say that every request I pray for I expect to get "my way", because really God owes me NOTHING, nor do I even know what is truly best for myself the way my Savior does. This is just to show God's grace in these situations, allowing me and my friends or family to get through these situations, bringing the circumstances to conclude in ways which would glorify Him, even though done in methods I would not expect nor typically choose for myself. Thankfully, other than the choices I make, I am not in control of what happens to me, but rather God, the Creator of the Universe holds me and my situations in His hands always.
No comments:
Post a Comment