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There is a song out by singer/songwriter Twila Paris (it's been out since the 90's) called "Do I Trust You". If you have never heard it, you really need to. Everytime I hear it, it is a challenge and reminder to me. Do I really trust God? I mean, I say I do, but do I really?
There are times in life when�things in our life don't happen exactly like we have planned�and we wonder where was God during that time in our lives? Why didn't He stop the pain? All those thoughts come into our minds and all of those thoughts are from Satan, trying to get us to doubt what we know to be true of God. We need to make sure that we aren't just "trusting" God in the good times but that we are truly trusting Him with EVERYTHING, good, bad and ugly! We need to trust Him that He has and always has had and always will have our best interest at heart, period.
There is a quote I have heard over and over that says..."God said it, I believe it, that settles it." That is what our lives should be. Our trust should be so strong and undoubting in God that when things go wrong, we look to Him and say "Lord you said it in your word, and I'm going to believe it as�truth, and let those truths be what drives me in my life." So are you trusting in God or do the situations in your life determine whether or not you trust Him? Do you trust Him with your everything?
Back when I was a teenager, I made Proverbs 3:5-6 my life verse and it needed to be my life verse, not because I was faithfully doing what the verse said either� but because I wasn't and sometimes I still struggle with it. It's a verse that I need to keep in front of me all the time.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
In my life, there have been many times when I have leaned on my own understanding and I've just ended up flat on my face, in deep despare and depression. There are times in life when things happen that we completely don't understand, that don't make sense to us. But I have realized how completely stupid we are when we don't trust God with all our heart and we lean on our understanding. I mean, think about it, the God of the universe who created you and me, created the trees, the flowers, the birds, the world, loved us enough to offer us a way to have a relationship with Him even though all we do is mess up in life...and we have the nerve to think that we know what is best for our lives. How ignorant and even self destructive is that way of thinking? Doesn't it make more sense that we trust God who has been through it all, seen it all, and conquered all? So where are you? Are you trusting in what you can see or are you trusting God, pure and simple, regardless of whether or not you understand? And later on in the passage, are you acknowledging him with your everything, are you making Him your everything? God is waiting to do something incredible in our lives, if you will only trust Him!
Do I Trust You
words and music by Twila Paris
Sometimes my little heart can't understand
What's in Your will, what's in Your plan
So many times I'm tempted to ask You why
But I can never forget it for long
Lord, what You do could not be wrong
So I believe You even when I must cry
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the river flow?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the north wind blow?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind
And You've got to know
I would rather die
Than to lose my faith in the One I love
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?
I will trust You Lord
When I don't know why
I will trust You, Lord,
'til the day I die
I will trust You, Lord,
When I'm blind with pain
You were God before and You'll� never change
I will trust You, I will trust You
I will trust You, Lord
This devotional is taken from a sermon that was preached by my pastor this past Sunday. I found it to be so helpful that I wanted to share it with you all. I have edited it a little bit from the original sermon (added new verses, ect) but the main lesson is the same.
7 Steps Practicing Faith in Troubled Times
1. Recognize and Admit Your Need
In Psalm 18 it speaks of David, a man who was being pursued by a king who wanted to kill him. In this Psalm, David tells God exactly what His need is. I encourage you to read that chapter.
Psalm 18:4-6 says, “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
Psalm 40 is also a chapter that you may want to check out.
2. Admit that God has the Solution to that Need
Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.”
3. Bring the Need to God through Prayer
Jeremiah 29:11-12 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
We need to come to Jesus with our everything not just when we have a need. We need to constantly be seeking Him and what He wants for us. He wants a close relationship with you.
4. Trust God to handle the Need
Psalm 18:30 says, “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless, He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
*Let God do whatever He needs to do to fix the need even if it isn’t what we thought He should do or even if it’s not in our timetable, God knows best*
5. Take the need and cast it at Jesus’ feet
1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast ALL your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
*Lay your burdens down and leave them at Jesus’ feet. Don‘t try to pick them up again but LEAVE them there. In other words, turn your trouble into God‘s trouble. Leave what seems to be hopeless and impossible in God‘s more than capable hands.*
6. Get out of the way
*Let God do His work*
7. Wait for God to fix the need
Psalm 37:34, “Wait for the Lord and keep His way…”
*God delights in doing what we think is impossible*
Sometimes waiting is tough but he commands us in Psalm 37:7:
“Be still before the Lord (rest in the Lord) and wait patiently for Him…”
Waiting doesn’t mean to simply wait, but God wants us to rest in Him while we wait, trusting that He has the answers.
If you have any questions regarding this blog, please feel free to email me at speakdontbleed@yahoo.com.
| This devo blog is about a fathers incredible love for his child which parellels to God's love for us. It was sent to me by a friend through email (author unknown) and I felt I had to share it. For those of us who have scars from self injury, let those scars be a reminder of a God who won't let go of you. Let them be a reminder that just as those cuts heal into scars, healing in your heart and soul is coming if you keep pursuing the Father in Heaven who loves you so much. For those who have been abused or are being abused, please know that God loves you and that He is holding you and crying and hurting with you and He won't let go.
SCARS OF LIFE Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug of war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father but the father was much to passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, rached from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved. The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go." You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding onto you. The scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerus situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hold of life is filled with peril- and we forget that the enemy (Satan) is waiting to attack. That's when the tug of war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.
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What does it mean to follow God?
What does God desire from us when it comes to following Him?
Are we willing to surrender to what God has for our lives even when it doesn't make sense to us?
These are challenging questions and I say challenging because I'm living them! God has been showing me so much about what it takes to fully trust Him with our lives. I'm not the most adventurous person so risks are not fun for me. Trusting anyone is not my strong suit either which makes it even more of a challenge. But thank God for His grace in our lives! A story in the bible that has hit me hard in the past few weeks is the story of the calling of Jesus' disciples. They were fisherman, tax collectors, ect. each had their occupation and I'm sure each of them had their own agenda's for what they wanted to see of their lives and who they wanted to become. And then in the life of these brothers named Simon and Andrew (fishermen) comes this man named Jesus and tells them to
"Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Now if I were Simon or Andrew I'd be like "Who is this man and there is no way I'm going to follow Him!" But the bible doesn't say anything about them asking questions or anything like that. It says "AT ONCE they left their nets and followed Him." Now that's faith! That's Surrender! They left everything they had lived for, what they had trained for to follow Jesus. And God expects the same from each of us! He doesn't want us to give half of our lives to Him, He wants ALL of us! Every ounce of our being! Following Jesus won't always be easy, in fact, I think it seldom is easy but it's worth it! It takes denying of yourself...your wants, your desires, your goals for something greater...GODS wants and desires and goals for your life. In Luke 9:23 it says
"Then He (Jesus) said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Surrender requires faith! And true faith in God requires a willingness to give ALL! Are you willing??? Clay Crosse sings a song that is called "I Surrender All" and I wanted to share the lyrics with you.
I Surrender All
Written by: David Moffit and Reggie Hamm
I have wrestled in the darkness of this lonely pilgrim land
Raising strong and mighty fortresses that I alone command
But these castles I've constructed by the strength of my own hand
Are just temporary kingdoms on foundations made of sand
In the middle of the battle I believe I've finally found
I'll never know the thrill of victory 'til I'm willing to lay down
All my weapons of defense and earthly strategies of war
So I'm laying down my arms and running helplessly to Yours
I surrender all my silent hopes and dreams
Though the price to follow costs me everything
I surrender all my human soul desires
If sacrifice requires
That all my kingdoms fall
I surrender all
If the source of my ambition is the treasure I obtain
If I measure my successes on a scale of earthly gain
If the focus of my vision is the status I attain
My accomplishments are worthless and my efforts are in vain
So I lay aside these trophies to pursue a higher crown
And should You choose somehow to use the life I willingly lay
down
I surrender all the triumph for it's only by Your grace
I relinquish all the glory, I surrender all the praise
I surrender all my silent hopes and dreams
Though the price to follow costs me everything
I surrender all my human soul desires
If sacrifice requires
That all my kingdoms fall
I surrender all
Everything I am, all I've done, and all I've known
Now belongs to You, the life I live is not my own
Just as Abraham laid Isaac on the sacrificial fire
If all I have is all that You desire
I surrender all
If you have any questions about this devotional or any questions about what it means to be a follower of Christ please email me at speakdontbleed@yahoo.com. I'd love for you to come into a relationship with God and have an understanding of who He is.
Many of ya'll have asked me essentially this....
Why does God allow bad things to happen in my life?
The bible says "His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts aren't our thoughts." Yet He is wiser than any of our foolishness. God loves us so much that yes, He does hurt when we hurt and understands our pain, but He loves us enough to allow us to go through some really tough stuff because He has a purpose in it. He knows that many times we don't see the fullness of that purpose unless we struggle. Unless we go through the uncomfortable.
He doesn't like to see us suffer but sometimes we need a little suffering to see the big picture and help us to grow in Him. He provides a way of escape for us though, He provides the comfort we need to make it through the tough places. I encourage you to read Psalm 18. It is an awesome chapter in the bible. It starts out with this "The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled aroun d me; the snares of death confronted me." Have you ever felt that way? That your life was being taken from you. That the problems you faced were so horrible and huge that you just were in complete despair. And when we are in despair we ask God alot of "Why?" questions. Well continuing on in Psalm 18, verse 6, it says "In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into His ears." The question shouldn't be "Why is all this trouble happening to me? Why do you let bad things happen?" but rather "What do you want me to learn through this circumstance in my life? And how can I come through this with a different outlook on my life?"
The whole chapter of Psalm 18 comes from the experience of David in the bible and how Saul (the king) was chasing Him and out to kill David. David could have asked the "Why?" question but He used His bad experience to turn around and get the big picture on the situation. Yes, I'm sure he was scared, I'm sure He was desperate, I'm sure He was confused at why God allowed Him to be in this place at this time....but He went back to what He knew to be true of God and says in verse 32..."It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect....He enables me to stand on the heights.....You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn." God pushes us through trials and hard times to make us grow. To make us depend on Him. That's "Why?" as we would say He allows bad things to happen. He isn't a malicious God who is out to get us at every turn but He is a God of tremendous love and He knows what we need at any given time, even if it hurts! So next time you are struggling with something big in your life instead of asking God "Why is this happening?", ask Him..."What are you trying to teach me?" It's a hard thing to ask but the answer might just knock your socks off.
There is a song by Bebo Norman that I would love to share the lyrics with you...it talks about this very thing....It talks from the point of veiw of a nail being made, the same nail that was used to hold Jesus to the cross. That nail discovered His purpose but He has to wait on the Lord to figure out what that was. He had to go through the pain of being molded and in the end His purpose was so great.
The Hammer Holds
A shapeless piece of steel; that's all I claim to be. This hammer pounds to give me form; this flame it melts my dreams. I glow with fire and fury as I'm twisted like a vine. My final shape, my final form I'm sure I'm bound to find.
So dream a little dream for me in hopes that I'll remain. And cry a little cry for me that I can bare the pain. And hurt a little hurt for me; my future is untold. But my dreams are not the issue here for Thee the hammer holds.
And the water, it cools me gray, and the hurt subdued somehow. I have my shape, this sharpened point; what is my purpose now? And the question, it still remains; What am I to be? Perhaps some perfect piece of art, displayed for all to see.
Well the hammer pounds again, but flames I do not feel. This force that drives me helplessly through flesh and wood reveals a burn that burns much deeper; it's more than I can stand. The reason for my life was to take the life of a guiltless man.
So dream a little dream for me in hopes that I'll remain. And cry a little cry for me that I can bear the pain. And hurt a little hurt for me; my future is so bold. But my dreams are not the issue here, for Thee the hammer holds. This task before may seem unclear but this my Maker holds.
If you have any questions about this blog, please feel free to comment here or email me at speakdontbleed@yahoo.com.
Since I started this website I have spoken to many of you girls who are struggling with some hard stuff in your life and/or just want to know that there is someone out there that truly cares about you. And my heart just breaks for each and every one of you. One big question I have been asked by many is, "Why did you start Speak Don't Bleed?" So I wanted to take some time to crack open my heart, speak truth and explain that to you because I think it's a very important question that I want you to understand the answer to.
First off, I'm not just some "nut" who decided one day to start a website just for the fun of it. In fact, my motivation has been the complete opposite of that. Making this website wasn't supposed to be fun, it was to be hard. It was to challenge me in my walk with Christ through challenging you to believe the promises of God that I have and still struggle with at times.
Some of you may not even know what it is or what it means to know God and to have a relationship with Him and if you are one of those girls, I challenge you to get in touch with me by email, because that is the most important decision you could ever make in your life. Speak Don't Bleed might seem to be a website for encouragement to help you "feel better" about your present or past circumstances or learn to feel good about yourself and yes, that is part of the reason I started this site but me just saying "God loves you" and you going away smiling isn't my goal. I didn't go into this ministry believing that I could change your circumstances or change the world....I went into this ministry with the understanding that God does that!
My passion is for you to know the truth of God to it's fullest. This might seem a little harsh but I'm hear to tell you that "Yes, you are failure!" I'm a failure! We do the wrong things on a consistant basis, we mess lots of things up every day, we ruin relationships, we choose the wrong things and that makes us failures because we keep going back to those things that we shouldn't! You might be asking...who is this girl and why is she making me feel even more down on myself than I already am? This girl is a girl who has been through it but knows that there is a Savior, Jesus Christ who took my failures on Himself and died on a cross to take away every wrong thing I've done, every failure, every wrong thing I will ever do! So yes, I want you to know that God loves you but I also want you to know what His love really means and how much of a sacrifice was paid for you because of that love.
My prayer for you is that you might be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is (as it says in Ephesians 3:17-19)!
So many of you came to this site broken and beaten down. Some of you are currently dealing with circumstances that seem so out of control. Hurt's that I can't even begin to understand or imagine. You might think that no one understands your pain and chances are you are probably right but I know of One who has been through it all, seen it all and overcome it all....Come to Jesus! I want you to grasp a love not like a love you have known before...but a love that would lay down His life for you. A love that weeps for you when you hurt! A love that fights for you! That love is Jesus!
If you have any questions about this blog please email me. I wish I could meet you all in person but I can't. But what I can do for ya'll is pray for you by name and point you in the direction of someone who could help you more than I ever could, love you more than I ever could.....that's what Speak Don't Bleed is about.
Have you ever wondered if true love even exists? I know many of you have been hurt by people who are supposed to love you and then there are some who all they know is a superficial love. But here's the thing...God loves you deeply! The bible gives an awesome definition of what real love is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
What love isn't....
What love is...
"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres." (verse 6)
God longs for you to know that kind of love. He offers to you. Some of you are probably thinking...no one could ever love me after what I've done or what's been done to me but that's just not true when it comes to God. You aren't damaged goods to Him and never will be! You are precious, you are His creation and He can't help but love you because He doesn't just love, He IS love. Don't shut Him out, let Him love you! He loves you enough that He sent His son Jesus to die for you so that you could be free and live with Him for eternity.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
Nothing can seperate you from that kind of love as it says in Romans!
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39
If you have any questions about this post please feel free to email me at www.speakdontbleed.com or you can post a comment. You can also see a video about God's love for you at www.fathersloveletter.com.
I was sent the following in an email from a good friend. I'm not sure who wrote this but I found it to be such a good reminder that I thought I would post it for this weeks devotional. It's so easy to lose perspective in life. There is no doubt about it, I know some of you have been hurt horribly and I'm not trying to down play what you've been through because I know your hurt is real. But if we look at the problem in light of the bigger picture sometimes the problem seems a little bit smaller. Never forget that God sees the big picture all the time and we only see a piece. So He knows better than we do! He knows what we need before we ask, and He's there to help us handle all of lifes circumstances no matter how difficult!!!
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This is part two of What You Think vs. What God Says. God wants you to believe and embrace the truth about you and who you are with Jesus Christ and what He says is always the truth!
What You Think: "I am afraid."
What God Says: "God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" --Hebrews 13:5-6
What You Think: "I am alone."
What God Says: "Jesus said, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." --Matthew: 28:20
What You Think: "I am unforgiveable."
What God Says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." --1 John 1:9
If you have any questions or don't understand something regarding this blog please email me or post a comment.
Also if you have any ideas for topics you would like to see in this blog please let me know and I'll do my best to post about that topic. Thanks.
There are times in our lives when we let our thoughts drive our beliefs about ourselves. But sometimes those thoughts aren't accurate. They sometimes come from what other people in our lives have said to us or done to us. Satan wants us to believe bad things about ourselves. He wants us to believe our feelings instead of what God says is truth. Satan wants to destroy us and not let us live fulfilled lives. He wants to knock us down with any chance he gets and with anything he can. But we need to believe what God says and not let our feelings about ourselves become truth to us because it's a false truth. When we believe God and His view of us, then we have peace, then we know what true love is.
"This then is how we know we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His (God's) presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts (thoughts), and He knows everything." 1 John 3:19-20
What you think: "I am unlovable."
What God says: "I love you!"
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son (Jesus Christ) that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16
"God demonstrates His own love for us in this...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8
"For great is His (God's) love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever." -Psalm 117:2
What you think: "I'm hopeless."
What God says: "I am here to give you hope and give you life."
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him." -Psalm 62:5
"The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." -Psalm 147:11
These two things might be something you have thought or maybe even are thinking right now! If you want to talk to me more about these things or if you don't understand a word that I wrote in this blog, please email me at the email address on the contact page of the site or comment on this blog. I've been there before, I know what it feels like to be so self condemning and filled with self hatred. It's a miserable place to be but God offers us truth in place of the lies Satan tells us about ourselves and our lives.
I plan in the coming weeks to continue with the theme of this blog and post some more "What we think vs. What God says". So stay tuned!
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