Over my nearly 40 years as a believer, I have often wondered about the progression of faith and ‘settledness” I have seen in other believers, older than I in the Christian life, who seem so happy and content, no matter what…and it’s not just surface stuff…you know, the cliques and pat answers, etc…but a really deep sense of God in control and that’s ok. I wondered if and when I would ever get to that point, a point of complete God-control. Well, a lot of years have gone by, and a lot of good, bad, nice, not-so-nice things have come and gone and looking back and going through my journals I can see God teaching me things all the way through…things I would not learn any other way. And I have come to the conclusion that because He is God, and He knows best about everything…the best thing I can do is yield to Him and let Him have His way totally in my life. I “discussed” this with Him years ago and yielded. Then, time went by and I realized I was holding onto my old way of thinking that I had to do something…wrong…He did/does not need my help at all!!! So, ask forgiveness and yield again. This went on for awhile…my faith and trust in Him grew and grew and I began to sense a trust and confidence in Him that was new. I was becoming content with whatever He gave…or took away. I had come to understand that since He knew best, I was wise to give Him full sway and simply trust Him for an explanation…in time…maybe,LOL! At times the answer to a silent “why” would come long after the incident was handled. I say silent why because I do not like to ask that. Seems impertinent to me. Then a few years back, when my health and stamina began to fail me, I realized even though I now how limitations, I had a new sense of contentment…no longer contentment but peace…I was at peace WITH God since my salvation in 1974, but now I had the peace OF God deep in my soul, He was in charge, it was fine with me, and the rest of my life just as the previous years, was His. He could do with me as He pleased, He had for years but at times I took it back, use me as He pleased or not…whatever He wanted from me, He had. I must admit at times I fuss within myself about how much or how little I seem to be doing, and He reminds me it is not about doing but about being…and for some of us, our older years are the years He draws us closer and teaches us dear things, because we are more “still” than we have been previously. There are some that call these “the golden years…” for me, the truth of that is in the time I can spend with Him at a slower pace. The interesting thing is that I still manage to get all the things done that are important, just takes longer. But that appears to be fine with Him, and fine with me. Sooooooo…my point is the progression through our lives of God’s personal impact on us is subtle, first our faith, a gift from Him, is stretched to show us how He works. Second the sense of contentment appears as He works through us. And third, we reach a point where peace settles in and we know we are where He wants us, a precious child, sitting at His feet, listening, adoring, thanking, and loving HIm. He is worthy, and we are blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment