Trust

I was reading through some of my old blogs today and found something I wrote right at the beginning of 2016 that literally made me laugh.

“It's 2016 now. With the last year that I had, I can't make any guesses as to what could happen this year. And I don't need to.

Life isn't a guessing game.

Life is a trusting game.

It's about trusting in what God has in store for your life.... No matter the pain, heartbreak, doubt, and fear. So I'm not going to guess what's next. I'm not going to plan my year out. I'm going to take it a single day at a time and trust. I pray that every day of 2016 brings me one step closer to God and where He wants me to be. If God is moving, I'm following right along.” –Aimlessly Anchored (http://aimlesslyanchored.blogspot.com/2016/01/live-life-anchored.html)

It’s pretty evident that I had no idea what was in store. I laughed as I read this because a challenge I had to fight through last year has come up yet again at an absolutely (not) impeccable time. It’s almost as if I beat level 1, and now God graduated me to level 2. The year isn’t even over and I already can’t believe all of the things that have happened since the start of it. But I read this and ask myself, have I really been trusting in what God has in store?

There isn’t a lot of time left in this year. It’s already the beginning of November, Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and Christmas decorations are starting to come out. The year is running out. It’s almost 2017… We don’t have time to waste not trusting in Jesus.

Who knows what will happen in these last couple months of the year. I’m not putting my bets on anything, because I’ve learned that oftentimes my plans don’t work out how I imagine them to.

I’m not sure if I’ve trusted God like I should’ve since the beginning of the year, but I do know that I have 2 more months of the year and if I didn’t trust God then, then I need to now.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

–Philippians 4:6

There isn’t time to worry, or doubt, but rather we have the moment right now to choose to trust what God is going to do.

The verse at the top of this page is Hebrews 6:18-19, and it’s where the name of this blog comes from…In Him as our anchor, we have hope.

 So I encourage you to work on building up your faith in God’s plan as we head into the last couple months of the year.

Silence

Silence.

They say that’s what you need sometimes.

Silence.

Be quiet, then you’ll hear God.

But all I hear is

Silence.

I’ve been quiet,

I’ve slowed down,

Yet I sit here in complete

Silence.

Nothing, I hear nothing.

Unless of course you can hear

Silence.

Then I definitely hear

Silence.

It’s screaming and shouting and torturing me.

The silence screams horrible things.

“You’re all alone”

“God isn’t here, He let you go”

“He won’t help you now”

“You’re worthless to Him”

“You’ll never hear Him”

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Then comes the wind.

Then comes the rain.

Then comes the waves.

Like the disciples off at sea,

Like the storm is raging,

And it feels like Jesus is sleeping.

Just like the disciples doubted Jesus, here I am questioning.

“Jesus, don’t you care if I drown?”

Then comes more wind, more rain, and more waves.

But I’d rather take this storm, over the silence any day.

Because above this hurricane of noise,

I hear Him say in a still, calm voice:

“Peace be still, my child.”

He wasn’t speaking to the storm,

He was speaking to me.

Suddenly I saw the storm differently.

The wind is Jesus whispering.

The rain is Living Water cleansing me.

Each wave is more and more of God’s love crashing over me.

The silence broke me.

Then the storm broke the silence.

He won't let me drown. 

Jesus Calms the Storm- Mark 4:35-41

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’

They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”

Sometimes He Takes Away

            Our God is a God who blesses us abundantly, often with things we take for granted. But, our God is a God who also takes away. Not out of spite or hate or for His pleasure, but for our good or whatever other reason to ultimately accomplish His purpose.

This week, something I love very dearly was taken away from me. Am I questioning what God is doing in my life? Very much so. But I also am clinging onto the hope that He knows what He’s doing, and better things are yet to come.

I immediately think of Job whenever I start questioning what God is doing. When push comes to shove, will I still bless the name of the Lord? When for whatever reason God takes away something I wish He wouldn’t, will I still bless the name of the Lord? I honestly don’t know yet if I will, but I hope and pray to find the strength to do so like Job somehow did.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21

            If we expect God to bless us, we also have to expect that sometimes He has to take away. Loving God doesn’t mean He gives us everything we want when we want it; but it does mean He gives us everything we need when we need it. Unfortunately, if our hearts aren’t aligned to His Word and His promises, we don’t understand what it is we need.

            As you read this, you may be in a very different place than I am. If you feel like the blessings are pouring down, I encourage you to send the praises up. However, I also encourage you to build up faith for when God takes away. But if you’re where I’m at and feel like God is taking away, embrace the truth in His Word that He is only doing it for your good. For God gives, but He also takes away…But in all circumstances—blessed be the name of the Lord.