Aside from this entertaining movie, I began to think about the title of the song "Let it Go" the other day when I was stewing over some things that I could not change. It is funny how we manage to get ourselves all worked up when only the Lord has sovereign control. I guess that is why I love the Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
 |
| Aiden enjoying a snack |
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
As I mentioned in earlier posts, I have taken as my life verses for this year Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." This means we need to rely upon His wisdom, His insight and His sovereignty in all things. If I trust in Him, I will not worry and stew over things which I cannot change. I can take things to God in prayer that trouble my heart. However, the key is to leave those troubling things with the Lord who alone has the power to do something about it. Too often, we snatch back our prayer requests right off the altar and once again, begin to fuss over things. That is not trust!
In addition, the verses tell us that we cannot lean on our own understanding. There is the heart of the problem. We cannot see from the perspective that God has over events and circumstances. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells
us clearly that God's thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not ours. His thoughts are higher than ours, so is it any wonder that we cannot fathom what God is doing? This is where trust comes in. We must learn to trust Him who created us and realize that He is working all things together for good as He says through the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
Rather than leaning on our own understanding of things, we need to acknowledge God as sovereign in all ways as the verses tell us from Proverbs. He will make straight our path when we yield to Him. As I considered these verses again, I picked up my Bible to study it and found myself praying scripture and asking God to reveal to me how to trust Him more. What a peace came to my heart as I looked into His Word. Self-examination by reading God's Word, praying it and seeking His face brings joy to the heart. It is like looking into a mirror where we can see ourselves with greater clarity and understand better our relationship to our heavenly Father. If He gave us His only Son to die in our place that we might be redeemed to live with God forever, why should we ever doubt Him and His ability to work in matters that concern us? This is a question we all need to ponder.
Living in a sin filled, fallen world as we do means that there will be many challenges, and as a child of God, we are swimming upstream against a culture whose ideas are foreign to us (or should be). Therefore, we must learn to trust in our heavenly Father who knows all the plans He has for us.
One of my favorite verses along these lines is found in Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." This God spoke to Jeremiah to encourage the people of Israel who had been in Babylonian captivity for seventy years. Even though they were carried off for their sin, God had great plans for them. He also has plans for our welfare as well. No matter our circumstances, or worries, the Lord is sovereign and we can "let it go" into His hands. Then, we need to trust Him and pray. He will make straight our paths. Selah!
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