Reason #267
It was cold today. Cold and cloudy, the perfect weather for staying in and sporting sweats all day. I dug through my bottom dresser drawer and pulled out gloves and a scarf. It's been a while since I've worn these accessories. Really, the last time I wore gloves and a scarf was in March, when I went to Hungary. It hardly seems as if that was 7 months ago. A lot has happened in seven months, that's for certain.
God's timing is divine. Always. In fact, I've witnessed His divine timing over and over again. Things have happened at just the "right time" that there was no mistaking it was His hand at work. I don't, for one second, believe that anything, and I mean anything, happens by chance. I don't believe it's luck, karma, happen stance, or the planets or stars lining up. No, it's simply God. It's providental timing. But we don't see it because we are too busy counting minutes and planning. We are too concerned with our timelines that we are blind to seeing His hand in every moment of our lives. But sometimes, time slows down and you become aware of His movement. You begin to see Him working and you start to pay attention to it. That way, when time speeds up, you learn to intentionally look for it. Keep your eyes open to see how He does things in a certain manner.
On occasion, things come up that I just don't want to do. I don't want to go there, discuss that, be involved in that manner, but I don't have a choice. Now, don't get me wrong. I fully believe that God is a God of free will. We make our own chocies. But He knows me well, and He knows that there are certain situations in which I'd like to remove myself. He knows that, if given a way out, I'll most likely take it. I'm always praying to be challenged and stretched, and so He is faithful to answer that request, and some times, the way He chooses to answer is by limiting my options. And so I've been given one of those opportunities.
Tomorrow, I lead my Sunday school class, a class full of "single adults" (or young professionals, as we like to call ourselves) over 1 Peter 3. "Wives, be submissive to your husbands..." That's right, I, of all people, will be discussing marriage with a group of unmarried people. And so this is one of those things I did not want to do. For many, many reasons, I did not want to even cover this passage of scripture. So I had a few options I could: A.) Fake an illness and not be there tomorrow B.) Just skip over this lesson and go to the next one C.) Ask someone else to teach it or D.) Just lead the class as I would any other time. So, after weighing my options, I decided that D was the best one. Do I think it's strange that, for the first Sunday in October I would be given this lesson to teach? Do I think it just so happened to fall on this date for no reason? Does it seem odd that I would be the one who would be challenged to lead this lesson? No, no and no. This is most certainly not by chance.
And so, I sat down this morning in my pajamas and began to prepare for this lesson. As I read over this familiar passage, I just prayed and asked that the Lord would show me how to do this. Because, here's the absolute truth, I feel like a hypocrite sitting in front of 40 some-odd friends delivering them scriputre over marriage. I feel a tad bit like a fraud instructing them on how to live out a Godly marriage. And don't think for a minute that I've not been highly concerned about how they may take this information coming from me. They know. They know my story. They know the path I've walked. They've heard me say it week in and week out and this is no surprise to them. So what's a girl to do? What am I supposed to say? But, with every challenge, God has given me exactly what I've needed to successfully make it through. He has equipped me and helped me each and every time, and this time is no different.
And so my heart rejoiced as I read over the scripture. He reminded me of the past year and all that we've been through together. He reminded of the lessons I've learned and of the perspective I've gained. He brought to my mind truth, and my heart was encouraged as I realized that this is happening for a reason. This isn't "bad luck" on my part. No, this is a growing opportunity. A chance to share what I've learned, what He has taught me. And, I'll say that I am actually looking forward to it. Becuase 1 Peter 3 encompasses a lot more than what you think. This passage has deeper meaning than one might realize by skimming over the ancient wisdom printed on thin pages. And so I think that's why He's doing this. I think that's why the timing happened to fall this way. Because He knew I could do it. He knew I needed to. He knew that I, of all people, would read into the way I am reading into it. And had I never walked through what I've been through, I would see this passsage in a different light. I would skim over it, nod my head in agreement because I felt I was supposed to, and move on. But we won't do that tomorrow. We won't avoid it, rather, we'll dig in deeper, open our eyes to see truth, and be brave. Because some times, that's just what you have to do in life. Be brave, face your challenges head on even when you don't want to, and remember that He never places in anything in front of us that He hasn't already equipped us for.
#267 - Because He equips us for our challenges long before we ever face them.
"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever." - Hebrews 13:20-21
God's timing is divine. Always. In fact, I've witnessed His divine timing over and over again. Things have happened at just the "right time" that there was no mistaking it was His hand at work. I don't, for one second, believe that anything, and I mean anything, happens by chance. I don't believe it's luck, karma, happen stance, or the planets or stars lining up. No, it's simply God. It's providental timing. But we don't see it because we are too busy counting minutes and planning. We are too concerned with our timelines that we are blind to seeing His hand in every moment of our lives. But sometimes, time slows down and you become aware of His movement. You begin to see Him working and you start to pay attention to it. That way, when time speeds up, you learn to intentionally look for it. Keep your eyes open to see how He does things in a certain manner.
On occasion, things come up that I just don't want to do. I don't want to go there, discuss that, be involved in that manner, but I don't have a choice. Now, don't get me wrong. I fully believe that God is a God of free will. We make our own chocies. But He knows me well, and He knows that there are certain situations in which I'd like to remove myself. He knows that, if given a way out, I'll most likely take it. I'm always praying to be challenged and stretched, and so He is faithful to answer that request, and some times, the way He chooses to answer is by limiting my options. And so I've been given one of those opportunities.
Tomorrow, I lead my Sunday school class, a class full of "single adults" (or young professionals, as we like to call ourselves) over 1 Peter 3. "Wives, be submissive to your husbands..." That's right, I, of all people, will be discussing marriage with a group of unmarried people. And so this is one of those things I did not want to do. For many, many reasons, I did not want to even cover this passage of scripture. So I had a few options I could: A.) Fake an illness and not be there tomorrow B.) Just skip over this lesson and go to the next one C.) Ask someone else to teach it or D.) Just lead the class as I would any other time. So, after weighing my options, I decided that D was the best one. Do I think it's strange that, for the first Sunday in October I would be given this lesson to teach? Do I think it just so happened to fall on this date for no reason? Does it seem odd that I would be the one who would be challenged to lead this lesson? No, no and no. This is most certainly not by chance.
And so, I sat down this morning in my pajamas and began to prepare for this lesson. As I read over this familiar passage, I just prayed and asked that the Lord would show me how to do this. Because, here's the absolute truth, I feel like a hypocrite sitting in front of 40 some-odd friends delivering them scriputre over marriage. I feel a tad bit like a fraud instructing them on how to live out a Godly marriage. And don't think for a minute that I've not been highly concerned about how they may take this information coming from me. They know. They know my story. They know the path I've walked. They've heard me say it week in and week out and this is no surprise to them. So what's a girl to do? What am I supposed to say? But, with every challenge, God has given me exactly what I've needed to successfully make it through. He has equipped me and helped me each and every time, and this time is no different.
And so my heart rejoiced as I read over the scripture. He reminded me of the past year and all that we've been through together. He reminded of the lessons I've learned and of the perspective I've gained. He brought to my mind truth, and my heart was encouraged as I realized that this is happening for a reason. This isn't "bad luck" on my part. No, this is a growing opportunity. A chance to share what I've learned, what He has taught me. And, I'll say that I am actually looking forward to it. Becuase 1 Peter 3 encompasses a lot more than what you think. This passage has deeper meaning than one might realize by skimming over the ancient wisdom printed on thin pages. And so I think that's why He's doing this. I think that's why the timing happened to fall this way. Because He knew I could do it. He knew I needed to. He knew that I, of all people, would read into the way I am reading into it. And had I never walked through what I've been through, I would see this passsage in a different light. I would skim over it, nod my head in agreement because I felt I was supposed to, and move on. But we won't do that tomorrow. We won't avoid it, rather, we'll dig in deeper, open our eyes to see truth, and be brave. Because some times, that's just what you have to do in life. Be brave, face your challenges head on even when you don't want to, and remember that He never places in anything in front of us that He hasn't already equipped us for.
#267 - Because He equips us for our challenges long before we ever face them.
"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever." - Hebrews 13:20-21
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