Trust pt 2

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! ~ Psalm 40:4 ESV

REST is the result of a decision to believe God ~ Alex Anderson, Pastor and author. The emphasis isn’t believing in God, but believing Him, taking Him at His Word, and trusting it.

Numerous sermons have been given on being Mary (sitting at Jesus’ feet), and not Martha (working at His feet). We all long to be Mary, free to sit and rest in the blessing of His teaching, but too often we find ourselves working, instead. I will confess, as of late, I haven’t been doing such a good job of resting, or trusting. Instead, I’ve been struggling, striving, and stressing. When God told me to go back to work, the first thing I did was to pull out our budget and figure out how much I needed to earn. If I don’t have to pay for childcare, I only need X amount. But if I do, then I need to make Y amount. Understanding the budget is great, but it shifted the focus from God—how He was going to provide—and put all the emphasis on me—how was I going to do it.

Trust: to have confidence in another; to be secure, to fear nothing for yourself. Rest: to give permission for one to cease from labor in order to recover and collect her strength; to refresh. Jesus calls to us in our Martha-mentality and says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV). Rest. Trust. Sitting. Freedom. Is it really that easy? YES! We can be Mary, even in Martha seasons. We can choose to shift the emphasis and focus from ourselves and put it back on Jesus, allowing Him to teach us.

Father, forgive me for working, for thinking I had to do it all, when You called me to trust and rest in You. Holy Spirit, remind me to rest, because it’s when I’m attentive to Jesus’ words and teachings that I’ll know what He wants me to do and how He wants me to do it. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2017

Trust

But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. ~ Psalm 22:19 NIV

We’ve had more than enough stress to go around. Not just with the move, the anxiety it put on us or our girls, starting over, trying to build new friendships, etc. The latest, is that God called me to trust Him. The irony is that I thought I had been. After all, we did move 1500 miles from home, friends, and community, because He said to. But this challenge was a test of trust and heart—would I law down my desires, my dreams of being a stay-at-home mom and go back to work, as God was saying?

At first, through tears, I said, “Yes, Lord.” And I prepared my resume and began my search. I even scored two interviews. But then I sat down and “counted the cost” of childcare. How much would I have to make to off-set that cost? Brad finally got a job, but it’s not enough to cover all of our bills. As the numbers and questions kept swirling, swirling in my brain, I became overwhelmed, frustrated, heavy-hearted, and plain old mad at God. I demanded an explanation. “Why?! Why did You make us leave everything just to send me back to work? Why?!”

But God.

But negates the former. God is the Creator; He is the beginning and the ending. Out of His love for me, He sent a friend to speak to me. She said, “If I can trust Jesus with my Salvation, surely I can trust Him with my life.” Her words ran around and around in my heart and mind.

Regardless of the circumstances, the budget, and the questions, it boils down to trust. Do I trust God with my life? Or, am I going to hold my and my family’s lives, health, protection, care, and security in my own, very small, hands?

Father, forgive me for thinking I know better than You what’s best for my life and my family. Holy Spirit, remind me of times He helped us in the past and help me to trust Him now and in the future. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2017

#sitdownandwatchthebuffalo

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

~ Psalm 23:5 NKJV

Have you ever been in a season or circumstance where stress or anxiety caused you to say some crazy things? I know we have, and somehow, Brad always hears them and then says, “We should put that on a t-shirt.” The most recent of which I said on Tuesday night and decided it would make the most hilarious t-shirt or hashtag, #sitdownandwatchthebuffalo. Obviously, if you were in the room, it would still sound funny, but I think it’s funnier without the back story.

The back story…

Have you noticed that when reading the Bible, we so easily disregard the back story and then miss out on some of the meat of what God’s trying to teach us?  Growing up, my mom always had Psalm 23 hanging on a wall outside my bedroom door. I’ve read the words so many times; they are a sweet melody to me. But it wasn’t until the past few years that I was hungry to know more—WHY did God say that, WHAT did He mean when He said it, etc. It wasn’t until I really started digging in and uncovering the back story that I realized the beauty and depth of the scripture—any scripture. But like my hashtag, if we don’t sit down and breathe in the sweet aroma of the back story, the deeper meaning, and the deeper layer of truth, then we run the risk of missing the deeper beauty that God was trying to communicate.

Today, I have two challenges for you. 1) Ask God to take your favorite scripture and unpackage it for you. Ask Holy Spirit to open up your understanding. Ask for the back story. 2) Send me your funny out-of-context statement. What would be your hashtag?

©Heather Potts 2017