Have you ever read something that made you stop in your tracks? Recently, I read this phrase on a social media meme: “You’re not failing; you’re learning.” It hit me so hard I began to cry because I knew God was speaking to my heart. The omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing) God showed up in my ordinary scrolling.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “God’s grace”? My first thought is “a beautiful, unearned gift of salvation and forgiveness.” But recently, God has begun challenging my long-held belief of grace being a one-time gift we receive when we are saved. Perhaps you also desire more understanding about God’s generous gift of grace.
I have a fear problem.
A couple of years ago, I was in a terrible car accident on a rainy day. I totaled my car and broke my back.
And now I have an unbelievable fear of driving, especially in the rain.
I’ve seen the phrase “Pray like Hannah” written on T-shirts and cups. So, what does that mean? What can we learn about prayer from Hannah?
My biggest question was, “Why God?” But my biggest mistake was allowing my questioning heart, hurt, and anger to distance me from the only One who could direct my steps in dealing with this difficulty.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I do the things I don’t want to do? Unfortunately, for me, it had become a recurrent question. You see, I’d been a Christian for years, decades even. Yet when faced with conflict, I always had a Fight-or-Flight response. I got angry, verbally defended myself, or ran away from the situation or relationship.
Our expectations often lead to disappointment. We expect our life to follow a particular trajectory, but it doesn’t. We expect life to be easy. But it is anything but. So we pray and expect God to answer our prayers the way we think He should, to give us our dreams, and to fulfill our expectations. But He has another plan.
Maybe it’s just me, but, sometimes, I have found myself thinking: “I have been true to my faith. But God, why? How? When will my prayers come to pass? After all, telling myself to have faith and doing this can be two different things. I tend to want God to answer my prayers right away. But I have learned God’s timing, plan, and resolution can often differ significantly from mine. However, the story of Ruth offers me hope. I’ve also learned I don’t always have to know all the answers. God rescues and restores those who put their faith and hope in Him.
Are your fears holding you back? Perhaps they are holding you back from:
Speaking up for yourself
Meeting that person
Applying for a job
Going for the promotion
Taking a trip or adventure
Writing a book
Sharing your faith
t’s easy to imagine that when we become a Christian, our world will become perfect. Or as Katie says in the Dr. Seuss movie Horton Hears a Who, “In my world, everyone’s a pony. And they all eat rainbow’s and poop butterflies.” But unfortunately, this is not the case. Accepting Jesus as our savior means we will one day live with Him for all of eternity, where there is no more pain or tears.
But until we die and go to heaven, we live on Earth, Earth hasn’t been a perfect place since Adam and Eve ate fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Now, sin and death reign over the Earth. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12, NIV).
