A conversation with a friend last night led to a couple more timely reminders, such as Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer, and the well-known passage on acceptance in AA's Big Book that I have added to the end of this post.
The wording is a little different than the reminders I wrote about in my previous post, but the message is the same. God is in control, and I need to trust Him instead of trying to do things my way. And I am trying, really I am, to let go and abandon myself to what He is doing in my life instead of trying to get Him to bless my attempts to make things happen the way I think they should.
My perspective is so limited. Only He sees the whole picture and knows the end from the beginning, which puts Him in a far better position than I am to know what really is best.
Just the other day I was shedding tears while sharing the frustration I was feeling over an ongoing financial trial with a friend and asking her why God was not providing a way out of it as He had always been faithful to do in the past.
She had no answers, but the next day and the day after, some timely reminders (and answers to my question) popped out at me from the pages of a couple of devotionals I had been reading during my early morning quiet time with the Lord.
I'm jotting them down here to help etch them a little more firmly in my mind, but also in hopes they will encourage someone else as well who might be feeling as dejected as I had been the day of my friend's visit.
1. Whatever you allow to captivate your mind will rule your life. Will it be the truths in God's Word, or the lies of Satan?
2. Resist the devil and refuse to surrender to the circumstantial pressure he brings your way.
3. God's ability is not limited by your inability.
4. Though trials are not pleasant, and we may not be able to understand the why, we can trust that God is in control and thank Him for the good things we anticipate He will bring about, in His perfect time, through this unpleasant bit of life.
5. Instead of trying to get God to do this or that, try to adjust to what He is already doing, and give yourself fully to the adventure of each day.
6. Rather than try to maintain control over your life, abandon yourself to God's will, knowing that Jesus is walking right beside you.
7. Jesus is your Shepherd, and He is taking care of you, so you don't have to be afraid of anything.
And last, but not least, some words of wisdom from Dennis J. DeHaan:
That was a very timely verse in a very timely post I recently read on my blog friend Lucinalva's blog. She was writingabout how this world is a very stressful place, and how essential it is to learn (from the example set by Jesus) how to maintain balance and respond correctly in the face of challenges.
I was feeling really traumatized by my lack of control over the many things not going my way, not being able to get people (or robots) do what I wanted them to, and making a lot of assumptions that more often than not turn out to be wrong.
There is a two-word remedy, which I am trying to remember to apply--LET GO!
When I focus on the present, remind myself that God is in control and working things out according to His perfect plan, and trust the outcome to Him, He fills my heart with His peace that surpasses understanding even if things don't look as though they are heading the way I think they should.
Peace feels so much better than being right or having my own way, but I can't have it unless I let go.
A very timely verse in one of my devotionals this morning.
Despite reading/listening to Unoffendable by Brant Hansen multiple times and believing I had finally mastered the message, I had not.
The last couple of days I had been struggling with anger. No, it was more than that. It was rage triggered by two deceitful people who managed to push all my buttons I didn't think were left to push. And then as the intensity of feelings escalated beyond boiling point, I realized there was much more behind it than the incidents that had sparked it. It was like a dam had broken deep beneath the surface and my mind was being flooded by intense feelings that had been repressed for too long. Scary insight for someone who thought they no longer had any anger towards anyone, and had forgiven and let go of all wrongs from the past.
I prayed, but my prayers did not calm me, and I was unable to stay focused on the project I had been working on, so I turned to some mindless paperwork and something I could listen to while doing it. Maybe some praise and worship music.
The first thing that came up when I went to YouTube was this livestream of a service at First Baptist Atlanta. It started with praise and worship, but what finally managed to calm me was Dr. Anthony George's message--"Our Plans in God's Hands."
It came with words that felt were being spoken right to me--RELEASE THEM TO GOD!--near the end of the message, when Pastor George was talking about how we can't control people, circumstances, or Satan.
He mentioned a book that had recently caught his eye, which he purchased and read, called "Let Them" by Mel Robbins (which I have just ordered from the library, and am number 257 in queue). "Let them" referring to the fact that we can't control what other people do, or their attitudes or mindsets. We need to release them to God, and let them sow their seeds and reap their crops.
I went to bed feeling great peace that night, but when I woke up the next morning, instead of my usual first thoughts of the day which tend to be, "Thank you, God, for the gift of this new day and for watching over me and protecting me while I slept," the very first thought was of one of the people who had enraged me the most, and the incident that provoked it.
My remorse was profound, but God in His infinite mercy and grace, instead of rebuking me, reminded me of Matthew 5:44-45 and Romans 12:14, and laid it on my heart to pray for the person, which I did.
At first it was really hard, because we were in a power struggle over an issue that I had the right to but he was defying, and there was no way I could force him to do what I wanted him to do. But as I kept praying and purposing to trust God and relinquish my need to be right and desire to be in control and have my own way, my heart softened towards him, I gradually began seeing things from a different perspective, and there was true calm when I finallly reached the place where I could no longer see why I had been so angry with him in the first place.
Over the last several weeks I've been trying to live the life Brant Hansen writes about in his books Unoffendable, and Life is Hard. God is Good. Let's Dance. I've been trying to relax and stay focused on the present, trusting that God is sovereign and in control, and acknowledging that the future is His department--not mine.
It has been a much more relaxing way to live, but when things look particularly hopeless, it's been hard not to project and fall into old patterns of imposing limitations on myself and thinking I have to do this or I have to do that. Maybe I don't.
Thankfully, the Lord does not allow me to flounder for long. He has been so patient and longsufferng, sending me encouragement in unexpected ways when I need it the most. A verse in my Bible, a text from a friend, a blog post--even a license plate. Today it was through one of my devotionals that I opened up to a large, bold print heading--Don't Look At The Storm.
The word I picked out for the new year was "Balance."
My church begins each year with 21 days of prayer and fasting, and after a very stressful and overwhelming 2025, I was looking forward to kicking off 2026 with a peaceful time of prayer and devotions that would set the tone for the days to come. This is not, however, the way it played out.
Right from the get-go, I was bombarded by unexpected frustrations and disappointments at things that didn't turn out as I had hoped they would. Instead of peace and balance, I felt rattled and thrown off course.
I wrote a post about it on my other blog (Thanking God for Being so Patient and Longsuffering), so no need to go into it again here, except to say that the Lord, in His infinite mercy and grace, used those days of stress and turmoil to reveal some better words for me to focus on such as patience, trust, and unoffendability, all of which can lead to the peace and balance I so desire.
I love what Mary, from Visits With Mary shared on her blog about how she had been humming the old Frank Sinatra song, "I did it my way," when she heard the Lord put the words in her heart, "You should've been doing it MY way--blessings would have been more abundant."
God used those words to remind me that His ways are not my ways, nor His thoughts my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). All the frustrations and fears that had rattled me were just tests. They would not have been able to affect me the way they did had I been resting in Him and trusting in His sovereign plan instead of focusing on my own expectations.
"Don't project," I felt Him speaking to my heart, "I know the end from the beginning, and am in total control."
As I sat down in my little prayer corner to do my daily devotions, I spotted a folded paper that had mysteriously appeared on top of my journal. Curious to know what it was, I unfolded it and found a three-page prayer a friend had e-mailed me for my birthday back in 2014 (almost 12 years ago).
How it got there I do not know, but the timing was perfect. More perfect than on the day she sent it to me so long ago.
Among other things, it contained a link to a song sung by Israel Houghton. It was a song that led hope to arise even though things were looking pretty bleak and hopeless in the natural.
My daily devotional offered further encouragement and confirmation of my friend's long forgotten prayer.
It started out with a question that described my feelings to a T: "Perhaps today you feel less than holy, worthy, or useful...but God can transform what is lowly to be of great use to Him, if only you are willing." Followed by a reminder that despite my age, I am still a valuable work of God in progress, designed to become stronger in faith and in wisdom so I can become the blessing to others He intended me to be.
I am willing, and as I stand on the cusp of this new year, I do so with faith and hope. I choose to let the old year rest, and look forward with great expectancy to what the Lord is about to do in 2026.
I'm a mom, grandma, and great-granny, who enjoys encouraging others by sharing the message of God's love for them, as well as the awesome ways He has worked in my life. Despite my age, I am still a work in progress.
First impressions can be wrong. What seems like an omen of death is just the beginning of a journey from fear to unexpected joy.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE BOOK (available from Amazon in paperback or for Kindle). OR, you can double click on the picture to read or download it.
SINCERELY WRONG: An Improbable Journey
This book is my testimony. It is a story of the search for roots, purpose, and significance that led me to embrace New Age and ocult doctrines, and of the improbable journey that led me from the occult to Christianity at a time when I was convinced that I had all the answers and was no longer seeking.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE BOOK (available in paperback or for Kindle). OR, you can double click on the picture to read or download it.
IT IS WRITTEN!
An invaluable resource that can help point you to passages you don't know where to find when you need them the most. Crucial Scriptures are topically organized according to everyday issues, so as to provide immediate guidance and support in the midst of whatever situation you may be facing. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE BOOK (available in paperback or for Kindle). OR, you can double click on the picture to read or download it.
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