Over At the Well today, the topic is Change. The opportunity is open to reflect on the goodness and faithfulness of God through all (good and bad) times and to share a verse or encouragement for changes.
The Lord has been speaking into my heart about no hesitation. The other day in the grocery store, I saw a girl I had went to school with over 20 years ago. Back then we had a squabble over a boy, but have since retained our friendship. She didn't see me and for whatever reason, I chose not to speak to her. Later, it became evident that I missed an opportunity to minister grace to her. The grace that God has placed in my heart to extend to others. I hesitated and missed out.
Changes are all around us. Our oldest son graduated this spring. It is tempting to stop and think and lament on how fast the time went, how I was not ready to enter a new phase of parenting, etc. But, if I were to hesitate, I would miss the opportunity to walk this new path with him.
Changes will always occur in our lives. We have no control over them. The only thing we can control is how we handle these changes. We can hesitate, flounder, reflect on the past and be unprepared for moving forward. Or, we can embrace the changes by purposefully seeking God each day and submitting to His will for our life. We can follow Him assured that He is in control and that He has our best in line for us, if we will follow His path.
By being prepared in our heart through prayer at the beginning, we can move forward with peace, calmness and purpose that each open door is a divine opportunity from the Lord. A verse that has blessed me numerous times is in Revelation 3 -"These things says He who is holy, He who is true...He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it." God opens doors no man can close and closes doors no man can open. When we face opportunities, we can trust Him.
Change often involves fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of being unprepared, fear of changes and their effects. A verse which was shared in a Sunday School class recently is: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." Psalms 56:3 When we are afraid, we can trust Him.
No hesitation is moving ahead with purpose, peace and direction. It does not mean we know everything ahead of time, nor does it mean that there will never be trials, pain or obstacles. It means that we can trust our Lord to lead us and through each change, trial, circumstance and event, He is with us and we can trust Him.
No hesitation means we can be at peace: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6
No hesitation means we can be filled with joy, peace and hope through the power of the Holy Spirit: Romans 15:13: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." There is no need to hesitate, stall our good works, or be afraid to move forward, because the Holy Spirit will fill us with everything we need, so that we can embrace change - with no hesitation.
hesitation is what often sparks that second thought I believe we all suffer from it
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! I need to live more with no hesitation. I loved how you said we need to "embrace the changes by purposefully seeking God each day and submitting to His will for our life." How true this is!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joyce!
-Ashley
I like this! Thank you.
ReplyDelete