Remember Lot's wife...

I've been doing a 'Bible study' of sorts with She Reads Truth which sends you the Scripture and a reflection in your inbox. Very cool and convenient :) This particular study is about Women in the Bible. Even though I have heard all of these stories before, they seem to have come at a perfect time where I needed to be reminded of them the most.

One of the women I am doing my best to learn from is Sarai, Abraham's wife (later to be known as Sarah). For whatever reason, the Lord made it impossible for her to get pregnant. She and Abram lived their married life without conceiving. And she got tired of waiting on the Lord, so sent her servant Hagar to conceive with Abram so that they could have a son to carry on their family. Now, this isn't really the typical way things happen these days, but much can be learned from this situation. Because in the end, Hagar was resentful toward Sarai and no one was really happy with what happened. It was just bad news. Eventually Hagar and her son even got sent into the desert... but that is more to the story you can read in Genesis! 

So what is my point here? Sometimes we get tired of waiting on the Lord and don't understand what the heck He is doing, so we try to take matters into our own hands. I am guilty of doing this occasionally all the time. I get frustrated, I get tired of waiting to see what He is going to do, and so I try to do things on my own...and let me tell you, it never ends well. So I'm trying to learn from Sarai's impatience and try to be more trusting. But hey, in the end, God still loved Sarah and gave her a son in her old age. Good things come to those who wait! 

The second woman I am learning from is Lot's wife. I can't remember if the poor woman's name was ever mentioned, but almost everyone knows the story of the woman who turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back on her home being destroyed when she was specifically told not to. Even though the Lord saved their family from destruction and called them out of the city, she still looked back. Now typically whole cities these days are not lit up and bombed by the Heavens. But what do Sodom and Gomorrah represent? They represent sin, evil, immorality...all the crap in our past that maybe we are still holding on to. Maybe we look back because we are still struggling, maybe the temptation is too strong for us, maybe we look back because we just aren't ready to let go, and maybe we aren't as strongly focused on the Lord as we should be. Because if we were really walking in trust with Him, we wouldn't want to look back. We would know the Glory that awaits us if we were to keep pressing onward and not look back on our own Sodom and Gomorrah. When He calls us in His mercy from a life of sin, we need to run straight to Him, never looking back. 

"Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it." -Luke 17: 32-33

How to start the New Year

As I was thinking back on this past year, I couldn't help but be reminded of all the horrible tragedies that have occurred, and how the media only portrays all the negative things that happen in our world. I wanted to share this excerpt from a book I am reading called "Jesus Calling: Devotions for Every Day of the Year" by Sarah Young. One of my good friends lent it to me. This one is from December 28:

"I am your Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in trouble. Therefore, you don't need to be afraid of anything- not even cataclysmic circumstances. The media are increasingly devoted to fear-inducing subject matter: terrorism, serial killers, environmental catastrophes. If you focus on such dangers and forget that I am your Refuge in all circumstances, you will become increasingly fearful. Every day I manifest My grace in countless places and situations, but the media take no notice. I shower not only blessings but also outright miracles on your planet.
As you grow closer to Me, I open your eyes to see more and more of My Presence all around you. Things that most people hardly notice, like shifting shades of sunlight, fill you with heart-bursting Joy. You have eyes that see and ears to hear, so proclaim My abiding Presence in the world"

I found this to be extremely powerful and convicting as this year comes to a close. What are you going to do to help others see those small miracles and to find the presence of Christ amidst the darkness of this world? 

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On a personal note, this year has been an incredible journey for me. It began with a week in Nicaragua which touched my heart in such a profound way. Since then, the Lord has only brought me closer and closer to His merciful Heart. He has pursued me every day and has called me to be more in love with Him. Because of my human failings, I have not been able to repay Him in the way that He deserves. But that has not stopped Him from loving me even more. He knows our hearts and our weaknesses. I often beat myself up for being human, but that only means that I need to be more humble and realize that my humanity is a gift that allows me to be 100% reliant on Him. He wants the same from all of His children. He doesn't need us to rely on Him, He wants us. The God of the universe wants you to not carry your burdens alone. He wants to help you!

This upcoming year brings about a lot of change for me. I have no idea where I will be this year, let alone the next month. My decision to drop out of the graduate program is leading me on a journey where the ending is uncertain. There are many things that are unknown. I think it is entirely appropriate that the timing of this comes around the new year. The Lord is bringing me through a much deeper time of reliance and trust in His plan for my life. I may not know what this new year will bring, but I know that the Lord does, and that He will not leave me abandoned or orphaned. My prayer for this new year is that we can all grow a little more in humility and allow the Lord to carry us through 2013 and beyond. If we allow Him to do this, imagine just how much more peace and joy we will have in this upcoming year? Only He can make our lives more whole than we every could have imagined. Yes, there will still be struggles, there will still be times when we fall, but isn't it better to have someone who loves you unconditionally right there to hold you up? Don't go through this year alone. Go through it in the arms of our Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.