"Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!"
Psalms 37:1-7
A year ago, I confessed how I lived in doubt over whether God would see and give me the desires of my heart, even though He had confirmed these desires over and over again. After my confession, I still struggled to hope. I have seen my hopes dashed many times when I put hope in things instead of God, so I wanted to guard my heart. Even still, in the weakness of my faith and trust, there have been so many miracles. Not even half of it was how I expected it to happen, and I'm not even in China yet, but I have tasted and seen His providence.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!"
Psalms 37:1-7
A year ago, I confessed how I lived in doubt over whether God would see and give me the desires of my heart, even though He had confirmed these desires over and over again. After my confession, I still struggled to hope. I have seen my hopes dashed many times when I put hope in things instead of God, so I wanted to guard my heart. Even still, in the weakness of my faith and trust, there have been so many miracles. Not even half of it was how I expected it to happen, and I'm not even in China yet, but I have tasted and seen His providence.
I used to look at others, and envy the miracles they had, I would pray that I could have miracles like them. I'm laughing now, because I act like such a child. Notice that's not past tense. I still act like such a silly child, proud, willful, envious, unrestrained. Despite all of this, God has blessed me beyond my imagination, God has moved mountains for me, God has encouraged me and sustained me in hard days and good days. He is the most High, most Faithful God. That's who He is, regardless of who I am.
So my challenge for the next month and a half, and even beyond that: to live in faith that all the details will work according to His plan, and not to stress out or further doubt just because there are a few more things that must be done. "To live in full faithfulness." My challenge for you: live in full hope that God will fulfill the God-given desires of your heart, with full faith that it will be according to his plan. Don't be like me; don't envy. Don't compare. His timing is beyond us, the ups and downs we take are to build us up, not to tear us down.
