Glorifying God in My Unique Path
My husband is a great preacher. Since moving to Alabama in August, I have been blessed to hear him preach more often and I love hearing his skill develop and to see how God uses him as a teaching pastor at our church.
Today was no exception; I felt that God used him greatly to speak to my heart in this season. Will taught on John 21, which is where (resurrected) Jesus calls out to the disciples in the boat while fishing, Jesus and Peter eat together and Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him, and where Jesus forewarns Peter the cost of following Christ (his death).
This is where it REALLY hit me:
"Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
We can't compare our lots with others. God has asked us to follow him, and that will mean different paths for each of us. Specifically, some families God calls to adoption will have quick, painless adoption journeys while others (ours) seems to drag on and on!
Also, in Hebrews 11 we can see how God uses different paths to get glory:
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Sometimes God will use us for his glory by having the mouths of lions shut, the quick adoption process, the miracles of paperwork being found at the right time.... and sometimes God will choose to receive glory through the long waits, the barriers to be clawed through, and the trials to seem endless. God isn't less glorified in the different paths! He is working in both seasons.
I was a bridesmaid this weekend for a dear friend's wedding, and the pastor preached from Habbakuk as a reminder that their marriage is rooted in Christ, even in the hard seasons to come. It was a beautiful picture of the gospel and it seems fitting to share it today:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
Habakkuk 3: 17-19
Praise God for being my joy and for the security of salvation! He ordains our steps and I must CHOOSE to give him glory when the "fruit is not on the vines" and for giving me a specific path for His glory. Our case manager last week told us that our case was "unique"- they had not experienced a family being "skipped" over like this before. Instead of being angry or envious, I should be glad that the Lord would use this to build my faith and glorify His name in a "unique" situation.
As always, thank you friends for praying alongside us!
Today was no exception; I felt that God used him greatly to speak to my heart in this season. Will taught on John 21, which is where (resurrected) Jesus calls out to the disciples in the boat while fishing, Jesus and Peter eat together and Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him, and where Jesus forewarns Peter the cost of following Christ (his death).
This is where it REALLY hit me:
"Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
We can't compare our lots with others. God has asked us to follow him, and that will mean different paths for each of us. Specifically, some families God calls to adoption will have quick, painless adoption journeys while others (ours) seems to drag on and on!
Also, in Hebrews 11 we can see how God uses different paths to get glory:
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Sometimes God will use us for his glory by having the mouths of lions shut, the quick adoption process, the miracles of paperwork being found at the right time.... and sometimes God will choose to receive glory through the long waits, the barriers to be clawed through, and the trials to seem endless. God isn't less glorified in the different paths! He is working in both seasons.
I was a bridesmaid this weekend for a dear friend's wedding, and the pastor preached from Habbakuk as a reminder that their marriage is rooted in Christ, even in the hard seasons to come. It was a beautiful picture of the gospel and it seems fitting to share it today:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
Habakkuk 3: 17-19
Praise God for being my joy and for the security of salvation! He ordains our steps and I must CHOOSE to give him glory when the "fruit is not on the vines" and for giving me a specific path for His glory. Our case manager last week told us that our case was "unique"- they had not experienced a family being "skipped" over like this before. Instead of being angry or envious, I should be glad that the Lord would use this to build my faith and glorify His name in a "unique" situation.
As always, thank you friends for praying alongside us!
Beautiful!
ReplyDelete~Jessica