I Wouldn’t Change a Thing

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all thinks for good, change, God's plan, plan, redemption, trust

I Wouldn’t Change a Thing

 

-“I wouldn’t change a thing”. This is what my father-in-law said about his marriage to my mother-in-law after 50 years.

  “50 years and you would not change one thing?” I wondered silently, “You wouldn’t change the hardships that I remember you reminiscing about? You wouldn’t change difficulties like miscarriages, financial woes, a Christmas where all your gifts were stolen? You wouldn’t change anything?”

  I will admit I was skeptical, at first. I mean, after all, wouldn’t I change some things about my husband and my self’s marriage of 21 years? Wouldn’t I change the struggles that we have faced? Wouldn’t I want a healthier start for us, an easier path? Wouldn’t I change something?  Would I change the struggle that we had that brought our marriage to the brink of extinction back in our fifth year?  Would I change the many moves we have made due to my husband’s call into the ministry? Knowing what I know now, would I really change the ministry struggles that we have faced?

  As I pondered this, I began to realize… I WOULD NOT CHANGE A THING either! But, it’s only because God is so good at what He does. Romans 8:28 says that He works all things out for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He is so good at this promise that my father-in-law and I can look back over incredible hardships and say with every fiber of our being, “I would not change a thing.” How could we? Wisdom has come from previous unwise choices. A trap we have fallen into keeps us from a greater trap years later. Stronger faith comes from seeing God work through incredible hardships in ministry. Trust in God’s provision and being thankful in all circumstances has resulted from financial crisis. Why would I change any lesson that great? When I see the goodness of God and realize how trustworthy He is, how could I possibly be filled with regrets? How could the chains of my past hold me in an endless cycle of ‘what if’? God is so good at what He does! He works all things for my good because I love Him and am called according to His purpose. So, I absolutely would not change a thing!

    Our ultimate example, of course, is Jesus Christ. The Word of God says in Hebrews 12:2, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We see here that Jesus trusted His Father to turn all the horrible injustice of the cross into the ultimate good. Did He enjoy the cross? The Bible says clearly He did not; in fact, He despised it. Yet, He submitted to the process because He knew His father was able to and would turn the ultimate place of suffering into the beautiful place of Redemption that we have today. Jesus is now able to look at the cross which He despised and then look at us, redeemed and righteous through Him and say, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  Think over your own life experiences; maybe it is your marriage, but maybe it’s your job, your family, your health, any area where suffering has occurred. At the starting line we would ALWAYS choose an easier road, but would we now?  Through infertility, an amazing child has been adopted that otherwise would still be in an orphanage. Through bankruptcy, a release of hypocrisy has been born in us and compassion abounds. Through a friend’s betrayal, we now know The Great Physician heals emotional as well as physical pain. Would we really change those lessons?

  Only our God can do this for us. Only our God can take unspeakable heartache, unbelievable adversity, and unjustifiable sin and mold it into a life that we can in all honesty look at and say, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  Trust Him with the hard things in your life. Trust that He can mold all the aches into a beautiful testimony. A testimony that at the end of time when it’s just you and Jesus holding hands looking out at the lives you both led on this earth, you can see Him look at His life of suffering and you can look at yours and you both can then look at God the Father and realize what He has done and say, “we wouldn’t change a thing.”

God’s Faithfulness

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faithfulness, God, Jesus, lovingkindness

Faithfulness

–  I love everything about our God, but His faithfulness blows my mind. Maybe it’s because my “love language” is quality time, maybe it’s because faithfulness is so rare in our world today, but when I meditate on God’s faithfulness, I am overwhelmed with love for Him. He is so amazingly beautiful and His faithfulness reminds me of that.

  I Thessalonians 5:24, says, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass.” We also find in Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God…” These are just two examples of many throughout the Word that reminds us of God’s faithfulness. He is with us, always. He is guiding us, continually. He is faithful.

  Hebrews 13:5 tells us to not covet and be content with what we have because He will never desert us. He will never leave or forsake us. This verse assures us that when we have the Lord (and if we want Him, we have Him) we have no need of anything else. When we have the Lord, He comes with all His power, all His provision and all His character. Of course we can be content with that! His faithfulness allows us to live in freedom of covetousness because we know if it’s what we need in the moment; it is already there with us through Him.

  Another passage that shows us God’s faithfulness is in Luke 7. Here we read about a man named Simon who invited Jesus to his home for a meal. A “sinful woman” barged in, broke a box of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet. You remember she wiped His feet with her hair and continually wept over Him and kissed His feet. Simon’s response was poor and Jesus lovingly corrected him, forgave the woman of her sins and continued on with His ministry.

  As I have been studying this passage lately, what has really stood out to me has not been the woman this time, but Jesus Himself; more specifically, His faithfulness to go wherever He is invited. In Jesus’ response to Simon, He pointed out that Simon did not provide for Him common courtesy in his home. Simon provided no water, no welcome kiss, and no real hospitality. But, Jesus came anyway. Jesus knew these courtesies would not be provided, yet because Simon invited Him, He went. This is our God. If He is invited, He is FAITHFUL to come. I wonder if the other guests were provided water and kisses. Was Jesus the only one ignored? Were others being welcomed in the customary way, but He alone was not? We really don’t know, but what we do know is that Jesus was given nothing for His basic comfort, yet He chose to come anyway.

  This has led me to wonder how often I have invited Jesus somewhere only to not give Him the honor He deserves. How often have I invited Him to a church service only to ignore His prodding? Have I just wanted a miracle and not the Savior? How often have I invited Him to work in a certain area in my life only to disengage with His Spirit at the earliest possible convenience? Have I wanted a show, but not the redemption? How often have I invited Him to ride along with me in my car when all I really wanted was protection, not conviction? But, He was always faithful to go with me, because I invited Him. He knew that I would ignore Him, but he still came. Why? It’s who He is! He is faithful, always. 

    II Timothy 2:13 tells us, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”

   II Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and GOD IS FAITHFUL, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”

   Revelation 19:11a says, “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True;”

   Lamentations 3:22-23, says, “The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Let’s meditate on His faithfulness today and praise Him that His faithfulness does not depend on us. It’s totally Him.  

The Scary Forest

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control, directions, faith, God, guidance, light, roadmaps, steps, ways

The Scary Forest

 

  –Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am what you would call a “roadmap girl”. I like to know what is going to happen, how it is going to happen, with who it is going to happen and any other detail that is possible to know. I like to know every aspect, every angle as far in advance as possible. In fact, a few YEARS ahead of time would be great. Are you getting the picture?

  Did you know that God has refused to hand me the roadmap for the years ahead? GASP! Shocker, isn’t it? He simply doesn’t seem to agree with me that I need to know all the details years in advance.

  So, how do I reconcile these two opposing views? How am I able to rest in the fact that God has the map, the details and the plans to every area of my life and my families’ lives but He is just not sharing them with me? How can I not fret and stew about what’s next?

  First off, it is vital for me to remember that He IS absolutely sure of the way that I take. I might not have the map, but He most assuredly does. Job 23:12, says, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” God is not making this up as I go along. He is not changing His mind midstream about His plans for me. He is not confused, or directionally challenged. He doesn’t even have to check which side of the tree the moss is growing on. Just as He told Jeremiah in chapter 1 verse 5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you…” He has an amazing plan for my life. I need to rest in that.

  Secondly, I must know that His way is the best way. All throughout Scripture I find that His ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30) and He is a GOOD God, full of light and love (I John 1:5, I John 4:7). I need to believe this whole heartedly and as the man cried to Jesus in Mark 9:24 to help his unbelief I need to come to Him when I doubt this. I need to confess my unbelief and claim His faith.

  Third, I must follow. How am I supposed to follow God without a map? I follow the step He shows me. Then, I follow the next step and the next just as the children of Israel in Exodus. When the pillar of cloud moved during the day, they moved. If the cloud didn’t budge, neither did they. They also had the pillar of fire by night to show them the way. God never left them to wander without purpose. Unfortunately, they had to travel the same path a few times, but it was NEVER without purpose. And, He NEVER left them alone. That holds true for me as well. Hebrews 13:5 says, “…He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.’”

   As I was mulling this over, I pictured myself walking along a very narrow, dirt path through a dark forest. I am in my armor as commanded in Ephesians 6, my sword is out, my shield is up and I am following a lantern of light that is swinging in front of me. I can hear strange, blood curdling sounds all around me, but what am I concerned about? I am only concerned about the next step. Sometimes I sense something in the darkness, but I know that if I just continue to follow the light, I will only come into contact with what I am prepared to face. Daniel 2:22, says it this way, “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.” As long as I am close to my Savior, I am close to the light. He sees the dark forest as clearly as I see in the sunlight. I can rest in that. Everything is under His control.

  Sometimes along this path, I do face an enemy; sometimes an obstacle that is obstructing my way. What do I do? I remember Psalm 18:28-29, “For Thou dost light my lamp; The LORD God illumines my darkness. For by Thee I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.” Whether obstacle or trial I am assured that when God allows it, there is a purpose for it. Not only is there a purpose, but there is assured victory through Him. I Corinthians 15:17, says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Why be troubled about the steps I can’t see when I KNOW whatever comes my way must pass through my Savior first? Why be fearful about the noises I hear all around me? The screams in the forest of cancer, sickness, financial ruin, addictions? I can rest in the light of my Guide knowing that if it does come on my path, He will uphold me. When “My foot has held fast to the path; I have kept His way and not turned aside” as Job 23:11 says, I am assured that He will enlarge my steps under me, and that my feet will not slip (Psalm 18:36). This “roadmap girl” can rest in that. This “directional diva” can know most assuredly that He will light my path as needed. I need not worry about the scare tactics in the darkness. I need not worry about which way the moss is growing on the trees. I can rest in the fact that God has my map, He has my direction and He is my light. This “roadmap girl” can then gain the peace that passes all understanding as described in Philippians 4:7 because I KNOW that He has my back. I KNOW He has both sides and I KNOW He is definitely before me, leading and lighting my steps. I don’t even have to have a compass.