obedience Archives - Lauren Sparks

Back in January, I shared my One Word focus for the year. Trust. I knew I lacked trust in our all-powerful God, so His leading in this direction did not surprise me. I trust Him with my eternal salvation but not with the care and keeping of myself and my loved ones. Not truly. It makes no sense, but I have a feeling I’m not the only one.

I have some significant lessons I feel led to share with you, but I confess I’m not sure how to do so. The biggest issue that I pray and plead with God about is not my story alone to tell. So out of respect, I must be vague. I value authenticity and wish I could be completely forthcoming, but I hope you will understand. And I pray the message still comes across. Here goes:

I shared several scriptures on trust in my original One Word post. In the months since, I have been a faithful scribe, copying them in longhand almost every day for meditation and memorization purposes. I have prayed fervently for God to take away this burden of distrust and help me place all the things in His capable hands. And yet I still hold on.

What do I mean by distrust? Uncontrollable shaking every time I got a phone call about the situation. Mini panic attacks (never had those before). Medication to sleep after learning new information. Heavy anxiety. No peace whatsoever. Until God took my knowledge of the issue away.

God must have decided that if I couldn’t release the reigns to Him, He would take away any semblance of control I thought I had. No more new information coming in. No way to assert my opinions or even the truth of God’s Word into the situation. I argued with Him. (Of course, I did.) How will I know when there’s a new development? Who else will speak truth into this mess?

And in His kind way, God whispered, “I will speak truth into the mess.” and “I love them even more than you do.” and “I can handle it.” I confess that this initially caused me additional anxiety. But if I’m honest, I also felt relief. I can’t know. I can’t do. I can only pray and be.

I prayed for God to help me trust Him and He has delivered. Not the way I intended, but he did answer that prayer. He told me in no uncertain terms that he could do this without my help. And in the absence of information, my anxiety has plummeted. God forced my obedience, and I thank Him.

I still pray daily for this situation. And I am under no delusions that said situation will turn out the way I want. But I can have some semblance of rest and peace that God is in control of it. I need not interfere. And in the end, He will make all things right. It’s a promise.

My word for the year is TRUST. And God is forcing me to do so. Praise the Lord!

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God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present^b]”>[^b]”>^b^b]”>] help in trouble.
²Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
³though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Psalm 46:1-3

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up.

Sarah J Cullen for candidlychristian.com made me think about a very familiar scripture in a whole new way in Reconcile Like Jesus. Give it a read and tell me I’m not the only one! Thanks, Sarah.

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate)

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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Let us pray. I just said that in my best preacher voice. But we aren’t that formal around here. In case you’re new to my tribe, I’m inviting you here every Wednesday to pray scripture together over ourselves and our loved ones.

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Today as I thought about Jesus, He impressed Hebrews 5:7-8* on my heart.

During the Days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

The Bible commentary I consulted teaches that Jesus’ ear was open every day to receive instructions from His Father. Therefore my prayer for a loved one is this:

Replace the pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person (or yourself) that you are praying for.

If you are reading this, I am praying for you. And don’t forget to share this on social media or with a friend who could benefit. It would mean so much to me. And if you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word Wednesday, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.