Exodus 14:13-14

 

Don't be afraid, just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Lord himself will fight for you, just stay calm.  

 There always comes a time of elimination.
The earth sheds each year.
The trees and flowers let go of their identity.
As the old identity dies, a new identity is born.
The body sheds constantly.
Some of it happens invisibly; so naturally
and silently that we do not realize it is happening.
The heart and the spirit also shed.
They shed the emotions and experiences that we no longer need.
They shed the things that stunt our growth.
This, too, is an invisible process.
Yet because of the energy involved, the emotional energy,
we often feel the emotional and spiritual shedding; 
it feels as if we are dying.
We are.
Just like the flowers and the trees,
we are dying to an old identity.
This shedding, or death, is not the end of us,
 it is the beginning..

Luke 22:42
Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours (always) be done.

The devotion for January 31, 2012
Trusting God through emotional trails.
That's the title.
Growing into a mature Christian takes time.
It doesn't happen overnight.
It's a process.
Little by little,
one experience after another,
God tries us and tests us.
He tests our emotions,
this helps us grow.
Difficult situations stir up emotions.
We see how unstable we are.
How in need we are of a Saviour.
How we cannot go through life alone.
especially with the hard stuff.
The night before Jesus' death he begged God,
"take this cup from me"
He was going through the hardest trial.
He didn't want to die,
but he looked past his emotions,
and said,
"not my will, but your will be done."
God's will.
Not ours, no matter what we are feeling.
God knows best.
You can make it through any trial,
with God.
Jesus wasn't led by his feelings,
we don't need to be either.
When God tests your emotions, seize the moment.
Let the experience change you.
Let it grow you.
Trust God with it.
God can bring peace and confidence
to any situation.
He purposes don't always make sense to us.
But He knows best.
I trust God more than I trust myself.
And i'm thankful for my challenges,
it has made me the woman that I am.
"Not my will, but the Lord's will."
He loves you.