"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
I have received questions of concern due to the country our 5 children are in, and each time I am reminded of what my husband said to me the first time I expressed concern. Chris said, "Darling, God told me we will take care of these 5, and THAT is what we will do." As I read this chapter this morning, it was as if God was speaking to any fear that may have seed in my heart. God said, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Me, Brooke, for I am making your paths straight."
Further in chapter 3, starting with verse 21, we read,
"By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. My son, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."
As I read this, I felt the confidence of the Lord rise up in me as the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. We will go on our way in safety. We will not be afraid.
This brought to mind our Bible memorization from last week, Psalm 23. I'm thankful that 4 years ago God allowed my greatest fear to become reality, then worked through that journey to show me His sovereignty throughout it.
Verse 2 says, "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters." During my preparation journey, there was a stillness and peace that surrounded me, by the grace of God.
Verse 3 says, "he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." He restored broken pieces of my soul. These pieces had been damaged and broken 11 years before, but God used my balding head and a faithful husband who would brush the remaining hairs to restore my soul. He led me down a path of righteousness in teaching me what the Church, the "Body of Christ" is to be. From March to December of 2010, we had a wealth of food, a nicely manicured lawn, a new stove, cleaning supplies, clean laundry, and so on because members of this Body stood in my place and did it all. God purified me from a life of living for the weekend, living for our own prosperity, and "moving up" to a life of standing in someone's place and doing it all. In our adoptions, we will step in the vacant role of "Father" and "Mother", and, as Christ stepped in for each of us, as many stepped in and did what I couldn't during my cancer journey, we will follow their example of righteousness and step into to these roles for His Name sake.
We continue with verse 4 that says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
Friends, no matter the path that God has us on, no matter the shadows in which the enemy has placed pockets of fear to cause us to detour, we are called to fear no evil because God Almighty is with us. This passage begins with "The Lord is my Shepherd." A shepherd's rod was used for discipline and direction, and the Lord, our shepherd offers us both discipline (because the Lord disciplines those He loves) and direction (found in the written Word and through prayer). His word that has set us on our path will keep us on that same path. His rod and His staff will comfort us. God, in the midst of our enemy's schemes prepares a table before us, as He alone provides our needs. And we are anointed and appointed to go forward on the path on which God has set us.
Verse 6 continues, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
I mentioned that this week, we read Proverbs 3, last week we read Psalm 23, and the week before that was Romans 8. So, in reverse order God has led me from Proverbs 3 to Psalm 23 to Romans 8:28, " And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." While we may not think cancer can be good, I beg to differ. If we can wrap up our ugly circumstances, and give them to God. With Him, anything's possible. With God, even cancer can become good. For me it's one of the best things that this fallen world has offered me, because it was a chance for me to see God at work. Today, I see how He prepared me for the fear that is set before us. I've faced my greatest fear, death has lost any sting that it once possessed, and we are going forward on the path that God has set us on. And we have no fear of the area in which He is sending us because the only fear we have is fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+9:10
Join me, won't you? You can join us on our journey, if that's where God is leading you. You can donate to our adoption fund: http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=lusher
Perhaps God is calling you to reach out to adopt. We found our kids on Reeces Rainbow: http://reecesrainbow.org/new-family/thechildren
Or, you can follow God on a journey He has set before you. Perhaps you don't know His plans for you, and you want to. Ask Him. I once didn't have a clue and was so confused, and I gave up trying to figure it out. When I gave it up to God, that's when He showed me things that were far beyond my thinking.