The Wisdom of Depending on God

This was my devotion today from christianwomentoday.com.
Pretty sure it was written just to encourage me today
:-).... but I felt like I needed to post this in case any of you can also relate.
~
Frustration and even anger can play at the edge of our hearts when it seems that
God does not hear us nor rescue us in situations as we think He should.

We begin to pray less. � We find our hearts have quit expecting anything from
God. Trust in His goodness can melt away in the heat of our struggle and God's
silence.

Countless Christians have experienced their prayers erode to a trickle of empty
words of habit or panic button prayers. Some lose faith when life's hard
circumstances make no sense and God fails to intervene as they think He should.
Others simply get too busy to bother. Many experience feeling let down and
disappointed by the church or other Christians and paint God with the same
brush.

It's easy to begin depending on our own best thinking when we lose heart in
expecting God to answer our prayers. Trusting God, when our path in life grows
muddy, is not an easy task. The mud of weariness, busyness and hurt can cause us
to trip and even fall. We wonder how we will ever get up again. Faith can feel
like a thread that threatens to break.

Trusting God with your life, even when it makes no sense to you, is to choose to
grab hold of the pearl of wisdom. As Christian women we know the vital
connection prayer is to our God, yet we can let it slip away from fingers muddy
from falling. We must be deliberate in choosing to cling to it. There is great
wisdom and reward in depending on our God even in the silence.

Maintaining that vital connection to God in prayer is a choice. Step by step,
through the fog on our pathway, we can choose to trust that God has our best
interest at heart and lean on His strength to get us through our day... or ...
we choose to shrug Him off with little expectation and lean wearily on our own
understanding.

When we live our lives with prayer on the fringe we are really telling God that
we don't trust Him. Often with our lips we declare trust but with our lives we
show that we really don't believe He will see us through. Ask yourself the hard
questions...

* Do I really trust God to have my best interest at heart?

* Do I really believe He will strengthen me today to walk where I need to
walk...even in the dark and the silence?

Choose to increase your trust in God and to bring prayer into focus from the
fringe of your life. These steps will help you firmly grasp that treasured
pearl...and you will discover the wisdom of depending on God. Choose to TRUST.

* T - Thanks

Thank God for the things He has done in your past. Go back as far as you need
to.

Begin to chart His track record in your life. Ask Him to remind you of times
past when He was there for you. Then find something in your life today to be
grateful for. Living thankfully is God's will for your life.

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus"(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

* R - Repent

Say you are sorry to God for intentionally allowing things in your heart and
your life that you know would disappoint Him. Having a rebellious heart toward
God's ways in one area of your life can cause your prayers to hit the ceiling in
other areas. Take an inward look and ask for God's help in changing attitudes,
thoughts, motives and actions that need a correction.

"If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened: but God
has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer" (Psalm 66:18 & 19).



* U - Unify

Unify broken relationships. Whether you have offended someone or have been
offended, God leaves the ball in your park to seek restoration. If restoration
isn't possible give God the broken pieces and ask Him to root resentment out of
your heart. Bringing peace to fractured relationships brings blessing.

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God"
(Matthew 5:9).

* S - Share

Share the journey. When times are tough and trust wears thin, find a friend to
pray with you and for you. Tell someone your struggle and ask her to walk with
you awhile on the road of life. Getting help in our weakness leads to healing
and to power in praying.

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James
5:16).

* T - Take time

Take time to spend with God. If your heart is dry set aside some time to listen
to praise music and use the words of the songs as prayers from your heart. Till
up the ground that has become hard from the worries of life. Learn to spend time
in the presence of the Lord and find refreshing beyond what you can imagine.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in
whom I trust" (Psalm 91:1 & 2).

Depend on God in new ways today. Trust Him... even in the silence and in the
dark. The wisdom of depending on God will bring results in your life that will
surprise you.

"My God, in whom I trust"... with expectation!