This has been a good week for me, especially as I learn more about God and the truth of Who He is. I have been preparing for the new Bible study that starts next week. It is based on the book Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George. It's been a challenging and exciting study that has pushed me in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. As I've worked through the material, I've come to understand that I haven't always thought the truth about God. For me, it was knowing the difference between the fact that God is faithful and that God is reliable. They really are two very different aspects of His character. I had always focused on the faithfulness of God. He is faithful to hear and answer my prayers. He is faithful to provide for my needs. His Word is true and faithful as I find comfort and strength in scripture. I could go on about how God has been faithful and continues to be faithful, to me and to others.
But God is also reliable. It may seem like a small distinction, but for me, coming to this truth about God has been huge. My parents divorced when I was in the 3rd grade and my father was an alcoholic. I could never rely on him for anything. I couldn't count on him to be present at school functions. And if he did show up, I couldn't trust that he would be sober. Weekends with him were full of broken promises and disappointments. Even when I got married, he couldn't take the time to go get measured for his tuxedo. He (or someone else, probably his wife) just called in the measurements and then complained when it didn't fit him properly. I learned to have no expectations and placed little value in his words.
Last week, I watched another DVD by Michelle McKinney. She was talking about the relationship we have with our earthly father compared to the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father. And she made this statement: This (my relationship with God) is not that (my relationship with my dad). This is not that....this is not that....this is not that.....this is not that.....this is not that. It echoed in my head. Oh my word....my heart was breaking as I realized that I was, in small, quiet, unknowing ways, projecting my dad's unreliability onto God. I hadn't fully been trusting God as I should because I wasn't seeing Him as reliable. Even though I believe God is faithful, I haven't been fully depending on Him. No wonder there are areas in my life where I struggle or situations that seem impossible.
He has been lovingly and graciously proving to me His reliability. I have had an ongoing dialogue with God about a certain situation and the proper way to approach it. So yesterday in my prayer time I said to God, "Okay, I'm relying on You to show me the path and provide the plan. I will not take matters into my own hands. I will depend on You for this." And wouldn't you know, today He gave the answer. And it's a good one! And He provided the means! So I'm learning day by day to see Him as dependable. I'm focusing on the truth of Who He is and not on my own thoughts or feelings.
One simple phrase....."this is not that".......it's amazing the things God uses!
But God is also reliable. It may seem like a small distinction, but for me, coming to this truth about God has been huge. My parents divorced when I was in the 3rd grade and my father was an alcoholic. I could never rely on him for anything. I couldn't count on him to be present at school functions. And if he did show up, I couldn't trust that he would be sober. Weekends with him were full of broken promises and disappointments. Even when I got married, he couldn't take the time to go get measured for his tuxedo. He (or someone else, probably his wife) just called in the measurements and then complained when it didn't fit him properly. I learned to have no expectations and placed little value in his words.
Last week, I watched another DVD by Michelle McKinney. She was talking about the relationship we have with our earthly father compared to the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father. And she made this statement: This (my relationship with God) is not that (my relationship with my dad). This is not that....this is not that....this is not that.....this is not that.....this is not that. It echoed in my head. Oh my word....my heart was breaking as I realized that I was, in small, quiet, unknowing ways, projecting my dad's unreliability onto God. I hadn't fully been trusting God as I should because I wasn't seeing Him as reliable. Even though I believe God is faithful, I haven't been fully depending on Him. No wonder there are areas in my life where I struggle or situations that seem impossible.
He has been lovingly and graciously proving to me His reliability. I have had an ongoing dialogue with God about a certain situation and the proper way to approach it. So yesterday in my prayer time I said to God, "Okay, I'm relying on You to show me the path and provide the plan. I will not take matters into my own hands. I will depend on You for this." And wouldn't you know, today He gave the answer. And it's a good one! And He provided the means! So I'm learning day by day to see Him as dependable. I'm focusing on the truth of Who He is and not on my own thoughts or feelings.
One simple phrase....."this is not that".......it's amazing the things God uses!
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