Handing in My Resignation

"Resignation to the will of God is the whole of piety; it includes in it all that is good; and is a source of the most settled quiet and composure of mind." Joseph Butler

This is just one thing I have read this week that spoke to my stubborn heart. Those of you who know me well, know how I have been struggling with the fact that I will soon be having to work, outside the home, really for the first time since I got married. This July would have been 30 years of marriage for Dale and I. He was always the provider, and I liked it like that. Now with him gone, it is time for me to earn a living. Yet, this week the Lord really has been working in my heart, and it has been good. The following sums it up, in an email I sent to a friend this morning.

This has been a week of very specific learning at our Saviors hand, as He as been gently trying to break me of my resentment and fear of having to work. Each day He has shown me how to release one more finger on my tightly clenched fist. Contentment, resignation, faith, trust, seeing His will as good.

As I read Ps 33 this morning, these words hit me between the eyes; 'For the word of the Lord is upright; and all His work is done in faithfulness.' All His work, not just part, even the afflicting works. I pulled out my commentary on the Psalms by Spurgeon, and found words to hang my hat on.

'Let us not present old worn out praise, but put life and soul, and heart, into every song, since we have new mercies every day, and see new beauties in the work and word of our Lord.' I have been singing with worn out praise, and often ignoring the new mercies.

'Whatever God has ordained must be good, and just, and excellent. There are no anomalies in God's universe, except what sin has made; His word of command made all things good...God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, acts with a hand which never fails.'

All He has done, and is doing in my life is good, and just, and excellent, if I see it through His eyes. I don't always like what He has done, is doing, but He has never asked me to collaborate on what is best for me. All He has asked is that I trust His faithfulness, and sing. With joy!

Letting go. Letting God be God. Accepting His will, and shutting up; no murmuring, no complaining, just praise, lots of praise.



Below is a song that I really like, that continues with this thought. I hope it encourages your heart.

To Droop or not to Droop...

" We should all endeavor and labor for a calmer spirit, that we may the better serve God in praying to Him and praising Him; and serve one another in love, that we may be fitted to do and receive good; that we may make our passage to heaven more easy and cheerful, without drooping and hanging the wing. So much as we quiet and cheerful upon good ground, so much we live, and are, as it were, in heaven." Rev. Richard Sibbs (1577-1635)

...bearing in mind your...
...work of faith...
...labor of love...
...steadfastness of hope...
...with joy...
...to serve the Living and True God.... I Thessalonians 1. 3,6,9

With joy, not droopy wings.

Well Seasoned

I have a cold. I haven't been sick in two years, so of course it has knocked me off my feet the last two days, and it comes on a week where I am preparing for a fair. It's the first time I have ever had a booth of any kind at a fair, I have been really excited, and a bit nervous about it, so why a cold now? I am pretty sure I contracted it while spending 4 1/2 hours in the ER for my dad, on Sunday night. Hospitals are not germ free! But that really isn't the point of this post.

This morning I made my usual cup of tea to sip as I had my devotions. As I was drinking it I realized, that because of my congestion, I couldn't taste the tea. For someone who loves tea, who is trying to make a living selling tea, it was a bit disconcerting to say the least. As I read the scripture passage, I had to grin:

"Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
Let your speech be seasoned with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person." Colossians 4.5,6

My tea was tasteless, not of my own doing, but tasteless none the less. But my life, that is to be another matter.

Yesterday, my neighbor brought me some fresh caught Halibut. We started to chat, and the conversation lead to things of the Lord. "You're a religious woman..." as he shared his heart. I don't know how he knew of my faith, we have never spoken of it before. Perhaps he sees me going to church every Sunday; my prayer is that Jesus is seen in me in all I do and say. Anyway, we spoke of some basic things, nothing too meaty, but after he left I prayed, 'Okay, Lord you have opened the door. Make me always ready to know what to say." And then I read this passage today.

My point is this. Because of being in the Word daily, my life should always be Christ-like. Because of being in the Word daily, my speech should always be seasoned with Christ. Because of being in the Word daily, I should always be ready to know how to respond to anyone I cross paths with. Though my tea was tasteless, my life should always be well seasoned, spicy, peppered with Christ so that I am always at the ready to give an account of what I believe, of Who I believe in.

I know that this cold will not last forever, my taste will come back. I will continue to drink my tea, whether I can taste it or not, just as I will continue to be in God's word so that my life, my words, my actions will always be tasteful.

Glimpses

I love the sound of a lawn mower, it takes me back to a simpler time, when my life was less complicated. A time of running, playing, jumping out of the hay loft into a mound of fragrant straw, swinging on the rope swing in the barn, riding bikes up the little lane, laying under the maple trees and daydreaming.


My life and the lives of loved ones have been whirlwinds of late, and I for one am ready for a get-away, all by myself, no electronics, just some hushed place waiting to refresh my soul. Whether that happens or not, I don't know, because life keeps coming at me some good, some not so good.



All I know is that my God is faithful, even when it may not seem like it. My needs are meet, I am grateful. I have no complaints, though I complain far to often. He is ever present, even when it doesn't feel like it. How often I wish for a tangible, warm body. Yet, He gives companionship when I need it, though not always when I want it.


Fact: Life is hard. Sometimes it stinks, a lot. But even in the midst of the hard and ugly, God always seems to give glimpses of His goodness and glory. That is what keeps me going.

Picture from Google Images