One great thing about this past week was that I was able to completely unplug. In other words, no cell phone and no computer. That meant no phone calls, no email, no Twitter, no Facebook, no fantasy basketball, and on and on. It’s rare that I’m really able to do this but when I do, I find the time away from it all very rewarding. It gave me a lot of time to really pray through the last 6 months to see where God was at work in my life. As I blogged a few months back, one of the central ideas that I have been processing and wrestling with over the last year and a half is trust. Last week, I was able to really think through where I’ve been and where I’m currently at in terms of trusting God. I honestly think that I’ve come a long way but still have a long way to go.
As I thought through how to continue to increase my trust, I left with 3 tangible plans. I am committing to these 3 plans and praying that God will use them in my life to increase my capacity to trust him in all things. I am blogging these plans for a couple of reasons. First, to share openly and honestly where I’m at. So many of you have been faithfully praying for Andrea and I the past year and a half. I blog, in part, hoping that my journey will inspire and encourage you in some way. I also continue to covet your prayers as Andrea and I continue to heal. Secondly, I’m blogging these plans so that you can help keep me accountable to them. The first two plans are 6 month deals. I feel like God is calling me to have a specific emphasis in scripture reading for the next 6 months. The third plan will be life long for Andrea and I.
1. To regularly find myself in “trust passages” of scripture. I have started a running list of scripture that speak either of trusting God or God’s trustworthiness. This also includes promises that God has spoken over my life, as well as stories found in scripture where God came through.
2. To regularly find myself in “identity passages” of scripture. As I continue to wrestle with the idea of truly trusting God, I want to continue to remind myself of my God given identity. I am God’s son, he loves me and he’s proud of me. God is my father who wants to give me good gifts.
3. Andrea and I have decided to start placing “ebenezer’s” around our house. Ebenezer means “stone of help” and in scripture, we see Samuel set up an ebenezer stone for the people saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” (1 Sam. 7:12) So Andrea and I have decided that anytime God comes through in a powerful way in our lives, we will dedicate an ebenezer and place it in our house. They will help serve as a reminder of all the ways God has blessed and provided for us. We’re even going to start a journal so that we can write about each ebenezer as we dedicate it. Hopefully, even long after we’re gone, our children will be able to see how faithful our God is.
Those are the three things in regards to trust that I came back from Accelerate with. I pray that God will grow me in the area of trust even more than I can imagine in the next 6 months and beyond.
May 15th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
[...] me, this tattoo is like a permanent ebenezer (which I discuss this this previous post). Every time I see it, I will remember, first and foremost, what a blessing Isaac was to Andrea and [...]