Journal Entry ~ 10/28/18

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. - John 2:11

Miracles flow from what we have and they take hard work. When Jesus turned the water into wine, he used the available resources - the stone jars that were found at the wedding. And he asked the servants to fill the jars with water, which was no easy task without indoor plumbing. 

God wants our hearts and investment. God has the power to do anything, but if He was to simply respond to our every request as we pray for it, can you imagine the state of our hearts and our world? God will often take us to the very end of ourselves to recognize His power and glory, to reveal our hearts to us, to submit our will to His as we wait on our miracle to happen. 

God says - I won’t do what only I can do until you do what you need to do.  So many of us are waiting on a miracle to happen, but have we done everything God has called us to do? God calls us to do some hard work in our hearts wait on him to do miracles.  So, if you’re waiting for a miracle like I am, it’s time to lean in and look for where I need to do some more hard work. 

Am I consistently praying for the miracle my heart desires in a humble way?  Sometimes prayer changes things—and sometimes prayer changes me. As I lean in and listen, I start to pray more in line with what God wants than what I want. Prayer is part of the furnace God uses to fabricate His will in our hearts. Praying puts us where He can work on us. That’s why we pray in submission, “Your will be done.”

Submission comes before wide-open prayer. Let’s be honest—many of us ask for silly or selfish things, or maybe we insist on our own way. But God doesn’t rule by committee, so through prayer, we submit and align our wills with God’s. That’s why Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). That’s not an open, unconditional invitation to ask for whatever you want, no strings attached. When you get yourself to a place of true submission to God, you can ask whatever you wish because you won’t ask for dumb stuff. You want what He wants, because your will is submitted to His.

Are we really willing to submit to His every word?  When we hear or read the word of God, are we willing to lay down what we want and pick up what He calls us to do?  He tells us to have no fear, to love and serve others before ourselves, to forgive without condition, to have no other Gods before Him - and that’s just a short list. I don’t know about you, but I still have some work to do in my heart before my miracles start happening. But the beautiful part about our Father in heaven is that He shows us abundant grace and mercy when we recognize our failures, and rushes in to bless our hearts and our lives with miracles upon miracle. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Image
Today was a challenging day.  I met with the oncologist to discuss chemo as part of my treatment plan.  The oncologist explained there were 3 additional invasions discovered during surgery, so there were actually 4 isolated invasions in the breast tissue.  To review - my diagnosis is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  All 4 of the invasions are HER2+ (aggressive) and hormone negative (recurrent).  My oncologist walked us through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCM) guidelines for treatment of this type of aggressive, recurrent cancer - chemo and radiation. The good news is God had already moved the mountain in my heart opposing chemo, and rested me in a place of acceptance.  While my initial prayers focused on not having to have chemo as part of my treatment, after hearing I had multiple invasions, He moved me to a place of understanding that chemo is a necessary part of my treatment.  If there were 4 invasions in the sample they took, there co
Read more

My Journey Begins...

I am a believer in Christ, and I have breast cancer.     On August 17, 2017, I was diagnosed with an aggressive (HER2+), recurrent (hormone negative) type of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  At this point, they have not yet staged my cancer because they are waiting for the biopsy results from a suspicious spot in the second breast. The biopsy is scheduled for September 5th, with a lumpectomy to follow on September 7th.  They will formally stage my cancer after they biopsy my lymph nodes, which will be taken during the surgery.  It doesn't make any sense to me that I have a cancer diagnosis - I am a fairly healthy woman who runs 2 miles almost every day and eats a gluten-free, primarily paleo diet, with no family history at all.  But it makes sense to God, and so here I am. Update ~ They found 4 isolated invasions during the lumpectomy.  Due to the nature of my cancer (HER2+ and ER-), the recommended protocol is chemotherapy and radiation.  Beginning in October, my chemotherapy regime
Read more

Grace in Marriage

When we launched our new blog we had no idea if anyone would see it or be helped by it, but we knew that the LORD was prompting us to step out in faith and just do it. The response has been amazing and we are looking forward to how God will use this space for His glory. We have learned over many years of service in a variety of ministries, that God does not require human assistance to realize His plans for individuals, churches, nations, or the human race. But the story of the bible is the story of God’s will playing out through the words and actions of the His children. So…we pray, meditate on his Word, and write from the heart about the truths that mold our faith, guide our actions, and inspire our hearts and minds. Please visit the site and subscribe to continue receiving posts.  https://graceinmarriage.com/ It is our sincere hope that you are blessed by our work here and welcome your input on how we can make Grace in Marriage even better. Thank you for your support.
Read more