Journal Entry ~ 10/30/18

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

No only do we need to do the hard work God calls us to do before our miracles happen, we also know miracles flow through active faith. 

There was a wine shortage, and Jesus asked the servants to fill the barrels with water. It doesn’t appear as if the people questioned why or challenged Him in any way. They just followed His directions and did what he said.  Then he said bring it to the master. Think about that for a moment. The servant scooped out the water they just placed in the jar, and brought it to the master. What do you suppose was running through His head?  Do you think that servant was thinking the master was going to be angry when he tasted water?

At which point did it change to wine?  When it was scooped out of the barrel? When it was walked over to the master? When it was poured into the cup?  There was no way for the servants to know when it would turn to wine.  But they never hesitated, they just continued to move forward with Jesus’ requests, actively believing that Jesus would somehow make the miracle happen. 

While we are waiting for our miracle to happen, do we trust that it will happen?  We are told in scripture that we can ask for anything according to His will and it will be given to us. Do we truly believe that?    If we did, then why do we still live in fear?

I think we still live in fear because our foundation is wrong. Fear rules our hearts. Fear didn’t rule the servants hearts, courage did. They had the courage to move forward and serve their master, risking possible punishment and discipline, but all the while trusting that Jesus would perform the necessary miracle. 

So where do we get that courage from?  The Word of God. Those of us who have been believers for a long time know this is the simple answer. When the fear overwhelms, we need to turn to the Word of God. But here’s where we go wrong - we start with us, with the problem, and then we try to add God to it. 

Why is it that most Christians are filled with just as much fear as non believers?  We treat the gospel as an add-on. We read God has a hope and a plan for our lives so we add this to how we feel about us. We try to add the word to how we’re managing what’s happening in our life. 

When the fear is overwhelming you, it’s because you’re starting in the wrong place. When you start with you, you’re going to end up where everyone else ends up - in fear. It can’t start with you. He has to be our foundation. The Word has to be where we start.

When the beginning point is you, when the foundation is you, you’re going to be afraid. When we start wrong, we’ll finish wrong. We need to start with Jesus, not with us. It’s not about us. I heard preached in a sermon this weekend that the Bible should have a subtitle - The Bible: it’s not about you. Those words really stuck with me. I’ve realized it’s not about adding Jesus to my plan. I can do all things through Christ does not mean I can do whatever I want, then add Jesus to that to make it work. We can’t start by working through our problems, and then add Jesus when it gets difficult. We have to start with him if we’re going to get this right. I must decrease so He can increase. 


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