***
Hey there, Sweet Readers! Can you even believe that July is almost upon us? Slow Down Summer... Gah! We need to savor all of your long days and warm nights and the slower way of unwinding!
Let's just get to it! This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: QUESTION
{GO!}
Oye, with the Questions, right?
I mean... they can seem to be on an endless loop
that never slows to a stop
or gives room for answers!
Listen, I think we are all 'prone to wander...'
and we are all prone to wonder...
to question and ask over and over...
to overthink or second-guess or obsess...
to fear and worry and doubt...
to forget that God --as He likes to remind me
from time to time-- doesn't actually answer to us!
I think we all have ongoing conversations
with the Lord (and each other)
that can feel like a nagging session
full of begging for answers.
Here's the thing:
For most of my love affair with Jesus,
He's been super chatty...
He loves to answer when I call
--but not so much always when I ask.
You know what I mean?
The Bible tells us He hears us when we pray
and He answers our prayers...
It says that He will give us what we ask for...
and yet, I can't say for you --but I know for me--
He doesn't always dot my Why's
and Cross my Plea's. Right?
He just doesn't...
Instead, He continually asks me to simply
(--only exactly the opposite of that!)
Trust Him!
He promises that He is
working things out for my good
and so even when I don't have
the answers (yet) to my questions
or when I can't make sense of the season,
I can remember to Breathe... and to Trust...
I can remember that He doesn't answer to me
but one day, He will make all things new...
He is redeeming and rescuing my life
from the things I cannot see
on this side of Heaven.
But one day, I will!
(...or I might, anyway!)
One day, the questions will be answered
--or more likely, I will finally come
to the conclusion that the questions --and answers--
Don't Really Matter!
Maybe the Whole Point
of the Whole Thing
is to learn to Trust Him
even if... or even when...
or even though...
I suspect we will see 20/20 and realize
that so many of our unanswered questions
were left that way on purpose...
Maybe it's because it wasn't all just about us...
but He was busy working all things together for good
for everyone.
We are wrapping up our latest season
that was full of Hard and Heavy
and even though the future
is looking Lighter and Brighter,
we still have things that don't make sense...
and that is OK.
Really...
We are good with that!
We have learned are learning to embrace
the Wonder and the Mystery
of the King and His Kingdom!
There is so much Freedom and Grace
in that way of living...
So much Love and Peace...
So much willingness to Lean In
and longing to simply Be Held.
So, when Questions still Linger,
and you feel yourself begging for answers,
can I gently remind you to shift your prayers
and Thank Him for what you DO know for sure...
Remind yourself of His Word and Grace and Love...
Give Thanks and Rest in Knowing that
He is Trustworthy and True
and He loves you more than
you can ever imagine
even if... even when...
even though...
{STOP!}
He is for you... not against you!
and He is the Answer to every
question you will ever have...
Look to Jesus...
Lean In and Be Held
in the Arms of the Father
who breathed you into Life!
Whatever you are facing... battling... wrestling...
whatever questions are on that constant loop...
hand them over and lay them down.
Replace them with praise and thanksgiving
and watch and see how God
comes through for you
Because even if He doesn't
make sense of everything...
He WILL make sense of you!
He is building in you a testimony!
And He is working things out
and making all things new!
Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today. Five Minute Fridays give us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about "QUESTION"!
The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk about food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second-guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!
I'm also linking up with the lovely writer communities linked below:
Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday
{GO!}
Oye, with the Questions, right?
I mean... they can seem to be on an endless loop
that never slows to a stop
or gives room for answers!
Listen, I think we are all 'prone to wander...'
and we are all prone to wonder...
to question and ask over and over...
to overthink or second-guess or obsess...
to fear and worry and doubt...
to forget that God --as He likes to remind me
from time to time-- doesn't actually answer to us!
I think we all have ongoing conversations
with the Lord (and each other)
that can feel like a nagging session
full of begging for answers.
Here's the thing:
For most of my love affair with Jesus,
He's been super chatty...
He loves to answer when I call
--but not so much always when I ask.
You know what I mean?
The Bible tells us He hears us when we pray
and He answers our prayers...
It says that He will give us what we ask for...
and yet, I can't say for you --but I know for me--
He doesn't always dot my Why's
and Cross my Plea's. Right?
He just doesn't...
Instead, He continually asks me to simply
(--only exactly the opposite of that!)
Trust Him!
He promises that He is
working things out for my good
and so even when I don't have
the answers (yet) to my questions
or when I can't make sense of the season,
I can remember to Breathe... and to Trust...
I can remember that He doesn't answer to me
but one day, He will make all things new...
He is redeeming and rescuing my life
from the things I cannot see
on this side of Heaven.
But one day, I will!
(...or I might, anyway!)
One day, the questions will be answered
--or more likely, I will finally come
to the conclusion that the questions --and answers--
Don't Really Matter!
Maybe the Whole Point
of the Whole Thing
is to learn to Trust Him
even if... or even when...
or even though...
I suspect we will see 20/20 and realize
that so many of our unanswered questions
were left that way on purpose...
Maybe it's because it wasn't all just about us...
but He was busy working all things together for good
for everyone.
We are wrapping up our latest season
that was full of Hard and Heavy
and even though the future
is looking Lighter and Brighter,
we still have things that don't make sense...
and that is OK.
Really...
We are good with that!
We have learned are learning to embrace
the Wonder and the Mystery
of the King and His Kingdom!
There is so much Freedom and Grace
in that way of living...
So much Love and Peace...
So much willingness to Lean In
and longing to simply Be Held.
So, when Questions still Linger,
and you feel yourself begging for answers,
can I gently remind you to shift your prayers
and Thank Him for what you DO know for sure...
Remind yourself of His Word and Grace and Love...
Give Thanks and Rest in Knowing that
He is Trustworthy and True
and He loves you more than
you can ever imagine
even if... even when...
even though...
{STOP!}
He is for you... not against you!
and He is the Answer to every
question you will ever have...
Look to Jesus...
Lean In and Be Held
in the Arms of the Father
who breathed you into Life!
Whatever you are facing... battling... wrestling...
whatever questions are on that constant loop...
hand them over and lay them down.
Replace them with praise and thanksgiving
and watch and see how God
comes through for you
Because even if He doesn't
make sense of everything...
He WILL make sense of you!
He is building in you a testimony!
And He is working things out
and making all things new!
The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk about food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the
I'm also linking up with the lovely writer communities linked below:
Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday
Isn't that the truth? Oye vay!
ReplyDeleteLOL! It is! (Oye vay is spot on!)
Delete