…Lately the Lord has been teaching me many lessons. He has especially been reminding me to claim His promises and that feelings don’t change the facts

Dearest Sisters,

“...Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious...” 1 Peter 2:6-7 Greetings in Christ, my sweet friends! I pray this letter finds you rejoicing in the greatness of our God and praising Him for the truly precious Savior we serve.

…I was eagerly anticipating this issue’s topic, “A Joyful Servant’s Heart,” as the call to serve the Lord is one which He has deeply impressed upon my life. Isaiah 49-50 are beautiful passages to me, outlining a servant’s call and obedience. Although I believe these are prophecies of our Lord Jesus, are we not admonished to walk in His steps?! What a beautiful example He has set before us. “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to mnister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:27-28

Dear Sisters,
One thing the Lord has reminded me lately is, in the words of Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge.” One of my goals in life is to have peace rooted in my Savior, Jesus Christ. There are certain spiritual weaknesses that will hinder this peace in my life. For example, fear and anxiety will cause me to worry and will not allow me to keep my thoughts stayed on Christ; self-pity will cause me to be dissatisfied; pride will cause me to concern myself with what others think of me (fear of man); and disobedience will cause me to have a guilty conscience.

How often does God answer a specific prayer and you rejoice over it? Maybe your excitement bubbles into a desire to tell everyone you know of the amazing work of God in your life by answering that prayer. How many times have you faced something big and suddenly your faith-o-meter plummets?
 
“This is impossible,” you may think.... Of course, we know God will never fail us, but even if we do not directly admit it to ourselves, our thought patterns can reflect this false belief. It is easy to grow discouraged. What can we do to avoid this pitfall? Remember.

The secret of life
Is letting go.
The secret of love
Is letting it show
In all that I do,
In all that I say,
Right here in this moment.
 
The power of prayer
Is in a humble cry.
The power of change
Is in [yielding] my life
And laying it down,
Down at Your feet,
Right here in this moment.
 
This songwriter beautifully, truthfully captures the secret to Christian living. It applies to all of us across the spectrum of life—young and old, women and men, followers and leaders, daughters, mothers, sisters, wives. Amy Carmichael puts it this way:
 
But all through life I see a cross,
Where sons of God yield up their breath.
There is no gain except by loss;
There is no life except by death.
 
What does surrender to God ultimately mean? What concepts does it carry into our lives as we seek to walk it every day? It’s helpful to lay groundwork at the start of our discussion. Please muse with me for a moment. Read slowly and ponder.

“Stop!! There's a car coming!” I cried out impulsively, as we started to accelerate after a stop sign at a highway intersection. A car, fast approaching at highway speeds, was less than 120 feet away and headed straight toward our vehicle. In that millisecond, I knew there was scarcely time for our vehicle to stop before we were completely in the lane of the incoming car, and a t-bone collision was inevitable.
  
As I sensed the oncoming wreck, I knew—without a shadow of a doubt—this would be it. We have had close calls in our travels before, from which God had always so mercifully delivered us—but this time, I felt so keenly it was too close to be a “close call”—it would be “the call” for me to go Home.

Recently, our family had the opportunity to volunteer at a pioneer festival.  After our “shift” was over, we walked around to see the different skills being demonstrated.  Because our son is fascinated with blacksmith work, we spent an extended period of time at the blacksmith shop.
   
​As we approached his work area, we noticed several items on his table in front of us.  There were nails, fancy hooks, knives, hammers, as well as many other useful items.  Even though the items were all for different uses, and were each uniquely made, they each bore a resemblance about them to which one could notice the special touch of their maker’s hand.  

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes."
Psalm 119:71

Trials. That simple word brings to your mind something real and personal that you have walked through in the past or are currently experiencing right now. Whether your trial is acknowledged by many who know you or remains private to you and the Lord, you know what that trial is, for "every heart knows its own bitterness" (Proverbs 14:10).

“Ah, what a mercy that it is not
your hold of Christ that saves you,
but His hold of you! What a sweet fact
that it is not how you grasp His hand,
but His grasp of yours that saves you.”
 
“Trust all your concerns with Him
Who can never be taken from thee,
Who will never leave thee, and
Who will never let thee leave Him.”
~Charles Spurgeon~

My Dear Sisters,

Earlier this year, I was asked to share at a ladies’ retreat. I felt very honored, but I also felt overwhelmed. Last year was hard, and to be honest, I felt inadequate to talk about having a heart of trust and surrender and contentment…because I knew that these were areas that I needed to grow in.

However, as I prayed about this opportunity, the Lord reminded me that we will never “arrive,” and through my own journey, He has graciously given me so much truth and encouragement from His Word to strengthen my heart and renew my focus…why would I not pass along that encouragement to my sisters in Christ?!

​This article is simply my notes in written form. Truly, it is not about me or anyone else “having it all together,” but about leaning on the Author and Finisher of our faith. You see, Christ wants to live His life through us. Understanding this truth has given me so much peace and victory, because it reminds me to depend on His strength instead of my own. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”—Galatians 2:20 My prayer is that the things God has been teaching me would encourage you and point you to Christ…not because of who I am, but because of Who He is.