Nothing is Wasted

I love how God designed the Bible to meet us right where we are. His words are active, alive and appropriate for any time period. I'm a bit behind in the 1st and 2nd Peter study but I don't mind because sometimes I need time to sit with what the Lord is showing me before I just jump into the next study. 

I refer to Drew and I's time living in China frequently but I know that I'm still processing what we learned there. I think that I will be gleaning what the Lord did in our hearts for years to come. When we were debating whether or not to move back to America, we shared our torn hearts with our directors. I will never forget sitting in their car, about to head into the office, tears streaming down my face and the director's wife sharing this truth with me. She simply said, "Nothing is wasted with the Lord". Tears continued to flow as I realized the truth behind what she was saying to me. Even when your life feels like it's in a tailspin, the Lord will use it. Even when you don't feel His presence, the Lord will use it. Even when your joy has been taken from you, the Lord will use it. Because the Lord is gracious and compassionate, he desires to draw us into himself, even when we try to push him away. 

I love that the Lord desires to use our weaknesses and shapes them into strengths. He makes the impossible seem possible because Jesus lived that way himself. Fully God and fully man. When I have felt the most confused, frustrated and lost, that is when I have encountered the Lord's provision, peace and purpose for my life. He longs to meet us in those places and use them to show us that he was there all along and He is in control. I had to choose to let him in though and now I am able to look and see that it's so true: Nothing is wasted in God's economy.

                                                                                                      

*Looking for challenging and encouraging plans to study the Bible? Check out shereadstruth.com 

She Reads Truth: Reflections on Hosea

What I love most about Hosea's story is that it is a beautiful picture of the Gospel. A man is asked to marry a whore, have children with her and be alright with all the implications that are birthed from their marriage. Hosea was a prophet, a man who heard clearly from the Lord. I'm thinking that that he probably encountered a great deal of smug looks, that he was talked about behind his back and that he wasn't invited to certain people's dinner parties anymore. The only thing that I wish Hosea had more of is commentary from the man himself. What was his initial reaction to what the Lord had asked him to do? In all honestly I know mine would have been straight up fear and doubt. Having waited my whole life and stayed pure for my husband, I can't imagine the Lord asking the equivalent of me, go down to a strip club and ask one of the men visiting it to marry me. But Hosea was following the Lord. He was obedient and I gained so much insight from his life these past few weeks. 

Hosea's immediate obedience is the first thing that struck a chord in my heart. He was willing to give his life, his inheritance and his heart to Gomer. How often in my life do I know that the Lord is clearly asking me to do something and I question it. I spend too much time talking to my husband about it before actually taking the first step of action. Or maybe this scenario occurs, an idea is birthed in my heart and I do take actions on it but they are my own. I will them to happen and I end up striving instead of waiting on the Lord to show me the next step. I envy Hosea's attitude and I asked the Lord this week to help me to wait on him with gratitude, knowing that He will provide. 

A beautiful example of this has occurred over the last three months. Since my husband and I have moved back from China, Drew has been looking for a job. We have been blessed with sweet friends, good connections and lots of interviews but either the jobs weren't suited well for Drew, didn't provide insurance or the job description didn't match what the company actually needed. A few weeks ago I felt my anxiety grow and as much as I was asking the Lord to help me give it to him, I was also holding onto it. As Drew was job hunting, I knew that through re-launching my photography business, as well as nannying, that I could provide some income for us. As excited as I was to officially have a photography business of my own, I was equally terrified. Unlike the other photography jobs in the past, there was no one to bounce my questions off of and I felt like there wasn't anyone who could really "get it". At the same time that I felt completely inadequate, the Lord started providing me jobs. And not just one job but many. In my doubt, He provided. In my feelings of inadequacy, He reassured me (and thankfully my husband rocked at this as well). In my joy, He gave me peace. And if that didn't top the cake, last week He provided a job for Drew as well. I was getting my hair cut and my lovely hairdresser shared with me that her husband's company sounded like a great fit for Drew! Drew is now in training and loves that fact that he will be able to help people for a living.

Just like the Israelites, like Gomer and the people of Ephriam, I am guilty of doubting that the Lord will come through for me. But He does, every single time. I connected the most with the following quotes from the Hosea study:

"God calls us to seek Him because he desires good for us and not destruction".

"It's by His beckoning and His help that we even so much as turn our eyes to Him".

"As the ever faithful groom, He remains. Even as His anger burns over the unfaithfulness of his bride, he forgives her. He provides her a fresh start. And even, in His severe mercy, he withholds good things from her, that she might return to Him". 

"So you, by the help of your God

RETURN,

hold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God"

Hosea 12:6

Even though I don't desire my heart to stray, it wanders. Even when I try and will myself to be obedient, I know that I will sin. Thankfully God has made a way for us to be with Him and even in wandering and doubt, HE is the one who leads us back to himself. How beautiful is the heart of the Lord? I am so thankful for His mercy and desire to be obedient to His plan for me. He even provided this study in a time when I needed to hear it the most!  Did you follow along with the study? I would love to hear a bit from your heart! 

                                                                                    
*If you would like to read the She Reads Truth study on Hosea, head on over to their website, here.

She Reads Truth: Justice

A few weeks ago, She Reads Truth finished a series about Justice. This specific series really hit a nerve in my heart due to our experiences living in China. The group of people we were serving had encountered countless amounts of injustice and it broke our hearts and made us appreciate the freedoms that we have living in the States. Although culturally Americans don't typically experience the same types of injustice that we witnessed first hand, unfortunately people are mistreated, abused and subjected to violence daily in every country around the world.

As we got to know the people we were serving and heard their stories, our first reaction was anger, at the government, at the people who had hurt them, at the calloused heart of the culture and we had to instead choose daily to surrender the anger and love the people we were serving like crazy.

It is not an easy task to love the unlovable, but Jesus asks us to. It is not easy to forgive when you have experienced an unimaginable amount of unfairness, but thankfully Jesus can help us to forgive. Thankfully we have been given an incredible example to follow through the life of Jesus. He loved the unlovable, he healed those who were cast out from society, he dined with the least of these and he sacrificed himself in order to have a relationship with each of us.

I thought that this quote beautifully led me into a place of deeper healing and forgiveness, "The cross is the place where we throw 'deserve' and 'fair' out the window because we realize what true justice would mean for any of us". In Romans 5:20, Paul writes, "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more". All of us deserve death, but Jesus came to give us life.

I love these definitions of justice and injustice, "Seeking justice-bringing right order and exerting life-giving power to protect the vulnerable- is a command that the God of justice gives to us all. But fighting injustice - the abuse of power that oppresses that vulnerable through violence and lies- can be excrutiatingly hard work, so seeking justice begins with seeking our God who created justice".

It IS had work as you are working on behalf of those who do not have a voice, but thankfully,
"we are free so that we can be part of God's work of setting others free".
                                                                                               

*To study the She Reads Truth Justice series yourself, visit their website: http://shereadstruth.com/category/plans/justice/