This week has been filled with a lot of thoughts, dreams, goals, desires, and questions – uncomfortable and challenging questions God has raised in my life because He loves me.
It started with a friend challenging me to think past a feeling to the thought that created my feeling. Do I even want to look past what I feel?
Then a devotional challenged me to think about God and how He has created us to dream – to dream with Him. Which of my dreams are God-given and should be embraced?
Then a Sunday school lesson last week on Joshua showed God showing up in big ways, with an emphasis on not forgetting how He has shown up (Stones of Remembrance). How has God been showing up in my life recently?
Then my pastor taught on Mark 9:19-29. The following verse stuck out to me the most. A father is asking Christ to heal his son, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible for the one who believes.” Where has my belief been suffering?
Jesus never promises that I’ll have a joy-filled life of pure happiness or that all my dreams will come true or that I’ll never doubt. He does promise “All things are possible for the one who believes.” This gave me joy, hope, and peace this morning! It also gave me a little bit of clarity from all my processing and thinking. God has taken the pressure off!
I can look past my feeling of uncertainty because He walks past it with me. There is something beyond the feeling of uncertainty that He wants me to recognize.
I believe my dream of being a home-maker is God-given. For years, I’ve struggled with this desire and yet felt like I was missing the mark since I work full time. This week, I realized that God has given me the gift of stewardship and hospitality and has allowed me to create a home in every place I have lived over the past eight years.
God does regularly show up in my life, and here’s how He has recently. 1. He’s given me the grace to make it through my first school year at my new job. 2. He’s shown me a home church where I feel challenged to grow and feel seen. 3. I’ve watched my parents’ health improving. 4. I was able to watch a nephew and niece play baseball/softball which was not an option a year ago. 5. I was able to see dear friends a few weekends ago. 6. I can have hard conversations with my loved ones and we can come to a place of reconciliation. 7. He reminded me that He doesn’t give up on me.
He gently revealed to me that when I get stuck in my own doubts, I transfer them to Him. When I think “I’m not enough” then I think He’s not enough and my belief takes a hit. So here’s to fighting back.
He. Is. Enough.
“All things are possible for the one who believes.” Mark 9:23b
Adventures of a Single Pretzel 