Tag: God’s sovereignty

Snow in the Scriptures

Lisa Preuett

If you live in certain parts of the country, you’re most likely staring out your window at a ground blanketed with SNOW.

School children–giddy with delight–are building snowmen, creating snow angels, and sledding down steep hills covered in snow.

Even if you dislike the cold, the beauty of a winter-wonderland is captivating. What is it about snow that dazzles us?

God has some things to say about snow. These insights may be hidden in scripture, but they’re worth looking into. Grab yourself a cup of coffee (or hot chocolate) and your Bible. I invite you to dig into God’s word and join me!

Psalm 145:6 “He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.”

Job 37:6 “He says to the snow, ‘Fall to the earth.’

Isaiah 55:10 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater”

As much as the experts try to predict what this powerful white stuff is going to do, God is all his power is sovereign…even over the SNOW!

Matthew 28:3 “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.”

Revelation 1:14 “The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.”

In these verses, the word snow is used to describe Jesus and our Heavenly Father.

Proverbs 31:21 “She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.”

In this verse, maybe you can relate if your kids are home from school, scurrying around to find their coats, hats and gloves!

 

My favorite verse about snow is found in Isaiah 1:18:

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Maybe the snow captures our attention because it is so WHITE! A symbol of purity.

Perhaps God created snow as a reminder of what He’s done for us. How the blood of Jesus redeems and renews our dirty, ugly sin.

Look out your window and let this truth sink in. Soak up the promise of what He’s done for you.

Our sins, once as red as crimson, shall be as white as SNOW!

Now that’s a forecast worth believing!!

 

Blessings to you!

Lisa Preuett

 

 

God is Faithful

Lisa Preuett

After trudging through the valley of unemployment for two and a half months, I praise God that my husband will be starting a new job this week! When the rug was pulled out from underneath us unexpectedly on June 23rd, we had no idea how many days, weeks or months it would be until God opened the door for a new job.

But God knew.

When we began walking this unknown  path, we trusted God to lead us one day at a time. Although we had no control of what was happening, we trusted that He was in control. To be honest, there were days our flesh struggled with this lack of control. Without control, we often feel helpless. Worried. Frustrated. Don’t we all just want a glimpse of what is ahead–a  little reassurance of what is coming? But God doesn’t always give us previews of the future. In fact, He rarely shows us what is around the corner.  That’s why it’s called faith!

The scripture I clung tightly to during this journey was Psalm 62:1-2: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my fortress; I will not be shaken.”

The day I posted my reaction to my husband’s job loss, we were most certainly shocked, but not shaken: https://reststopforthesoul.com/2014/06/24/shocked-but-not-shaken/

This was a true test of resting in God alone. Our flesh finds it much easier to rest when things are predictable, structured, and familiar. We grow accustomed to incoming paychecks. We feel secure when the savings account balance increases. But when the paychecks stop and the account gradually decreases, it is a wake-up call as to what your true rest is in. When our eyes were fixed on trusting God and not fixated on the numbers, we found true rest!

God was faithful and He provided.

The blessings showered upon us during this time were priceless. Here’s some of the highlights:

*The very day he lost his job opened up the opportunity for him to join us on a trip to visit our son.

*My husband got to spend the majority of the summer with his wife and daughter. How rare is that? Most dads and husbands only get a couple of weeks vacation at the most to spend uninterrupted time with their families.

*We enjoyed multiple boating trips that we wouldn’t have been able to take if he’d been working. He usually travels for his job and is too exhausted to do a lot on the weekends. (We got the boat just weeks before he lost his job!)

*He had time to start (and finish) multiple projects around the house that are usually put on a “wish list”.

*We went on a mission trip to Beattyville in the Appalachia Mountains through our church and someone anonymously paid the balance of our expenses.

*My mom decided to treat us to an unexpected vacation in Florida to wind down our summer.

*The amount of money he received from unemployment was more than enough to pay our mortgage payment.

*God blessed us through his previous job to be able to save money for this “rainy season”. (And over the years He’s given us wise advisers such as Dave Ramsey who encourages people to put away money in an emergency fund when job loss occurs.)

*God has strengthened our faith!

*This season of uncertainty has given us a front row seat to witness that God is faithful and can be trusted.

If you are in a season of uncertainty, I want to encourage you to trust God wholeheartedly. Surrender your frustration, worries and fears to Him. Rest in Him alone. You might not know what’s around the corner.

But He does.

And because He loves us, we can trust Him. We will not be shaken.

God is my rock

 

 

Resistance Builds Strength

Lisa Preuett

Ephesians 6:10   Be strong in the Lord, in the power of His might.

These words from Ephesians are written on the wall of my fitness center. Sitting firmly lodged in place on a weight machine, I push with all my might against the resistance of the weights I’ve measured out. Breathing deeply and gritting my teeth, I attempt to increase the amount of weight my flimsy muscles need to get toned up. To get stronger.  As difficult as it sounds, that’s how it works. If you want your muscles to get stronger, there must be resistance or you won’t see any progress.

With sweat pouring down my face, I glance up and stare at the powerful words from Ephesians again. This is when I hear the soft, gentle whisper of God in my soul:

Just as your physical muscles can only be strengthened through resistance, your faith and trust in Me can only be strengthened through resistance.

As much as I know this is true, my flesh doesn’t like it at all. My flesh sometimes rears its ugly head and shouts back out of fear, worry or anger. What if God doesn’t come through? What will happen IF? Why did this happen to me and not someone else?

And then God in His patience and grace continues to speak lovingly to me in that still, small voice:

Trust me. Don’t worry. Don’t try to take control of things that aren’t yours to handle. The resistance you’re experiencing will make you stronger in your dependence on me.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes experience this resistance with my husband. With my children. With my own selfish thoughts that don’t line up with God’s. Or I’ll feel this resistance while sitting in a traffic jam that is making me late to wherever I need to go. Even the little things can cause resistance like dishes left out, clothes not put away, a mess not cleaned up, a dropped call in a no-reception area, or a computer not working the way it’s supposed to!

Seen through my own human eyes, these things are obstacles. Interruptions. Irritations. Frustrations.

But seen through God’s eyes, these things are opportunities….to trust. To be refined. To be strengthened.

If I will just turn down the volume on my inner fleshly shouting match, I can more clearly hear the gentle whisper of God in moments like these. And trust that these moments of “resistance” are making me stronger. Making me more like Jesus. And instead of responding with fear, worry or anger when He lovingly increases the amount of weights, I can trust that the end result is for His glory.

READY? Who’s causing resistance in your life these days? Spouse? Children? In-laws? Co-workers? Neighbors? Or What’s causing resistance? Finances? Job? Health? How are you responding to the resistance? Whatever it may be, I challenge you to see these things as opportunities to strengthen your spiritual muscles. Opportunities to trust God and deepen your faith.

GET SET. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

GO! Heavenly Father, it is hard for me to welcome resistance in my life because of my sin nature. Please open the eyes of my heart to see times of difficulty as opportunities to trust you and for my faith to be strengthened. Thank you for your faithfulness to me during these times even when I doubt. Praise you for your power in my life. Amen

 

resistance builds strength

 

Blessings to you!

Lisa Preuett 

When Your Plans Are Interrupted

Lisa Preuett

Ever make plans to do something only to have those plans come to a screeching halt? You think you’re going to accomplish a desired task and then something happens, totally taking you in a different direction. Last week was crazy for us as it started out with my husband losing his job unexpectedly. (Read my post here for a fresh perspective of that day: (https://reststopforthesoul.com/2014/06/24/shocked-but-not-shaken)

The week continued in such a way, that every time I planned to do something, my plans were totally interrupted:

We’d planned to spend the day at the pool with our son and his girlfriend, but then their car broke down. Interruption!

Hurrying out the door, I’d planned to go for a long run in my neighborhood, but then the phone rang and it turned into a 30 minute conversation. Interruption!

I had a long overdue hair appointment, but the friend who does my hair had a family emergency come up and she had to cancel. Interruption!

We’d just put our boat in the lake Friday evening to join friends on their jet ski, but then it rained. Interruption!

It’s one thing if my plans are interrupted once in a while, but it’s another when it happens multiple times over the course of several days! There might be something God is trying to teach me. He has my attention. I’d better be listening.

God is certainly teaching me that I am not in control. It’s not wrong to plan things and organize the time He’s given us, but if I hold too tightly to MY plans, I’m setting myself up for disappointment. If I don’t look to Him when these interruptions occur, I’m bound to be upset. Frustrated.  Angry. Demanding.

I am NOT in control, but I serve a God who is. He sees the bigger picture. He has a higher plan. And He knows exactly what I need. And what I’ve seen over the course of these few days of constant interruptions is that other people are in the picture too. IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!

In each of the situations I mentioned above, I could label it an interruption. But when I genuinely pray to see things through God’s perspective and ask Him to show me how to respond, something amazing happens. What I label as interruptions, God sometimes calls interventions. Yes, I can see these events as opportunities when God intervenes and redirects my paths. He then intervenes in my heart and sometimes in the hearts of those around me.

Let me walk you through these interruptions again, but this time, view them through a different lens. God’s lens of interventions:

When the car broke down we couldn’t go to the pool, but over the course of the next several hours, my husband and son got to spend some quality time together under the hood of a car. One-on-one time that would not have happened at a swimming pool. We also got to witness God’s amazing power unfold through prayer. As we were making plans to have the car towed, it suddenly started up. Intervention!

When I was going out the door for a run and the phone rang, it was a family member I hadn’t talked to in a long time. She encouraged me during a much-needed time as I shared with her our situation with Jim’s sudden job loss. Intervention!

After I finally got to complete my run, a neighbor was pulling into her driveway at the exact time I was turning to go home. She was having a challenging morning and needed some encouragement and prayer. If the phone call hadn’t come when it did to delay my run, I would have missed the opportunity. Intervention!

When my hair appointment had to be cancelled, it freed up my day to spend more time with a friend who needed encouragement and allowed me some much-needed time to work on a project I’d been putting off. Intervention!

When we were on the lake and it started to rain, our friends who were riding their jet ski boarded our boat to take cover. I got to spend some quality time connecting with my friend. Time we wouldn’t have had if she’d been on the jet ski. Intervention!

How many times have I missed God’s blessing and overlooked His interventions because I was so absorbed in my own plans? How many times have I missed connecting with someone because I was too angry about my plans being interrupted? How many times have I focused on myself to the point I couldn’t see someone else in need? How many times have I demanded Why God? Instead of  whispering What now God?

And so I ask you the same questions, dear friend: Will you allow God to show you His way when your plans are interrupted? Will you allow God to show you His perspective when life doesn’t go as planned? It might be something as trivial as a cancelled hair appointment or it might be something more serious like a sudden job loss. Whatever it might be, I want to encourage you and challenge you to look for what God is trying to teach you in those moments. It might be something he wants to refine in you. Or He may be re-directing your path so you can connect with someone else.

It’s challenging to always respond the right way when our plans are interrupted! We won’t always get it right every time. But I’m so glad I serve a God who is gracious, patient and loving enough to keep giving me opportunities to see His interventions for what they are….and not as interruptions.

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s mind plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.”

God'sWayMan'sWay

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Day at a Time

Lisa Preuett

At the beginning of the school year, my daughter was given a packet of grammar lessons for the entire year. On each of the home school days, she is assigned one grammar lesson at a time. About halfway through the year I asked her to pull out the lesson for that specific day, but out of curiosity she pulled out the very LAST lesson in the back of the large envelope.

“I want to see what the last lesson of the year looks like, Mom!”

She was giggly as she quickly pulled it out, but her beautiful smile turned to pure horror, staring at the paper in front of her. With a look of panic on her face, she exclaimed,

“What is this? This looks so hard,Mom! How will I ever be able to do this if I don’t even understand the directions? I’ll never be able to do this kind of work!!”

I gently took the paper from her,placing it in the back of the folder where it belonged. I encouraged her by saying, “Sweetheart, you aren’t ready for that lesson yet. Don’t worry, by the time the end of the school year comes you will be prepared. Just focus on the lesson you’re given for each day.”

I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart in that moment loud and clear!

You so often want to know what’s up ahead, Lisa. But you don’t need to worry about the things down the road. If I showed you NOW what is up ahead, you wouldn’t understand and you wouldn’t be ready. Trust me one day at a time. I will prepare you for what is coming.

Wow! After being still enough for the Holy Spirit to speak to me in that moment, these two scriptures came to my mind:

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.”

Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.”

We are told that His word is a lamp unto our FEET. It sounds like to me that if the light we are given is for our feet, then that is only a few steps in front of us, not several miles. He only gives us enough light for one step at a time. If we try to get ahead of the light, no wonder we stumble and fall……because we are out of the light.

And no wonder Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow! His grace is sufficient for one day at a time. We are only to focus on whatever is in front of us for that specific day, not get worried about what is down the road.

If God had showed me a year ago some of the trials I’d be facing in this current season, I would’ve had a huge meltdown! I probably would’ve screamed, “You’ve got the wrong person, I’m out of here!”

My daughter was anxious about the last grammar lesson a few months ago. But you know what? She just completed it yesterday. I reminded her of the incident earlier in the year and she smiled. When she focused on the lesson for each day, over time she was being prepared for the next level. Worrying wouldn’t have accomplished anything at all.

So what is it for you? What in your future are you worried about?

How will I know what school is best for my kids?
What if  the test results show cancer?
What if we can’t pay our bills?
What if my marriage doesn’t improve?
How will I handle my child going off to college?

Whatever your situation may be dear friend, rest assured that God sees our path up ahead. He knows what is coming and He will prepare us ONE DAY AT A TIME. As much as we want to know what’s around the next corner, He wants us to rest in Him and receive the grace He’s given us for that day alone.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.”

Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.”

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