surrender – Lisa Preuett~Rest Stop for the Soul

Desperately Waiting

June 2, 2017June 1, 2017Lisa Preuett

Have you waited for something so long that you feel like there’s no hope?

Still longing to find true love? A child of your own? A better job? Financial freedom?

Or maybe you’re still waiting for that strained relationship with your loved one to be healed. The one you’ve been praying about for so long. The one that hurts your soul to the core when you think about what happened to bring such hurt.

Let me take us to a place in the Bible that I’m praying will bring some hope to your situation.

In Mark 5:25-34 we find a weary-worn-out woman. She too had been waiting for some help. Relief. Hope. Anything!

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

For twelve years she desperately pleaded for someone to help her. Did you catch that? Twelve years! She trudged down this path for the long haul. Certainly not the quick fix we are so characterized by in our culture today.

We’re told she spent all she had on doctors. All she had. Every penny she owned was desperately given in the hope that someone would find a cure for her non-stop bleeding.

Although her situation was physical, I think we can still relate to her level of desperation in whatever our circumstances are.

Do you feel you’ve given all you have? Whether it be financial, mental, emotional or spiritual…you understand that place.

We’ve sought out professional help and spent a fortune.

We’ve exhausted all our resources.

I’ve done all I can do and there is still no change.

Did you notice the last part of the verse? It says instead of her situation getting better, it got worse.

Can you relate to that, dear friend?

I certainly can.

There were seasons of my life when I felt like I was doing everything I possibly could to improve a hopeless situation. Yet, instead of getting better…it got worse.

So hang on with me here because this is not where the woman’s story ends!

I’m painting a vivid picture here so we fully understand just where this woman truly is.

She is utterly desperate. At her wits end. She has no other options. No money left to spend. No more mental or emotional strength to exert.

She has no other place to go for help.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

The news about Jesus must have finally reached her! Always surrounded by a crowd of people, Jesus was often very hard to approach. The people would flock to him and once it was known he was in a certain location, it became quite chaotic.

The scripture says, she came. Don’t miss this. She heard about Jesus, but she didn’t just sit around and wait for someone else to tag along with. She acted with boldness and confidence.

I can just picture this. She’s not just waiting for Jesus and his disciples to come toward her, hoping they will end up somewhere near her. She sees Him. She pushes her way through the large crowd. She’s determined to get to Him.

Nothing is going to stop her.

The most powerful part of her story, in my opinion, is what she was thinking. She says, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

Her desperation drove her to surrender. Her surrender ignited her FAITH. And her faith is what healed her.

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.

Not all physical suffering has this kind of ending. But the powerful truths from this woman’s story can bring HOPE and FREEDOM to any hopeless circumstances.

*She didn’t give up. (Not even after twelve years!)

*She intentionally made a move toward Jesus.

*She didn’t let the crowd stop her.

*She surrendered completely and truthfully to Jesus.

Jesus confirms her faith. It wasn’t touching his clothes. It wasn’t anything she did.

It was her FAITH.

Oh how I long to be like this woman! Her determination. Her perseverance. Her faith.

Dear friend, I don’t know the details of your journey. I don’t know how long you’ve been waiting for some type of healing. I don’t know how God will answer your prayers. But I do know this:

When we desperately surrender our longings to Jesus, we can walk in peace and freedom through any situation.

Blessings to you!

Lisa

God is Faithful

September 5, 2014Lisa 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.

What’s Your Resume’ Look Like?

June 3, 2014June 1, 2015Lisa Preuett

Ever created a resume’? If you’ve ever stepped foot into the working world for any length of time, then I’m sure you’ve gone through the painstaking process of putting together a resume’. With such competition now days in the economy we live in, if you’re in desperate need of a job, your resume’ is crucial. It has to be top-notch. Almost perfect to get anyone’s attention.

You’re essentially selling yourself. And to do that, you’ve got to put the spotlight on any experience you’ve had in the most positive light possible. Time to show off your work experience and make it sound as if every job you’ve ever had was made just for you. After all, you’re trying to get an employer’s attention. You have to stand out. Above all the rest.

Are you going to include the job that lasted 2 weeks before you quit? Are you going to list the job where you got fired after messing up multiple times? What about the one where someone else took advantage of you, stepping all over you to get to the top of the corporate ladder?

And what about references? Yes, those are almost just as essential as your work experience. Do you include the boss who exasperated you into quitting? Do you include the co-worker whom you thought was your friend, betraying you and letting you down at your worst possible moment?

The resounding answer to ALL these questions is NO! Of course not. Who in their right mind would even think about including such information on their resume’? No employer would want anything to do with candidates such as these.

Thankfully, our Heavenly Father is not like the typical employer looking for the best of the best. No, He is much different from that. The type of resume’ He is after is the one who shows every area of their life…the good and the bad. The ugly. The messy. The stuff you wish nobody knew about you. The things you wish you could hide in a closet.

Your spiritual resume’ is more important than your work history. It’s what God uses for His glory. It’s what God uses for pointing others to Him. It’s the broken pieces He takes and turns them into something beautiful.

The highlights of my work history would look something like this:

Graduated with honors.
Full scholarship.
10 years teaching experience.
Private tutor.
Published author.

But you know what? If this is ALL I have to say about my life and my identity is wrapped solely around those things, then it doesn’t really matter. Paul calls these things “rubbish” (garbage)in light of the glorious things God has done through him. He had a stellar work history that topped everyone else in his field. But again, he says that none of these things were of any value compared to the riches of knowing Christ. His spiritual resume’ took precedence over everything else.

I’ll get really transparent here and share some of the highlights of my spiritual resume’:
First marriage ended in divorce.
Struggled with depression.
Single mom for six years.
Infertile for three years.
Difficult seasons of parenting.
Recovering control freak.
Daily struggles with pride and selfishness.

I’m sure a prospective employer would just love to hire me for the job if this is what I listed on my work history. Ha!

But praise God that He doesn’t look at my credentials to determine my worth. Praise God He doesn’t look at my work experience to determine if He can use me. He doesn’t call the equipped….He equips the called. As long as my eyes are on HIM, and as long as I am humbled before HIM, He can use anything from my past and present. He can use it ALL for His glory. The struggles I’ve overcome through His strength can encourage and comfort someone else. The difficult circumstances life has thrown at me can build character in me and make me more like Jesus. These are the things that connect me with others in the body of Christ who also have similar “highlights”.

So what does your spiritual resume’ look like? Have you even thought about it? Go ahead…start making a list.

The things that you think have broken you.
The things that have wounded you.
The things that have pierced your heart so deeply.
The things that have challenged you to no end.

Yes.

Those are the things He wants to use to bring glory to Him. Those are the things He loves to take that men may have meant for evil, but He can use for a greater purpose. If these things bring you to your knees in desperation and bring you closer to Him, then those are the highlights of your spiritual journey. He is smiling down on you and it’s almost as if He says, “Yes, I can use that.
Yes, I will bring glory through this. Yes, she is the perfect candidate for this task. Yes, he is the ideal person to serve the body of Christ.”

While I can’t assist you in writing the perfect resume’ of your work history, I can promise you a perfect God has His eye on you and wants to use whatever is in your past for His purpose and glory. As far as He is concerned, you’re hired. You’ve got the job!

Philippians 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.

When we desperately surrender our longings to Jesus, we can walk in peace and freedom through any situation.

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Blessings to you!

Lisa Preuett

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