This post resonated with me so much! I, too, have been offering up that four-word phrase much more often these days. I truly come to the end of myself more often than ever, and sometimes I have no energy to say more than that. There is such freedom and deliverance found in relinquishing all to Him! And I find that it is the only path to peace. Thank you for, once again, feeding my soul tonight, dear friend.
Don't you just love that when our energy is gone and our words are no where to be found that the Holy Spirit kicks into high gear? Thank You, Lord, for the power of the Trinity in our lives.
Oh Linda ... I'd be so spun up about so many things were it not for these four simple words: Thy will be done. (Adding "not mine" to the end helps when I need a little more help loosening my grip.)
"And in that great grace-filled mercy that defines who He is, He invites us to place all our burdens and baggage, fears and hopes, traumas and dramas right on the table of His presence in all their raw, agonizing, ugly reality." Such a comforting truth! And I'm so grateful He never condemns us when doubts and fears trouble us and we find it hard to give things over to HIS will, not ours. Thank you for such an encouraging post, Linda! Love and blessings to you!
Trudy, I so agree with you that He doesn't condemn us when doubts or fears trouble us and yes, it is often very hard to finally release all that we're carrying. That He is patient with our human frailties and faults is such grace.
Thy will be done. I, too, discovered that prayer from Jan Karon. Such endearing books. What I find so comforting about God is that I can yell, I can be angry, I can be so hurt and lay it all out there to God. I was reminded about David when his son with Bathsheba became ill. How he pleaded and pleaded and tore out his heart in anguish and when he heard the news about his death he got up. We don’t always get answers in our deepest anguish but throughout the Psalms David bears his soul in all manners but then trusts God to strengthen him even in the tragedy Thanks for sharing Linda
I'm so thankful we love and serve a God who accepts us where we are and pulls us closer to Himself as we release the huge burdens that have become part of who we are. You're right, Janet, it is a great comfort that we can be ourselves with Him. He loves us so. He understands our wounded hearts. He longs to heal our brokenness.
How glorious is our grace-filled, merciful, understanding, and supportive Heavenly Father. We can just be ourselves before him; we don't have to be eloquent. In fact, we don't have to say anything at all. HALLELUJAH! (And thank you for filling my heart with praise, Linda!)
I love that we don't have to search around for the right words. He knows our hearts. And sometimes that's good enough. And other times we want to raise our hallelujahs and how He loves our praises. I'm so grateful.
I first learned the prayer that never fails years ago when reading Jan Karon's Mitford series, and it has stuck with me ever since. So true and good, an excellent reminder of the beauties of surrender to God's will vs. insistence on my own will being done.
Linda, both your post and many of the responses have ministered to me deeply. Now to have the courage to pray “Thy will be done.”
The traumas and dramas of the past 2 years have worn me down to a nubbin, as my mom used to say. Firmly reminding my “toddler spirit” that indeed, He doeth all things well.
Deb, you're right, two years of trauma and drama wears us out completely to the bone. And yet, somehow, God protects our souls in the process. And I love that we can come to Him and tell Him that we can't / aren't able to say 'Thy will be done.' And the Holy Spirit will intercede for us in wordless groans (Romans 8:26).
Don't beat yourself up in this process of spiritual healing. Rest in His comforting presence. All will be well.
Linda— love this: “He invites us to place all our burdens and baggage, fears and hopes, traumas and dramas right on the table...” Traumas and dramas says it all.
This poem by Edna St Vincent Millay spoke into my life the past couple of weeks:
Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
What the swift mind beholds at every turn.
It reminded me, as I struggled with retiring from my job of 52 years, that I had to be patient with myself with the time lag between knowing and doing. I just was fighting purposelessness as I contemplated retiring. Well God intervened, even though it was a shock and humiliating, when I was informed of my position being terminated (my trauma and drama)….with no thank yous, great job, faithful hard worker and a company escort to my car. Termination protocol sucks.
So I am now a lady of leisure and my heart has caught up with what my brain was telling me. Hallelujah!!!!
Dear Carol, I've already texted you but I am so very sorry that you were unceremoniously shown to the door after half a century + of faithful, continuous, professional service. These kinds of actions are simply wrong and so incredibly disrespectful. This lack of courtesy and respect in the work/ministry arena toward those who are older grinds my gears (as you already knew!)
That you've bounced back and are ministering to the broken so faithfully shows how good and mighty our God is. And you know that He's constantly whispering, 'well done, good and faithful servant.'
Linda thank you for the reminder that nothing is hidden from God, but He holds it with us, not shaming but inviting us to surrender to His perfect will. What an enormous blessing it is to be so deeply known and loved, no matter how we feel or what we are facing.
I'm realizing day by day that God's Will for us is always best. Yes, I've had moments when circumstances have knocked the breath out of me, but when I call to Jesus, He never fails me. Blessings, Linda!
I find that when I start to struggle I need to stop and remember how He has been with me through all the unthinkable times when I said "I can't make it through this". But I did, through His grace, through the prayers of others and by blindly grasping His hand because I knew - by faith - that He was there. The verse "I am with you always..." kept repeating in my mind and I knew it to be true.
Marilyn, I can't help but believe that God will use you in extraordinary ways in the days ahead because of what you've been through. You will be able to be fully present and listen to others' stories with deepest empathy. He specializes in restoring the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2). We know that to be true. I will continue to hold this hope and promise for you.
This post resonated with me so much! I, too, have been offering up that four-word phrase much more often these days. I truly come to the end of myself more often than ever, and sometimes I have no energy to say more than that. There is such freedom and deliverance found in relinquishing all to Him! And I find that it is the only path to peace. Thank you for, once again, feeding my soul tonight, dear friend.
Don't you just love that when our energy is gone and our words are no where to be found that the Holy Spirit kicks into high gear? Thank You, Lord, for the power of the Trinity in our lives.
Oh Linda ... I'd be so spun up about so many things were it not for these four simple words: Thy will be done. (Adding "not mine" to the end helps when I need a little more help loosening my grip.)
'Not mine' is the key to loosening our sometimes frantic grip, isn't it, friend. I hear ya.
Yes, yes. We can lay all our burdens down at His feet and just trust Him. TFS!
Thank You, Jesus.
Amen.
Yes.
"And in that great grace-filled mercy that defines who He is, He invites us to place all our burdens and baggage, fears and hopes, traumas and dramas right on the table of His presence in all their raw, agonizing, ugly reality." Such a comforting truth! And I'm so grateful He never condemns us when doubts and fears trouble us and we find it hard to give things over to HIS will, not ours. Thank you for such an encouraging post, Linda! Love and blessings to you!
Trudy, I so agree with you that He doesn't condemn us when doubts or fears trouble us and yes, it is often very hard to finally release all that we're carrying. That He is patient with our human frailties and faults is such grace.
Prayer is a dialogue with God that requires persistence and faith
Amen. Perfectly said. And welcome, Dwayne ...
I just sent you a message
I feel like I’ll learn a lot from you , can we be friends?
Thy will be done. I, too, discovered that prayer from Jan Karon. Such endearing books. What I find so comforting about God is that I can yell, I can be angry, I can be so hurt and lay it all out there to God. I was reminded about David when his son with Bathsheba became ill. How he pleaded and pleaded and tore out his heart in anguish and when he heard the news about his death he got up. We don’t always get answers in our deepest anguish but throughout the Psalms David bears his soul in all manners but then trusts God to strengthen him even in the tragedy Thanks for sharing Linda
I'm so thankful we love and serve a God who accepts us where we are and pulls us closer to Himself as we release the huge burdens that have become part of who we are. You're right, Janet, it is a great comfort that we can be ourselves with Him. He loves us so. He understands our wounded hearts. He longs to heal our brokenness.
My soul's doing mighty fine,
I have no gripes or sad complaints,
but my body is a crime,
and it's really on the aint's
with everything that's gone so wrong
without a bit of recompense,
and though I am still feeling strong,
there is, yeah, well, incontinence.
The dunny's just too far away,
and gritted teeth do take a tumble,
but now this moment, every day,
I am learning to be humble
and am knowing the because
of laundry done and laundry does.
Ah ... yes ... cancer impacts every part of who we are ...
Yeah, but think of the effect I'm having on cancer! Hell trembles at the very mention of my name.
Yes, Lord, Your will be done!
Amen.
How glorious is our grace-filled, merciful, understanding, and supportive Heavenly Father. We can just be ourselves before him; we don't have to be eloquent. In fact, we don't have to say anything at all. HALLELUJAH! (And thank you for filling my heart with praise, Linda!)
I love that we don't have to search around for the right words. He knows our hearts. And sometimes that's good enough. And other times we want to raise our hallelujahs and how He loves our praises. I'm so grateful.
I first learned the prayer that never fails years ago when reading Jan Karon's Mitford series, and it has stuck with me ever since. So true and good, an excellent reminder of the beauties of surrender to God's will vs. insistence on my own will being done.
Lauren, that's exactly where I first heard that phrase 'the prayer that never fails' ... and it kind of knocked me sideways.
Linda, both your post and many of the responses have ministered to me deeply. Now to have the courage to pray “Thy will be done.”
The traumas and dramas of the past 2 years have worn me down to a nubbin, as my mom used to say. Firmly reminding my “toddler spirit” that indeed, He doeth all things well.
Deb, you're right, two years of trauma and drama wears us out completely to the bone. And yet, somehow, God protects our souls in the process. And I love that we can come to Him and tell Him that we can't / aren't able to say 'Thy will be done.' And the Holy Spirit will intercede for us in wordless groans (Romans 8:26).
Don't beat yourself up in this process of spiritual healing. Rest in His comforting presence. All will be well.
Linda— love this: “He invites us to place all our burdens and baggage, fears and hopes, traumas and dramas right on the table...” Traumas and dramas says it all.
This poem by Edna St Vincent Millay spoke into my life the past couple of weeks:
Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
What the swift mind beholds at every turn.
It reminded me, as I struggled with retiring from my job of 52 years, that I had to be patient with myself with the time lag between knowing and doing. I just was fighting purposelessness as I contemplated retiring. Well God intervened, even though it was a shock and humiliating, when I was informed of my position being terminated (my trauma and drama)….with no thank yous, great job, faithful hard worker and a company escort to my car. Termination protocol sucks.
So I am now a lady of leisure and my heart has caught up with what my brain was telling me. Hallelujah!!!!
Dear Carol, I've already texted you but I am so very sorry that you were unceremoniously shown to the door after half a century + of faithful, continuous, professional service. These kinds of actions are simply wrong and so incredibly disrespectful. This lack of courtesy and respect in the work/ministry arena toward those who are older grinds my gears (as you already knew!)
That you've bounced back and are ministering to the broken so faithfully shows how good and mighty our God is. And you know that He's constantly whispering, 'well done, good and faithful servant.'
xo
Linda thank you for the reminder that nothing is hidden from God, but He holds it with us, not shaming but inviting us to surrender to His perfect will. What an enormous blessing it is to be so deeply known and loved, no matter how we feel or what we are facing.
Amen, there's no shame, no condemnation toward those of us who love God who are approaching Him with hope and trust ...
I'm realizing day by day that God's Will for us is always best. Yes, I've had moments when circumstances have knocked the breath out of me, but when I call to Jesus, He never fails me. Blessings, Linda!
Yes, yes, I too have found that it's in those breathless moments that I most quickly look toward Him ...
I find that when I start to struggle I need to stop and remember how He has been with me through all the unthinkable times when I said "I can't make it through this". But I did, through His grace, through the prayers of others and by blindly grasping His hand because I knew - by faith - that He was there. The verse "I am with you always..." kept repeating in my mind and I knew it to be true.
Marilyn, I can't help but believe that God will use you in extraordinary ways in the days ahead because of what you've been through. You will be able to be fully present and listen to others' stories with deepest empathy. He specializes in restoring the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2). We know that to be true. I will continue to hold this hope and promise for you.