This has the potential to be a heavy blog post-that's definitely not my intention, but the topic of trust has been something God has been teaching me throughout this journey-and it will continue to be something He works on us throughout the rest of our lives, so I figured I would write about it, since writing has since become quite therapeutic. Sometimes I struggle with where I place my trust; I place my trust in our agency that they will do the best thing they can for us, trust in the government that paperwork will be filled out correctly and filed in a timely manner, trust with the orphanage that they will care for our child as best they can...but, that shouldn't be where my trust lies, my trust needs to lie in Christ, and Him only. He hears my frustrated prayers when hiccups and speed bumps arise, and He chooses to let me work through them, to learn how to trust.
I constantly struggle with control, needing to have it that is. Especially at the stage we're at in our adoption. In the beginning I thought we could FLY through the paperwork stage and get everything we needed in days (OK not really days, but kind of) but I knew that the paperwork phase is pretty much all that I could control, once that dossier is in Ethiopia, it's pretty much out of my hands (literally). But one thing (of many) that I've learned in this phase is, I really can't control much of anything. I couldn't control that our doctors office had to reschedule our notary appointment SEVERAL times, and I couldn't control when one of our doctors filled out information wrong and we had to do the form AGAIN, but that happened and I learned, yet again, that I needed to completely give this adoption and it's process up to God.
I was reading a devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries a while ago, and today, I was reminded of it. I know that if God wanted our adoption to be fully funded in hours, He could do it-but I also know that He wants me to trust Him to move those mountains as He best sees fit. I know that God can place every child in a loving home at the drop of hat if He wanted to, but He chooses to use us and open our eyes to the things that break His heart.
I will choose to trust God with our child, with our adoption and with this process.
A Ram is on the Way
August 30, 2011
Glynnis Whitwer
Have you ever been in a situation so desperate that it looked hopeless?
Have you ever sat at the kitchen table wondering how you were going to pay the electric bill? Have you ever stood at a door that’s been slammed in your face by an angry teenager and despaired at having a relationship with him again? Have you ever had your heart broken so deeply that you wondered if you would feel whole again?
Sadly, we live in a broken world where desperate situations happen every day. I know someone reading this devotion is wondering how she will make it through the day because her situation looks hopeless. If that is you, I encourage you to keep reading. I believe God has a message of hope for you today.
That message is found in the Bible, in the story of a man who was dealing with his own desperate situation. His name was Abraham and he faced the greatest testing of his life. After longing for a son for many years, God finally gave Abraham a boy, whom he named Isaac. Abraham never imagined God would test his faith by asking him to sacrifice his son. But it happened.
It had to have been the darkest day of Abraham’s life as he trudged up the mountain, with firewood strapped to his son’s back. Every step took Abraham closer to what he believed to be the sad ending of a hopeless situation—the death of his son. Yet in spite of his sorrow, Abraham trusted God. His heart wasn’t soaring with joy. He wasn’t dancing up the mountain. But he put one foot in front of the other. Walking through the darkness of the situation; obeying His God’s commands.
Unbeknownst to Abraham, something else was walking up that mountain. Quietly. Out of sight. On the other side of the mountain. Something else was putting one foot in front of the other. Only Abraham couldn’t see it.
For every step Abraham took, a ram on the other side of the mountain took a step.
All Abraham saw that day was his solitary journey of pain. As he got closer to the top of the mountain, his dread must have increased. I wonder if he asked himself any questions. I would have. I would have wondered why hadn’t God intervened? Why hadn’t God stopped this testing? Couldn’t God see that Abraham was a man of faith? Why test him in this way?
But there was no answer. There was no voice from heaven. And so Abraham kept obeying his God’s command. He put Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice his one and only son.
And just at that very moment, at the very last second, when it looked like the end had come, God spoke, stopping the sacrifice. Abraham looked up and there caught in the thicket was a ram. Abraham took his son off the altar, replaced him with the ram, and offered the sacrifice to God.
Abraham named that place “Yahweh-Yireh” or “The Lord Will Provide.” And the story was written down for generations of God-followers to read. It was written so that you and I today would read it as we face our own hopeless situations. It was captured in print so that you and I would know that God is already planning for our provision. We don’t see it. We don’t hear it. But we can trust that our God is at work. On your behalf, and on mine.
I choose to trust God today. A ram is on the way.
August 30, 2011
Glynnis Whitwer
“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’” Genesis 22:14 (NIV)
Have you ever been in a situation so desperate that it looked hopeless?
Have you ever sat at the kitchen table wondering how you were going to pay the electric bill? Have you ever stood at a door that’s been slammed in your face by an angry teenager and despaired at having a relationship with him again? Have you ever had your heart broken so deeply that you wondered if you would feel whole again?
Sadly, we live in a broken world where desperate situations happen every day. I know someone reading this devotion is wondering how she will make it through the day because her situation looks hopeless. If that is you, I encourage you to keep reading. I believe God has a message of hope for you today.
That message is found in the Bible, in the story of a man who was dealing with his own desperate situation. His name was Abraham and he faced the greatest testing of his life. After longing for a son for many years, God finally gave Abraham a boy, whom he named Isaac. Abraham never imagined God would test his faith by asking him to sacrifice his son. But it happened.
It had to have been the darkest day of Abraham’s life as he trudged up the mountain, with firewood strapped to his son’s back. Every step took Abraham closer to what he believed to be the sad ending of a hopeless situation—the death of his son. Yet in spite of his sorrow, Abraham trusted God. His heart wasn’t soaring with joy. He wasn’t dancing up the mountain. But he put one foot in front of the other. Walking through the darkness of the situation; obeying His God’s commands.
Unbeknownst to Abraham, something else was walking up that mountain. Quietly. Out of sight. On the other side of the mountain. Something else was putting one foot in front of the other. Only Abraham couldn’t see it.
For every step Abraham took, a ram on the other side of the mountain took a step.
All Abraham saw that day was his solitary journey of pain. As he got closer to the top of the mountain, his dread must have increased. I wonder if he asked himself any questions. I would have. I would have wondered why hadn’t God intervened? Why hadn’t God stopped this testing? Couldn’t God see that Abraham was a man of faith? Why test him in this way?
But there was no answer. There was no voice from heaven. And so Abraham kept obeying his God’s command. He put Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice his one and only son.
And just at that very moment, at the very last second, when it looked like the end had come, God spoke, stopping the sacrifice. Abraham looked up and there caught in the thicket was a ram. Abraham took his son off the altar, replaced him with the ram, and offered the sacrifice to God.
Abraham named that place “Yahweh-Yireh” or “The Lord Will Provide.” And the story was written down for generations of God-followers to read. It was written so that you and I today would read it as we face our own hopeless situations. It was captured in print so that you and I would know that God is already planning for our provision. We don’t see it. We don’t hear it. But we can trust that our God is at work. On your behalf, and on mine.
I choose to trust God today. A ram is on the way.
So I leave you, my faithful 10 followers, with this message of Hope :) I pray that it encouraged you in some way as it did me :)
2 comments:
It's hard when things don't go the way you have planned, but God knows exactly when you need the money and He knows the exact time that your dossier should arrive in Ethiopia so that you get your son!
We had our share of hiccups and backslides during our paperchase...thought we'd be done in three months and then we were finally done in seven months! The government never moves quickly...anywhere! :)
But, be encouraged and stay focused on your precious little one and it will all come in to place. I thought our fundraiser yesterday was going to be a flop because we got so much snow, but we raised (and are still getting donations!) almost $1,800!
God's got it all figured out, girl. I remember the discouraging days. I do. And I know it's hard, so stay focused on Jesus and you'll get through it. :D
Lindsey :)
almcrock.blogspot.com
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you for your transparency and the trust that keeps you and others around you (like me!) going!
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