Tag: trust

forgiveness pt. 2

forgiveness pt. 2

by Kathleen Moulton

I know the situations and people in my life I had to forgive. Some of them have been deeply difficult.

There is no one-size-fits-all. Because once you point the way to someone, there is always a yes, but you don’t know what I’ve been through.

You’re right. I don’t. But God does.

I am so sure of God and his promises, there is nothing anyone can go through that cannot be forgiven.

Forgiveness isn’t a feeling. There is some real struggling in our emotions and that is okay.

Forgiveness is a choice. The feelings fall into place.

It’s like a wound that has to be cleaned before it will heal. We all know what that feels like.  It’s uncomfortable but we grimace and trust the process.

Trust has to be part of forgiveness. Just like there is only one way to clean a wound so it will not get infected, there is only one way to trust when you forgive. Self-help books, positive thinking, and anything else that promises good energy are temporary.

When we put our complete trust in what God says we will stop replaying the injustice in our mind.

He wants us our minds to be at peace no matter what is happening around us. The only way is to know there are situations way beyond our control or understanding. We can either throw our hands up in defeat or we can lift them to God for help.

It doesn’t stop there. God created us to see beyond today. When you know all that God tells us about eternity, we are comforted knowing there is more. A day when he promises to wipe away every tear; no more sorrow or death.

There is so much I do not understand. I’ve asked all the whys.

But there is much I do understand. Life can be painful and God gives us a way to live with it.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.

Summer is fading...

Photo by solar.empire on Trend Hype / CC BY-NC-ND

 

 

prayer.

prayer.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 3 Comments

… of the unanswered kind.

I was known as an intercessor. That meant I prayed for people and situations. A lot.

I was so intent on believing God for so many things that it was second nature to me. I’m not talking about name-it-and-claim-it, but things like: Christ is healer so pray for healing.  Jesus said we would do greater works so get out there and believe for greater works.

Today, I can count on 1 hand how many times I’ve prayed in the last 10 years since Christopher died and it’s been the Lord’s Prayer with an emphasis on Thy will be done.

This may bother some people. But when your child dies, things change.

I know prayer is important. The Bible says to pray without ceasing and the fervent prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Weren’t my prayers for my son fervent enough?

Weren’t my prayers for him the morning of the day we were told he died powerful and effective enough?

Maybe I wasn’t righteous enough?

Initially, those were my questions. But now I know that there is another side to the coin in scripture.

I don’t have the whole picture, but I do know that we should be prepared when we have given our whole lives to something noble – in Jesus’ name – only to see dismal results.

People who have answered prayer rejoice, “God heard my prayer!” And you know what? I rejoice with them.

But what happens when your prayer is not answered? Didn’t God hear your prayer?

They are the people who rejoice with empty hands because they have learned to trust God. They carefully measure their words when good comes their way. They wear Job’s words on their heart: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.

God has not disqualified, distanced, or disowned you because you are facing the pain or loss of unanswered prayer. One dies in an accident and another lives. One finds help just in time and another does not.

When you don’t have the answer, God does.

truth for today.

truth for today.

by Kathleen Moulton

“God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.”

C. S. Lewis; A Grief Observed

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Doha Sam / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Sometimes it feels like God is playing some kind of sick game with us.

Or we think he is testing us.

Or punishing us.

All of the above are normal feelings.

But the Bible says God’s ways are not like ours; his thoughts are not like ours.

In other words, God does not think the way we do but He has given us the capacity to trust Him.

God teaches us about ourselves and how much we need Him, but it’s more than that. He wants us to be comforted and that can only happen when we trust him.

Even in death, which seems like the absolute end, He is there.

Go ahead. Ask God if He is real.

He will show you.

anxious.

anxious.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 5 Comments

letterAI don’t know about you, but I think there are plenty of reasons these days to be anxious.

On the global scene, terrorism and dictators with their nuclear interests/intentions is a daily concern. Nothing is new under the sun but access to 24 hour news channels and the internet bring us face to face with real-time events.

Personally, we may be dealing with relational issues in our family or workplace, financial struggles, illness, divorce, and the death of a loved one.

The list of seemingly lesser anxieties which are often hidden in our heart may be about the future. Will I pass the exam? Am I a good parent? Who will take care of me when I’m old? The “what-ifs”.

When we feel like we’re drowning in circumstances that make us anxious, we need guidance and an anchor to hold us securely.

Consider this scripture:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace.

Isn’t that what we really want when we’re anxious? Because we can’t always change our situations.

You begin with trusting. We all trust in something and primarily, we rely on ourselves. But some things in life are way beyond what we can handle.

When you trust God with difficult situations, you will have peace – the remedy for anxiousness.

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Photo credit: kudumomo / Foter / CC BY
trust.

trust.

by Kathleen Moulton

We all trust in something that keeps us going each day.

When we get up in the morning, we trust the water will be there for teeth brushing, shower taking, and coffee making.

We trust our transportation will be there.

When we come home, we trust that our house or apartment will be there.

We were made to trust.stepping-stones-over-the-river-mole-box-hill-dorking-2_l

The fact that we don’t think about every step we take tells me just how much we are made to trust.

But then, something bad happens. Sometimes it’s something small and we react with frustration.

Sometimes it’s big and we get confused.

Take that trust you have with the simple things, and apply it to the big things.

Because the One who made you to trust with the small things – has made you to trust with the big things.

You just didn’t know it.

~~~

Photo credit: Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel / Foter / CC BY-ND

how?

how?

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

Jun19

 

With all our technological, medical, and scientific advancements, the common and routine can frustrate us.

That’s because we are limited. And the first step of grieving is acknowledging and admitting death is inevitable. The truth sets us free. That means the part of us which is weighed down with confusion, discouragement, frustration and disappointment breaks free with acceptance.

We are made of the same stuff as our predecessors who lost loved ones to disease, accidents, and war.

We cannot stop it.

Generations before us lived with death. Does this make our personal grieving easier? No. But it helps us to know we are made of the same stuff as our ancestors. We’re human.

macro-bebe_l

We cannot control everything that happens to us the way we choose our ring tones or favorite search engine.

To grieve is to accept.

But to accept is to trust.

Trust in what? Or whom?

There is always someone who writes the book.

In the Beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.

Genesis 1:1

~~~

Photo Credit: Etolane / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND,

aware.

aware.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 2 Comments

Sometimes it feels like your situation will overtake you …

… but have you thought about the immensity of the earth and 2/3 is covered by water?

And yet it does not overtake the land.

How much more important are you?

God is fully aware of your situation.

Trust.

worry.

worry.

by Kathleen Moulton

When something bad has happened to you, or someone you know, there is a tendency to begin thinking more about each step you take.

Could it happen to me? Could it happen to me again?

Well, yes. It could.

For years, (30 to be exact), this dependable, responsible, efficient writer thought, “But there is so much to take care of. How do I not think about it and…worry?”

It took the deepest pain of life – the loss of a child – to show me I didn’t have to worry.  That’s because the only one who can sufficiently lead you through the valley of the shadow of death, is God.

worried-_by_joodi-2_l

 

Because I made it through, knowing how I made it through, I realized just how little control we have.

My options were:

a) mistrust (leading to unrest, discontent, and bitterness)

b) trust (leading to peace, contentment, and joy)

You can’t have the latter unless you trust that someone is looking over things.

So now, I get it:

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

~~~

Photo credit: Abdulmajeed Al.mutawee || twitter.com/almutawee / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Matthew 6

 

trust.

trust.

by Kathleen Moulton

We all trust in something that keeps us going each day.

When we get up in the morning, we trust the water will be there for teeth brushing, shower taking, and coffee making.

We trust our transportation will be there.

When we come home, we trust that our house or apartment will be there.

We were made to trust.stepping-stones-over-the-river-mole-box-hill-dorking-2_l

The fact that we don’t think about every step we take tells me just how much we are made to trust.

But then, something bad happens. Sometimes it’s something small and we react with frustration.

Sometimes it’s big and we get confused.

Take that trust you have with the simple things, and apply it to the big things.

Because the One who made you to trust with the small things – has made you to trust with the big things.

You just didn’t know it.

~~~

Photo credit: Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel / Foter / CC BY-ND

how?

how?

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

With all our technological, medical, and scientific advancements, the common and routine can frustrate us.

That’s because we are limited. And the first step of grieving is acknowledging and admitting death is inevitable. The truth sets us free. That means the part of us which is weighed down with confusion, discouragement, frustration and disappointment breaks free with acceptance.

We are made of the same stuff as our predecessors who lost loved ones to disease, accidents, and war.

We cannot stop it.

Generations before us lived with death. Does this make our personal grieving easier? No. But it helps us to know we are made of the same stuff as our ancestors. We’re human.

macro-bebe_l

We cannot control everything that happens to us the way we choose our ring tones or favorite search engine.

To grieve is to accept.

But to accept is to trust.

Trust in what? Or whom?

There is always someone who writes the book.

In the Beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.

Genesis 1:1

~~~

Photo Credit: Etolane / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND,