Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Letting God

I used to lead a lot of adult Bible studies and women's retreats but in the past couple of years it has been so busy with the children and hubby that I only seem to have the time for teaching my Sunday School class. I thought that I would begin to do some women's studies here on my blog and hope that it will touch some hearts.
This study is titled Letting God.

Sometimes things happen in our life that seem beyond our capabilities to handle. Many people say God promises not to put too much on you that you cannot handle. Well I have a different view of that. I have had many trials in my life. As a young child I lived with a person who was not very kind to me in his words. I was told things that a child shouldn't be told. As I got older I made choices that caused much pain in my life. Even after I married my darling husband the pain didn't stop, we lost our beautiful baby girl to a brain tumor at age five. Shortly thereafter he lost his mother and grandmother. I have seen businesses that I have put all of my strength into fail. I have been at rock bottom many, many times.

Of course I must say that of all of my trials the hardest and most heart breaking was the loss of my daughter, Victoria. She was so much of my life. When she left it was like a part of me died too and I was a walking zombie. I wasn't living anymore,I was going through the motions. There was one night when I just couldn't take it anymore. I knew that anything was better than this empty feeling that I had in my body. I took pills, and more pills and more pills. With every hand of pills I would pray for God to take me. I knew that I was disobeying Him. I knew that I was taking into my own hands what was not mine to take. I also knew it was a sin.

There are times in our lives when we cannot see over the obstacle. There are obstacles that seem too big to go over, around, or even under to get to the other side. There are times when it seems there is no way out. We try so very hard to make it through. We do everything in our power to fix our situation. We look all around us and search for tiny openings that we can crawl through. Many times in the process we just make other obstacles along the way. We make things worse. Or maybe we do get over the obstacle but find that we went the wrong way and now we are on a road that doesn't lead home. You know what I am talking about and I know you have been there before and may be there now.

In Genesis we find Hagar, I always feel sorry for Hagar. Sarah told Abraham to throw Hagar out and her son too because she didn't want her son to be an heir with Ishmael, Hagar and Abraham's son.

Gen 21:10 - 21 READ THIS in your Bible

Notice that Abraham grieved over having to toss Ishmael out....after all he is his son. But God told Abraham to listen to Sarah but to also know that God had a plan for Ishmael, but it will be through Isaac that His seed would come.
But still poor Hagar. Abraham rose up early in the morning and took some bread and a bottole of water and gave it to her and sent her and Ishmael the child away (he had just been weaned). Hagar wandered in the wildnerness. The water was soon gone and the baby was crying...he was hungry of course. She had nothing to give him and she herself had nothing either. It doesn't say how long she wandered in the wilderness, I can only imagine.
So poor Hagar takes her baby and lays him under a shrub. Then she goes a little distance away where she can still hear him. She doesn't want to have to see her son die. At this point she lifted up her voice finally and wept and cried out.
And God heard the voice of the child (notice He heard the voice of the child....oh my heart breaks at that. I can only imagine the terrible cries of the child). Then the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and tells her that God has heard the cries of Ishmael where he is laying and told her to go and pick up her son.
Then comes the part of this that I want you to pay close attention. And God OPENED her eyes and she saw a well of water and she filled the bottle and gave her son drink.

Now when Hagar was looking at her circumstances she was feeling pretty sorry for herself. I can't say as I really blame her. But anyway all she could see what she was in the wilderness, no husband, no food, no water to drink and a little baby boy. He was Abraham's son and was cast out with nothing. She was walking in the wilderness for quite sometime and she could find nothing. She was starving, her baby was starving and most of all they thirst. They had no water to drink. Abraham had only given her one bottle of water and a little bread.

Finally she throws up her hands and shouts that she just can't go on. She sees nothing. No way out. All she can see is the obstacle and no way around it. I have been there, have you? Rock bottom...nothing.

But then God opens her eyes and there is a well. Now you know as well as I do that she didn't just overlook the well before. She couldn't see it. Ah did you catch that....she couldn't see it. On her own there was no way out. She was trying so hard to find a way but there was nothing. She was looking in every direction for a way out of the situation she and her baby boy were in and there was nothing. It was only at the point that she finally closed her eyes, closed her eyes. Didn't look for herself anylonger for a way out. Instead she just closed her eyes and trusted God. At that point God opened her eyes and she saw what He had prepared for them to sustain them and get them through. The well. It wasn't there before.....it only came when she closed her eyes and allowed God to show her what He had planned.

Dear ladies we try so hard to fix the problems in our lives, in our home, for our children. We simply cannot do it. And sometimes when we try we just make even bigger problems then we had before. It is only when we close our eyes and don't look at what our flesh says can fix the problem but just close our eyes and trust God. Allow him to lead us look not for ourselves but allow God to show us. He will deliver....He will show the way....we just need to follow Him and allow Him to lead us in the direction and path that is best in our lives.

God bless.

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