Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Choosing Peace



I called myself a "dateless wonder."

And though I joked about it in public, in private there were lots of tears and questions to God.

"What's wrong with me?"
"I'm a good person. Why don't guys like me?"
"Would it be so terrible to have one date?"
"Is there a problem with having a little fun?"

The only answer I got was "Trust Me." (Sound familiar?)

I didn't like it. But I decided if the man of my dreams was going to be part of my life, only God could do it. So I trusted, like a child who proclaims, "My daddy says. . ."

This conscious decision led me to say, "Thank You, Lord, for knowing what's best for me. I know You've got a plan here. I trust You, even if it means I need to stay single."

Peace of Christ guards our heart when we pray with thanksgiving. A thankful heart is a guarded heart.

Wayne Cordeiro

Expressing thankfulness in hard circumstances is the ultimate form of trust. Being thankful for the tough stuff proves we trust God to have our best interests at heart.

Being thankful and trusting in His divine plan gave me the gumption to keep going. It replaced fear with peace. It gave me the objectivity to learn while I waited, observing the relationships around me, seeing what did and didn't work. Gratitude and trust guarded my heart, turning those lonely days into a time of protection and preparation.

If you read yesterday's post, you know God answered my prayers beyond what I imagined, but if all we see is the answered prayer we miss the point.

Gratitude and trust gave me the peace I needed to get through a trying time--more than once. Gratitude and trust led me through my parents' divorce, sustained me in a painful time in a relationship, and held me up while watching my father die.

What difficult circumstance do you face? Try thanking God for His divine plan in your life, whether you understand it or not. Let gratitude and trust bring you peace.

To see more impressions of this quote, visit Karen at In Love W.I.T.H. Jesus.

8 comments:

Karen said...

"Is the ultimate form of trust" I like the point you made here with that. It is SO TRUE! Good job!

Vintage Whimsy Studio said...

What a great reminder . . . . peace is a CHOICE! Peace and joy do not always equate to "happiness" but in the midst of every situation we can experience God's peace if we choose to trust. Easy? Rarely. But possible, and certainly with His grace and strength, we can get through the most difficult days knowing that He is holding us close. Thanks for sharing your heart today!

Sarah said...

I was a "dateless wonder" too . So, was my husband. But, the Lord obviously brought us together and we are thankful every day. The cool thing is that we didn't discover each other until we each had "given up" getting married to the Lord.


Thank you so much for your wise words today!

Heather of Swallowing A Moose said...

What an awesome post Tami!

I have learned that by finding Him in all the small things in the days I became more at ease. More trusting that YES He is right here all the time. Because of that I have gained a confidence that I need not worry because He's got me covered. Covered in His blood, mercy, grace, peace, and on & on it goes! All I need to do is rest.

I was typically an anxious person until latley when the Lord invited me to see Him in a new way. Perhaps my anxiety was from my Type A high stress personality always perfecting, perfecting, perfecting. Regardless of what caused me to get that way I was presented with a choice- stay this way (defeated) or follow me (& know my peace). Well, I was exhausted in all the self effort and I simply started the walk out of that anxiety. Now I find myself in such a state of peace/ trust that I honestly shocked it took me so long to learn this.

OUr God is so magnificent!

Sweet Blessings,
Heather

Jessie at Blog Scmog said...

Your prayer, "Thank You, Lord, for knowing whats best for me." is exactly what I was thinking while writing my post I just didn't get around to is as eloquently. :)

And this;

"Expressing thankfulness in hard circumstances is the ultimate form of trust."

Is So So true!Thank you for this post.

Jessie

Susannah said...

Beauiful, Tami. I find that trusting--like healthy eating--is a daily discipline.

BTW, I forgot your parents were divorced. All the more reason to celebrate your own happy marriage. Hugs! :~D

Esthermay Bentley-Goossen said...

:-)
"Dateless Wonder" here too. Lol
But, as you so perfectly worded it:
Expressing thankfulness in hard circumstances is the ultimate form of trust.
God so very very much honors this! Even the blessings we suggest we've received as a result are only the beginning of our reward.
What a wonderful take on this quote today!
~es.

Jaime Kubik said...

So good! God knows what is best....always! I get so mad at myself when I realize that after the fact. Who do I think I am for thinking I know more than God? Thank you so much for your wonderful reminder!