Walk in Faith - Walk in Joy
Often in the past, Lord, I have come to thee with a heavy heart and a burdened life. And thou answered my prayers and graciously lifted the burden from me. Yet with strange perversion, I still refuse to leave my burdens with thee. Always I gather them up - those heavy bundles of fears and anxieties - and shoulder them again. - Peter Marshall
Sally Clarkson writes that she found herself weary, pondering alternatives regarding her son's living situation and wondering if all of life was going to be this way. "Could nothing ever work out smoothly and easily?" (p. 108) I have often wondered the same thing. Sometimes everything about life seems difficult ALL THE TIME.
As Sally read about Adam and Eve in the garden she saw how Satan had tempted them to not believe in God's goodness and provision. It made her see that Satan might also be involved in tempting her to disbelieve God's provision in her current situation with her son. She felt the question being asked of her, "What would it look like for you to live by faith and believe that God is a good Father and that He is going to work in a very personal way for you? What would your requests be if you were convinced he is really listening to your heart and could do what you asked Him to do? Can you really live under this dark cloud and have faith and joy in Him at the same time? What do you need to do to get out of this discouraged place?" (p. 109)
I have experienced times in my own life where I wondered if it was possible for God to provide for our current needs. Sometimes they seemed so big and so overwhelming, I couldn't see anyway out form underneath the burden. Like Sally, I put my requests before God and then went on with my days and weeks choosing to find joy in the things before me each day.
Sally writes that she "had a mental picture of being at a fork in the road: one pathway led in the direction of fear, turmoil, and all sorts of ruts in the road; the other pathway pointed to faith. The pathway of faith was good and straightforward; (she) knew it would lead (her) in the direction of a peaceful heart." (p. 110) Two fruits of the Spirit are peace and joy; we must hold on to these promises when we are facing difficult circumstances.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Jesus promised that we would have troubles in this world (John 16:33). Like Sally, I often have to remind myself that trouble, stress and pressure should be no surprise. But when the weariness of tribulations sets in, it is easy to begin dreading each day and wondering what else might go wrong.
But if we desire to remain joyful and manage our difficult days, we need to be reminded of Galatians 5:22-23. "If the Holy Spirit resides in me as a child of God, then the fruit of His Spirit - including joy - is already a part of my heart. It is not something I have to conjure; it is already there." (p. 116) When we don't feel joyful, it's because we aren't walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
In John 14:1 Jesus tells the disciples, "Do not let your heart be troubled." Sally explains, "In other words, in our heart - where our emotions and commitments and all that we hold dear is held - we are not to allow ourselves to be troubled." This tells me that there is a solution for when we feel troubled. It tells me that I have the ability to keep my heart from being troubled. Jesus followed with the simple answer, "Believe in God, believe also in Me."
"That does not mean that the difficulties go away but that our heart doesn't have to stay troubled or depressed. The key is, when our heart is troubled we need to believe in God. Maintaining a moment by moment walk in the power of the Holy Spirit means that we continually practice trusting in God, believing in his reality, living in the confidence that He will work all things together for our good."
"Belief is the antidote for a troubled heart: believing in God, believing that He is with us, believing that He is good, believing that He can take care of our trouble, believing in His presence with us every minute, and not looking to the limitations of our circumstances!" (p. 117).
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Sally adds that "believing in the invisible Christ and calling upon that belief in every situation - that is faith" (p. 118). By doing this we can walk in joy.
"Experiencing joy, though, is a long-term process - a journey toward maturity as we begin to be aware of those thoughts and worries that would steal our joy. The more we practice taking all of our troubled thoughts captive, the more easily we will recognize them before they take hold in our heart" (p. 120).
Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to be mature in my faith. Help me not to give attention to the trivial and troubling issues of my life. Please help me to honor you in my mind, by choosing to believe in your goodness and love for me, even in the midst of my stress. Teach me how to abide in your Spirit and how to walk with you so that I may experience your joy each moment of my day. In Jesus' name I come. Amen. (p. 123)
-Sally Clarkson; "Dancing with My Father"; pp. 105-123
551. Ellie riding a ride she wasn’t to crazy about so her brother didn’t have to go alone
552. Father/daughter enjoying the Big Red Barn together
553. 2nd place for our cookies
554. Watching the cat go crazy over our shoes that have been to the fair!
555. A chance to meet and talk with a fellow home schooling mom at volleyball practice
556. Productive, but restful Saturday
557. A quiet Sunday
558. An early provision! God is always on time!
559. A coupon and gift card for dinner at Chilli’s
560. A new book finally at the library for my son
561. Kids behaved well at the salon while I got my hair cut
562. A shampoo, hair cut and style!
563. Quiet evening alone to blog
564. Café Mocha. . . with friends
565. CYAA sports league
566. Our military men and women and our freedoms
567. Our home. . . No matter what the state it’s in!
568. Supportive grandparents
569. Date night with my man after God’s own heart
570. Health - Dennis is still cancer free; our kids have been spared from severe illness and accidents
571. God’s faithful provision
572. Family inside jokes, laughter and good times!
573. Freedom to home school; flexibility within our home school
574. Being back in Bible study after a 2 year hiatus
575. My daughter internalizing needs vs. wants
Sally Clarkson writes that she found herself weary, pondering alternatives regarding her son's living situation and wondering if all of life was going to be this way. "Could nothing ever work out smoothly and easily?" (p. 108) I have often wondered the same thing. Sometimes everything about life seems difficult ALL THE TIME.
As Sally read about Adam and Eve in the garden she saw how Satan had tempted them to not believe in God's goodness and provision. It made her see that Satan might also be involved in tempting her to disbelieve God's provision in her current situation with her son. She felt the question being asked of her, "What would it look like for you to live by faith and believe that God is a good Father and that He is going to work in a very personal way for you? What would your requests be if you were convinced he is really listening to your heart and could do what you asked Him to do? Can you really live under this dark cloud and have faith and joy in Him at the same time? What do you need to do to get out of this discouraged place?" (p. 109)
I have experienced times in my own life where I wondered if it was possible for God to provide for our current needs. Sometimes they seemed so big and so overwhelming, I couldn't see anyway out form underneath the burden. Like Sally, I put my requests before God and then went on with my days and weeks choosing to find joy in the things before me each day.
Sally writes that she "had a mental picture of being at a fork in the road: one pathway led in the direction of fear, turmoil, and all sorts of ruts in the road; the other pathway pointed to faith. The pathway of faith was good and straightforward; (she) knew it would lead (her) in the direction of a peaceful heart." (p. 110) Two fruits of the Spirit are peace and joy; we must hold on to these promises when we are facing difficult circumstances.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Jesus promised that we would have troubles in this world (John 16:33). Like Sally, I often have to remind myself that trouble, stress and pressure should be no surprise. But when the weariness of tribulations sets in, it is easy to begin dreading each day and wondering what else might go wrong.
But if we desire to remain joyful and manage our difficult days, we need to be reminded of Galatians 5:22-23. "If the Holy Spirit resides in me as a child of God, then the fruit of His Spirit - including joy - is already a part of my heart. It is not something I have to conjure; it is already there." (p. 116) When we don't feel joyful, it's because we aren't walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
In John 14:1 Jesus tells the disciples, "Do not let your heart be troubled." Sally explains, "In other words, in our heart - where our emotions and commitments and all that we hold dear is held - we are not to allow ourselves to be troubled." This tells me that there is a solution for when we feel troubled. It tells me that I have the ability to keep my heart from being troubled. Jesus followed with the simple answer, "Believe in God, believe also in Me."
"That does not mean that the difficulties go away but that our heart doesn't have to stay troubled or depressed. The key is, when our heart is troubled we need to believe in God. Maintaining a moment by moment walk in the power of the Holy Spirit means that we continually practice trusting in God, believing in his reality, living in the confidence that He will work all things together for our good."
"Belief is the antidote for a troubled heart: believing in God, believing that He is with us, believing that He is good, believing that He can take care of our trouble, believing in His presence with us every minute, and not looking to the limitations of our circumstances!" (p. 117).
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Sally adds that "believing in the invisible Christ and calling upon that belief in every situation - that is faith" (p. 118). By doing this we can walk in joy.
"Experiencing joy, though, is a long-term process - a journey toward maturity as we begin to be aware of those thoughts and worries that would steal our joy. The more we practice taking all of our troubled thoughts captive, the more easily we will recognize them before they take hold in our heart" (p. 120).
Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to be mature in my faith. Help me not to give attention to the trivial and troubling issues of my life. Please help me to honor you in my mind, by choosing to believe in your goodness and love for me, even in the midst of my stress. Teach me how to abide in your Spirit and how to walk with you so that I may experience your joy each moment of my day. In Jesus' name I come. Amen. (p. 123)
-Sally Clarkson; "Dancing with My Father"; pp. 105-123
552. Father/daughter enjoying the Big Red Barn together
553. 2nd place for our cookies
554. Watching the cat go crazy over our shoes that have been to the fair!
555. A chance to meet and talk with a fellow home schooling mom at volleyball practice
556. Productive, but restful Saturday
557. A quiet Sunday
558. An early provision! God is always on time!
559. A coupon and gift card for dinner at Chilli’s
560. A new book finally at the library for my son
561. Kids behaved well at the salon while I got my hair cut
562. A shampoo, hair cut and style!
563. Quiet evening alone to blog
564. Café Mocha. . . with friends
565. CYAA sports league
566. Our military men and women and our freedoms
567. Our home. . . No matter what the state it’s in!
568. Supportive grandparents
569. Date night with my man after God’s own heart
570. Health - Dennis is still cancer free; our kids have been spared from severe illness and accidents
571. God’s faithful provision
572. Family inside jokes, laughter and good times!
573. Freedom to home school; flexibility within our home school
574. Being back in Bible study after a 2 year hiatus
575. My daughter internalizing needs vs. wants
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