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  • trust in the Lord

    Last summer my wife told me she wanted a divorce. This was not easy for me by any means. During the worst of it, God impressed a message on my heart: "Do what's right, and trust me."

    This message has come back to me so many times through all of this, so much so in fact that it has kind of become my motto to live by.

    If you remember my other thread, you know that things have taken a big downturn for me this year. I'm ashamed to say it, but at times I've found it very difficult to trust God. And yet He continues to work through this difficult situation. I'm relieved to know that He is not going to toss me aside and forget about me. He has forgiven my sins, He has a plan for me, a plan for good and not evil.

    But right now, I am like Peter who, after stepping out on the waves has just looked down and started sinking. Oh how I need Jesus to reach out His hand for me now!!

    Actually, I am more like Abraham, walking up the mountain with Isaac. What was going through his mind at that time? What would be going through your mind if that was you? Well, I'm in a situation where God has asked me to let go of everything I hold dear and just trust Him. For some of you this might seem easy - and if so, then God bless you and I wish there were more believers like you!! But for me this is hard.

    As an adult, I am facing consequences for sins of my childhood - things that will impact others, and has the potential to destroy many lives. And yet here I am, being told to do what's right and trust in the Lord.

    So that is what I will do, and I pray that God will carry me through this.

    Every piece of good news I get seems to be coupled with two pieces of bad news. The waves are getting bigger, but Jesus is reaching out His hand.

  • #2
    Re: trust in the Lord

    Praying....

    Comment


    • #3
      Encouraging Scriptures

      praying...

      Hang in there & keep the faith. God will carry you thru. And He promises not to give you anything you can't handle WITH HIM ALONGWITH YOU. He wants to BE your strength. Here's a bunch of encouraging Scriptures. God bless as you read thru.

      Psalm 143:8
      Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness
      in the morning,
      for in You do I trust;
      cause me to know the way
      in which I should walk,
      for I lift up my soul to You.

      1 Peter 1: 6-7
      In this you greatly rejoice,
      though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
      These have come so that your faith -
      of greater worth than gold,
      which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

      Philippians 4:13
      I can do all things through Christ
      who strengthens me.

      1 Peter 5:7
      Cast all your anxiety on Him
      because He cares for you.

      Psalm 9:10
      Those who know Your name
      will trust in You,
      For you, LORD, have never forsaken
      those who seek You.

      Psalm 94:19
      When my anxiety was great within me,
      Your consolation brought joy to my soul.

      Proverbs 3:5-6
      Trust in the LORD with all your heart
      and lean not on your own understanding;
      in all your ways acknowledge Him,
      and He will make your paths straight.

      Romans 8:38-39
      For I am convinced that
      neither death nor life,
      neither angels nor demons,
      neither the present nor the future,
      nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
      nor anything else in all creation,
      will be able to separate us
      from the love of God that is in
      Christ Jesus our LORD.

      Hebrews 10:17
      Then He adds:
      "Their sins and lawless acts
      I will remember no more."

      Colossians 2:13-14
      When you were dead in your sins
      and in the uncircumcision
      of your sinful nature,
      God made you alive with Christ.
      He forgave us all our sins,
      having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us;
      He took it away, nailing it to the cross.

      Job 14:16-17
      Surely then You will count my steps
      but not keep track of my sin.
      My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
      you will cover over my sin.

      1 John 2:12
      I write to you, dear children,
      because your sins have been forgiven
      on account of His name.

      Isaiah 1:18
      “Come now, let us reason together,"
      says the LORD.
      "Though your sins are like scarlet,
      they shall be as white as snow;
      though they are red as crimson,
      they shall be like wool.

      Psalm 118:8
      It is better to take refuge in the Lord
      than to trust in man.

      John 8:36
      So if the Son sets you free,
      you will be free indeed.

      Psalm 25:4-5
      Show me Your ways, O Lord,
      teach me Your paths;
      guide me in Your truth and teach me,
      for You are God my Savior,
      and my hope is in You all day long.

      Psalms 25:4
      Show me Your ways, O Lord;
      Teach me Your paths.

      Psalm 119:105
      Your Word is a lamp to my feet
      And a light to my path.

      Psalm 63:3
      Because Your love is better than life,
      my lips will glorify You.

      Proverbs 30:5
      Every word of God is pure:
      He is a shield unto them
      that put their trust in Him.

      Isaiah 43:18
      "Forget the former things;
      do not dwell on the past."

      Psalm 32:8
      I will instruct you
      and teach you in the way you should go;
      I will counsel you and watch over you.

      Psalm 91:4
      "He will cover you with His feathers,
      and under His wings you will find refuge;
      His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

      John 14:27
      Peace I leave with you;
      my peace I give you.
      I do not give to you as the world gives.
      Do not let your hearts be troubled
      and do not be afraid.

      Psalm 25
      7 Remember not the sins of my youth
      and my rebellious ways;
      according to Your love remember me,
      for You are good, O LORD.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: trust in the Lord

        Hang in there Matt. God bless and keep you. You are doing great. God will see you through this.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: trust in the Lord

          Praying that God will lift you up and hold you.
          Do you have at least two really close friends?
          I have a picture of Moses holding his hands up during the battle. When they were up, they were winning, when they would slip, they were losing. The Lord had two people help hold his arms up.

          Do you have two really close friends there to help you hold your arms up Matt?

          Praying for this battle to be done.

          In His care,
          Tammy

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: trust in the Lord

            Praying for you Matt!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: trust in the Lord

              Thank you all for your prayers. I'm learning more details of my STBX's (soon-to-be-ex) work to undermine me. She has turned almost all of her family against me ... this stings, because they have been my family too, yet they have not sought my side of things. Thankfully there are some who are wise, but they are in the minority now as far as I know. I've also seen more examples from her of being two-faced ... that is, saying one thing to my face, and then doing the opposite behind my back.

              I will soon be taking a psychological evaluation. The only thing I'm struggling with right now is anxiety and stress over the situation, so I pray that God will calm me before the evaluation begins. I also pray for wisdom on the part of the evaluator(s), and the child-welfare worker and the state's attorney they will report the results to. During this evaluation, I will need to talk about terrible things from my childhood (17+ years ago), and at that point I will be at the mercy of the court system - there may be serious legal ramifications for myself and for others I care for.

              But I have talked with counselors about these things before, and they all found me fit - "no pathologies" was the medical term that one of them used (I met with this counselor about 15 times regarding the divorce). Worth mentioning - this counselor also met with my STBX on 30+ occasions last year and found her to have a mental disorder. When my STBX stopped meeting with her, the counselor shared with me that she was disappointed and thought my STBX needed more counseling.


              God spoke to me with Psalm 27:14 this morning:
              Wait for the LORD;
              be strong and take heart
              and wait for the LORD.
              The LORD has been testing me, and so far I think I've done pretty good. This evaluation is my "leap of faith" test, and I plan to take the leap. God is good, and I will do what is right and trust Him with the results. Everything He has spoken to me this last year indicates that He loves me (more than I can fathom!!), He wants the best for me (His wisdom is infinite!!), and He has wonderful plans for me. I can't wait to tell the story of what God has accomplished here!!!

              -Matt

              P.S. - I can't keep this in anymore: I believe God spoke to me last summer when the situation was first starting. In tears, I cried out to Him with a question on my heart, and immediately I heard a two-word response in my head that didn't come from myself. I could be mistaken, only time will tell for sure ... and it's taken a lot of prayer and discernment for me to accept that this was of God. I've consulted several people wiser than myself about it, and in the end I believe God revealed something wonderful to me! I didn't understand why God would reveal this thing to me, but now I'm starting to think that He graced me with this promise to carry me through a very difficult situation. I could be completely wrong, but this is another leap of faith I feel I need to take. I've prayed on this almost everyday for the last 9 months, and every time I start to doubt, God places something in front of me to reinforce that this was indeed His promise. I won't reveal any details now, but when it comes to pass I promise I will tell everything here if possible, so that you might share in my blessing.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: trust in the Lord

                I need to vent some more - I hope you don't mind.

                I've been meeting with an accountability partner for the last 6 months or so, and we've been encouraging each other to stay in God's word and extract as much from it as possible. He is 18 years old, and I've been encouraging him to remain pure in his relationship with his girlfriend. I'm 31 in 2 weeks, so I have another (older) accountability partner for my own relationships - basically, I am still married so I am not dating, and I talk to this other man if I feel tempted in that area (God has graced me so far).

                The problem is, this 18-yr old is also my STBX's cousin. His parents were originally upset over my STBX's affair and were very supportive of our meetings, but my STBX's mother has started a slur campaign against me, and now his parents are more on the fence.

                I think he is feeling pressured by his mother to stop meeting with me. He says she has left it up to him, and he says he thinks the right thing to do is to continue meeting with me, but this is a big decision for an 18 year old.

                One of my best friends is also a cousin of my STBX. He's around 28 years old. I have a lot of respect for him - he's a man of strong and sincere faith, prays with his wife, serves in multiple ministries, etc. He figured out my STBX's mother (his aunt) long before I did, and says he has had no respect for her for years. Before this all happened, he told me how two-faced she was, but I didn't understand at the time. He is very disappointed in how she is trying to slander me, and he says he has to leave whenever she or my STBX are around. Still, I think his aunt's slandering of me is starting to take a toll.

                My other best friend here is good friends with this man, and attends church with him (same church I used to attend, same as my STBX and her parents). He says that my situation is the craziest (re: most unjust) thing he has ever experienced, and it isn't even happening to him. He says he doesn't understand how I keep myself together - I assure him that God deserves all the credit here. This man has backed me more than anyone in this town.

                More and more I feel like I need to defend myself. But this morning I read from Matthew 5:

                An Eye for an Eye
                38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
                Does anyone have any wisdom to offer? My take has always been that I should not worry about defending myself from those who would slander me - my actions should speak louder than their words. But now I'm feeling the sting of losing relationships with those I've considered my own family.

                In Christ,
                -Matt

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: trust in the Lord

                  Hi Matt
                  Please compare what I'm about to say with your knowledge of Jesus and the Bible.
                  Our Lord told us to pray for those who would persecute us. There are so many reasons God would have us do this, I would be typing all day (and correcting spelling and grammar errors LOL) But you already know all of them but I just wanted to remind you, as I would like to see the Lord will happen in all this.
                  Soooo just a reminder to deal with the details but not to focus on them. Focus on Jesus and what He would have you do.
                  Pray for your ex and listen to what the Lord is telling you to pray for her.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: trust in the Lord

                    PS
                    I may have missed it so forgive me but if you feel praying for your ex is right then may I suggest you post that request.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: trust in the Lord

                      You have been so kind to help me in my sorrow.
                      I just read your post and encourage you to defend yourself. We are not to just lay down and be roadkill. I hope you have wise legal defense to guide you. Honor God by reviewing how He has strengthened you and how He has made you a good man. No harm in sharing that. Your goals, dreams, future focus for your family are all good too. Your growth in areas that needed growth can also be acknowedged---how you have grown, why you have grown and a basic life review stating your future goals is also acceptable.
                      there is much good info on the net to help you. If you need help researching, I will help\

                      Praying for all good things for your family and you in this hard time.Gods will.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: trust in the Lord

                        I just spoke with my STBX, trying to clear the air on a lot of things. I'm concerned that there is false information floating around, and I confronted her on some of these - statements I've seen in reports, etc. - but she denied saying these things, or explained them away.

                        I'm in a foggy state right now, not knowing what is true, not knowing where my spouse has lied intentionally versus innocent (yet very harmful) comments. I feel like the anger I've been harboring towards her is hurting my relationship with God, so I pray that this will be resolved. Maybe this is all a part of the test God is putting me through.

                        At the same time, I know my wife has a slight mental disorder, and I may just be banging my head against a wall trying to reason with her. Actually, I'm almost certain I am - that was always how it was when we were together.

                        I need so much wisdom here. The most important thing is that God would be honored in the outcome, and I pray that my eyes might be opened to my own sins, that I would find repentance, and that God would just be glorified through all this. I fear that I got so caught up on how Satan was manipulating my wife's actions that I didn't see him creeping up on me - bringing some of the more subtle sins like pride, anger, etc. I just need wisdom and discernment - which historically have not been my strong points.

                        When I first found out about the affair, in my anger I threatened to take the kids away from her based on her drug use. I cooled off and apologized soon thereafter, but she has repeatedly stated that I could never take this back - she will not forgive me, and she is on the offensive because of this. She said this again today, and I told her that I hoped God would not hold her to the same standard when she stands before His throne. Matthew 6:15.

                        In Christ,
                        -Matt

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: trust in the Lord

                          I just re-read SAT's post, and wanted to ask for prayer for my STBX. I am not wise enough to know how to pray for her, but I think God would want me to ask that she would fully understand His grace and forgiveness and mercy.

                          As for myself, I've become keenly aware that I have not fully surrendered everything to Christ. Over the years I've gradually surrendered more and more, but there have always been pockets of my life that I hung onto - afraid of what God might do with them if I gave them to Him. This is a trust issue for me. I feel like God has now put me in a situation where my only option is to trust Him and finally surrender everything to Him - it is painful now, but it will be SO worth it when I finally see Jesus face-to-face. Plus I believe God has hinted at some blessings He wants to pour on me in this lifetime ... but for now, the test continues. Please pray that I would persevere and emerge victorious!! Please pray also that I might handle my anxiety in a way that honors God, and if it's His will, that this cup would be taken from me.

                          -Matt

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: trust in the Lord

                            Bless your heart. Sometimes we have to walk through the horrors so we can grow in the Lord. You will grow. You will become the man Jesus wants you to be. One thing I have had to learn and still am learning---love God more than anything else. Put HIM first. Trust Him even in the dry crunchy parts.
                            I am praying for you.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: trust in the Lord

                              Praying for the Lord's continued guidance and protection through this difficult time...

                              In His care,
                              tammy

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