Matthew 11:28-30The Message (MSG)
28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
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John 7:37-38New International Version (NIV)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
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Isaiah 43:18-19New International Version (NIV)
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
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Jeremiah 2:13New International Version (NIV)
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
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I found these verses at the front of my lunch time Bible study during the first week of the study. I really like what all 3 of them says. The verses reminds us that we can have rest in Jesus and that if we mess up He will make things new again. I even painted the 1st verse on a wooden cross that I could hang up in my bedroom. I had to summarize it because not all of the verse would fit on the cross I bought but I still get the point. I know this is a strange way to start an entry but I really don't know what to say.
I mean God has been speaking to me a lot lately about things. Things like REAL rest in Him and just having that Joy in Him in my life plus waking up from the "numbness" state of mind and life. He is showing me to trust in Him by showing me his miracles. That is another entry coming soon. It was funny because these 3 verses came to me, aka we had the first Bible study, when things were getting hard at work. When we found out that our newest person quit. When we just got everything that we asked for in. When we just had everything like we wanted, then everything fell apart.
That was two weeks ago. Then last week was just a totally mess for me at work and that is when we went over this study as a group. I felt like I was getting hit from both sides and all sides. I had people telling on me, my children were just crazy, and other personal things I was fighting on top of that all. This school year hasn't been a year where I can rest at all especially being the 2nd in charge and the accountable one. I had to bring myself down a lot these past two weeks and these verses helped me to do just that.
Like I said the 1st one helped me to rest in God and just to remember to trust in Him. The 2nd verse was just a reminder to me that even if the past is not looking at yesterday but moving on to tomorrow then that is a great way to look at it. I had a lot of negative comments that I just had to look past and move on through. I also had to keep reminding myself a lot that even though things are hard now, God is getting me ready for something bigger and better in the future. He is clearing the wastelands and making streams of living water for me to go through.
Then the 3rd verse, I think, is my new favorite or at least my favorite til this Bible study is over so it is my Fall favorite. I just love how it explains us, as humans and sinners. We are so broken that we do let things of this world come out of us even when we know better not to. We have dugged so deep that sometimes we think we can't go back to God but we are wrong once again. We can always go back to the One that gives us that Living Water and heals us when we need it. God can fix our cracks and dents and then fill us back up again with His Word.
Took me til this past Friday to fill that way but I will also admit something. I probably prayed 2 or 3 times this week if that. Might have been once or twice. You know what I could tell a difference in my day to day life. Those nights that I did pray, which were at the end of the week, my week got better. Strange how that happens, huh? I was just to a point where I had enough and I couldn't take any of my own self anymore so I turned to God for that Living Water. I know I am not the only one that does that. We all do it one time or another. I know I kept thinking that I needed to talk to God and things like that through out the week but I was just too tried or upset at the things going on around me that I went straight to sleep when really I should have stayed up and prayed for a bit.
I know I haven't said much about this title so I will for my last paragraph. I got the "Numbness" idea from my Bible study. The author that wrote it said there could be times in our lives where we feel nothing at all and that is called "numbness". I had never thought about it that way before until now. I can't tell you how many times I have felt so numb for so long and I would try anything but getting into the Word to try and fix it. I could even say that at the start of this past week I did feel that way, Numb, but things turned around for me when I started talking to God again.
Funny thing too is that that numbness broke when I cried during my small group Bible study on Weds. night. Right in the middle of the week. It also took a new but bad experience at work for me to realize that numbness I had. Living a life of Numbness is not worth it all at, whether it is a week or years, it's not worth it. You lose way too much when you are in that numbness state of mind. I know I lost a lot this week and I honestly can say that I could have acted a lot better then I do in some situations but I didn't realize that til now after the numbness was gone.
I found these verses at the front of my lunch time Bible study during the first week of the study. I really like what all 3 of them says. The verses reminds us that we can have rest in Jesus and that if we mess up He will make things new again. I even painted the 1st verse on a wooden cross that I could hang up in my bedroom. I had to summarize it because not all of the verse would fit on the cross I bought but I still get the point. I know this is a strange way to start an entry but I really don't know what to say.
I mean God has been speaking to me a lot lately about things. Things like REAL rest in Him and just having that Joy in Him in my life plus waking up from the "numbness" state of mind and life. He is showing me to trust in Him by showing me his miracles. That is another entry coming soon. It was funny because these 3 verses came to me, aka we had the first Bible study, when things were getting hard at work. When we found out that our newest person quit. When we just got everything that we asked for in. When we just had everything like we wanted, then everything fell apart.
That was two weeks ago. Then last week was just a totally mess for me at work and that is when we went over this study as a group. I felt like I was getting hit from both sides and all sides. I had people telling on me, my children were just crazy, and other personal things I was fighting on top of that all. This school year hasn't been a year where I can rest at all especially being the 2nd in charge and the accountable one. I had to bring myself down a lot these past two weeks and these verses helped me to do just that.
Like I said the 1st one helped me to rest in God and just to remember to trust in Him. The 2nd verse was just a reminder to me that even if the past is not looking at yesterday but moving on to tomorrow then that is a great way to look at it. I had a lot of negative comments that I just had to look past and move on through. I also had to keep reminding myself a lot that even though things are hard now, God is getting me ready for something bigger and better in the future. He is clearing the wastelands and making streams of living water for me to go through.
Then the 3rd verse, I think, is my new favorite or at least my favorite til this Bible study is over so it is my Fall favorite. I just love how it explains us, as humans and sinners. We are so broken that we do let things of this world come out of us even when we know better not to. We have dugged so deep that sometimes we think we can't go back to God but we are wrong once again. We can always go back to the One that gives us that Living Water and heals us when we need it. God can fix our cracks and dents and then fill us back up again with His Word.
Took me til this past Friday to fill that way but I will also admit something. I probably prayed 2 or 3 times this week if that. Might have been once or twice. You know what I could tell a difference in my day to day life. Those nights that I did pray, which were at the end of the week, my week got better. Strange how that happens, huh? I was just to a point where I had enough and I couldn't take any of my own self anymore so I turned to God for that Living Water. I know I am not the only one that does that. We all do it one time or another. I know I kept thinking that I needed to talk to God and things like that through out the week but I was just too tried or upset at the things going on around me that I went straight to sleep when really I should have stayed up and prayed for a bit.
I know I haven't said much about this title so I will for my last paragraph. I got the "Numbness" idea from my Bible study. The author that wrote it said there could be times in our lives where we feel nothing at all and that is called "numbness". I had never thought about it that way before until now. I can't tell you how many times I have felt so numb for so long and I would try anything but getting into the Word to try and fix it. I could even say that at the start of this past week I did feel that way, Numb, but things turned around for me when I started talking to God again.
Funny thing too is that that numbness broke when I cried during my small group Bible study on Weds. night. Right in the middle of the week. It also took a new but bad experience at work for me to realize that numbness I had. Living a life of Numbness is not worth it all at, whether it is a week or years, it's not worth it. You lose way too much when you are in that numbness state of mind. I know I lost a lot this week and I honestly can say that I could have acted a lot better then I do in some situations but I didn't realize that til now after the numbness was gone.
One more thing too is that: those verses at the top of the entry are about how not to have a "numbing" life. They are about how to rest in God but yet still live in Him at the same time. Yes, there is a way.
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