Resting in God’s Sovereignty - Your Nightly Prayer - November 4
Resting in God’s Sovereignty
By Michelle Treacy
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. - Ephesians 4:2-3
SOMETHING TO PONDER
It wasn’t that long ago I found myself in a position of hurt, and in the blink of an eye, my world was spun into a direction I didn’t want to go in. I was guarding my heart against bitterness in real time and trying hard to represent Jesus without the additional add-ons of my annoyance.
I am still dealing with a lot of that today, but there are a few things that have helped me in that season that may also help you.
Firstly, admitting that what happened to me was wrong was a big starting point. Instead of denying my reality and ignoring the pain, I stood for a second and agreed with myself that it shouldn’t have happened.
Allowing myself to feel the emotions I was feeling was healthy because pretending they didn’t exist and denying my reality wouldn’t have been. Feeling them meant I could name them, and then I could go to step two.
Step two was taking those named emotions and giving them to God in prayer, and being honest with Him about how I was feeling and why. I could tell him I was angry and upset; I could be open and say I was sad and disappointed by what happened, that I felt ignored and disrespected, and I could leave all of that with him. I didn’t have to carry it every day. There would be no point in telling God I was OK, because He already knew I wasn’t. I won’t lie; I was continually leaving them with God at the start, but I slowly found I needed to leave them with God less. Even now, I still find days when I bring it to God.
Then lastly, I choose to forgive despite a lack of apology or accountability. The reality is, we have never rebuilt our relationship, and I don’t think we ever will unless God intervenes. But forgiving them was about my relationship with Jesus. I know from this experience that forgiveness isn’t always a one-time deal; sometimes I have to go back to God and ask Him to help me with that. I would like to add here that when it raises its head and I take it back to God, it is not defeat; defeat would be when I stop taking it to God. It is perfectly acceptable to need to go back to God with things that we just can’t work out yet.
I have found that the three steps above, alongside wise counsel, have really helped me avoid bitterness, try to represent Jesus well, and keep unity where I could and acknowledge when I couldn’t. I won’t lie to you; that scenario still runs through my head often, and in those days, I prayed and gave it back to Jesus repeatedly.
If you have found yourself in a similar spot, maybe these three steps may help you to reject bitterness, preserve unity, and represent Jesus with grace in this season.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father God,
I thank you for being my father. The one who loves me, even though right now I am struggling with why I find myself in the position I am in, I want to declare that I trust you.
I want to acknowledge that you are good, and you are holy. One day, I will be with you face-to-face, and all of this will make sense to me. Until then, I will anchor my soul in what scripture says and in words I know to be true…You are the origin of all good things, and goodness is determined by you, even when it stings or feels uncomfortable.
Lord, help me when I fall into bitterness or annoyance, or become irritated and impatient, to listen to your heart and remember that things do not need to feel good to be good, for you will take all things and use them for your good.
In your name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE ON
Have you been hurt by someone and left wounded? Give it over to God and allow Him to deal with the hurt left in your heart.
Life may be smooth sailing right now, but if you have been hurt, maybe you need to examine yourself inwardly. Are you struggling with bitterness and with loving others, or is it all being kept at bay by following Jesus closely?
Trusting that God is good when hard things happen is difficult for anyone. But believing the truth anchors us and allows our souls to align with the Holy Spirit, trusting one day that we will know the whys of what happened.
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Pheelings Media
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