“Let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings.” Psalm 61:4b (Amp)
Today I’m asking God to help me find shelter under His wings. I’m being stretched to believe I can rest in God’s sovereignty and choose inactivity (on my part). Instead of working on something I need to do, God’s challenging me pray instead…to be still, talk to Him and trust He is working when I am not. This is where believing God and doubting play tug-o-war. When a deadline and responsibility hangs over my head and something keeps me from moving toward it, it makes me…
Doubt I can get it done.
Doubt I heard God right.
Doubt God’s perfect plans and timing.
Doubt my ability to follow through.
Satan wants us to doubt ourselves
But God wants us to believe HIM and trust Him! This is where we learn to live in the power of HIS promises. It’s the only way to live beyond the shadow of our doubts as we walk forward or rest in faith. But it’s hard when you’re having a bad day. Like the one one that just culminated with a run-away dog this afternoon, and me crying ’cause I didn’t think I’d find her since she didn’t have her tags on her new collar.
I drove around my neighborhood and surrounding area with my windows down crying out, “Daaaaaaaaisy, Daiseeeeey!” And saying, “God, please don’t let this happen. Not today. Not Daisy. You know she’ll run forever. She’s a beagle whose nose will lead her to SC and she won’t even know she left home. This is the last thing I need today. Pleeeaase help me find her.”
Finally a man who lives near us brought her home while I was out looking for her. He told mom it took a piece of bologna to get Daisy to come to him. I could’ve strangled that bologna-eating dog when I got home. But she was smiling and jumping on me like she’d gotten back from a friends house.
I know, life happens! But I sure do wish it would coordinate itself with my needs and deadlines. Today was a writing day and now my brain feels like a sledge hammer is pounding on it. Why do things like this happen on the days I block out time to write my book? Seriously. And can I be honest with you? It’s frustrating. I can’t write every day so when I can, I really need to.
Sometimes it feels like I am living in the middle of impossible.
So what do we do in the middle of impossible? I am still trying to figure that out but the past several months have given me lots of opportunities to try a few things. First, I am learning to cling to the promise- With God all things are possible! Then I am learning to ask Him to give me a very specific “word” (a promise or a principle) from His Word to act on and put my trust in. Then I look for what next step He wants me to take.
For example, before all this craziness happened today, I was stressing a little about my book deadline and blocking out time to write until I meet it. This weekend He gave me 2 Timothy 1:12b, “For I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I’ve entrusted to Him for that day.”
Then today He challenged me (gave me the opportunity) to walk it out: to be convinced that He is able to guard what I’ve entrusted to Him for this day. For me it means that I am entrusting Him with the chapter I feel like I should be writing, and the words that are now stuck inside my pounding head.
As far as a step to take, the Holy Spirit reminded again today that God’s been nudging me to for a while to ask friends to pray for me and the message of “A Confident Heart” and the women who will read it – until it’s written. He’s reminded me that the enemy is not happy about what God is up to on the pages of this book and that he will do all he can to stop me.
So, today I am walking out 2 Tim 1:12, and then taking the next step of obedience by asking some friends to pray with me.
Would you’d like to be part of the “Confident Heart” prayer team?
I think it’d be so wonderful to seek Christ’ heart with you and ask Him together to make Himself famous through this book. Leah (my assistant and dear friend) and I are excited to see who God will gather with us. We’ll collect names/emails to send requests and we’ll also be praying for them too! To join us, leave a comment below with your email address and we’ll send you updates, probably once a week. (Or email [email protected] with “Prayer Team” in the subject line.)
Now that I’ve written all of this, I have a feeling God is writing a chapter right here in the middle of impossible. I’d love to know if you ever feel like you are living in the middle of impossible? What are some promises you cling to and some steps you take to help you get out of that hard place?
I love to hear from you! (and pray for you, too)
UPDATE: Thank you so much for blessing me with your words of affirmation, ideas, suggestions and perspectives for the subtitle of “A Confident Heart.” It was the best feedback I could have gotten!! You make me want to write this book even when it gets hard! Random integer chose Stephanie Pace as the winner of the $20 giftcard. So sorry it took me a day to count the names and get it posted. Congratulations Stephanie!
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it’s so late at night that all I am asking for is to Please pray for me and I will pray for all of you.
I forgot to leave you my email address! [email protected].
Lisa
I would love to pray for you and be part of your prayer team!
Lisa
Hey Renee! I would love to be on this team to pray for you and this journey. I did it with Lysa and would love to do it for you too!! God's got great things to come from this book/message!!
Praying for you this weekend too!
My email: [email protected]
Renee, Thank you, thank you for sharing your struggle today. I'm "living in the middle of impossible" this morning, too, and I needed to hear God's truth speaking through you.
Here's one of my favorite verses to claim, especially when I'm in the middle of impossible: "But I trust in You, O Lord. I say to you, 'You are my God'; My times are in Your hands. Deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me." Psalm 31:14-15
I would be honored to pray for you and your book.
[email protected]
Renee, Thank you, thank you for sharing your struggle today. I'm "living in the middle of impossible" this morning, too, and I needed to hear God's truth speaking through you.
Here's one of my favorite verses to claim, especially when I'm in the middle of impossible: "But I trust in You, O Lord. I say to you, 'You are my God'; My times are in Your hands. Deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me." Psalm 31:14-15
I would be honored to pray for you and your book.
[email protected]
I feel like I've been living in the middle of impossible for over a year now. Some days all that gets me through the next minute is thinking that "maybe tomorrow we'll all be together again."
Angela, your feelings don't sound ridiculous to me at all. I completely understand and I am praying for you to have the confidence God wants you to have to do what He has called you to do!
I have had those same feelings when I post something and there are few comments. Words of encouragement is my #1 love language so hearing from women here on my blog is a big way that God loves on me, too. I love feeling like we are in community talking and figuring out God and life together. All that to say, I do understand.
One thing I've learned is that there will always be someone who is better at something or getting more of what I want than I am. Satan loves to use comparison as a trap and to discourage our hearts. With each blog post you write, I encourage you (an me) to write it as an offering to Jesus and pray for each person whose life will be touched by it. Then listen for His whisper, "Well done good and faithful servant, well done." Hugs to you sweet friend!
Renee
I have been praying for you and would love to be part of your prayer team for your book!
Mary
[email protected]
You know what's making me doubt Rene? Lack of comments on blog post. The weirdest thing is that I get comments on post that I don't even think or that good. And then I look at other women blogs and see where they say, "Hey I've been thinking." And they get 200 comments, or they offer something for free and get 500. Comments can sure make a girl question if she heard God right, or at least this girl anyway.
I was thinking about doing what my friend Ann over at Holy Experience has done…she disabled her comments. I leave mine though because I do blog tours and I'm trying not to be vain and care.
I know this may be ridiculous to someone like you, but that has been the biggest discouragement for me.
A Confident Heart….wow. That I firmly believe is what most women, if not all, yearn for & so many fail to see that ache with in can only be filled by God. Thank you for your post in the midst of your impossible. Has anyone watched The Pursuit of Happyness (with a "y")? You want to talk about an aching head & heart….but this man perservered & I was amazed at how he did it. My husband & I talked about it too…he never complained…he was honest…his word meant something & he kept it…his child came first & he did what he had to do to get things done & when circumstances where crashing in, he did not resist them…he flowed with them. AMAZING. You are learning how to flow with them & so am I. The energy you have when you don't waste it fighting or resisting your circumstances is staggering. I will keep praying for you Renee..God will provide!
Your sister in Christ, Pam K.