Solitude is something I look forward to every month which is part of the Discipleship Program. As students, we are given a turn to share a devotional before we go to be alone with the Lord. My desire is to give glory to God for what He is doing.
I would like to share what the Lord has been teaching me and how that has affected me the last few months. It has taken me some time to process and the more I process the more there is more to learn.
I use the “Revised Common Lectionary” for my devotional times in the morning which is really good. When we have our regular 6 am house devotional time we read the same passages and then at the office for our prayer meetings we read the same Psalms as well. So, all throughout the day I hear the same scriptures read and the Lord has used this to minister to my heart. I have found that each day God has given me a word of encouragement, hope and strength to continue in the fight.
While spending time with the Lord one morning I was reading Deut 6:16-25, which talks about the Lord having brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and is giving them the commandments they are to keep and teach to the coming generations. What I came away with was from verses 23-25 “And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.” It was like the Lord was asking me if I trusted Him to take care of me and if the fear that was in my heart was the right kind of fear. Would I leave behind my own plans and follow Him no matter where He called me to go? or would my fears of the unknown keep me back?
Trusting Him is the first area I needed to address. If I don’t trust the Lord then I will not follow. Just like the children of Israel needed to leave Egypt behind so I need to leave my fears behind. The promise land is prepared, will I go in and take it or will my fears keep me in the wilderness? Having seen the Lord’s faithfulness throughout my life and even more so in the last two years, being in the Discipleship Program how could I not trust Him?
My Father reminded me of another passage from His word, which came through him extending his loving hand for me to take as an act of surrender and complete trust. 1 John 4:18-19. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” The fears I had before were tormenting me and had caused me to shrink back in times past; but now I was ready to place my hand in His and follow wherever He chose to lead me.
As I surrender my plans for His I am learning to trust my leaders and realising that my time and schedule are not my own and this has been so freeing for me. Fear has been replaced with perfect Love. Trusting the Lord by obeying all that He asks of me has caused me to glorify Him and praise Him for being faithful.