Guest Post – Trust in the Father

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Tim with the team from Holland Christian Schools

Once again, board member Danell Czarnecki will be guest-blogging while I’m in Lesotho.

Photos and stories about my trip are available on this blog made by the Holland Christian Schools team.

Trust in the Father

In a few weeks I will have the amazing gift of holding my first grandchild. As I wait for that day, I pray when I take her in my arms she will know love as she rests between my shoulders and that she can trust I will always do my best to do what is right for her. But no matter how hard I try, I will never love her or be as trustworthy as the One who loves her more and in His graciousness chose to bless us with the gift of her.

At the beginning of each new year I ask God to give me a word to speak to me throughout the coming year, my “go to” word if you will. In 2014 my word was “release.” This year, for 2015, my word is “trust.”

I am in awe of how our Father speaks even when we aren’t always listening; and how He uses the things in our lives to point us towards Him. 2014 brought about many things in both my personal and ministry life I needed to release, and by releasing I have needed to press into trusting Him for the “holes” left in the releasing. He continues to teach me that to trust Him is to believe with conviction that He wants the best for me and for me to grow and experience fullness of life; and to trust He is sufficient to fill the holes.

In one of the last sermons I heard Pastor Tim preach he asked if anyone had ever heard of a church with the word “trust” in its name. Can’t say I have, there are many churches with words like grace, love, faith, Calvary, fellowship, community, and the list goes on. But none with the word trust.

If we believe in God for who we say He is; if we believe the Bible as truth; and if we believe that someone who said he would die and rise again did indeed do that very thing; and if we believe God sent the crucified and risen One for us because of His love (John 3:16); why do we find it so hard to trust? I once read a quote from the founder of Overseas Missionary Fellowship, he said, “There is a living God, He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all He has promised.” So I release, wait, trust, and my faith in the One who loved me more than life itself grows.

Trust was such an important word in the OT, it took 7 different Hebrew forms of the word to capture the intensity of its meaning. Each of the 7 words define different ways we can trust our Heavenly Father; much like a baby trusts in their parents to provide a safe refuge, to be secure in their love, to be nurtured and believed in, to wait upon with hope, and to look to for protection and provision. All 7 of these Hebrew words for trust in the OT translate into the Greek word used for faith in the NT.

When we put our faith in Jesus, when we truly trust in the Father, we can rest between His shoulders. We can be confident His arms will provide shelter, we can know He will nurture and build us up. We can be as certain He will do whatever it takes as we are certain in the crucifixion and resurrection. And even though we sometimes groan like we are in labor, we wait and trust in Him to bring about something new in our lives.

My granddaughter’s faith and trust in the safety and love of my arms will forever be a gift to me. Trust is our gift back to God, and He finds it such a beautiful gift that He sent His Son to die for it.

Guest Post – Rest in the Father

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tim-at-BG

As I mentioned last week, I’m currently visiting Beautiful Gate Child Care Center in Lesotho, Africa. Board member Danell Czarnecki will be guest-blogging while I’m in Lesotho.

Photos and stories about my trip are available on this blog made by the Holland Christian Schools team.

Rest in the Father

A few years ago Pastor Tim, myself, and a few others attended a prayer summit. It was a powerhouse experience in so many ways. The worship was beautiful, what I imagine heaven must be like; a gathering of people from every tribe and tongue united in One Father, One Son, One Spirit.

The prayer times were equally as powerful. There was a palpable release of the Holy Spirit and a call upon us, both as the body of Christ, and as individuals, to take a leap of faith and step out into the “fullness of God” we read about in Ephesians; a fullness we were created to experience and share.

I knew in my spirit something big was happening, but couldn’t fully discern it at the time. I also knew I desperately wanted to be a part of it but fear, insecurities, lack of trust and more kept me from stepping out into the deeper waters.

Near the end of the summit God knew I needed a confirmation of what I was experiencing in my spirit. During a moving worship time an artist worshiped with us using his creative gift of painting. As we worshiped, what began as a rather abstract messy canvas began to take shape and come to life. An image of a woman resting between the shoulders of Jesus emerged and tears began to flow down my cheeks.

Those who know me know I am a bit of an over-achiever. As the artist added color and texture to his canvas, I was reminded that God didn’t send His Son to the cross so I could do something more, but so I could find love, trust and rest in who He is and for me to fully honor Him required for me to accept me. I was too reminded that without Jesus and His sacrifice I am a mess and without form, but God lovingly and tenderly molds, shapes, and colors me in such a way that when I rest in His arms His works manifest themselves in and through my life for His glory not because of anything I do. And the only thing that matters is His love for me and who He sees in me.

I brought that picture home with me as a reminder and hung it outside my office, not just for me, but as a reminder to all of us that “the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.” (Deut. 33:12b)

A few months ago I was meeting with someone whom God is calling into deeper waters. I asked her to close her eyes and tell me what she saw. She said God beckoning her to come to Him, His arms open and extended, wanting to draw her between his shoulders, ready to receive and embrace her. I said “What are you waiting for? Run to Him!! The one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.” She ran and though she is in deep water He is her lifeboat and he is using her to bring powerful healing to others.

What is the Lord calling you to? What are your “deeper waters”? Close your eyes, do you see Him? Run into His arms, He won’t deny you, He will catch you, you can trust Him, and He will give you rest.