For a limited time (through June 30), LifeWay has made the teaching videos available for FREE for my Bible study, Missing Pieces: Real Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense. So, we’re going to go through the study together in my new Bible Study Bistro Facebook Group!

Starting May 5, we’ll dive deeper into the content of Missing Pieces, discussing it together each week.

Join Our Bistro Missing Pieces Study

Learn More About My Missing Pieces Study & Access Teaching Videos

When my son, Clayton, was three years old, our local theater had a cheap summer movie series. They featured cartoon movies for just $2—and that included the popcorn!

Now, if you’re a new podcast listener, this might be a good time to tell you that I’m blind. And, by the third film in the series, I needed a way to entertain myself while Clayton and the friends we went with enjoyed the 90 minutes of cartoon silliness.

So, I put my earbuds and cassette Walkman in my purse. (Yes, this was before iPods and even CDs.) I also grabbed a cassette tape I’d had for years but never listened to.

This tape featured a message by speaker Marolyn Ford. She had a personal story that was both similar to and different from my own. And, while I was curious to hear it, I also dreaded listening to it—which was why I had waited so long. I was afraid to hear it, to feel it, and then to have to deal with it.

Yet, that day in the movie theater as the previews began, I finally pushed play.

Marolyn spoke of slowly losing her sight, and described her emotions and challenges in a way I recognized all too well. She shared about her life as a wife and a mother, and about how tired she was of being blind.

I sat there, identifying completely with Marolyn. I knew how she felt.

But there was a point in her message when every part of me wanted to turn off the tape. She was about to describe the one part of her story I would not be able to relate to—something that would feel like salt on my open wound.

But for some reason, I kept listening.

In the darkness of the theater and the darkness of my blindness, I heard her describe the night she cried out to God for healing. She shared how, after praying, she could see again—not just a little bit, but completely. Her healing was a full-blown, certifiable, unreasonable miracle!

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I listened.

How could I reconcile God’s decision to heal the blindness of one of His children, but not the other? How could I carry the joy I felt for what God could do in the same heart that breaks because of what God won’t do? At that moment, I looked into the face of blindness and face of healing and saw God in both.

It was then that I had to confront the unfairness of the God I loved. I didn’t want to feel those emotions and question my faith. I just wanted to paste a mushy greeting card over that very broken place in my heart, which read, “Let go and let God.”

But I couldn’t—and I didn’t. Instead, I faced up to the question, “God, are You fair?”

Sister, maybe you are walking through something hard today and face the same question. You may wonder if God’s ways are right, why do they sometimes feel so wrong?

On this episode of the 4:13 Podcast, KC and I get honest and talk candidly about how God can be just, even when He doesn’t seem fair. We also give you four choices you can make when life feels unfair.

4 Choices You Can Make When God Feels Unfair

1. Focus on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus, not on others (Hebrews 12:1-3). When you compare, you can feel like God’s not fair. But God never claimed to be fair—or even experienced fairness Himself. It’s not fair that He, in His perfection, would sacrifice for you and me (2 Corinthians 8:9). So, look to Him and recognize that it’s not supposed to be fair. Fix your eyes on Him and not your problems. God may not want to fix the problem. He may want to fix a situation in your heart through the problem. And, when you focus on Jesus, you stay encouraged.
2. Admit your pain. Psalm 62:8 says, “O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.” You can pour out your heart to the Lord and admit your pain. Don’t hold it in because denial is dangerous. Repression leads to depression, but honesty leads to intimacy. When you admit your pain, it draws you closer to the Lord.
3. Invite His presence. Invite God into your pain. Psalm 145:8 says, “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.” When you call on Him, you’re making your pain a bridge, not a barrier. You’re inviting Him to step right into the middle of your mess because bridges invite relationship, barriers separate us.
4. Rest in God, not answers. There are mysteries you might not ever understand. Psalm 37:7 says, “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, don’t fret about the evil man who prospers.” Instead of comparing your life with that of others or seeking answers, you can rest. Answers don’t satisfy, only a relationship with God does. His presence is more valuable than His answers.

Sister, no matter what you face today, focus your eyes on Him, admit your pain, invite His presence, and rest in Him. Through Christ, you can have the courage and comfort to trust God, even when you don’t like or understand His ways.

Related Resources

Free Download

• “Take Me to the Cross” free song download

Books and Bible Studies by Jennifer Rothschild

• God Is Just Not Fair: Finding Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
• Missing Pieces: Real Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense

Blog Posts

• The Not Fair Prayer
• What Your Response Should Be to Hardship
• What to Do When You Doubt God

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You may face a situation, circumstance, or hard place that doesn’t seem fair today. How can we pray for you?

It was all about the laundry.

I’ll get right to it. My husband, Phil, has always been a great guy, but there was one big issue with his greatness. He was perfectly capable of dropping his dirty clothes in the hamper, which has always been placed conveniently in our closet. But did he ever do this simple thing that he was perfectly capable of doing? Nope. Most of the time, he dropped his dirty clothes right in front of the clothes hamper. Right in front.

At first, I tried to handle it with humor. I conducted a dirty clothes protocol seminar in our closet.

I invited him into the closet with me, where I used exaggerated gestures while standing varying distances from the hamper, all the while counting out loud how many seconds it took me to toss laundry into the basket rather than in front of it. Of course, I also pointed out that even though I cannot see, I rarely missed.

It didn’t work. His pile was always right there in front of the basket.

It bugged me at first until it began to really, really bother me. The reason it got to bothering me so much was not because of his behavior, but because of the meaning I assigned to his behavior — I had some faulty assumptions.

As a brand new wife, I brought my share of faulty assumptions into our marriage. I had lots of preconceived notions that weren’t based on a right understanding of relationships. Those misguided thoughts grew into unrealistic expectations, and I couldn’t understand why my husband, Phil, didn’t get it! How could he be so insensitive?

If he really valued me, he would pick up his clothes and put them in the hamper.

I thought that if Phil did something I didn’t like, he did it because he didn’t care about me. When he handled things differently than I would have, I thought his priorities were just plain off base!

Now, are good laundry habits important when you share a closet with your spouse? Sure. But, if or when a spouse leaves his or her clothes on the floor, should the other spouse take it as a personal insult, or a secret message, or an offense? No.

Girl, I had assigned some faulty assumptions to my husband’s behavior and it created all sorts of misunderstandings!

Oh man, isn’t that just what it’s like to be human?!  You assume. You misunderstand. It ruins your day — and potentially, your relationships.

Misunderstandings can ruin everything.

We live by our assumptions, our beliefs about the way things are or should be. We often aren’t even aware of it until we do a little self-examination.

What about you? Got any areas of wrong thinking in your life? Are you acting out of faulty assumptions?

Our thoughts and our actions flow from our assumptions.

So what is your fruit? Are you hypersensitive with other people — as I was with Phil? Do you constantly interpret other people’s words and actions as personal attacks?

The fruit of hypersensitivity grows from the root of pride and an unhealthy degree of self-absorption. We just assume that our way is not only the best way, it is the only way! We assume that everything revolves around us, our desires, our interests — or it should!

Here’s another fruit. When I was in college, I was paralyzed by the notion that nothing I did was good enough — even when I got an A. Do you ever think that way? If your fruit of perfectionism has matured, you may place those same unrealistic demands on the people you love.

The fruit of perfectionism springs from the root of low self-esteem or insecurity. The assumption is that we’re just not good enough and we need to do more and be more to be acceptable.

Oh girl, some of us have a bushel full of bitter or sour fruit in our lives — and some rotten roots to boot!

Changing the fruit is impossible without changing the root.

That implies a little digging, doesn’t it?

My friend, it’s up to you to determine the assumptions from which you operate. Are they true? Or are they faulty? If they aren’t true, you need to take an ax to those unhealthy roots. Sometimes we just need to call them what they are: damaging, dangerous, and destructive.

But no matter what, you can choke that root yourself with the Truth. That’s what I’ve done — and still do. I kept confronting the root every time I tasted the fruit.

When I got all hypersensitive or defensive with Phil, it was a clue I needed to check out my root. Was I operating out of a faulty assumption? My answer was usually yes. Phil wasn’t devaluing me in a moment of messiness or forgetfulness. His thoughts weren’t even about me when he dropped a pile of sweaty man clothes on the floor. (I guess I’m glad for that on some level?)

We gain understanding by examining ourselves, trying, learning, and even failing.

Let the light of God’s Word help you see your roots clearly. (Psalm 119:105). Use the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12) to cut off those ugly roots.

We can make our healthy roots strong, fertilizing them with God’s Truth that will produce healthy fruit.

Don’t let wrong thinking or faulty assumptions ruin anything in your life sister!

P.S. If you want to go deeper with this topic, I wrote about it in Me, Myself and Lies: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself.

Have you made a faulty assumption? How did it impact your life? What did you learn from it? Share with us in the comments below.

God promises He will deliver us. So… how is that promise working out for you? Have you asked God to deliver you, but still find yourself sick or sad or scared or stuck? If He is our Deliverer, why isn’t He delivering on His promise?

He is.

Sometimes the way God keeps His promises is painful for us. And sometimes we don’t even realize He is delivering us because we don’t recognize the way He does it.

If you are sick or sad or scared or stuck, I want to show you the ways God delivers you.

3 Ways God Delivers

1.  God Delivers FROM
Thousands of years ago, God delivered King Hezekiah from his sickbed (Isaiah 38). The king was wasting away and near death. He cried out to God. God healed. Hezekiah was delivered from his illness.

Almost ten years ago, God delivered my dad from cancer — He healed him in 2010. God used the hands of a surgeon, but beyond a doctor’s ability, God put His healing hand on my dad and removed any trace of the disease. Just like He did for King Hezekiah, God delivered him from cancer.

Sometimes that is what God does. He delivers us from something hard by removing it or preventing it in the first place. This is our favorite kind of deliverance, right? When God delivers this way, we clap and praise and brag on Him!

But, this isn’t the only way God delivers. Sometimes He doesn’t prevent the suffering and He doesn’t remove it, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t our Deliverer.

2. God Delivers THROUGH
Thousands of years ago, God delivered three Hebrew young men through a fire (Daniel 3:16–28). They refused to bow down and worship King Nebuchadnezzar. They were thrown into the furnace as their punishment and not only were they not burned, they walked right out of that fire and didn’t even smell like smoke. They were delivered through the fire.

Right now, God is delivering my friend, Rob, through cancer. Rob is still in treatment and never stops praying for healing.

God has not healed him yet. It has been over ten years since he was first diagnosed, and Rob has been a light of hope to all he meets, even through chemo, surgeries, and radiation. God is delivering Rob through cancer like He delivered the three Hebrew men through the fire.

The kind of deliverance Rob is experiencing isn’t easy — it’s painful. Even though it may not be the deliverance we would choose, it’s the kind of deliverance that brings us closer to our Deliverer.

God promises when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us. That means if He is allowing us to go through it, He goes through it with us — just as He does for Rob. God will continue to be with Rob until the day He delivers Rob from or out of cancer.

3. God Delivers OUT OF
Thousands of years ago, God delivered Stephen out of his stoning and into heaven (Acts 7:54 – 60).

Stephen was falsely accused of heresy by the religious leaders, and ultimately dragged outside the city and stoned. As he was dying, Stephen asked Christ to receive his spirit. God took him out of that terror and into His presence.

If he had survived broken and bruised, we could say that God delivered him through that awful event. But, he didn’t go through it, he went out of it to heaven. It became the portal through which Stephen was ushered into a better — the best — place.

Within the last five years, God delivered my sweet friend, Genia, out of cancer and into heaven. I didn’t want Him to deliver her like that. I wanted Him to deliver her through it until He delivered her from it. We all prayed in faith that God would deliver her from cancer, but He didn’t… or did He? After a long, hard fight, God delivered Genia out of cancer and into heaven on June 6, 2012. God delivered her the same way He delivered Stephen — not from or through, but out of cancer and into the arms of Jesus.

For Genia, that had to be the best kind of deliverance. Maybe this side of heaven, we don’t see it that way. But, within a nanosecond of her arrival there, I bet she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

When you think about the different ways God keeps His promise to deliver us, can you see His deliverance in your life? Has He delivered you from something? Has He delivered you through something? Do you see how He may deliver you out of it and into a better place?

Oh my friend, maybe you have endured — or are enduring — something so awful that you are weeping right now just thinking about it, wondering why God let it happen. Why didn’t He deliver you from it?

Maybe the fact you’re reading this right now is an indication that God is still in the process of delivering you. He is delivering you through it for a purpose higher than you can even imagine. He is delivering you through it because He cares deeply for you.

I wish I knew all the answers.

The one thing I do know is this: God is our Deliverer and God does Deliver. When we can’t understand His ways, we can choose to trust His character.

How are you experiencing God’s deliverance? Please share it with us in the comments below so we can pray for each other and be encouraged.

Then, there are some things in our lives that we think are problems, but in actuality, they are facts which create problems.

Okay, okay… stay with me. This will make sense and it can really make a difference in your life.

If it is a problem, our inclination is to fix it — solve it, right? Save the money to fix the car. Repair the roof. Make the dog wear diapers.

Problems demand solutions. Problems can change.

Silly example:

If you trip down the stairs, tumble and fall, as you pick yourself up and dust off your pride, you wouldn’t say, “Wow, I have a gravity problem!”

That would be silly, right? You would never say that. Gravity isn’t a problem, it is a fact. Falling is the problem!

Serious example:

I used to treat my blindness as a problem that I needed to fix, but it isn’t fixable. It is a fact. Trying to fix a fact will never work, it will only lead to more frustration.

Accepting reality, however, brings peace.

When you determine the difference, then you can…

1. Accept the facts.

A fact is something that you cannot change. It is permanent or fixed, like gravity or, in my case, blindness.

The reality is that I am blind — I didn’t choose it, I can’t change it. Until there is a treatment or healing, it is just a fact.

There are some things in your life that you can’t change either. You wish you could, but you just can’t. It may be a physical condition or another person’s choices. Accepting what you cannot change is the first step to living free from the constant soul fatigue that comes from treating every hard thing as a problem.

Just because we accept a fact doesn’t mean we like it or condone it. It just means we have a mature understanding and perspective of the hard things in our lives. Accepting the unchangeables also helps us acknowledge the problems that tag along with them.

2. Acknowledge the problems.

There are usually some problems that accompany facts. The fact of gravity brings with it the problem of falling, right?

The fact of blindness brings with it problems of frustration, injury, limitation, and fear.

Think about that hard thing you deal with — what are some of the problems you struggle with because of that fact?

Problems hurt, don’t they? But, you can find wisdom and strength from the Lord — you can trust that the problems can be dealt with, fixed, managed and sometimes even avoided or changed.

In other words, you can identify solutions.

3. Identify a solution.

We work with and work around facts. We work on problems. We find solutions to help change what we can.

Since gravity is a fact and falling is a problem, some solutions may be holding the handrail, slowing down, and wearing sensible shoes!

Frustration, fear — those problems that come with blindness — I can work on those. I reduce my frustration by planning ahead and giving myself extra time to finish tasks. I manage the problem of fear through prayer and memorizing Scripture. You get the idea… solutions!

Today is your day to name the facts and accept them. Acknowledge the problems and find one solution to help you handle them. You are smart enough, creative enough and strong enough to do this! I promise!

(If you need help sorting this out, a professional counselor may be a great solution.)

I am cheering you on!!

P.S. If you need more encouragement, check out 4 Psalms to Pray When You Need God’s Help. 

Let’s pray for each other! In the comments below, name the fact of life you’re going to accept, and a solution to help the problems it causes.

There are so many things in this life we wish God would change. We ask. He doesn’t always do what we ask when we ask, right?  

Maybe God doesn’t change our hard circumstances because He wants to give those hard circumstances time to change you? God is always in the process of finishing what He started in us. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

The older I get, the more I am convinced that God isn’t done until I am redone, changed from the inside out, for the better. That process isn’t always pleasant, I know, but there is meaning in this mean time for you. Perhaps as you ask God to change your circumstances, you can asked Him to change you too in the process, in the meantime while you wait?  

Here are 3 things God may want to change in you and for you before He changes your circumstances:  

1. God may want to change your mind 

Sometimes our misery is more from the way we think about our situations than it is the situations themselves. If we hold on to a negative mindset, even when our situations are gloomy, it just makes them worse. If we think the worst, we see the worst. If we think our situation is hopeless, then we start to believe that it is. But, God has given us the mind of Christ!  

We don’t have to be victims of stinking thinking. We can Philippians 4:8 our thoughts. I have to do this all the time -and I mean ALL the time! I get no vacation from blindness. It never changes. It is always dark and confusing and stressful. If I don’t discipline my mind to think on what is good or what I can do rather than what I can’t do, I would be one miserable woman!    

You can be transformed – changed – by the renewing of your mind, so ask God to help you change your thinking.

2. It may be because He wants to change your heart

Sometimes when hard things last way too long, our hearts can get hard or angry. Sometimes we can feel like we are the only one who suffers, and grow resentful of others who seemingly have it easier. But God doesn’t allow the difficult trials and situations to stay in your life to make you hard and angry, does He? Think about it – of course not. Anger over what doesn’t change in your life does not change you for the better, it changes you for the worse.  

A hard heart is worse than any hard circumstance you face. Let God use that hard thing in your life to change you into a softer, more gentle empathetic person. Your circumstance may not ever change, but when your heart changes you will have the peace you long for.  

Ask God to change your heart and make it new. He will take your heart of stone and change it – change you – for the better. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

3. It may be because He wants to change the world

People are incredibly confused when they meet someone whose joy doesn’t make sense! It totally disarms them when they see you carry a heavy burden without falling beneath its weight or falling for the lie that ‘life should be fair and good people shouldn’t suffer.’ My friend, I know – really – I know how hard it is to live with something that lasts too long. But, perhaps God has allowed it in your life because He so loves the world and the world needs to see Jesus. Often, He shines the brightest in our lives during our darkest times. 

Sisters, if God hasn’t changed your circumstance, look beyond it so you can see a world who needs to know the God who holds you together. 

Share below what circumstance you are facing, and how you can use it for good. 

I made a list of resolutions. I narrowed it down to the doable. I chose the one biggie and I tried really hard and… well… my old habits have tagged along into this new year, uninvited, unwelcome, but here they are!  I think that is because most of the time, we need to let go of old habits  so the new habits can have a place to grow.

What if this new year, you focused less on what to start and instead, placed your focus and effort into habits you want to stop?

Reacting.

A habit I want to end in 2017 is reacting. As much as I hate to admit it, I often react rather than respond. I open my mouth and let every unfiltered thought fly out at the speed of light! It’s a habit I’ve worked on for a long time and I am way too good at it! Ha!

Oh girl, my grit is itty bitty when it comes to this old habit of reacting! My “want to” is gigantic, but my “will do” is about as powerful as a feather in a hurricane!

That’s why I am leaning hard on God’s grace.

Grace is what God gives us knowing our grit is insufficient, no matter how big and strong it is! Grace is what God gives us to equip us to even have and use our own grit. Grace is God’s kindness, strength and provision lavished upon our need.

I decided to choose a verse to go with the habit I want to end and it works perfectly too with the habit I want to begin!

(If you did my Me, Myself and Lies Bible Study, you may be smiling because that is the verse I used as the theme and here I am still learning what I teach!)

So…

1. Pick a habit you want to end.
2. Choose a Scripture to guide your thoughts and actions.
3. Ask God for some grit and lots of grace .

Ta-da, a new habit — the one you want  — will start to develop and take the place of the old one that you left behind!

Remember, it’s all about grace — God will give you the grit. He will guide you. He will give you all you need.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

What about you? What habit do you want to “end” in 2017? Identifying the habit you want to leave behind in 2016 is the first step to initiating a new one. God’s grace and your grit will help undo the old and usher in the new! 

Please share the habits you’re ready to end in the comments below!

Those of you who know me well, know there is nothing that melts my taste buds more than sinking my teeth into a piece of dark chocolate. In fact, you could dip just about anything in dark chocolate, and I would eat it – and I’m not kidding!

Just like chocolate sends my taste buds into overload, life sometimes send us into overload. As Forrest Gump would say, “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.”

See the box of chocolates above. It’s on the delicious-looking back cover of my newest Bible study – Missing Pieces: Real Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense. Yummy looking, huh?

While the chocolate in the picture, doesn’t have a lot of substance, I can assure you the Bible Study does.

But just for fun, let’s share some Chocolate Recipes.  

Share yours in the comment area below, or send my girl Val an email at jrteam@jenniferrothschild.com. Our recipe “book” will be one of 7 freebies listed on the pages of the Missing Pieces Bible Study Memberbook.

Do you have any spectacular chocolate recipes?… Let me fill my recipe book with them.

Oh, I can feel my mouth watering already. Can’t wait to try your recipes!

Anti-Hot Flash Frozen Chocolate Pie

Perfect for all of us menopausal women

1 (6.0 oz.) HERSHEY’S Milk or Dark Chocolate Bar, broken into pieces  (I prefer dark and any brand will do!)
1 tub (8 oz.) frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 crumb crust (6 oz.)  (I prefer chocolate crust)

– Place candy bar pieces in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM  power for 1 minute or until chocolate is smooth when stirred.

– Cool slightly.

– Fold whipped topping into melted chocolate; spoon into crust. Cover; refrigerate 6 hours or until firm. Garnish with chocolate shavings or raspberry syrup or more chocolate syrup or ANYTHING ELSE CHOCOLATE!

– Cover; refrigerate leftover pie. Hide pie in back of fridge where no one else can find it. Eat a big slice whenever you begin to flash!

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This is a quick way to get your chocolate fix! It’s warm, gooey, fun and quick! Not to mention a fun and creative way to serve up some chocolate!

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (Microwave Safe)

– Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

– Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

– Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

– Place your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

– The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

(This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

Ice Cream Coffee Punch

A favorite of mine to serve for a shower or brunch!

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
1 cup boiling water
2 quarts milk (use whole milk)
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
1 quart chocolate ice cream softened

– Combine sugar and coffee in small bowl; stir in boiling water until dissolved. 

– Cover and refrigerate until chilled. 

– Just before serving punch, pour coffee mixture into a 1 gallon punch bowl.  S

– Stir in milk and ice cream, stirring until melted.

Yields about 1 gallon

What chocolate recipes do you love? Leave a comment here.

We often feel stressed and fearful and disappointed. And, we don’t always feel capable of the small things we need to do — much less the big things that our soul really needs, like trusting God and praying. I know, I have been there.

When I was facing all the unknowns that go with a lumpectomy, the simplest tasks felt complicated; the most ordinary decisions seemed to take extraordinary effort.

The passage I clung to when I was in the midst of my breast cancer scare was Proverbs 3:5-6. It became a sort of spiritual to-do list that I could just follow so I didn’t have to constantly try to think and process — it told me what to do when I didn’t know what to do.

1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

All your heart? Not just some of your heart. All of it. To trust God with all of your heart means you hold nothing back. You don’t just trust Him with the good stuff, you trust Him with all your stuff.

We often hold back part of our hearts out of fear and a desire to self-protect, but this is God we’re talking about. HE is totally worthy of your trust because HE is totally trustworthy.

When I lay on that hospital bed waiting for my procedure to begin, that was all I prayed, “Lord, I trust You. With all I’ve got, I trust You.” Simple words, I know, but not always easy to pray — and mean.

But, when we’re hurting, what do we have to lose?! I lay there with nothing but the potential of a very bad outcome, trusting God in that moment was the least risky, and most wise thing I could do.  So I did. With my whole heart, I trusted Him and I trusted Him with the surgeon, the doctors, the outcome, the future.

If you’re hurting and you really don’t know what to do, trust Him with all you’ve got. When you do, you’ll find He really is all you need.

2. Lean not on your own understanding.

When we’re  leaning on our own understanding, we’re relying on ourselves, our wisdom, our plan.

Think about it, what happens when you lean on something? You rest your weight on it, expect that it will steady you and hold you up. Girl, our understanding isn’t always strong enough to lean on —to rest our whole weight upon, expecting it will hold us up. We don’t see the whole picture so we can’t understand the whole plan.

It’s our tendency to try to figure it all out, rely on our own plan.

But, when you lean on you,  you just multiply the weight you are carrying.

Its okay if you don’t understand. You don’t have to understand every thing to trust God with everything.

If you’re hurting, don’t lean on your own understanding, lean on God instead.

3. In all your ways acknowledge Him.

When you’re hurting, you may not know what to do, but there will still be lots of things you need to do! So, in whatever you do, in all your ways, acknowledge Him. To acknowledge means to know and to recognize.

When you acknowledge God, you are affirming what you know to be true about Him and you are then able to see that truth in your situation.

For me, acknowledging Him in all my ways helped me to understand that no matter the outcome of my surgery, even if “it” wasn’t okay, I knew I would be okay.

If you’re hurting, acknowledge Him, know and recognize that He is with you, caring for you, supporting you and making sure that “you” will be okay.

The result?

And He will direct your paths.

My friend, you don’t have to know what to do. You can trust Him, lean more on His wisdom than your own, and acknowledge Him. And you will be blown away as He does direct you and your path, as He makes the path straight for you.

In my situation, the surgeon was able to get the scary cells and all the compromised tissue out and my margins were clear. Of course, that is the best outcome I could have hoped for. But, my healing journey didn’t occur with the outcome, it happened all along the way — as He directed my path.

He put me on a path of trusting Him no matter what. He guided me down a path of dependence on Him rather than dependence on me. He cleared the way before me to acknowledge Him, and know Him and see Him in my hurt.

The best comfort and healing doesn’t come from a great outcome, it comes from a relationship with God along the way.