When Doubt Creeps In

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Published: Thursday, 17 January 2019 17:27

Written by Bethany Looyenga

Sometimes I find myself doubting.  The definition of doubt is not pretty at all, here it is: (1) to be uncertain; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe (2) to distrust (3) to fear; be apprehensive about  (4) to be uncertain about something; be undecided in opinion or belief (5) a feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality, or nature of something. (6) distrust

That's a lot of fear, disbelief, and anxiety wrapped up in the one word: doubt

I don't want it. Do you ever feel doubtful about the things God has promised you? Or even what you believe, or doubtful in trusting God?  Does your opinion waver in that God will pull through for you?  Sometimes it can all seem rather bleak and I will start to doubt that I heard God correctly.

I've been reading through the Book of Isaiah and I've been pausing on chapter 11 for several days now.  I love the first few versus:

The cut-off stump of Jesse will sprout, and a fruitful Branch will grow from his roots: the Spirit of Yahwey will be upon him, the Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom, the Spirit of Perfect Understanding, the Spirit of Wise Strategy, the Spirit of Mighty Power, the Spirit of Revelation, and the Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh. He will find his delight in living by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.

These versus are talking about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  

As I've been pondering this daily, I've been speaking these deep roots, this very Spirit upon my own life and my family.  When I begin to feel any doubt creep in, I pray for the Sirit of the Fear of the Lord and the Fear of Extraordinary Wisdom.  When I am confused or over whelmed I pray for the Spirit of Perfect Understanding and the Spirit of Mighty Power.  When I'm not sure what our next move should be in business or ministry, I pray for the Spirit of Wise Strategy.  

What do you do to combat doubt?  How is God impacting your life today with his Spirit of life and hope?

When We Think About the Other Shoe

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Published: Tuesday, 08 January 2019 13:06

Written by Bethany Looyenga

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Matthew 6:34

In the last few days I've had a couple conversations that involved the "other shoe". You probably know the one I'm talking about, right? The one that drops from the sky and hits you square on the head when you are having a perfect day, week, or season?  The big, honkin' shoe that seems to be looming somewhere out there and many of us talk about as if we are just waiting for it to appear, someday from somewhere. I do it too. On great days, sometimes my mind will suddenly start thinking, "just wait til the other shoe drops, you better be ready."

As I was discussing this earlier with a friend, I recognized that the more I am able to trust in the care of Jesus over my life, the less I think about the big shoe in the sky.  The daily joy stays present, and I don't think about what might happen; it's not my shoe anyway.  I'm sure you've also heard the saying "if the shoe fits, wear it."  Well, I know exactly who the shoe fits.

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy....

John 10:10

That shoe fits the enemy of my soul and your soul.  Our Father, who speaks life over us says this:

I came so that they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

John 10:10

Take that shoe and boot it out with the truth of God's Word, which is his promise of eternal life and more than anything you have ever dreamed of!

When God Says Wait

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Published: Friday, 04 January 2019 05:46

Written by Bethany Looyenga

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind.

Isaiah 40:31

One of the biggest lessons I've learned in life, and still get to learn, is to wait. God has asked me to wait for some pretty big dreams, dreams that HE has put in my heart.  And, to teach me to do that, He asks me to wait on a daily basis for little things, like my son to saunter up the stairs every morning to get his shoes, or my husband and his long showers!  God has always given me someone to wait for, and slowly, I am getting better at what that looks like.  It hasn't been easy.  But, it's been an important lesson for me.

I'm currently reading a book on healthy spirituality and the section I just finished was about waiting. We all experience times of waiting for others, and certainly times of waiting for God. Abraham was promised by God that he would be the father of nations, yet he had to wait 25 years before he had Isaac! That's a long time. He was seventy five years old when God gave him the promise of being the father of nations, this guy was well in to living life before he even received a promise from God! He didn't wait perfectly, either.  He tried to "help" God out by sleeping with Hagar part way through the waiting period, consequently, Ismael was born.  And, that's a whole other story.

Then, there's Moses.  He spent forty years in the desert waiting. Yes, forty years.

And, David, who was young and full of faith conquered Goliath, then fled King Saul for thirteen years. David waited as he basically went from one place to another as Saul hunted him.  He waited for God to place him on the throne, while he waited he lost his own dreams and securities, but gained spiritual maturity.

Waiting matures us into the strong people God needs us to be to carry out the promise He has given us.

What has God promised you? What dreams has He put inside your heart that you are waiting for? Don't give them up! Lean into him for fresh strength and soar into that promise with vigor. His dream for you will come to fruition.

When Scary Things Happen

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Published: Friday, 28 December 2018 09:14

Written by Bethany Looyenga

Our granddaughter was admitted to the hospital the day after Christmas, she was rushed there in an ambulance. Oddly, it wasn't a surprise to me.  Just 15 minutes before my son sent me a text telling me what was going on, Holy Spirit sent me the very same thought.  I was prewarned that she would be heading to the hospital, so I was all ready to meet them there.  On my way to the hospital, I continued to remind God (more for my own sake than His) His promise to protect her, His power to heal her, His incredible love for our family, and the amazing work that He was about to do for our sweet granddaughter.

I arrived at the hospital before the ambulance, and when they took me back to see my granddaughter I was relieved to see her spunk!  She has a lot of opinions, eventhough she is very young, and she's not afraid to voice them! I love that about her.  I knew then that God heard all my prayers in my moment of fear.  Really, He heard me before that.  He knew I would feel afraid, He knew I would need to be prewarned and prepared, so He did that for me.  This is who God is.  When scary things happen, we can always go to Him, and He will always walk us through.

I wasn't totally sure, while I was driving, how it was going to work out, and I was faced again with the reality of Mary's statement. "Let it be to me according to Your Word."  I had to let it be.  I didn't want to see her suffer in anyway.  I didn't want to see my son and daughter in-law go through the pain of seeing their child suffer.  All of it was painful to my heart because I love them so much.  Yet, though it all, God showed me some incredibly strong, attentive parents, and faithful warriors. I'm so proud of them!  

When scary things happen we can all choose to pray, ask others to pray, and lean on one another.  

God gets us through.