A Little Conviction

 I've been working through the Bible study I ordered...the one about Creation. I had prayed extra hard, before beginning, that God would help me learn some new insights as I studied. It's not at all that I think I know it all. It's just that I've studied this passage so many times, and it can be awfully easy and tempting to see things the same way I've always seen them and not look for new things. 

So today I thought I'd share with you one of the things God did nudge my heart about over the weekend.

The study offers questions and prompts throughout, and of course I have to answer every single one in great detail. (I have issues with blank spaces left in workbooks.) 

One of the prompts encouraged me to think about whether or not I had struggles/questions/doubts about Creation itself. I very honestly scribbled notes about how grateful I am that I've always had a bit of an easy faith, so to speak, on this topic. I know many people struggle deeply with how God could have created all He did in the time He did, etc. Do I understand how He did it? Oh, most certainly not! But I have always easily trusted that He could...and did! I'm not scientifically minded. I can't reason about details in that respect, so it's just been easy for me to trust.

I really and truly have always been grateful for my ignorance in that area that has made it easier for me to say, "I don't understand how You did it, God, but I believe You did!" 

I tied a neat, invisible bow on my study for the night and looked forward to the next day!

And that's when the conviction came.

I was praying about something in our little Shafferland world, and I was giving this prayer quite a bit of effort and energy. I had a lot to say to the Lord about my thoughts, dreams, desires, and probably ran to the other side of flat-out BEGGING for His intervention. 

Suddenly, I remembered my journaling from the night before. God reminded my heart that His ability to work (and even to bring the impossible into being!) in this situation is no more of an issue for Him than...you know...creating the Universe. 

He reminded me that I am aware of how easy it is for me to trust Him with the details of Creation. Why wouldn't I just trust Him with my dream?

I stopped right in my heart-tracks.

It was a great question. Why didn't I trust as easily with this?

I had to confess to myself and to God that for some weird (and erroneous) reason, I have it in my head that I actually have some morsel of control over this situation. That somehow my words, my meddling, my orchestrating, my ideas, my (fill in the blank) can sway the answer in the direction I desire. 

But the truth is that I really have no more control over this than I would have had over creating light, stars, or a giraffe. 

If this dream of ours is going to come into being, it will have to be of God's creation every bit as much as the world was His creation. His spoken Word can accomplish it all. My spoken word can do, well, nothing. 

Sure, I'll continue to bring my dreams and desires to God in prayer. But I am asking Him now to help my heart to reach the same level of sincere and confident trust as I have in the things I'm studying from so long ago. 

Maybe trusting in general is easy for you, and if so, that's amazing! But if you struggle to trust - like I do - when it comes to things of your immediate world, maybe these words can encourage you today!