Hi to all of you HelloMornings participants. Hi to my book club participants. And hi to any future readers of Fruitful Affliction who found this post.
This week marks the start of week one for the Spring 2015 book club for my newest Bible study Fruitful Affliction. If you’ve signed up for my book club but have not received any emails from me regarding the book club then that means for some cyber-reason I don’t have you on the list. And that makes me so very sad. You can go here to try again.
I won’t post a bunch of book club details here on the blog — I’ll leave those for the newsletter — but each week I will have a blog post like this one that will serve as the “hub” for discussion. Once you’ve completed that particular week’s lessons, come back over to the blog and share what God is teaching you. I’d absolutely love to hear.
Also, I will post a short video teaching each week highlighting something that I wanted to emphasize from that particular week’s lessons. In this video I talk about how God is our Defender. I pray it blesses.
I’m honored to walk through God’s Word with you. I pray that His Word serves as an entry way into intimate communing with our good Daddy-God.
Fill me, Lord…
What is one thing that God is teaching you in week one of Fruitful Affliction?
That was absolutely wonderful. What a great reminder that God is our defender, that I do not need to be anxious today over things my heart gets tempted control when it comes to other people’s opinion of me. God will defend my honor. Thank you for sharing.
Much easier said than done, isn’t it? Not trying to control “other people’s opinion of me.” I pray that same prayer for myself. Oh to live for an audience of One. Blessings to you, Ruth.
Thank you. What a wonderful image to keep with me throughout this coming week and months – “keep my seat” and entrust my life into His care!
Thanks, Robyn. It’s a good reminder for me personally. Let’s keep our seat this week. He stands on our behalf!
Love the 5th day point to ponder–In Christ, nothing can touch me apart from God’s steadfast love. There always seems to be something going on in life that makes this a good reminder. Thanks for sharing your gift. (By the way, our little group of gals in Tulsa meets to discuss week 1 tonight. I hope they were as blessed by it as I was.)
Oh I’d love to hear how your meet-up went! Blessings to you, Kate. 🙂
I cannot begin to tell you how much this study has blessed me. It is such a simple study to me, yet profound. The little snippets I get from each day blesses me beyond words could i try and use to describe. One night I was beyond anxious tossing and turning and struggling. So, at 3 a.m. I get up any do your study.It was week 2 day 4 ( I am a little ahead) . I was fearful of things in my own life. It was paralyzing me to the point I could not do anything but toss and turn in bed and stress. But, I got up and read all about fear in your study. A Snippet that spoke volumes to me. Fear. Fear is real. We fear what we cannot control. But here’s a little secret. You ready? We are not the ones in control. We like to think we’re in control. But God alone reigns, and his job is not up for grabs. Thank you, Jesus.
This week was great! It was a great reminder that as death and grief are still fresh in my heart that God has NOT gone anywhere, He has not left or forgotten me in the pain I feel. Even in these feelings I have chosen to praise Him for what He has done and will do. It isn’t easy, but I always make it back with my heart pointed to Him. Thank you for sharing your heart!
After reading and studying, I spent some time in the Psalms over the weekend. The last few verses of Psalm 90 really caught my attention because they remind me how God can satisfy even in affliction, how He can replace affliction with joy, and how His beauty shines through when I trust Him through it all. That’s not always easy, but He is faithful and loving and will carry me when I am weakest.
Psalm 90:14-17 NIV
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the beauty of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.
The things I took away from this week: Jesus holds it all together. The Colossians versers. Yes and amen. Also, to be sure that I ran to God so that I could be comforted and made clean. The section about tattling coming from pride was a bit of an eye opener for me. I don’t want barriers between me and God. So it is an urgent thing that I discover them and deal with them.
I have always felt the need to defend not only myself, but others, whether family or stranger. As a matter of fact, I forgive something said or done against me more quickly than something done to my precious family. This week I’ve learned that , no matter how well I represent and defend, I can’t do it nearly as well as God can. I can rest in the promise of God who judges all fairly.
The theme that kept recurring to me this week was the idea that God loves me (and LIKES me) and that believing that is a choice. I pray that as I let that truth sink in I will catch greater glimpses of His grace toward me and I will be more gracious to others in return.