Trust – Karen Gamble Writes

Lamenting Before the Lord

Sometimes I get really frustrated or annoyed about something and will sit on my friend’s porch and talk about it.

I will whine, cry, question the circumstance, and list out all that is bothering me.

By the end of the conversation we are both saying, “But God can help. He can intervene.”

This is more than griping, complaining, or whining.

It’s lamenting.

Lament – to express deep regret, grief, anger or sorrow. It is followed by moving to an expression of trust.

The Bible is filled with these types of things.

My favorite is Psalm 13.

David has had all these bad things happening; things he’s concerned and worried about.

He writes about them specifically in the first 4 verses when he is asking God how long he (David) must suffer in all these areas.

Then in verse 5 he tells God, “But I trust in Your unfailing love…”.

He wraps up the Psalm by declaring he will sing God’s praise –

He will praise God because God has been good to him.

Instead of focusing on his problems he chooses to look to God and His unfailing love,

In other words, David is saying he has all these problems but is choosing to look to the Lord and to trust Him.,

Not so God will fix them.

Not so God will answer his prayers, but because David recognizes who God is and what He’s done for him.

Category: God, Submission, Trust, Truth | LEAVE A COMMENT

Galatians 3:3

In Galatians 3, Paul is explaining to the Christians in Galatia that it’s not about following the law that makes us free.

Some Jewish converts to Christianity in Antioch were telling the Gentile Christians the men had to be circumcised if they wanted to be true Christians. They were trying to make it a condition of salvation.

They were teaching this because under the law of the Old Testament, God told all Jewish men to be circumcised.

Paul was explaining that it was no longer necessary to live according to the law.

Once Christ came the Old Testament law was fulfilled by His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore it no longer applied.

Then Paul brought the point home when he asked the question:

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Galatians 3:3 NIV

In other words, you know it’s grace that saves you by having faith in Christ and what He did for you at Calvary. Why are you now trying to use your works and your actions to make it happen?

The truth is we can’t.

Salvation is only given to us by us having faith in Jesus, not by anything else we do.

No matter what we do, we can never be “good enough” to earn our way in to Heaven.

It doesn’t work that way.

As I was reading this verse I thought about how we as humans often try to make things happen, not just concerning salvation but also in our lives and the lives of others.

Category: Faith, Galatians, Scripture Study, Teaching, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Prayer Language

One of the struggles I’ve had with praying is feeling comfortable with what I’m saying.

When I was a child I was taught to pray by my grandmother.

Because she read the King James Bible (KJV), she used that grammar and vocabulary when she prayed.

Not that there is anything wrong with that version of the Bible.

There isn’t.

It’s just that it’s a very old version and was written in Old English and some of our words and ways of saying things have changed.

For example, instead of you, the KJV says thou.

Instead of brothers it says brethren.

Still the same message, just different vocabulary.

As I grew up, I tended to pray the way my grandmother did.

It felt stiff, bulky, and awkward.

In short, it felt fake.

I thought that was how you were supposed to pray and that because it made no sense to me I must not be doing it right.

I knew prayer was supposed to be respectful and reverent, but I thought I had to speak God’s language to be heard.

So, after awhile I just stopped praying.

Then, one day I found this verse:

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Category: God, Prayer, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

The Idolatry of Prayer

One thing Christians say and hear a lot is that when things are going on or we are dealing with situations, we should just pray about it.

Praying is a very important part of our faith walk.

There’s just one question, though::

What is our motive for praying?

Really deep down, why are we praying?

Is it:

Because we’re supposed to?

Because we know God will probably help?

Because we have something we want God to do?

Because we want God to intervene in a situation and cause it to turn out the way we think it should?

Or, is it because we know God is our only hope and that He is the only one who can handle the situation so that it turns out the way it should?

Category: God, Prayer, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Journaling

For several years now I’ve had the habit of journaling.

Typically, I do it first thing in the morning before I start my day.

I’ve found that writing before the world has a chance to distract me means that my truer, unguarded self comes out on the page.

Sometimes, I vent about people and events.

Sometimes I remind myself I need to buy milk.

Always. by the end of the second page I find God there.

As I’m listing my thoughts I begin to think about and then ask the Lord’s opinion on things.

I begin to become aware of where He’s working in my life and where I need to pray and ask Him to intervene and help me.

Some days I write 3 pages, some days I write 10.

Always, I make a point of laying aside all pretenses and focusing on being my true self, writing my real feelings.

Category: God, Journaling, Life, Trust, Truth | LEAVE A COMMENT

He Who Began A Perfect Work…

When my kids were young I taught them about Jesus as best as I could.

All 3 got saved and baptized at a fairly young age.

As they got older and started going out on their own and were exposed to the world a bit – school, friends’ houses, the mall, the movies, etc. – then later college – they began to witness and experience bad things..

Things people typically witness or experience in a broken world.

Painful things.

Before long they struggled with their faith as society bombarded them with all sorts of lies that downplayed God and emphasized self.

Lies that characterized God in false, disrespectful ways.

They weren’t always obvious.

Category: Faith, God, Jesus, Submission, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Belonging to God

I was reading a bible study book and it mentioned Psalm 100:3, which says:

Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. (NIV)

There’s a lot of good stuff in this verse, but what really stuck out to me was the second line –

It is He who made us, and we are His,

According to this verse, it is God who made us.

We weren’t made by accident. We didn’t suddenly just exist.

We didn’t evolve from slime somewhere.

God made us.

On purpose.

He meant to do it.

Because God has made us, we belong to Him.

We are His people.

This means we aren’t our own.

Category: Faith, God, Life, Submission, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

It’s Thanksgiving Week!

It’s that time of year!

Thanksgiving is only a few days away.

It kicks off the official holiday season.

Before we know it, Christmas will be here!

Lots of people say it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

For many women it’s often the hardest.

Extra cooking, guests, shopping, holiday parties, and events take a lot of our time, energy, and effort.

I could get tired just thinking about it!

Part of what drives us during this season is a desire to show our family how much we care and to give them a great family holiday filled with lots of memories and love.

That is a good thing as long as we keep it in check and don’t let it overwhelm us.

Unfortunately, too often we get so busy trying to get it right we lose sight of why we’re doing it.

This cheats us out of enjoying it and defeats the purpose of even doing it.

One of the other things that drives us this time of year is fear.

Category: God, Holiday, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

He Will Supply All My Needs

I was in a Bible Study recently where the verse Philippians 4:19 came up.

It’s a very popular verse.

It says:

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

It’s reassurance that all our needs will be met.

It’s a good reminder that God is Yahweh Yireh – the God who provides.

People commonly recite this verse when they are concerned about material needs such as rent, utilities, groceries, etc.

That’s a valid and important part of it.

God does supply for all our material needs.

But – there are other aspects to it.

Ones we don’t always stop to realize and appreciate.

Category: Faith, God, New Testament, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT