ISAIAH 30:18
Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him, so he can show you his love; He will conquer you to bless you.
The last sentence "He will conquer you to bless you"... is the story of my life.
Let me try to explain with these three experiences...
FIRST:
I've been trying to lose weight for about 5 months now. After having Drew, 2 years ago, I realized that I had 15 pounds to lose to get back to my weight before I got pregnant. I've tried off and on for the last two years without much success. In January I decided to get serious about losing weight. I joined a gym and was eating better. It's now May and I haven't lost one pound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so discouraging, to try so hard, and get no results. Whatever!!!! Slowly, I've become convinced that I cannot lose weight and that I'll just have to get use to being bigger than I've ever been.
SECOND:
Josh and I put off taking Drew to the nursery at church for two years and we finally decided that it was time that she get use to being in a class with other kids. The first few times we took her, she would scream and kick and beg us not to leave her. I would get sick to my stomach. It was horrible. I would cry during church knowing she was in there scared. It didn't feel natural to me. It didn't even feel right. I was convinced she would never like it, and that she would be traumatized. I was convinced I would never be able to enjoy sitting through church, because my daughter hated the nursery. I started to dread going to church all together.
THIRD:
I had just gotten out of a gut wrenching relationship that left me feeling misunderstood and a little bitter. But I was also spending a lot of time with the Lord, praying and asking him to guide and direct me towards the next chapter in my life. I wasn't really hanging out with my friends a whole lot. I was just trying to figure myself out. I was bored with my life. I was going to college and driving a school bus as my job. I was getting a little depressed feeling like I had no direction in my life. I hated school, and my job wasn't the best either. I remember being on my bus dropping kids off and a thought popped in my head, "There's absolutely no one to date, and how will I ever meet someone?" I believed that I'd never get married. I felt hopeless. I felt like my life would always stay that way.
These are just three examples of when I was convinced... convinced by Satan, the father of lies, that I was doomed to stay in the miserable state I was in. Growing up my mom taught me how to discern the enemy's voice. And that we should always be on guard. It took me a while before I realized these miserable thoughts were from Satan himself. I was surprised at how subtle and sly he was. He fooled me. But that's not the end of the story.
God knew it would only take 4 times for Drew to go into the nursery screaming. It was on Easter weekend when she RAN in excitedly to her class. Instead of tears of dread, I had tears of joy. I was speechless at how quickly God helped her. Even when I was faithless, He was faithful.
When I was in college and driving a school bus, I remember praying and asking God... "If I'm not going to ever get married, then please take away my desire to be a wife"... then a couple of months later I met Josh :)
What if I give up on dieting? What if I had never taken drew to the nursery? What if I had just believed that I was meant to be single and never pursued Josh? Look what I would have missed!!!
God is constantly, whether you are aware of it or not, trying to conquer things in you so that He can bless you!!!! He makes me face my fears, not because He is a harsh God, but because He is a sweet God who wants to see us overcome and then reap the benefits, which are far greater than you can imagine.
Facing your fears is so scary. Especially if they involve change. But I'm telling you that you have nothing to lose. If you stay where you are, and never take that first step, you'll be more miserable than ever. So maybe your fear is, that once you take that first step you won't know what to do after that. GOD WILL GUIDE YOU. He seldom gives us the entire set of instructions all at once, he just gives us one step at a time. This will improve our faith.
HE WILL CONQUER YOU TO BLESS YOU.
what is your fear??? if you want to talk about it, email me :) neelyjacobson@hotmail.com
Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him, so he can show you his love; He will conquer you to bless you.
The last sentence "He will conquer you to bless you"... is the story of my life.
Let me try to explain with these three experiences...
FIRST:
I've been trying to lose weight for about 5 months now. After having Drew, 2 years ago, I realized that I had 15 pounds to lose to get back to my weight before I got pregnant. I've tried off and on for the last two years without much success. In January I decided to get serious about losing weight. I joined a gym and was eating better. It's now May and I haven't lost one pound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so discouraging, to try so hard, and get no results. Whatever!!!! Slowly, I've become convinced that I cannot lose weight and that I'll just have to get use to being bigger than I've ever been.
SECOND:
Josh and I put off taking Drew to the nursery at church for two years and we finally decided that it was time that she get use to being in a class with other kids. The first few times we took her, she would scream and kick and beg us not to leave her. I would get sick to my stomach. It was horrible. I would cry during church knowing she was in there scared. It didn't feel natural to me. It didn't even feel right. I was convinced she would never like it, and that she would be traumatized. I was convinced I would never be able to enjoy sitting through church, because my daughter hated the nursery. I started to dread going to church all together.
THIRD:
I had just gotten out of a gut wrenching relationship that left me feeling misunderstood and a little bitter. But I was also spending a lot of time with the Lord, praying and asking him to guide and direct me towards the next chapter in my life. I wasn't really hanging out with my friends a whole lot. I was just trying to figure myself out. I was bored with my life. I was going to college and driving a school bus as my job. I was getting a little depressed feeling like I had no direction in my life. I hated school, and my job wasn't the best either. I remember being on my bus dropping kids off and a thought popped in my head, "There's absolutely no one to date, and how will I ever meet someone?" I believed that I'd never get married. I felt hopeless. I felt like my life would always stay that way.
These are just three examples of when I was convinced... convinced by Satan, the father of lies, that I was doomed to stay in the miserable state I was in. Growing up my mom taught me how to discern the enemy's voice. And that we should always be on guard. It took me a while before I realized these miserable thoughts were from Satan himself. I was surprised at how subtle and sly he was. He fooled me. But that's not the end of the story.
God knew it would only take 4 times for Drew to go into the nursery screaming. It was on Easter weekend when she RAN in excitedly to her class. Instead of tears of dread, I had tears of joy. I was speechless at how quickly God helped her. Even when I was faithless, He was faithful.
When I was in college and driving a school bus, I remember praying and asking God... "If I'm not going to ever get married, then please take away my desire to be a wife"... then a couple of months later I met Josh :)
What if I give up on dieting? What if I had never taken drew to the nursery? What if I had just believed that I was meant to be single and never pursued Josh? Look what I would have missed!!!
God is constantly, whether you are aware of it or not, trying to conquer things in you so that He can bless you!!!! He makes me face my fears, not because He is a harsh God, but because He is a sweet God who wants to see us overcome and then reap the benefits, which are far greater than you can imagine.
Facing your fears is so scary. Especially if they involve change. But I'm telling you that you have nothing to lose. If you stay where you are, and never take that first step, you'll be more miserable than ever. So maybe your fear is, that once you take that first step you won't know what to do after that. GOD WILL GUIDE YOU. He seldom gives us the entire set of instructions all at once, he just gives us one step at a time. This will improve our faith.
HE WILL CONQUER YOU TO BLESS YOU.
what is your fear??? if you want to talk about it, email me :) neelyjacobson@hotmail.com
Neely, just found your blog yesterday! Your words are true, & I think you have a gift of interpreting the scripture. I read in a book today these words. "If we were constantly open to the living voice of God who is free to bring new messages for new situations, we would awaken every morning to life studded with divine surprises." Keep on writing! You inspire!
ReplyDeletethank you for this neely. God IS working in my life to conquer and I believe it is so he can bless.
ReplyDeletelove you friend.
One of your best posts ever! Keep them coming, please! Love you so much!!
ReplyDelete