Lessons from a calendar.

Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you.... That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything - Mark 11:22-24, MSG

It really shouldn't surprise me that this was my verse today on my calendar - God's been speaking to me a lot lately about my prayer life and how I will certainly pray when I'm in the valley of the shadow...but then I stand up, wipe my eyes and pick all my trials back up and wander back to my worry-fest. Wow...yeah, a little vulnerable today. But it's true. I talk to God, and I tell him I know that he can do everything and can fix what's going on and then I try to help. How hilarious is that? That my pea-brain thinks the almighty needs my help. Goodness, I can barely speak in whole sentences before the first cup of coffee and I think that I can help God move the mountains in my life? What an arrogant concept. We live in a world where we are almost trained to be arrogant - and we call it being confident, we call it being proud of who we are - and those two things on their own aren't bad - it's when we allow ourselves to cross that line and feel as though we are entitled to amazing things without doing anything.
I once heard an illustration of faith - I was 10. I was at summer camp and we were talking about chairs. The pastor said that faith is sitting in the chair. I looked at him wondering how that could be. Then he fleshed it out. I can look at a chair and say "I believe this chair will hold me." But until I actually sit in that chair confident it will hold me, I have no faith that my statement is true. Until I actually pry my fingers off my trials, I will never actually have faith that God will overcome them.
So....he's trying to get the concept through my brain in many fashions these days. Isn't it wonderful how much he cares? I'm convinced he shakes his head at me at least twice a day. "silly little girl, don't you get it yet? I've got you. And I promised no one shall pluck you out of my hand."

Go listen to this song....heard it a while ago and thought of it again today.