Accepting Circumstances

Beau here. I read a great quote this week, and I wanted to share it today as an encouragement to all those waiting. You see, I came into a relationship with Christ in early 2000, and one of the first books I read in 2000 was Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. It really opened my eyes up to what Christianity was - not just a decision, but also my life's calling. While I will enter the kingdom of Heaven only because of Christ crucified and resurrected (see Ephesians 2:8-9), Christ wants me to live in all ways to know and glorify Him (see Ephesians 2:10).

Anyway, Bridges recently wrote a book called Respectable Sins that my community group is reading. It is a review of sin in our life that most people find acceptable, stuff like anxiety, pride, impatience, unthankfulness, selfishness, envy, and worldliness. As a follower of Christ, I don't want to be pleasing to man; rather, I want to be pleasing to Christ (see Galatians 1:10). therefore, I want to work through sin areas in my life that most people are not going to call me out on. So last week I was reading on DISCONTENTMENT, which is obviously a trap easy to fall into when life doesn't go your way. So here is a quote from Bridges that I need to constantly remind myself of:

Acceptance means that you accept your circumstances from God, trusting that He unerringly knows what is best for you and that in His love, He purposes only that which is best for you. Having then reached a state of acceptance, you can ask God to let you use your difficult circumstances to glorify Him. In this way you have moved from the attitude of a victim to an attitude of stewardship.

Wow.

Father, as I meditate on Psalm 63, I am reminded that I can “rejoice in You” and rest in You as You are sovereign and You are good. Lord, help me to view You as necessary in the same way I naturally view water and food as necessary. May I wake up with a thirst for You in the same way that I want a glass of water in the morning. May my thirst be for my accepting Your will, not my lamenting the lack of fulfillment in my own selfish desires. May I have a hunger that can only be satisfied by You, and may I seek to satisfy that craving all the days of my life. Lord, You are my deliverer, and as a baby bird is only safe under the wing of its mother, may I stay in Your shadows. Lord, I lift up my friends who are waiting in their "wilderness experience" today; Lord I don’t know why I say that, as You know this already. You are the author of life. Lord, Your love for us is CRAZY; it is scandalous. You don’t want part of us; You want all of us. Why – because You want what is best for Your children. Just as David didn’t need a tabernacle to worship You in the wilderness, I thank You that we don’t need to be in a physical church to be in and rest in Your presence today. I thank You for giving me a personal relationship with You Lord, and I pray You would help me see today how I know You will use it. Help me see “Your strong right hand” today, and may I rest in the hands of my Daddy. Lord, I praise You. Amen.