Peaceful and trusting or anxious and shaken?

Peaceful and trusting or anxious and shaken?

March 2017

copyright

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

If we were to look at your “trust thermometer” how would it read? Would it show that you are a peaceful trusting person or anxious and shaken person? Who can you trust these days? Life is full of trials and hardships and all of us are just one phone call from being on our knees. The days we live in are full of bombings, Isis, the threat of diseases, change in our government and job layoffs.  It is imperative that we have someone to depend on and the only one I can think of for that job is Jesus. 

I will never forget the day I got the phone call from the neurologist concerning my mother. My mom’s processing and ability to do normal tasks had rapidly faded away and there were no answers. Finally, some tests were ordered, MRI of brain and other tests, and as I stood in my parent’s kitchen, the phone rang. I answered it, “Jones residence, this is Kathleen.” “Kathleen, we have the results of your mom’s tests,” the doctor stated. I quickly grabbed the brown paper bag that was near and a pen so I could write the results down.

“The damage to her brain is irreversible.” the doctor continued. I wrote the words down but simply could not comprehend what I was hearing. “What do you mean irreversible?” I asked in disbelief and hoping I had the wrong definition of irreversible. The doctor continued to explain that unless there was a miracle, my mom would not get better in her ability to do normal tasks as the area of her brain that processes information had been permanently damaged. Mother was only 65 at the time and had been so full of life before she got sick with the rare  disease. Suddenly, my world shook as I tried to absorb the news.

At that moment, I had to make a decision. What would I do? I had too much on my plate to panic and knew anxiety was not my friend. I remembered Proverbs 3:5 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” As I began to trust God with what I could not understand, he was faithful to direct me and lead me in the days ahead.

Trust is the firm belief in the ability and strength of someone or something. God is the only one I know that I can really trust. I have lots of great friends but God is the one constant friend that is always there.

Col. 1:17 says, “He is before all things and in him all things hold together.” (NIV) I wish I would have read this passage years ago to hang on to,  but now I know it is true. I saw the hand of God hold things together when I did not have a clue how I would balance taking care of both of my parents, work, be a mother to my children and wife to my husband. Step by step, God walked me through that time of uncertainty and trial and held all things together for me. The phone call from the doctor was 13 years ago and was the soil God use to grow peace and trusting in trusting God in my life.

It was imperative that when anxious thoughts came, and all the questions I did not have answers for yet, that I pushed those thoughts away and focused on God’s ability and love for me. I had to literally speak out loud, “God I trust you and I will walk in peace,” as I needed to hear those words. 

David in the Bible spoke those similar words when he was in crisis. Psalms 56:3-4 states, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise-in God I trust and am not afraid.” (NIV) Where do you put your trust?

Psalms 62:1-2 tells us where we can find rest for our souls in times of difficulty and who we can depend on. It says, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (NIV) God always provides what we need, it is just up to us to access the provision and use it.

Truett practicing the scriptures I taught his mom  when she was little

My friend, whatever you are going through, marriage difficulty, financial trouble, letting go and starting a new life, loss of a job, God is trustworthy and wants you to take his hand and walk with you. There is purpose in your trial and growing in trust reaps a wonderful crop of peace that you have a God given right to enjoy and then give to others.

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie is a native to the Texas Hill Country, a writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth and God’s love, You can reach her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com or visit her blog at www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com

Waiting on the God of grace, compassion and justice

The value in the process of waiting on God

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

February 2017

copyright

One of my grand girls-Miss Ellis 

I have always been the type of person that operates from a list and likes to get things done yesterday. This has served me well in many areas of my life but also has been a challenge in situations where I have seen I needed to wait on God’s timing of things and for him to reveal truth.

I remember over 20 years ago, a visiting speaker came to our church. He made a statement to me, “you like things done today-TODAY-and God wants you to wait for his timing and his season.”  I knew God was speaking to me and wanted to change something in me. I began to pray for God to help me wait on Him. 

Since that day I have learned to surrender to God’s timing and have grown in waiting on God. I am not perfect at it, but I am much better than I was. I have learned the value of the process in the journey. In the process, we have the opportunity to become who God intends for us to be. The process makes you rich and we get the opportunity to grow in our faith and character.

I have encountered numerous situations since that time to practice waiting on God to fix situations where there had been an injustice, misunderstanding or for God to reveal the truth about something. 

Having fun with my husband

One of those situations included a colleague at work. I was doing some work in a different community and as I showed up to work, I knew something was just not right. My colleague was a nice lady and I liked a lot about her, but things were not adding up and were out of order in the business. I continued to pray for her, her family and the difficult situation I was in. I notified those above me in the chain of command of the concerns I had, however, I did not seem to be heard. God seemed to be showing me to love her, practice my kindness and extend grace.

As time went on, things got even more challenging and difficult and this person even accused me unjustly of some things.  All I could do was wait on God to reveal truth and redeem the situation.

Isaiah 30:18 became  promise I hung on to and it states, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait on him.” (NIV) Often times in the middle of a trial, we can wonder where God is, does he hear us and will he answer. God was very gracious to me, gave me the grace I needed to endure and taught me some things about being gracious to others. He was my comforter and I felt his compassion and love. 

Over a year went by and I had moved on to other projects. The rest of the story is that truth eventually came out and the woman is no longer with the business. God was faithful to me and others saw that the concerns I had stated previously were correct. He truly is a God of justice!

sometimes waiting on God can feel like the desert 

I learned much in that season and the process of waiting changed me. He loves you just as much as he loves me and I want to encourage you to trust that God has compassion for you, is gracious and will give you the grace you need and will redeem things in life. Keep looking to Him and asking what you can glean in the process of waiting and I pray you will come to know Him in a greater way.

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