God's ways don't always mirror ours

This morning I woke up before 5 a.m. If you know me, this is highly suspect! I am NOT a morning person. I'm more likely to stay up until well after midnight writing, editing or reading than I am to get up before 6 a.m. 

The sheets were freshly washed, cool and smelled so inviting. I didn't want to get out of bed. But I felt rather rested and had a lot to do. But just so I could prolong the cozy state I was in a little more, I decided to spend some time meditating. Except I didn't have a verse I felt compelled to meditate on, so I opened up my email and pulled up today's devotion from Anne Graham Lotz. 

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:5, NKJV

What perfect words for the moment, I thought, as I meditated. It eventually brought me to a prayer about my husband's back, which he had recently injured and was causing him great pain. I prayed that he would commit the healing not to pills or heating pads but to the master Healer. 

In typical God fashion, He continued to bring this verse to mind all morning. This time not in a prayer of things I want Him to do but as a celebration of what He's already done. 

On Saturday, we held our first official fundraiser for Mighty Strong Girls. Some might say it was a flop. We raised $388. 

But we had a space donated to us, a full set of amazing decorations loaned to us and a sponsor who paid for the meal. Part of the intent that God put on our heart for the fundraiser was to bring fathers into the fold of Mighty Strong Girls — to share our mission with them and to encourage their vital roles in raising up Mighty Strong Girls. 

So despite lackluster ticket sales, we were reminded to do what we had from the beginning. Give it to the Lord and trust Him. 

It's no coincidence that the verse doesn't say trust the Lord and then commit your ways to Him. Trusting in Him requires an act of faith FIRST, and so we commit to what we cannot see. His ways. They aren't our ways. They are mysterious and unlike the world's ways, and they always require an act of faith! 

If I'm totally honest, I must admit the verse was a reminder of my own heart. I dislike holding events. They are time-consuming, expensive, difficult, draining, complicated. There are always last-minute problems. Always. On the day before and the day of the event, volunteers have more questions than you have time for, someone inevitably fails to come through on a commitment and there's some catastrophe. And this is more than enough reason for me to despise holding events. 

But when God called me to do Mighty Strong Girls, it wasn't so that I could do ONLY the things I wanted to do, do well and loved. Where could He possibly refine me if I didn't do the hard stuff? How could I possibly grow to love people like He loves them if I didn't work through the difficult situations alongside them so that we could see His glory together? 

Committing my ways to Him means knowing that His plans will be brought to fruition. Not mine. His vision will be complete, not mine. I don't have to do the hard stuff; I GET to do the hard stuff. Because when I do, when I trust in Him, He shows me more and more of what He's made of. And my faith grows. And I am filled up with more and more of Him and made complete in His grace, mercy and great love. Then I WANT to commit it all to Him, because He has revealed I can trust Him and my faith is being made complete! It's so joyfully freeing!

Because God provided all we needed for this event on Saturday, we were able to hand out several sets of free tickets. One set went to a homeless family. The daughter is not currently in the family's custody, but they had visitation privileges with her on Saturday. The mom, whom we had met at a previous Mighty Strong Girls service project, said the daughter was upset because two brothers were returned to the parents' custody. She was feeling dejected, angry and unloved. So I handed her two tickets and prayed the dad and daughter would show up. They did. Some younger girls took the daughter under their wings, lavished her with love and made her feel like the most important person there. And that dad gave. Out of his poverty, he gave to the ministry. Even though we wanted them there so we could bless them, he was the one who blessed us the most. 

What an incredible reminder of the great power of God's love and what happens when we simply put our faith in Him! I am forever in awe!