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JUNE 9, 2014
When God's Assignments Feel Almost Impossible |
"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'" Mark 16:15 (NIV)
I pulled into my driveway and stared at this gathering place my people call "home." And my heart whispered ...
Lord, am I doing all of this right?
This life You've entrusted to me, these people You've entrusted to me, this calling You've entrusted to me ... I desperately want to get it right. To live without painful regret gnawing deep within. To know that I gave it my very best. To please You. Love them. Smile more than frowning. Laugh more than I complain. See the beauty tucked within all these sacred moments of just being together and remember to whisper, Thank You.
Thank You for all of it. The whole package deal of good and bad and highs and lows. For all that mixed together sets about a process of making me. The me that needs the tough stuff to mature me. The sad moments to soften me. The thrilling moments to invigorate me. The poignant moments to endear me. The complicated moments to challenge me. The quiet moments to unrush me.
I need it all.
But sometimes, in the midst of all the moments that are making me into the woman You created me to be, I get awfully tired and discouraged.
And I find myself sitting in my driveway wondering. Staring at the culmination of thousands of decisions I've made that have brought me here. To this home. This family. This life. I made my decisions and then my decisions made me.
I'm thankful, yes. So very thankful. But I need You to whisper reassurance into my heart that You're with me. That You see me. And that You are pleased with me. I just need to know, Lord, am I doing this right?
Have you ever had one of those driveway discussions with God?
Have you ever looked at your life and wondered, like I do, if you're on the right track?
I think most of us girls think these thoughts. That's why 20 years ago, I helped start a place where we could gather and learn God's perspective on how to do life through the pages of His Word. Proverbs 31 Ministries exists because I desperately needed someone to help me connect life with God's truth. And I still do.
So, every day my team and I gather to think through and pray over all that eventually ends up in your inbox. We're a rag-tag team of passionate, imperfect girls determined to bring God's Word front and center into your world. My deepest prayer is that as we encourage you, we're helping equip you to take that encouragement into your family and your sphere of influence.
I think about you every time I put my fingers on the keyboard of my computer and tap, tap, tap tangled thoughts that eventually become words from my soul to yours. I see you standing in your corner of the world. Mentally I draw a circle around you representing all the people you reach and influence each day.
Then I step back and imagine hundreds of thousands of circles of influence representing more than one million women who read our devotions on a daily basis. And I'm amazed how collectively our circles of influence cover almost the whole world.
You, me and all the others who gather here are making a worldwide impact.
Jesus instructed us to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation," (Mark 16:15). That seems an impossible task for someone who sits in her driveway and feels fragile and wonders all the things I sometimes wonder. Can you relate?
But, I can reach my sphere of influence with God's Word woven in and out of my simple sentences typed in these simple devotions. And I can pray that somehow God's Word becomes a filter for your thoughts as you get these devotions each day. And then when you pass them along to friends or talk about them in your everyday conversations ... it's multiplied by almost a million.
Together we are going into all the world with the good news! Amazing, what we can do together.
As we head into the summer months, we know donations tend to decrease and yet this is the time of year when our growth initiatives increase. In fact, this month we are on our knees asking God to raise $75,000 to help with the leaner summer months. And I want to invite you to join us. Here are three steps you can take today:
1. Support Proverbs 31 Ministries through your prayers and financial gifts. While the devotions are free to you and me, they aren't free to the ministry. Every gift we receive today will be celebrated by our staff ringing a "blessing bell" in our office and thanking God for you by name. Click here to make a donation today.
We are praying for 50 new monthly partners to commit to giving $31/month to support new initiatives of expanding the reach of our daily devotions. Click here to become a monthly giving partner.
2. Tell a friend about the Proverbs 31 Ministries Encouragement for Today devotions and send her this link to sign up.
3. Give a friend the Proverbs 31 Ministries NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women. All proceeds go back into the ministry, and it's on sale today for only $24.99! Click here to purchase a Bible.
Thank you! And, if you find yourself wondering about life as you sit in your driveway, let me be a friend who whispers deep into your heart, "Keep going. You're doing better than you think you are. Now, let's go change the world together."
Dear Lord, I love these honest conversations I can have with You. Thank You for equipping me to go into all the world with the good news. I want to shine as a light for You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Psalm 96:3, "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples." (NIV)
RELATED RESOURCES:
Find lasting encouragement and truth in our Proverbs 31 Ministries Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women. Click here to buy a copy for yourself and a friend. It's on sale for only $24.99!
Your opportunity to help change the world is one click away. Please join us by clicking here.
© 2014 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
630 Team Rd., Suite 100
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Monday, 09 June 2014.
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