Trusting God-Mrs.Carol Hopson

So they sat down together and began reading But God,
This Wasn't My Plan! He said they wept so many tears and
that God spoke so clearly to them about how they had gotten
off track spiritually. As they finished the second book,
they both confessed their anger, fear, and doubt to the Lord
and then recommitted this new ministry to the Lord and
promised to walk on with faith in His plan, not theirs. His
call was one of victorious thanks and praise to our God for
caring so deeply for them that He somehow put these two
books in their hands.
That's exactly who El Shaddai is! Do you need El
Shaddai today? He doesn't promise to remove our mountains
or valleys, but He promises to give us His strength
and power to endure whatever He allows. He promises to
walk beside us and tenderly care for us along the way. "For
I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you'" (Isaiah 41:13).
And He promises to use us for His glory if we allow Him to
(Psalms 40:1-3). In his book called My Father's Names,
Elmer L. Towns gives us some guidelines to help us overcome
our problems as we understand more about El
Shaddai.
1. Separate yourself from sin. "Many of our problems
come because of sin in our lives. It is the nature of
sin to defeat, destroy, disrupt, dilute and damage the
child of God." If we harbor sin in our lives, He must
judge and cannot be merely tender and kind (2
Corinthians 6:17-18). When you're feeling distraught or
fearful, pray the prayer of David in Psalm 139:23-24:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and
know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful
way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way."
2. Rest in the presence of El Shaddai. Sheep only
truly rest from conflict and fear when their shepherd is
present because they know that he loves them, cares for
them, and will lay down his life for them if necessary.
Adrian Rogers in his book entitled The Lord Is My
Shepherd writes, "Every good shepherd knows how
important it is to lead his sheep to places of rest because
without his guidance, his sheep wouldn't choose to rest,
and they probably wouldn't choose the greenest of pastures
either. The Good Shepherd will make you lie down
in green pastures, and He will lead you beside still
waters if you trust Him with all your heart. The One
who loves you and is compassionate, caring, and courageous"
says, "But when he saw the multitudes, he was
moved with compassion on them, because they fainted,
and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."
Matthew 9:36 (KJV)
I think I can hear some of you asking, "But how does He
make me lie down and rest?" That's a good question! In my
experience, He uses various ways, such as an illness where
I have to be still and listen, a prolonged trial or maybe a
Scripture verse that stirs my heart to rest. Recently, the
thing that has brought me to rest the most is realizing how
stressed I can get thinking about problems with people,
finances, or the daily news. And so, I am convicted by the
Holy Spirit to find rest and comfort in focusing on El
Shaddai, His love and care, the truths of His Word, and His

Breakfast 3: Do You Need Someone to Care?
constant presence with me. It always produces a restful
heart.
3. Carefully follow the directions of El Shaddai. A
child who is continually disobeying his parents is not in
good standing with his parents. Likewise, we cannot be
in fellowship with El Shaddai or feel His presence and
tender care when we are not following His counsel. I
think we so quickly forget warnings like this one: "Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses
all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). To
know God's presence and peace in the valleys of life, we
must willingly follow His directions.



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