I want to try starting a new weekly blog post called Faith Friday that’s focused on anything and everything faith-related that comes to mind…could be a Bible verse, an example of God’s work in my life, talking about struggles with having faith, etc. If you have any ideas on what you’d like to see covered on this blog, I’d love to know – just drop me a comment!
To kick off my first Faith Friday post, I want to reflect on one of my favorite passages in the Bible – Psalm 18: 1-3, “I love you Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.”
God protects us in ways we can see and cannot see. Like when we nearly get in a car accident but by His protection, we come out unscathed. Like when we get let go from a job, but come to find out later that the company just closed its doors. Like when we get our hearts broken and later meet the person who He meant for us to be with.
There are so many examples of how God has protected me – a lot of them that, in the moment, hurt and I didn’t understand. It wasn’t until later that I realized His protection. But in those moments of hurt or stress, I remember turning to Him for strength to get through it and had faith and peace that God had a better plan for me. And every time…He delivered. And not always in the way I expected or prayed for…but what turned out to be better than I could have even imagined.
I think about when Chad and I were looking for in-home daycares, we interviewed with three different providers…and after meeting each one we were sold. But all three of them decided to go with other families. I felt so defeated after the third one, which seemed to be the best out of the three we looked at. So I told Chad to take the reins because I was done looking. And I prayed. He found Audra and when we met with her, I instantly felt at ease. Yes, God. Chad even noticed that my demeanor was different with her than with the other providers we talked to. We’ve been taking Mackenzie to her since she was four months old and have never looked back. She is wonderful.
I think about every time I find out I’m not pregnant. It’s incredibly disappointing but I continue to pray faithfully every day. And I have faith that God has a plan and a right time for that plan to unfold. He is giving me strength and hope in times when hope is lost on me. In those moments, I take a deep breath and let it go. Give it to Him.
I think about my career path. I was laid off from a couple jobs and in the moment, I felt like I wasn’t valued and it shook my confidence. But I look back and it was always God protecting me from a crappy work situation that I wasn’t happy in but wasn’t unhappy enough to leave on my own. He forced my hand and gave me a better job in the end.
How has God protected you?