Blessings in Disguise!

Do you think of some of your trials or tears, or even stress, as blessings in disguise??

In the Got Teens? small group, we have just completed the 5th chapter of Living Above Worry and Stress by the Women of Faith series,  with the  title:  "Blessings in Disguise" and the key verse was taken from Psalm 119:37 which states:

"Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless;  be good to me as You have promised."

We need to be focusing on the important things that God wants to teach us.

He is always good to us.  It just might not always be easy and smooth a journey!

The discussion with my mom friends centered on the difference between "fully living" and "surviving life".

Basically, we concluded that living the full life, really living, means being at peace with our self, with others, with God/Christ, and having joy and rest.  Even peace amidst chaos and strife. 

and surviving life is just going through the motions of daily living.  A sort of restlessness to our days.  Busy maybe, but not at peace and certainly not with that deep, inner joy!

Which one is evident in your life right now?

Most of us in the group admitted to just surviving life either now or in the past....for my self, I shared that I was just "surviving" back in my mid-20's.  Part of that reason is because I was in a backslidden state.  Oh, I still loved the Lord, but I didn't live as though Jesus WAS my Lord.  He was merely my Savior and I was in sin regarding many life style choices.  Some people shared that they feel like they are just surviving in the day to day, but when we examined the spiritual side of things, we concluded that even though we are faced with busy-ness as moms and the roles we play at work, or have trials we are working through, or various stresses due to marriage, parenting, extracurricular activities, and taking on too much ministry, we still had the inner joy and peace of Christ.  In those cases, we ARE fully living.  We can be stressed and yet still be at peace, spiritually and emotionally, when we allow God to take control of whatever is stressing us!

We read some Scriptures to help us dig deeper into this topic.  Matthew 7 teaches us to lay a firm foundation.  We talked about Jesus being the cornerstone, which is the part of the foundation that holds all other pieces together!

The treasure trinket for the week was a lego to represent "building on the foundation of Jesus".  This group of friends I am leading in this ministry are all united.  We are united because we all belong to Christ and we are allowing Him to lead us. We are building our foundation on Jesus!! We are allowing each other to speak into each other's lives and speak the truth in love.  This is so important.  I plan on sharing a portion of what the Lord has done in my heart regarding a time when I asked for truth from a friend and really didn't get the truth.  Rather, I got hurt and betrayal. Yet...through it all, the Lord has shown me to keep on loving, keep on trusting, and that I don't know what He is doing in that person's life or heart.  My job is to love, pray, and believe in restoration.  I have chosen to forgive.  I have chosen to be a blessing.  

The blessing in disguise??  well....that's the part where I cried many tears at night and started to sink into a state of near depression.  Yet somehow, God, in His lovingkindness and mercy, used those tears to remind me that by being honest, I was being my self.  I was speaking some truths in love.  It wasn't well received.  And the other part of the "blessing in disguise" through that painful time was that by digging into the Word for comfort, I began to journal again...and get back with communicating with my Father.

He loves us unconditionally.  

Several of us shared a couple of other Scriptures and we finished up by concluding that even in those stressful times, or painful times, if we know the Biblical Truth, we can get through the situation.  And we can begin to see those trials as "blessings in disguise".  God uses many means to get our attention.

How is He grabbing your attention?  Is there someone you need to forgive?

Do you know how to fully forgive so you can fully live?

Do you have a marriage or friendship that needs repair??

What about your relationship with your child/teen?

Are you fully living, or merely existing?

I hope you are fully living and embracing all that God longs for you.......He brings Peace.  Forgive, let go, and move forward...dare to repair what is/was broken

........and those tears will be your blessing in disguise.

And if you missed the song I posted yesterday, here is the link to "Blessings" which I first heard this past week on the radio....it's a Christian song about blessings in disguise!!  Click on the word "Blessings" above.