4/1 Meeting

Thank you to Lenae Bulthuis for sharing with us on remaining Steadfast when Shaken! Read on for some key wisdom and notes of encouragement from Lenae.

 

Unlike how a child might exaggerate their earthly father’s strength, we cannot exaggerate our God. A song by Ruth Harms Calkin goes like this: “My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do.” God is bigger than any problem we could have. We could name our troubles from A to Z, and when we get to the end of the alphabet and the end of ourselves, where do we go? Anything and everything other than God that we could chase is a temporary fix, and that is the truth. Our MOMS verse this year tells us where we find true rest for all our troubles.

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Isaiah 26:3

We need to remember what the Truth is, especially when we feel troubles mounting. We know the Truth is God and we find it when we trust in God. How do we trust him? By knowing him. How do we know him? By reading his Word. It can be hard to know how to read the Bible and where to begin. There is some weird stuff in the Bible, and it’s okay to not understand. If you find it hard to read the Bible, pray and ask God to help you love to read it and to understand what you are reading. It is good when we cover our children in our favorite, well-known verses, as they are good! And we also need the whole story of the Bible, which points to Jesus from beginning to end. Relationship with Christ over rules. Our stories – which we write every day – need to start with Jesus. Where are we looking first? Are we trusting that God is bigger than our troubles and our circumstances? Are we listening to the capital “T” Truth or our feelings?

Lenae calls it the Double T Battle Plan – taking a Capital “T” Truth Timeout:

1.      Who is God?

2.   What does God say about me?

These links have verses attached to each quality of who God is and who He says we are; they’re nice to keep handy and encourage us to go to the Word when we’re struggling.

Lenae told a childhood story of how her father told her that reading the Bible is not a race. It’s not about how much of the Word we can race through; it’s about how much of the Word we can get into us. Remember Isaiah 26:3 – we get to know God by reading his Word, and trust him by knowing him. In Christ we find perfect peace.

Especially as mothers, where it might seem a lot of our troubles involve our children, we need to remember that God chose you for those kids, and those kids for you. He also gives us community (hi, MOMS!) to lean on and encourage us. It is critical for us to keep showing up for ourselves and others. Lenae encouraged us to leave “fine” out of our vocabulary and be honest with friends about how we are and what’s going on. We also need to practice receiving the help that others offer us; receiving the gift honors the giver. Be the first to accept help and hopefully your friend will be more willing to accept your help next time!

The last thing Lenae challenged us with is asking ourselves this question as a place to begin digging into the Truth:

What is one thing we need to trust God with more? 

What questions do you have? Which quality of Who God Is and Who God Says About Me are the most impactful for you right now?