Thursday, December 29, 2016

A Song for Me
By Lisa Boyer

“Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 (NIV, emphasis added)

Once, I heard a song on the radio; actually, I misheard a song on the radio… 

I had been feeling a bit brokenhearted when I heard the words, “I can’t give You half my heart and pray You make it whole.” Those words brought my world to a stop. I had been praying (and sometimes crying) to God over a particular situation, asking Him to heal my heart. But in that moment, I realized I hadn’t really given it all to Him, I had only given Him “half my heart.”

Though I hadn’t actually said it, my prayers had been for Him to change the situation so that my heart would no longer hurt; not for Him to walk me through the healing process. My request had been wrapped in red tape and unspoken stipulations. I hadn’t been willing to fully surrender the situation or accept the outcome, whatever that may be. I know nothing is impossible with God, but it was seriously foolish of me to give Him only half my heart and expect Him to make it whole. I needed to surrender it all and truly trust Him with the outcome. 

I went back to God in prayer and gave Him everything: the hopes, desires, expectations, disappointments, hurts - - all of it. And then we (He and I) spent time walking through the healing process. Part of that process was my accepting a situation I couldn’t change, and accepting that He chose not to change for me. Another part was trusting that what He was doing was best, even if I didn’t understand it. It wasn’t always easy, in fact, it was hardly ever easy, but it was worth it.

Looking back, I know I heard exactly what I needed to hear on the radio that day… a version of a song God played just for me.   

GOING DEEPER:
1.  Have you been holding back part of yourself from God and expecting Him to honor your prayers? Today, will you completely surrender?
2.  As you read this, did God bring a girlfriend to mind that you should share this with? Will you pass it on to her?

FURTHER READING:

Lisa has been married to Ted for 24 years and they have two sons in college. Lisa serves in Quest 56 on Sunday mornings at Oakwood.