Season of change

The past week or so has been pretty amazing.

On Monday I was given the opportunity to speak at my weekly meeting for Phi Lamb. The Lord laid it on my heart a few weeks ago, and to be honest I was pretty nervous. However, it turned out to be one of the most awesome experiences. I spoke on Hannah who is mentioned in 1 Samuel. I'm not sure why I chose Hannah, but it couldn't have been a better decision. The Lord has really been teaching me about prayer over the past few months. Hannah's story revolves around prayer, giving her desires to the Lord, and trusting Him with it.

Hannah prayed to the Lord and gave all of her worries and burdens to Him. After she was finished praying she left the tabernacle content, because she knew her prayer was in the Lord's hands now. This hit me hard. Sure, I pray on a daily basis but how often do I actually give it all to the Lord? I definitely struggle with holding onto things and not fully giving them to the Lord. It's so dumb though, because in a way that's like me saying that I don't trust God to take them from me and fulfill them. I know the Lord's plan for my life is so much better than anything I could imagine. So, why on earth would I not just lay everything at the Lord's feet?

Psalms 55:22 says "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you....." That says it all really doesn't it? He Lord wants to take our burdens from us and make them His own. Even when I'm naive enough to think that I have everything under the control the Lord will always remind me that I don't. Why would I even try to do it on my own? I've proven to myself over and over again that I cannot do it on my own. Hannah had this down. She knew that she had to take her plea for a son to the Lord. She knew that He was the only one who could fulfill her desires. She even realized that He may not give her exactly what she wanted, but He would do what was best for her.

How amazing is it that we serve a God that wants to lighten our load and take on our burdens, worries, stresses, and troubles? The fact that He wants to take that from us never ceases to amaze me. I know the times I have laid it at the Lord's feet and not looked back He has always blessed me in some way. Sure, God doesn't always give us what we ask for, but so what? I know that He has it all under control, and that's enough for me. God's goodness will always be a mystery to me, but I'm so thankful and blessed by it.

My encouragement for you is just to lay it all on God. He wants to take it from us, and make it his. If that's not one of the most encouraging things then I'm not sure what is.