Renewing of the Mind pt 6

[joannbkkpr]

Chapter 5

Make Peace with the Outcome

(STEP 4)

REST. Settle in your mind that God’s way is the only way for you. Have the Hebrew Boys Mindset. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.” (Daniel3:17)

You absolutely must have a faith mindset to believe the way they did. Exercise your faith in a way that says, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:5)

God doesn’t want us to worry about the how or when. Our focus is on maintaining a faith mindset that ushers in the manifestation of deliverance. Surrender the circumstance to God and rest in the knowledge that things are happening behind the heavens that will change things for the better in the physical. I like the seed analogy.

Farmers can’t see what’s happening with a seed beneath the soil. Similarly, we don’t know what God is doing in the Spirit realm. But something IS happening. Take comfort in knowing that the Word you confess, like a seed, knows how to produce all on it own. We just must create the right conditions for it to thrive. Pray, Meditate day and night; believe; and wait.

That’s what God wants us to do.

Making Peace with the Outcome

Psalm 71:15-16 I will declare your righteousness and your salvation every day, though I do not fully understand what the outcome will be. Lord God, I will come in the power of your mighty acts, remembering your righteousness—yours alone.

Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences you can have. For me it is the most difficult. I’ve struggled in the past to make peace with the deaths of people most dear to me: mother, aunt, and grandparents to name a few. In some of those cases, I prayed for healing, but they still died. I didn’t understand why and honestly, I blamed God. The truth is, we don’t know all the reasons why and we will never understand everything in this life.

For many months I closed my heart to God after my mom died suddenly. It didn’t make sense. She was in church sun up to sun down. She was faithful in serving. I’m ashamed to admit that I questioned God, why her? Why not some evil person? I know that sounds terrible, but I didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense. I felt powerless; unsure of my own faith; and angry.

That’s what happens when we decide that we know best what the outcome should be. We set ourselves up for despair and hopelessness. It’s one thing to believe and have faith, but it’s quite another to believe that we know more than God. Finding peace with the outcome, even though you can’t make sense of it, frees you. It gives you your power back. You live to pray another day with power and conviction.

I also prayed for my marriage to be reconciled, however, it ended in divorce. Now in hindsight,

I realize that God gave my ex free will. While, I could have interceded in prayer, I still could not force my will onto him. God would not do that.

My faith cannot be used to encroach on someone else’s free will. I can intercede, but I cannot control. I also learned that during my oldest son’s rebellious years. I interceded for him and praise God he turned back toward God.

Concerning my marriage, I had to admit, I was doing everything counter to what I was praying for. I spoke and thought negatively about my marriage. I was reliving all the negative. I blamed and totally ignored my faults. Looking back, I sabotaged my own prayers. I didn’t have a faith mindset at all.

I’ve said all of this to say. There are so many moving parts other than your own desire. Don’t be so married to a specific outcome that you don’t allow God to work the situation out in a way that will be better for you in the long run.

When I was waiting for the mortgage company to give me a decision, on my loan modification, I made in my mind, this is my third attempt and I will still serve God no matter what the outcome. I took on the faith of the Hebrew boys, “We know our God is well able to deliver us, but if He does not, we still will not bow.” I had a faith mindset and it prevailed.

I know my God could change the decision of the mortgage company, but if they denied me, I would still serve God. I would still believe that my latter days would be greater; that my God would never forsake me. Sometimes a delay just means wait and other times it may be a sign to take another route. Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged.

There are always laws working that God put in place from the beginning, like sowing and reaping. In the case of my divorce, I accepted responsibility and made peace with myself for any role I may have played and more importantly I made peace with the outcome.

Remember in 2 Samuel 12, when David’s son died? He prayed, fasted, and lay before God, but still his son died. He knew that his prayer was contrary to what God had judged, but still he prayed. Though the loss of his son tore him apart, he understood the consequences of his own actions.

In Psalm 51:1-4, David wrote: 1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightiest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

You see while God loves us dearly, there are still consequences for actions we take outside His will. By the grace of God, we sometimes escape some of those consequences, but not all consequences can be avoided.

It’s important that we learn by the principles in David’s example. Acknowledge our wrong; take responsibility; receive forgiveness; and move on-let go of the outcome.

The last thing you want to do is focus on what you’ve done wrong and all the consequences you deserve. We have something David did not have; the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thank God for Jesus and receive Mercy and Grace of the Gospel.

Even without the resurrection, David knew that wallowing in condemnation and guilt showed a faithless attitude. He desired to be right with God and He quickly prayed for restoration and asked God to “unseal his lips, that he may praise Him.”

David had a faith mindset.