Give Up or Go Deep?

God told me this morning something that I pray blesses you: He wants us to spend time with Him. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to see who He is in His Word. He wants us to study the Word with other believers and be trained by it and knowledgeable in it.

I'm still in awe of the Beth Moore study, "Stepping Up" I just finished last week. It started March 30th, required daily commitment to do the homework (I was quite inconsistent and undisciplined at times), and weekly commitment to attend group studies/video sessions (I missed at least 3).

At one point I thought, "I should just give up, let this study go." But God encouraged me to stick it out, even when I missed my homework, even when I missed a session. The truths of the Psalms and understanding them better were reasons enough for God to have me stick it out.

He also gently spoke and said He would be my Bible study teacher after the study ended, walking with me through the lessons I missed. Ultimately, He wants me to know Him MORE. I'd already planned to start working through the study this week, before news came yesterday from my physician. During my annual exam, she felt a mass near my lower abdomen on my left side. She believes it's fibroid-uterine related.

I'll be going this Friday for a CT scan to determine what the mass is and what treatment is best. Monday afternoon was an up and down one indeed, emotions everywhere, all over the place. But faith steadied me, especially when I picked up my "Stepping Up" study workbook and was calmed by the truths in it. How alive my eyes and heart are to God's voice in this study as I walk through it and review it now, especially in a time such as this. It is amazing to be reminded of God's promises to me through a $15 Bible study that I almost gave up on.

It's in the challenging moments we will need that which we call on to be true, steady and run deep in dependability. If we're calling on faith that's been developed, strengthened, and poured into regularly by regular time with God, what we receive is peace and hope from Him. The relationship of spending time with Him has built the confidence of depending on Him, even with the hard spots.

But if we're grasping and pulling on faith that's lean, shallow and not tested, we will wrestle and struggle. God is still near, but He is yet beckoning us to go deeper, come closer, and know Him. James 1:2,3 reminded me it's not a matter of if trials of various kinds will come...it's a matter of when. They are promised to come. Sometimes, the bottom will fall out. But God is faithful to cover the hole with His powerful hand. May we all go deep. I pray we all would.

A girl with her hope in the Lord. ~ m

Bible teacher Beth Moore tells us, "The grace of God is like manna

in the wilderness: It is always given on demand, exactly when it's needed...

keep walking. Keep putting one foot ahead of the other, all the while,

you sing. Set your heart on pilgrimage. We are not stuck..."