One Step at a Time

  

*Genesis 12: Abraham learned to trust God to lead him one step at a time. God essentially told him, “Trust Me with this first step, because it is best for you to go where I lead you.” At that time, Abraham might have wondered whether or not packing up his tent and leaving his family and his country would be to his advantage, but God told him to go to the place that He will show him and Abraham simply obeyed.

When God gave Abraham this instruction, He gave him only step one, not step two. Abraham would not get to step two until he had accomplished step one. This is so simple, but so profound: God gives us direction one step at a time.

You may be like many people who refuse to take step one until they think they understand steps two, three, four, and five. If so I hope you will be inspired to go forward in God’s plan for your life by trusting Him with the first step. Understanding that His will for you is revealed a step at a time should build your confidence to do at least what you already know to do. After the first few steps, your faith will grow because you will realize there is always sure footing beneath each step God instructs you to take.

 

Know that God has a good plan for your life and that you will be blessed when you obey Him. You can miss out on blessings by not obeying what God clearly tells you to do. He shows you the way to go, and you are to walk in that direction. Sometimes God may be gracious enough to carry you part of the way, but there comes a time when the carrying is over, and He says, “Now walk.”

God wants you to obey Him quickly. He does not want you to argue with Him for three or four weeks before you will do a simple little thing. He wants you to trust Him and Abraham, take the first step He calls you to take in faith.

*Notes and Commentary

By Joyce Meyer

The Everyday Life Bible

My friends, since I have read the Bible several times, this year as Joyce Meyer has been encouraging everyone to do, is to STUDY the Bible. I am doing just that - one chapter or step at a time. As you can see I am only on chapter 12 and I am ready to start my first article for our FNF Blog.  www.friendsneedingfriends.blogspot.com  

Friends Needing Friends is a ministry for widows only and now God has this blog reaching all of the United States and many foreign countries.  No matter where you live, becoming a widow is a unique series of events and changes in our individual lives. Abraham learned to trust God to lead him one step at a time as we should be doing. God essentially told Abraham, “Trust Me with this first step, because it is best for you to go where I lead you.”

Trusting God is what we widows should be doing right after our mate has passed, because our first steps into widowhood can be very frightening.  When God gave Abraham this instruction, to trust Him, He gave him only step one, not step two. Abraham would not get to step two until he had accomplished step one. This is so simple, but so profound: God gives us direction one step at a time.

We all have heard of the different stages of grief and that is a must that we work through these stages. If we don’t our emotions will keep us from going on in life. The next two paragraph from the above article are so true:

 “Know that God has a good plan for your life and that you will be blessed when you obey Him. You can miss out on blessings by not obeying what God clearly tells you to do. He shows you the way to go, and you are to walk in that direction. Sometimes God may be gracious enough to carry you part of the way, but there comes a time when the carrying is over, and He says, “Now walk.”

God wants you to obey Him quickly. He does not want you to argue with Him for three or four weeks before you will do a simple little thing. He wants you to trust Him and, Abraham, take the first step He calls you to take in faith.

 It is not easy going through the different stages of grief, but God does have a plan for us widows, I 

know because He has blessed me many times over and over again.  Just “trust” God and follow His directions. “One step at a time”.

                                                

Message by Dotti Ackerman

Founder & Director of Friends Needing Friends

Est. 1988

 

                                                               By Lynda Randle

                                                                    By Lynda Randle

                                                                  By Lynda Randle

Learning to Wait on God's Timing

         

I was talking with a friend this week who spoke of the need to allow emotional healing to occur before reentering the thick of life after becoming a widow.  She shared how she was counseling a woman who did too much too soon after becoming a widow and was close to suffering a nervous breakdown. That got me to thinking about the necessity for taking the complete regimen of antibiotics, for instance, even though one might feel better after the first two pills. What are some of the consequences for stopping too soon? Medical science points out that if you stop too soon the bacteria have the potential to grow again at a rapid speed, aggravating the symptoms all over again and even spreading to other parts of the body. There are consequences for getting ahead of the optimum timing for many things in life.

Most of us are familiar with the stages of grief and, theoretically at least, realize that we have to go through them with the loss of any one close to us. But, I think widows are especially vulnerable to rushing this period because there is so much needing their attention, coupled with the fact that they don’t want to be too dependent on grown children, friends, or other family members. I have lost three siblings to cancer and, while I grieved their losses deeply, my day-to-day existence didn’t really change that much. Not so for the widow. When a woman loses her spouse,

her whole identity is rearranged; her familiar world and her role in it change. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed by the decisions that have to be made and all that needs to be done. Sometimes this is compounded by a feeling of abandonment by God himself causing the widow to cry out, “God, where are you in all of this? Do you see my pain, do you hear my cry, do you even care that I feel so alone and afraid of what lies ahead?”

          Sometimes our concept of God is a result of our feelings at the time. Widows can feel abandoned by God so they think they are. However, Scripture is clear that God draws near to the brokenhearted. Have you noticed how the widow is always named in the lists that say that God is especially near to the helpless, and the orphans? God is especially near to you, but it is often difficult for the widow to believe this as her vision is clouded by tear-filled eyes and feelings that tell her otherwise. Our God will never abandon His child for any reason . . . even when you can’t feel His nearness. For God has said, “I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b) Perhaps the following story from the life of the prophet Elijah will help demonstrate this. 

          In I Kings 19: 1-7 is the recording of an incident in the life of the prophet Elijah. Queen Jezebel had sworn that she would kill him and in great fear he fled for his life. He traveled a long distance on foot and flopped exhausted under a bush and prayed that he might just die. “I’m going to die sometime and it might as well be now,” he said. Now, that’s true despondency. The Scriptures tell us that he then fell asleep. Instead of answering his prayer for death, verses 5-7 tell us, “ . ...But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him to get up and eat! He looked around and saw some bread baking on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you.”

          Ladies, you, just like the prophet Elijah, have received jarring news resulting in the death, not just of your spouse, but life as you know it. Elijah, seeing no way out, prayed for death. But, his loving Father hadn’t abandoned him and, in addition to needed rest, miraculously ministered to him by providing food and drink. But, He didn’t immediately order him to be on his way. Instead, he allowed Elijah to rest some more, and then provided more nourishment for him because He knew that a long journey awaited Elijah. This same loving heavenly Father is also concerned that you take the time to be whole before you start on your journey to what God has planned for you.

Let me remind you that society sometimes tells you things that are counter to your well-being. Marta Felber shares some of them in her book, Finding Your Way after Your Spouse Dies. I’ll list just three of them below.

§  “Time will heal.” (Time itself will not heal. It’s what you do with the time that will enable you to heal.)

§  “People who have faith don’t need to grieve the death of a loved one.” (God understands and grieves along with us.)

§  “You should be back to normal by now.” (No two grief experiences are the same. Also, you never return to “normal.” You are building a new life.)

   

      Marta also reminds you to not let people pressure you into doing anything before you are ready. You, better than anyone, know that well-meaning people in your life are all too giving with their advice: “You should move from that big house.” “Why don’t you get rid of all his stuff.” “You should buy yourself a new smaller car.” “Take a cruise; it will do you good.” “What you need is a new man in your life.”

 Some of them may be good decisions for the future, but you need to take your time in making big decisions and spend time with God, allowing His Holy Spirit to bring healing to your woundedness. God knows what lies ahead for you and He and only He can lead you into the new life He has planned for you. Don’t get ahead of Him because of outside pressures to “move on with your life.”

No one likes to wait. That’s why we have fast food chains littering our landscape. That’s also why we have physical and emotional relapses. We didn’t take the time to heal, to trust God for guidance and wholeness, and just rest in His timing. Trust me, you will live to suffer the consequences, just as stopping meds too soon will do to you.

          Let me leave you with one verse of Scripture upon which to meditate (chew on) as you go through your day. Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

 

Message by Shari Hervold - March 7, 2016

                                                                                          

While we are waiting for the Lord, sit back, relax and enjoy worshiping the Lord through music. What I do is make sure the windows and doors are closed, then I click on the music and have a good time singing along with the songs.    

     By Matt Ward

 By Chris Tomlin

 By Chris Tomlin