Resting

A sweet friend of mine, a fellow IFer, gave me a devotional book for my birthday this year... Yesterday's message really resonated with me, for obvious reasons. The devotion reads as if it is God speaking directly to you, and then gives supporting scriptural references...I love it. Here it is:

Do not resist or run from the difficulties in your life. These problems are not random mistakes; they are hand-tailored blessings designed for your benefit and growth. Embrace all the circumstances that I allow in your life, trusting Me to bring good out of them. View problems as opportunities to rely more fully on Me.

When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for Me. Thus, your needs become doorways to deep dependence on Me and increasing intimacy between us. Although self-sufficiency is acclaimed in the world, reliance on Me produces abundant living in My kingdom. Thank Me for the difficulties in your life, since they provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance.

Scripture references: John 15:5 II Corinthians 1:8-9 Ephesians 5:20

To me, those scripture references seem lacking somehow... I would have paired the devotional with the following verse:

James 1:2-8, 12

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.... Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

This has long been one of my favorite verses of scripture, and one that infertility makes quite relevant to me. Although I can't honestly say that I count my infertility pure joy--or my dr visits, or my injections, or my meltdowns---I can say that I know that He is working in me through this.

It's not fun, it's not easy, and it's most often painful on many different levels. But I know that He is bringing me on my knees through this...

I can either wear myself out with vain attempts to 'control' things in my life, OR... I can rest in my dependence on the One Who Controls It All.

Ummm, yeah. I think I'll rest.