Strength in The Doing

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord Thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest. "  KJV

One would think that with the changes I have made in my life, I would find more strength and peace.  Yet there are days when just the opposite is true.  I struggle with organization of my time, finding yet another thing I need to get caught up on.  I have tried lists and notes and charts only to get lost  in the making of the lists and notes and charts. ( I know that some of you are out there nodding your heads and laughing in agreement) I thought that it would be easy to go from being a hard charging working woman with an appointment book of obligations to being a full time caregiver and part time writer.  After all, I love to cook, I love to take care of my grandchildren, and I love to write. How hard could it be to answer God's calling to me.

My frustration began to grow as the days slip by with little or nothing accomplished.  I have begun to be full of fear and doubt as to whether or not I made the right decision in quitting my job.  Maybe I wasn't meant to be a caregiver.  What if I can't really write.  What if I am not that good of a wife.  What if I am no longer important.  I started to hear the voices of the adversary as he whispered to me of my shortcomings.  The lions began prowling around the edges of my life again.

Like any willful child, I only heard the first and third parts of what my Abba had told me to do.    Yay!  Quit my job and become a writer!  How fun that sounded.  No more every day appointments.  Just sitting and writing all day long. Somehow, along the way, I missed the most important thing He had said to me. The second part of what He said was the more important part.  Quit your job and TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY and write/speak in ministry for Him.

I have always read that verse from Joshua to mean that God will cover me with strength and courage whenever I am OUT doing His will, such as in missionary work.  What it meant to me today is that He will give me strength when I am IN doing His will.  IN my house, IN my life, IN my everyday journey doing the mundane and boring tasks that a woman is called to do in life.  And yes, sometimes my Abba calls me to go no further than my kitchen or my living room or my desk. To write about my life, I have to live my life, trusting in Him, letting His strength become my strength, His courage my courage, and letting His love cover everything I do.  Praying for you today that your strength will come, your courage will be great, and your fears will be covered with His grace.