Week two of "Trusting God"

The second week of "Trusting God" was hard for me.  The truths the GIG's talked about hit a nerve with me-an unpleasant nerve.  First let me summarize the facts of week two.  Day one was about God's peace and that we can have peace despite our circumstances.  Peace is not the absence of problems.  Day two was about the importance of spending time with God so that you have the strength to face the stresses of life and what comes at you.  Day three was about looking for the ways God cares for you-His fingerprints in your life.  Day four was about God's timing being perfect.  We have our plans and timetables for our life, but God's timing is ultimately perfect.  He comes through at just the right moment to meet our needs.  And just because it seems like He is not moving, doesn't mean He doesn't care.  Because He will meet the need at just the right moment.  Day five was about clinging tightly to God no matter the circumstances.  No circumstance is outside God's ability to handle.  Gwen talked about what she does to boost her ability to trust God when she feels weak (listen to praise music, read scripture, pray, and meditate on God's goodness) and encouraged her readers to come up with their own.

I guess why this week was hard for me was because I believe that my struggles seem to never end.  They are a constant companion.  Not that I expect them to go away completely.  I know we live in an imperfect world and I will have struggles like everyone else.  Maybe I have built my struggles up to a bigger degree than how I view others' struggles.  I may have made them into a bigger mountain than they are.  That thought just popped into my head as I was typing.  Perhaps I need to tell my "mountains" how big my God is-something that was talked about in day five.  Instead I have been telling God how big the mountains are.  This past week I have been dwelling on what's wrong and not feeling like God is moving in my life or even present.  I have felt like, despite my efforts, nothing seems to be working.  I have felt like He doesn't care about me or the desires of my heart.  I don't see His fingerprints in my life.  All this makes me feel frustrated like I am doing something wrong.  What I'm seeing now as I type out my thoughts is that nothing is wrong with me, just my methods.  So, I'm going to try some new methods rather than dwelling on the negative.  And I want to come up with a plan for what to do when my mind starts going the negative way.  One thing I have started doing is keeping scripture cards with me that I am memorizing and can meditate on at any point during the day.  I also have some typed up on my ipod that I can pull out as needed in order to keep my mind focused in the right direction.  I am also reading an intimate love letter to me from God daily.  It is a one page handout that I got from a friend.  It is based on scripture and reminds me of who I am in Christ.  I will also be taking a class through church that is about my identity in Christ.

I know I didn't share a lot of info about this past week, but want to encourage you if you are like me and focus on the negative.  Think of things you can do to get your mind going in the positive direction.  Feel free to share your ideas on here.  I would welcome any new ideas.