there are defining moments in each of our lives that put us at a fork in the road.
the choice is faith or fear.
the choice is faith or freaking out.
the choice is trust or tragedy.
in those moments we have grace to choose God, to choose faith, trust and hope.
two such moments we faced were when my husband was made redundant and i was reminded of these moments reaching a blog post by Rick Theule – I Was Fired where he shares his own experience of being let go from a job, the worst day and the best day of his life.
my awesome hubby has being made redundant twice – we have sacrificed so i can be a SAHM. on the first time he was made redundant there were rumours and then we found out in a meeting that i was invited to, on the day that we then gave birth to our 2nd child. evangeline faith was born. yes, i had a baby on the day my husband was made redundant. in a way it was a brilliant distraction for both of us and within 3 weeks my hubby had a new job.
the 2nd time he was made redundant though we had our freak out moments (as we did too with the first, we were just in new baby bliss), we also knew that i wasnt having a baby that day or any time soon and if we could do it back then, we could do it again. i threw on a cd that a friend had just given me and let the words wash over me, reminding me that God is good, God is great, i can trust Him, all my hope is in Him. my hubby had been looking for a job, knowing the company was dwindling, for about 6 months before that redundancy and had had no replies, no interest, no responses. that day, as i listened to a song about the goodness of God he rung me… and had a job interview. the day he got made redundant he got an opportunity.
they were the worst days, and best days of our life.
defining moments.
these moments are moments of trust, growth, hope. even joy yes, if you allow them to.
how do you choose faith?
1. KNOW the promises of God – aka read your bible regularly so that when its hammer time that you KNOW them and have the promises at your fingertips, and most importantly, in your heart
2. WORSHIP God and remind yourself of His goodness and greatness. Let worship remind you of the truth our feelings forget
3. FIGHT fear with faith. Have a truth that counters any fear that comes into your mind
4. SURROUND yourself with good people who will practically help but purposefully pray for you
5. PREPARE to walk through circumstances with grace and faith – take practical steps if need be
6. RESIST the temptation to fully freak out. freaking out momentarily is okay, but don’t let that control who you are
7. RESPOND don’t react
what will you chose today?
what fork in the road have you stood at?
how did you chose?
One Passion One Devotion 
8 comments
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May 1, 2014 at 12:25 pm
ricktheule
Claire – I am honored. Thank you.
May 1, 2014 at 12:36 pm
fireball3316
i so loved reading about your journey and seeing the faith lived out – as i was commenting on your post some ideas came to me about what got us through our own experiences… always good to share these things – we’re all doing life together!
May 1, 2014 at 9:26 pm
fionacharisbrown
Soooooo good Claire. So good. Trying not to freak out now as we search for a new rental and wait on an application we have in on one…..
May 1, 2014 at 9:41 pm
fireball3316
oooh re the application – yip i reckon the line between freak out and faith is slim – but so worth it… i know you’re a big adventurer faith monster – what works for you to keep choosing faith?
May 1, 2014 at 11:21 pm
bunnyb1802
Hey Claire,
The opportunities to freak out have been numerous in the past two years. First one was when our house wouldn’t sell and money was getting really tight.
When I first found out the extent of the issue, I had a temporary wig out but then, as you say, it was a case of faith or fear. I chose faith. I’ll be honest and say sometimes I tried to do faith and fear at the same time but you can’t live in both camps. It’s just not possible. We took a practical step which was tough on our marriage but meant we could keep our heads above water for a while financially whilst we waited for the house to sell which it finally did. God was good. It didn’t come in the package or style we hoped for but it happened so I learnt to be grateful and accept that God does things His way, not mine.
Then in December, I was again faced with a choice to have faith or fear. I chose faith. After I chose it, it seemed like the world as I knew it would fall apart and just before Christmas. But again, another choice, faith or fear. Faith seemed the only option really. And now here I am, still choosing faith and God is being merciful and amazing to me, helping me walk this journey step by step. I’m by no means out of the woods yet but God has been incredibly faithful to me as I have staggered my way to Him with baby faith steps.
Things that have helped:
*having faithful friends to pray and talk it through with, to cry with on the hard days
*listening to worship music and worshiping as well
*Reminding myself of past times when God has come through for me, when He has answered prayer in desperate times
*Reading the bible and encouraging myself in The Lord
*Choosing to hold on but being very real with God about how I’m feeling. God isn’t fooled by us saying the right things but feeling differently in our hearts. He wants us to be real with Him, tell Him when we don’t feel faith, when we feel angry, upset or whatever. I’ve learnt to just be real with Him. It’s then that I feel His comfort.
Great post Claire.
May 2, 2014 at 5:02 am
Maturing Daily
I remember how well you responded during these times! Timely post as we are waiting to hear if we have some work changes, we could lose half our annual income. So we are waiting and trusting right now as to how things will turn out
May 2, 2014 at 8:46 am
fireball3316
that sounds like a def challenge to be choosing faith ! will be praying for you chick ! shout out if you need prayer !
May 2, 2014 at 8:47 am
fireball3316
i love your list of things that have helped! reminding myself of how God has been God has so helped me too! i love your realness with Him! what an amazinzg testimony!