What I knew:
I had a tired, well used, dark brown cabinet in need of a new look, and a new purpose.
We often get stuck, weighted down, and overwhelmed by what we know. Whether we know an old brown cabinet isn’t working for us any longer and our decor needs an update, or whether we know the facts of our lives are not adding up to what we had hoped for. These things can get to us.
The circumstances may be bleak.
What we see may be confusing.
We may feel broken under the weight of the impossible. I found myself right there bouncing between bleak, confused, and broken. Then I began reading Romans 4:16-25 in the New Living Translation.
Abraham was called the father of believers and the father of many nations because he BELIEVED in a God who could bring the dead back to life and bring into existence what did not exist before.
It goes on to say that Abraham’s faith DID NOT weaken even though he KNEW, he and his wife, Sarah, were too old to have a children and further more his wife had never been able to have children.
What are the devastating facts that you know? We all have them.
Things we wrestle with, or news that comes unexpectedly our way.
Not only did Abraham’s faith NOT weaken in spite of what he knew, Abraham’s faith actually INCREASED because he was CONVINCED God could do anything he had promised. Are you convinced of God’s promises more than the problems you are facing?
Did anyone need to hear that, but me?
These words have soaked deep in my soul this past week. I knew all the facts and I let myself become convinced of what I knew. This is often our default. And this way of thinking will send us faster, than anything, into the depths of depression, and down a road we’ll wish we had never traveled.
[Tweet “What you know and what you are convinced of can and should be two different things!”]
I needed to hear that someone else KNEW all the hard things, yet was convinced of a different truth! Sometimes we just need that example, those words spoken to us – whether face to face, or leaping off the pages of scripture – to become more courageous and believe again!
If you needed to hear this as much as I did, I encourage you to read, soak in, rehearse and pray through Romans 4:15 through the end of the chapter.
So I cleaned out the old, dark armoire, moved it’s location in my home to a better place, repurposed it’s use, and gave it a new look with a little paint (with my husband’s help and creativity).
It feels like we have a new piece of furniture; I love it and we now use it everyday.
I’m positive we always have options in our homes and in our hearts. When we become convinced there is a truth that trumps our current life facts, it opens the door for God to repurpose our future!
Let’s be convinced together my friend! In this with you and cheering you on!
With much love and grace,
Joelle Povolni
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).
