To Be About My Father’s Business

“I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8

This last year in many ways feels like twelve. We’ve had a tremendous amount of change in our lives as a family and parts of it have had me so heavy hearted at times that I wasn’t quite sure I wouldn’t lose my footing.

The heartache has sometimes left my mind cloudy with confusion and I sought the benefit of a counselor to help me sift through the circumstances to try to gain some clarity. The Lord led her to say something that brought everything into incredible focus.

As I poured my heart out to her and explained all that was happening and how much of it was totally out of my control, she looked at me and said, “You are going to have to ask the Lord every morning what you need to do to walk in obedience in this situation, recognize what you have no control over that you simply have to leave at His feet entrusted to His care, and then you are going to have to turn and be about your Father’s business.”

What I began to realize more and more was that the enemy wanted me to become so discouraged, distracted, and deceived regarding my uncontrollable circumstance that I would be rendered completely ineffective in every other area of my life. The enemy wanted me failing in my marriage, my parenting, and in my ministry. He wanted to destroy me mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

My eyes were opened to that truth and by His grace I am not “shaken.” I’ve learned in fresh ways what it means to set the Lord CONTINUALLY before me and to walk by faith in full confidence that He truly is “at my right hand.”

More than ever before in my life I have had to consciously choose to seek His will through His Word for my situation, commit to walk in obedience to what He has called me to do when maybe no one else would understand, and then get right back to being faithful in all the other things He has entrusted to me in this season of my life.

My tendency has been to want to sit with my problem and stew over it, spend excessive amounts of time talking about it, and allowing it to consume my thoughts, my heart, and my health. The Lord eventually opened my eyes to the pride in my thinking that I would be the one who could fix my problem. I needed to surrender….to get out of His way. I needed to trust that He knows things I do not know and is working in ways I cannot comprehend and it is simply not my business to know it all. He is Lord over everything and I can trust Him.

It IS my business to be about what I CAN control that He HAS entrusted to me.

I can seek the Lord faithfully every morning trusting that whatever He shows me in His Word and teaches me through His Spirit is equipping me for whatever He allows to filter into my life. I can choose to take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) even when my flesh is sorely tempted to continue to turn my problem over and over in my brain and heart until I am completely undone.

I can choose to walk in obedience and only interject myself into my difficult circumstance as He leads. Is He calling me to speak or to be silent? Is He calling me to go or leading me to be still? Is there an action step I can take or is He asking me to obediently take this back to the cross and leave it at his feet one more time?

Once I’ve done those things, I’ve learned to simply be about my Father’s business in my days and I can honestly say the joy is indescribable. To relinquish control of the parts of my life that I foolishly sought control over has been incredibly freeing. I realize I’ve been carrying burdens my Savior never intended for me to bear!

“The Lord God will help Me; therefore, I have not been humiliated; therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7

My God helps me and will continue to help me. My life will be a combination of joy and heartache but as I walk with Him, there is no need for disgrace or humiliation. I can choose to set my face like flint. I can be firm and resolved to lift my eyes to His and trust Him. I can make up my mind to endure and choose not to shrink from suffering. I can accept that God uses suffering at times for my good and His glory and rather that bristle against it at every turn, I can embrace it instead knowing it can be a beautiful gift.

“Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.” Psalm 37:21

My friends, maybe you need to pray a prayer like I’ve been praying:
Hold my hand, Lord. Help me not to be overwhelmed but to continually trust you as I place my life and all those I love and hold dear into Your mighty, loving, nail scarred hands. Help me to not lose heart when I fall. It is very much a part of life on this side of eternity. Strengthen my heart so that fear doesn’t grip me, but trust does. Help me to set my face like flint, fully resolved to look to You, Your purposes and Your ways at every turn. Thank you, Jesus, for your incredible example in suffering and for the grace you provide every step of my journey.

Is there something in your life that, like me, you need to surrender to the Lord? What steps do you need to take to walk in obedience in that circumstance? Is it in your thoughts? Your words? Is there something tangible you need to do to release this burden to the Lord?

Open your Bible and meditate on these scriptures and ask the Lord to help you to trust Him in your journey. (I like to write scriptures I am meditating on in a journal. Something about hand writing something cements the truths in my spirit and forces me to slow down and hear the Lord.)

Proverbs 3:5-6 What or whom are you trusting in other than the Lord? Are you relying on Him, His character, and His Word or your own understanding? Are you thinking about HIM in all your ways or are your thoughts consumed by worry, fear, doubt, or even having your own way in a situation? Do you believe He can and will guide you one moment at a time on your journey? Are you prayerfully seeking Him one decision at a time?

Proverbs 3:7-8 Can you see areas where you have been relying on your own experience or wisdom rather than the wisdom of the Lord? Do you need to take some time to humble yourself before the Lord and to be reminded that He is the only one who is truly wise? Do you fear the Lord? Are you turning away from the evil in your life and purposefully looking to the Lord in your life? Do you need healing in your body and strengthening in your bones? Perhaps all the control you are trying to have is making you not only soul sick but physically sick as well?

Who do you know who is walking through incredible difficulty in their life and they need to hear that Jesus is not only ready to prepare a place for them in Heaven but is ready to help them live an abundant life today, even in the midst of their heartache? Will you pray for that person God has put in your path? Will you look for an open door to try to reach them with the hope of the gospel of Jesus?

If I can encourage you on your journey, please email me at marilynosborn@fastmail.com. If you need counseling, you can call our church office and ask to speak with a pastor. They are ready to listen and help you!