\u201cWhen I am afraid, in you I place my trust. I praise the word of God; I trust in God, I do not fear.\u201d <\/p>\u2013 Psalm 56:4-5<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n- Ashley explains that having trust in the fact that God wants only good for us is of utmost importance. As you look back over the difficult times in your life, how can you see God\u2019s hand in helping you through them? How can you see that He fought for you? Does His presence then help you to have trust in the future?
<\/li> - How have you seen God\u2019s love for you this week? What are some things you can do to focus on His goodness? Make a list of things you are grateful for or places where you\u2019ve seen God\u2019s goodness. When you make a conscious effort to look for His love, how does it help you see it more?
<\/li> - Ashley stresses that God does not want us to worry or feel anxious about the future. He wants us to trust in Him and not waste time fixating on what may come in the future, for then we miss the gifts of today. Have you ever spent so much time worrying about what could happen that you missed what actually was happening? What happened as a result of this? How can you avoid spending so much time worrying? What gifts can you focus on today?
<\/li> - Ashley reminded us of the story of the Israelites in the desert. They were told to gather only enough manna for one day, but many didn\u2019t listen, and when they gathered more, it spoiled. What is God trying to teach with this story? How have you seen that God provides you with what you need? We all have \u201cbread\u201d that we need, and sometimes we have \u201cbread\u201d that we want. We don\u2019t always get everything, of course. But God does provide. What is the bread He\u2019s providing you with today? How does the presence of the bread in our lives prove that God will never abandon us?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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Text Version<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How can we notice God’s hand in our lives? How can we trust the work He’s doing in our lives this Advent? My name is Ashley Stephens from Mountains Unmoved. And today I’m going to talk about how we can trust God’s plan for our lives before it comes to be. But before I start, let’s open in prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opening Prayer<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nIn the name of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen. God, I thank you for all you’ve done in our lives. And I just pray for greater trust in the work that you’re doing, I pray for greater awareness of your love and your gifts this Advent season, it’s your name I pray, Amen. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking Back to The Good Things<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nGod made you with a unique purpose. Your talents and your gifts and your passions and your purpose, were woven into your DNA before time began. You and your making and your plan where His idea. But I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s hard to trust that, before it comes to be. It’s hard to trust the beautiful plan He’s got written for us before it comes to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I’ve learned in my life, three things that really helped me better trust Him. And the first is looking back on what He’s done so far. Holly Hindsight makes it easier to see right? Looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing, oh, that’s how God used that hardship for good. Oh, God loved me through that really lonely season. God carried me through that season when I didn’t know how I would take the next step. When we look back, it’s easier to see how God has fought for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me personally, if you’re not familiar with my story, three months, three weeks, sorry. After I was engaged, I got T-boned by a Mack truck. In that morning my fianc\u00e9 and my family got a call to get to the hospital as soon as they could, and when they arrived, they were told I had a head trauma. My brain pressure was spiking, dangerously high, I was fighting multiple infections and a fever, and it was likely I wouldn’t make it. Thanks be to God clearly, I did, but not without incredibly intense hard year of suffering. And during those six months that I was fighting for my life in the ICU and I was working to recover in months and months of therapy. Often daily, even I asked God, why? Why is this the work you’ve begun in my life Lord? How can you possibly use this for good?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t know if you’re asking those same questions now with the work, God has begun in your lives. But for us, we decided to get married on the one-year anniversary of the accident, to redeem our darkest day, that we almost lost it all into our most beautiful and joyful day that now we look back on and celebrate every year. And on that day, as I walk through the countless people that had prayed for us and delivered us meals and visited us. As I walked under the girls, I was in the car with singing over us. As I walked by the driver of the Mack truck that I had collided with, who saved my life. It was a great reminder of how much God had fought for me and fought for us to get us where we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n