Friday, February 4, 2011

"I Will"

This has certainly been an eventful week with many all-nighters and a surplus of espresso.  In short, it's midterm week.  But amongst my own personal trials and anxieties this week, it became quite clear to me that I would have to put my own concerns on hold.  Multiple close friends have chosen this week to make their struggles known to me.  It seems that our discussion on listening and speaking from the past two weeks could not have come at a more perfect time.  It really puts things into perspective when people open up their world to you.  Somehow all of your own annoyances and problems seem petty and insignificant in comparison.  I find it incredibly flattering that these people would hold me in confidence and that they would seek my advice.  This is also incredibly intimidating for me.  I feel a lot of pressure to be there for them and to say the right words.  The words that will give them clarity and comfort.  The words that just may very well solve their problems.  I put a lot of pressure on myself like that.  Many times when I don’t see immediate results or get that immediate gratification, I get discouraged. 
This week as I was grappling with all of these issues—both my friends’ struggles and my own inadequacies in helping them—I was inspired and encouraged by a note card pinned up on my desk.  I’m one of those types of people who tack a lot of things up on my walls and on my desk.  Empty spaces on a wall kind of make me uneasy.  Because of the amount of things pinned up on my desk I find that they almost become a visible white noise.  They all fade together and I can kind of ignore the chaos.  This one note card in particular was from a Women’s Ministry gathering I went to some months ago and it says simply, “I Will” Luke 5:5.  I vaguely remember putting it up there, originally hoping that it would inspire me daily.  And luckily, this week, it did.  This verse is from the story of how Simon, after a night of unsuccessful fishing, tells Jesus that he will cast down his nets, simply because Jesus told him to.  What really struck me about that story was the blind and trusting faith Simon had in Jesus.  God put it upon the hearts of these people to share with me, and I know that God will find a way to use me to encourage them.  I’m still not one hundred percent sure of what my advice to them will be, but I am striving to trust that to God.  Another encouraging verse I found this week (also pinned up on my desk) is Philippians 4:9, “Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”  I have been really focusing on letting that peace of God flow into my life rather than stress or anxiety.  For me that certainly is a daily struggle, but I find that anytime I have any sort of success in that, the reward is overwhelmingly satisfying.  So I guess for I could use prayer for myself, in my dealings with advice-giving, but also for those close friends of mine. I pray that I can give them the support and encouragement they need by being a good listener and then I pray that with the help of the Holy Spirit I can be an equally good speaker. 

9 comments:

  1. Great Post.

    I'm struck by how cool it is that you put up a post it note at some point in the last few months with a simple phrase, and God used that to speak to you now. In some ways, it feels like God using your own voice to speak to you...

    Really cool.

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  2. Bri I feel really inspired by your post. You are going through these struggles and yet you still choose not to focus on yourself because you realize Jesus and others are more important.

    "But amongst my own personal trials and anxieties this week, it became quite clear to me that I would have to put my own concerns on hold."

    Man, I just wrote a post about how I'm so frustrated with something and when i read that, I thought, "That is very wise." When the going get's tough, I hope I can think something like that with a sincere heart and mind

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  3. thanks for sharing bri! i'm super encouraged by your willingness to be there for your friends. i'm more encouraged by your loving them with the love that God gives. as humans, our love is finite and full of limits but when we choose to love with Gods love it is limitless. i'll be praying that God continues to use you in your friends lives!

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  4. For some reason I feel like I need to mention that advice and wisdom aren't the same thing. What your friends probably need is wisdom. We often want to solve probelems, but our friends are often best served in the same way that God leads us, constantly pointing toward Truth, poitning toward a clearer understanding of who He is.

    Hope your test went well today.

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  5. You mentioned how you feel discouraged when you don't see the results...or have instant gratification. I too tend to feel this way sometimes. I think its due to the fact that we live looking into the future, but we don't always appreciate the moment. There has been a lot of talk lately about "being present" in every situation. God sometimes uses us in the "moment" without showing us exactly what that looks like down the road. We just have to trust Him.

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  6. Its so awesome that you're at a point now where you are just trusting the Holy Spirit to do the work . That's ultimatly where I think most of us struggle. We think it's got to be all up to us, the pressure is on US. But if we step out in a leap of faith and believe that it's God doing the work through us then He will honor that trust we have in Him. Job well done on that trust. God will always back that up. "Cast your burdens unto the Lord and He will sustain you; H will never permit the righteous to slip and fall". Psalm 55:22. I rely on that scripture for everything.

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  7. Wow Lindsay, I absolutely love that scripture! Thank you! And thank you to everyone else-- that was incredibly encouraging! And Nick, I really liked what you said about wisdom vs. advice. I think I might need to let that resonate for a while, that's a really good point.

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  8. First off. I need you to come fill in my blank walls. Second. I totally see where you are coming from when you shared about people coming to you with issues and all that you want are to say the right words. This I feel has happened to me far too often and I am terrible with my words. What I process in my head is never what comes out of my mouth and sometimes I feel I leave people more confused than when they came to me. Personally I am a far better writer and so when I take time and reflect on their situation and get back to them I have a lot more success in my advice. Don't know if this is like you at all, but just thought I'd share!

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  9. This is amazing :) Love it. Thank you for sharing. The tone of your writing brings calmness, strength, and peace. Is that crazy? Maybe its because we have had a conversation in person before, but thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I hope to see you later today.

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