The GT Weekend!
At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!
Worship Through Journaling
Worship Through Journaling
1) How often have you wished you could just run away and hide? There have been many moments like that for me. It sounds so easy and freeing to hide from the difficulties and stresses of everyday life. How wonderful to be able to hide from situations where I’ve messed up and don’t want to call more attention to myself. Running away and hiding might seem like a lovely thing to do if it would actually solve our problems, but it won’t. Hiding, as Adam and Eve attempted to do, merely postpones the consequences. From what have you wished you could hide? What part of your past do you wish was deleted and forgotten? Have you ever brought these to the Lord? How do you imagine He would respond? Does Scripture support your answer? Mandie reminded us on Monday that, when we attempt to hide, we end up focusing on the wrong things. Truth? We are never alone, and the Lord God is for us. No matter how broken, lost or anxious we feel, Jesus is constantly present with us. Christ came precisely for the hurting, the wounded, the lost, the broken, the sinner. He isn’t afraid of our emotions, sadness, anger, or our questions. He isn’t shocked by the situations we find ourselves in, instead He endured the suffering of the cross to bring us redemptive healing. Reflect on what it might be like for Jesus to take your surrender and make you whole! What would you give Him?
2) Our sister in Pakistan brought such insight from her experiences and urgently reminds us of the suffering Jesus promised would come to those who follow Him. Knowing the darkness of oppression exists is one thing, but seeing the face of the persecuted, hearing her story, and knowing she is paying a high price for following Jesus is entirely different. There is a cost for every follower of Jesus, but not all look the same. What challenges have you faced for holding steadfast to Christ and choosing Him over the call of the world? In what way can you fervently intercede for others facing persecution for choosing Christ? Oppression against Christianity takes many forms and is found all over the world. Though it may look different in your part of the world, it still exists. Oh, that those for whom following Jesus carries little to no physical threat would share Jesus as bravely as those brothers and sisters who endure significant oppression. Remember, we are all one Body in Jesus, highly persecuted or not. We must each continue sharing Christ together. Keeping our hearts steadfast on Jesus, our eyes and minds in His word, communing in prayer and conversation with Jesus keeps us hopeful that one day oppression will cease and Christ’s kingdom will come. Selah. Let it be so.
3) What an encouraging and transparent Journey Study Melis shared with us this week! It is never easy to confess our sins and make known our areas of weakness, but in doing so, Melis reminded us we are not alone in our struggles. When was the last time you confessed a sin to another brother or sister in Jesus? Are you participating in a community of believers where this is common? What was challenging to you personally about the discipline practices Melis described? Training for following Jesus is so important and dramatically increases our focus on the Lord. Which spiritual disciplines have been particularly effective or challenging for you as you seek to follow the Lord? Not sure what they look like? Take a peek at our Journey Theme: Training. The Lord God never intended us to live the Christian life alone, which is why He designed us to hunger for iron-sharpening-iron friendships and community that press us into knowing Him more deeply. Consider choosing a spiritual discipline that Melis listed and put it into practice in the coming week. Set up reminders on your phone, or better yet, invite a friend to join you! Whether you take a Sabbath rest, pick up a new journal, or set aside time to fast, the intentionality we invest into our relationship with the Lord always pays off! May we each commit to doing whatever it takes to nourish and cultivate our relationship with God and keep our focus on Him as He shapes us to be more like Himself!
Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from 1 Peter 5:6-11 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. Be sober minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. To him be dominion forever. Amen.
Prayer Journal
Lord, I confess it’s difficult to be humble. Arrogance and self-love are always sneaking around my heart and it’s easy to get caught in the trap of false humility. Help me to become more disciplined in surrendering to You my anxiousness. Help me to lean steadfastly on You and the surety of Your unchanging Word every day, even every moment. I don’t want to let my guard down and give in to the cares of the world or the deceptive traps of the scheming enemy.
Lead me away from the temptation to flee my troubles without facing them and turn my heart toward worship. Make me aware of Your mercies and Your movement in my life as I surrender to You, waiting in trust for You. I know you hear me, see me, and guard me; teach me to rest here in these truths as I praise You!
Worship Through Community
Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com
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Worship Through Prayer
