You Can't Fake It

My pastor's wife posted a single, simple verse on her Facebook page last week and it has yet to leave my mind:
 
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently..." James 5:17.
 
Whenever I think of Elijah I think of a man of great faith and great power.  The story of him going face to face with the prophets of Baal is one of my favorites (1 Kings 18). 
 
The thought that he was "a man with a nature like ours" rattled me...and gave me hope.
 
I've been fighting the flesh for a while now...feeling weak, defeated, and a whole lot of self pity.  Homeschool was/is one of the major causes of my emotional turmoil. The following verse sums up how I've been feeling about the situation (the "we" being "me"):
 
"For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death."
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
 
Ha ha!  I can't say it any better than that. 
 
No, really, I have been kind of depressed about my whole calling, and even though homeschooling is not a "deadly peril" as what Paul faced, it can wear a person down.  Thankfully the Lord is good at renewing my hope.  The rest of the verse says this:
 
"But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again."
 
The God who has saved my soul, the same God of Elijah who sent down fire and rain from heaven according to His servant's prayer, hears my prayers too.
 
So, I'm praying to be fervent in prayer, and to quit relying on my own strength because I am seriously not going to make it through this school year if I don't.

Oh, and I'm praying for a pure heart...because that's just something you can't fake:

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man."
Matthew 15:18

(And here's your #1 and #2 in case you were missing them :) )
#1 My mouth gets me in trouble from time to time.
#2 Problem is, I can't blame my mouth.

It's all about the heart.  "From it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
I want my life filled with peace so I need the Lord's peace to feel my heart:

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful" (Colossians 3:15):

Thankful for my 5 little blessings.
Thankful to be able to teach them at home.
Thankful that it's not all about me.
Thankful I don't have to do it alone.

Thankful I can rest in the God "who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy" (Jude 1:24).

Praying to the God who sends the fire and the rain.




 
 


 

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