Faith, Circles, & Set-ups

Hi there Ever Be Beauties, it is March! How can that possibly be? “Wow” is all I can say. I feel like I haven’t given you guys a “heart to heart” blog post in a while so here it goes! I want to talk about what God has been teaching me. It’s difficult for me to perfectly express just how good God has been over this period of time, but I’m going to try my best. 

At the beginning of this year my mom gave each person in my family a piece of paper and a pen. She told us to write down prayers for 2020 that we want to see God answer in the coming year. At the time we had been watching the Crazy Faith series of sermons from the pastor, Michael Todd, a series I would recommend anyone to watch. These messages have been so inspiring to me that I felt lead to write on my list of prayers, that God would give me crazy faith.

In February I started reading a book my mom gave me called The Circle Maker. It has been another source of inspiration to walk in crazy faith. I guess this blog is going to be filled with recommendations, because I HIGHLY recommend you read this book. It talks about writing down your prayers, and circling them until you see the miracle come. It teaches to consistently circle your prayers, even physically. Much like in Joshua, when the Israelites circled Jericho everyday for 7 days.

Joshua 6:12-16

12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 

I feel led to talk about these sources of inspiration because, remember in the first paragraph when I said I prayed for crazy faith? Well, God answered that prayer for me, but in a unique way. Many of us have a “Jericho” that we need to pray circles around. My Jericho was a thing, a situation, a person. I’ve been circling it for a long, long time. I walked in crazy faith believing that God would make it happen, if it was apart of His will for my life. In my mind, I was so sure that this was definitely the right path for me to take. God answered that prayer, but not how I expected. I didn’t receive what I thought was mine. God actually got in the way of my plans completely. He removed what I thought I wanted, took me out of the familiar and brought me out of my comfort zone. Good thing He does His best work when we are uncomfortable! The setback may not feel comfortable, but that’s because it’s actually a setup. 

God, being the good God He is, put me in a position where I could see everything for what it really was. It was then that I realized, I was about to settle with a plan that was “good”, when God wants me to receive His BEST. Sometimes God has to get in the way of our plans before they wreck us. Turns out, I was the one in the way of HIS plan all along. He has to block us from what we think is good, so that he can bless us with great! He’s a protecting father like that. But I read a tweet this week that said, “Sometimes God’s power is shown as much in preventing things, as it in making them happen. We may never know why. But we can always know and trust the Who.” 

I know that my Jericho story may sound a little complicated, but I can honestly say that the unanswered prayer was actually an answered prayer! My idea of good doesn’t even come close to the goodness of what God has planned. My Jericho walls did come down, just not the way I expected them to. I’ve never felt more free. I had lots of growing pains, withdrawals, and frustration. All of these things come when the enemy has you convinced that, once you let go of your idea of “good”, you’ll lose it all and never get it back. But in reality, you’re not losing anything, you’re gaining everything when you let God take control. It may hurt losing that “thing” but let me tell you about the PEACE you gain when you let go of it!! 

I want to encourage all of you to write down your prayers and circle them! Don’t give up on them. Don’t be afraid to pray specific prayers. Don’t be afraid to pray for the impossible. Nothing is impossible with God, and the more impossible the prayer seems, the greater the glory God will get when He answers it. Also friends, don’t forget to be open and available for God to answer your prayers in a different way than you envisioned in your human mind. His ways are higher than yours, His thoughts are higher than you, and His plans are bigger than you!

I’d like to conclude this blog post with a few bible verses that have spoken to me in this season of my life and a simple prayer I’ve personally prayed quite a few times:

Psalm 32:8

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

Isaiah 55:8-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 34:10

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Proverbs 16:9

We make our own plans , but the Lord decides where we will go. 

“Lord, help me to have the courage, bravery and faith to let go of my plan and not get in the way of yours. Help me to release the grip I have on anything that is not meant for me. Thank you Jesus for your protection over my life. Thank you for loving me so well. Thank you God for giving me crazy faith! I will praise you in advance for the victory! I will praise you before I get it, knowing in faith that I will indeed receive all that you have for me!” 

Love & Blessings,

Hannah