One Fateful Night - Learning to Trust in the Vine

 I learned something the hard way—
about how to
have the Lord's peace in my life.

I have always been very self confident
in my own abilities.

This makes it difficult for me
to be "dependant" upon the Lord 

in the way He wants me to be.

Now, put me in the Emergency room 

having a heart attack, 

and I can be 

"very dependent" upon the Lord.

I had NO "self sufficiency" 

to rely upon.

I found it easy to put myself 

completely into the Lord's hands.

Looking to Him - 

Trusting in Him for my life 

( whether it was to continue 

or to end that night.. 

totally up to Him ).

And I had peace 

throughout the whole process 

From the operating room 

where I had my stents inserted,

To lying awake 

all night in ICU.

Lots of time to talk to the Lord 

about His plan 

for my future.

It's been a little harder 

to have this same focused faith 

in my everyday life....

Because my fleshly mind thinks 

I can "do things", 

So I forget 

or find it hard 

to "depend" upon the Holy Spirit.

To look to Jesus. 

To pray to the Father.

I just "do" 

what comes to my mind, 

Using my "ability" 

to "do".

So.... being a "self starter" 

and having "confidence" 

in one's own ability 

can be a hindrance to anyone 

wanting to serve the Lord.

As you must learn to allow Him

to do His Work through you.

We must learn to rely upon the "Vine" 

and realize 

we are just the "Branch".

Jesus clearly tells us in John 15:5

Without Him, we can do nothing. 

That’s not just true
in the emergency room.
That’s true every single day.

Learning to depend upon Him now,
Will prepare you for any future trials
that come your way.
Maranatha