“How many times do we rely on the promises of God to take care of us one minute and then take matters into our own hands the next? Because we are unable to control things, we become insecure and open to Satan’s traps. God wants us to trust His goodness and concentrate on boldly doing good, for that is something we can control.” ~ Lysa TerKeurst, , p. 112, Who Holds the Key to Your Heart?
This is the new book I’m reading this week. Lysa is the President of Proverbs 31 Ministries and is an excellent writer and speaker. I found this section of the book particularly comforting and funny, because Lysa was being transparent about a mishap that happened to her once, when she had a speaking engagement in front of hundreds of women at a country club.
As she writes, “Although I feel very comfortable speaking, I’m not exactly a country club girl. Oh, I’ve got the country part down just fine; it’s the club part that intimidates me a bit.”
She spent extra time in her closet that morning trying to find just the right outfit and chose a light purple suit. That’s when her shoe dilemma started, and after trying on several pair, she chose a pair of bone-colored high heels. As she drove to the engagement, she realized that they were too small because her feet started to hurt. She decided to stop at the only place open at that time of the morning, Wal-Mart. She writes that she was excited to find a pair of comfortable white heels on the clearance rack and bought them. Lysa writes:
“Everything seemed great until I walked into the country club and noticed that not one other person was wearing white shoes. These were the kind of women who did not wear white shoes in the wrong season. I was so embarrassed. All I wanted to do was run away as fast as my little white shoes would carry me. But since running away was not an option, I decided to head to the bathroom and spray my hair really big. I figured if my hair was poofy enough, maybe no one would look at my shoes.”
“Then I discovered that this country club provided spray in the bathroom. What a wonderful surprise. So I flipped my head over and sprayed and sprayed. It wasn’t until I flipped my head back over that I realized the convenient spray was actually deodorant….Panic started to set in as I realized I had no time to fix this mess I was in. Thank goodness Jesus spoke to my heart and reminded me of Who was in control. So I brushed as much of the deodorant out of my hair as I could and walked out of the bathroom and up to the podium.”
This was so funny to me, especially since Lysa is the President of Proverbs 31 Ministries.
Her book Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions
Her humbling yet funny story above about her speaking engagement reminds me of my speaker friend Rochelle Valasek, who fell off a stage once while speaking.
Luckily just her pride was hurt. She reacted with quick wit, jumping back onto the stage, saying, “TA DA!” (Just as an aside, Shelley is one of the most anointed, amazing speakers I’ve ever heard!)
Lysa’s story about her speaking engagement also reminds me of the time I went to an event where everyone on the ministry team was wearing solid, black suits and I showed up in a black and white, checkered dress. Talk about standing out!
When these things happen, we feel like quickly disappearing. We feel insecure.
We feel out of control. And control is so important to us, isn’t it? At least it is for me.
Then we try to wrestle for control in the situation ~ like spraying your hair big to hide the white shoes.
Or we try to hide.
Instead, we need to let go and trust God.
As a child, I had no control over what was happening to me when I was being sexually and physically abused. I’m thankful that although I had no control, God was still in control. He spared my life physically and kept my sanity intact.
Then He did what only God could do ~ He healed and restored me. He turned this situation around 180 degrees for His glory.
Like Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of wrong-doing, put into prison, and then raised up by Pharoah to be second in command in Egypt, God is creating a masterpiece out of my messes.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” – Genesis 50:20, NIV
God has used my story of abuse to minister to many women who have been through the same painful things in their lives. He truly has given me beauty for ashes. (Isaiah 61:3)
Sometimes when we feel totally out of control, God is right there in the thick of it, about to show off Jesus in and through imperfect, stand-out, falling-down you.
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Don’t miss the webcast with Lysa and Women of Faith speakers June 25, 2013, at 8 p.m. Central Time/ 9 p.m. Eastern Time, when they share a message on how to overcome feelings of rejection, insecurity, and fear to embrace a deeper understanding of our significance in Christ. You can sign up for this free webcast by clicking here.
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