Don't Keep It To Yourself

 “The next generation is your story away from glory.”

Many have made statements that sum up the same thought. Maybe I even overheard that line somewhere. But it came to mind and I want to briefly ponder it here with you.

When I look in the mirror, I no longer see the young vivacious woman I used to be.  I’m older, and I believe a little wiser. I also recognize that I won’t live forever. If I pay attention to my children and grandchildren, I notice that they too are growing older. Gray in the beards of my sons, grandchildren succeeding in their chosen career fields makes me contemplate what I’m waiting for.

The upcoming generations need to hear our stories, and the generations after them will need to hear their stories.

Some of us tend to be private people and courtesy of social media, we can sometimes feel like we’re connecting when in reality – we’re disconnecting from the people around us.

We tell ourselves, “They don’t want to hear my stories…. They want something quick and colorful; something they can read in a few seconds and keep scrolling.” Or perhaps, “I can’t share THAT story with her…”

But whether they want to hear our stories or not, they need to hear them – at least some of them.

I’m not suggesting you bear your soul to everyone. Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit as you converse with those around you.

We need to be sharing the good that God has done in our lives so that the people God brings across our paths can stir up their faith and build up their hope as they go through their own situations.

To reveal God’s redemption in our lives may involve telling some sticky stories we don’t want to revisit. We’ll find that sharing these victory stories involve sharing the battles they came from – and this will stir up our own faith as well.

So many times, in the Old Testament of the Bible, God instructs His people to recant their history for the upcoming generations. It wasn’t merely to record their history, but to demonstrate God’s power through each trial they faced and to point out the mistakes they made and how God dealt with them, so that the next generation could benefit by it.

Granted, we don’t always learn from the past or from the mistakes of the people around us. Sometimes we’re stubborn and have to test the waters for ourselves. But while we’re biting off more than we can chew, with victory stories from those around us in mind, we’re more likely to trust that God is – and that He loves us and will bring us through.

Our world needs hope.

God has already provided that hope – through His Word, through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus – and through the word of our testimony; the sharing of our stories.is His

Cast aside the fear of embarrassment. Even the Apostle Paul asked for prayer that he would be bold with the good news of Jesus and the words of his testimonies. (Ephesians 6:18-20 here)

A favorite scripture comes to mind.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their own lives unto death.” – Revelation 12:11 (KJV)

Having Trouble Believing?

Recently I heard someone pray, ‘Lord, help me fully believe ____________________.’

Hmmm. What am I not fully believing God for? Prayers that have gone unanswered for decades? A clear concise answer from God on something specific? Or something even bigger?

Because I know people who live in a different reality than I do, I’ve heard tell that they don’t ‘believe in God’.  Or that to some, God is merely a higher power – out there somewhere beyond the universe. Or they have some concept of God that differs than mine.

Because I love these people, I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes for a minute and imagine what existence would be like without God. For me, it’s impossible. Because nothing would exist without Him, and I wouldn’t exist in the nothingness.

Without doubt, I can state that God is – and that He’s given to each of us a measure of faith. I can say this confidently, because His own Word tells us so, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” – Romans 12:3 (NIV)

So even the atheist has been given his measure of faith.

What we do with that faith decides our future.

We can put that faith in ourselves. We can put our faith in karma, or in a god we don’t know. OR we can place our faith in the One Who gave it to us in the first place.

That’s what I’ve chosen to do. Because yes – it’s our choice.

Scripture tells us, “…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

The only thing necessary to please God, is to place our faith (our trust) – in Him and believe that He rewards us for seeking Him out.

Our doubt doesn't scare Him. Just give Him that when you give Him your heart.

Sounds too easy, doesn’t it?

The God that created us doesn’t expect us to perfect ourselves and then come to Him. He knows we need to come to Him in order to be perfected (made complete).

“Seek first the kingdom of God (and everything else will be given to you).” – Matthew 6:33

How would you fill in the blank? What do you need help believing?

“Lord, help me fully believe ________________.”

I’ll believe with you….

How Did He Teach Us to Pray?

 While walking and praying on one of my favorite trails, I saw revelation in the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father. My intention was to pray over one specific friend this morning, as I began my prayer, I joined myself to my sister and prayed, “Our Father….” We share this heavenly Father; she is my sister, whom I love dearly.

Our Father in Heaven. Heaven has reached into our hearts. The very kingdom of God is within us, growing and reaching into the lives of those we love.  As we allow God’s love to grow in us, we expand the kingdom of Heaven here on Earth.

Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your Name! Time for the hosannas and the hallelujahs as rejoicing breaks through my prayer time. How can one commune with our Father, even in times of despair or great sorrow, without allowing His joy to permeate our prayers, without reverencing all that is holy?

Thy kingdom come. By joining myself to God I allow His kingdom to come and reign in my life. I exalt Him as King of kings and Lord of lords; I submit to Him as God of my life, as God of all life. His kingdom is the only kingdom I want to explore. There are principalities and dominions I don’t understand that have hold in the lives of many around us, but, I choose to live in Christ and allow Christ to reign in me. Every facet of my life somehow revolves around expanding God’s kingdom reign in the world around me. Is He God of all? Absolutely! Has He given dominion of the world to man? Yes. Every unholy choice we make leads us further from the next line…

Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. I won’t claim to know God’s will in everything. It’s His will that we commune with Him, it’s His will that we know His Word, His Son, Jesus. It’s His will that we love, always. But, whether or not He wants me to take a specific job or to redecorate my kitchen, well…..sometimes He lets us in on which way to go, other times, I think He’s willing to bless what we choose. He always guides and directs us, but, He’s given us tremendous freedom as well.

Can you imagine His perfect will, as it is in Heaven, surrounding us here on Earth? According to the Bible, I don’t think that will happen until a new heaven and a new earth are ushered in….but, can you just imagine it? Yes, we pray come quickly Lord Jesus, and we agree in prayer, Let Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. I want God’s perfect will accomplished in my life, and in the lives of those I love. And yes, in the lives of everyone on the planet.

How pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

(Picture from seriouseats.com)

Give us this day our daily bread. We generally consider our daily bread to be our meal. Jesus Himself said that His meat was to do the will of the Father. So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that our daily bread isn’t just our physical meals, it includes all the sustenance we need from day to day. It includes our food, but so much more! 

What else do we need to thrive? Not just to exist from day to day, but to really thrive! Our greatest need is something many of us push away, as if we don’t deserve it, as if it’s a special treat reserved for the truly worthy. Our greatest need is love; God’s love!

We all need to feel loved. It’s not just a want, it’s a God-given need. We’re not asking for something God can’t provide. He created us with a built-in need for His love, and for the love of our fellow man – and perhaps that of a spouse.

(picture from thefreshloaf.com)

God freely gives us His love – and more; everything we need is within our grasp.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Many years ago, I read a column (as they were called before the word blog became popular) which told the story of a mother listening as her child prayed at bedtime. Reciting the Lord’s Prayer, he said, in part, “forgive us our trash passing, as we forgive those who pass trash against us…” That’s the way I hear it in my head now. Cute? Yes, adorable. But, just as true.

I think perhaps, this might be the scariest prayer to pray. Forgive us as we forgive others?

But – what if we’re not so forgiving of others?

Ouch!

Mark 11:25 says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (NIV)

Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (NIV)

Yeah, to me, that’s some pretty heavy stuff. “But, God…..” we whine.

There’s the story of the man who was forgiven much then turned around and demanded that another who owed him a pittance pay up immediately or he’d have him thrown into debtor’s jail. In Matthew 18:21-35 Peter asks Jesus how many times we’re to forgive those who wrong us. Jesus explains the parable of the unmerciful servant. Because forgiveness is so important within the kingdom of God (which reigns in our hearts), I’ll include the story here.

“Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

Personal note here, that was a forgiving king! He didn’t just agree to be patient until the servant could pay him, he forgave the debt altogether. I wonder how the servant came to owe the king so much, or how he ever thought he could pay it. But, the king shows mercy, so it’s kind of irrelevant. But, the parable goes on….

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion o your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him.

“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (NKJV)

(picture from ipost.christianpostcom)

Yowza! It doesn’t sound like Jesus is making light of the powerful act of forgiveness, does it? I’ll just leave that there for us to chew on.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. None of us wants to endure trials, as they tend to stretch us. But evil? No, none of us ever want to experience evil, personally. Most of us are grieved to hear of others enduring evil. Although, plenty of us seem to enjoy watching it on television or at the movie theaters.

Deliver us from evil – when we ask God to lead us in His ways, to turn us from the path of evil, we’re asking Him to direct our footsteps. We’re giving up the right to choose to walk down a road that’s filled with consequences, some we know of, some of which hide in the darkness along the way. But, we’re directly asking God to spare of us all that.

(picture from thoughtco.com)

Then. Sometimes. In our own stubbornness, we continue down that road, because the temptations seem so rewarding in the moment. Then, we wonder why God allowed such evil to befall us. In a word; consequences.

God chastens those He loves. Yes. But, punishment is reserved for the wicked. Consequences follow when we walk where God has clearly shown us not to. We can’t feign ignorance, we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us.

If I tell my granddaughter not to ride her bike in the middle of the road, and she defiantly does so anyway. She may get hit by a car. Being hurt by the car isn’t a punishment for riding where she was told not to, it’s a consequence. My telling her to be careful not to pedal there was a warning out of love, not me playing dictator and keeping her from “all the fun”.

For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory – forever and ever. Amen.

(picture from delivertheword.com)

Here comes the rejoicing and the hallelujahs again. What a thrill to share in God’s kingdom and in His power and in His glory! It’s all His, but, He chooses to bless us in all of it, simply because we are in Him and He is in us! Hallelujah! Ponder His kingdom, His power and His glory!

Along the trail, God brought my attention to a tiny ant carrying a stick that was measurably, much bigger than he was. As he made his way across the smooth sidewalk, I was impressed. He skittered down the edge of the sidewalk and through the grains of sand, that looked like boulders around him. He didn’t seem to let the harshness of his terrain deter him from his task at all.

Sometimes, our hearts are heavy and we carry them around for everyone to see, or we hide the struggle as if we’re punishing ourselves for feeling the crushing weight of whatever it is we’re going through.

Though our terrain changes, God is still God and at the end of the day, He’s still the One Who carries us. He’s still the One Who gets all the glory. He’s always the One Who never gives us on us; Who will always answer our call.  He is still, our Father.

Song: To Him Who is Able....

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” – Jude 1:24-25 (KJV)

Pebbles

(KonstantinChristian/Shutterstock from mommyish.com)

"Father, what good is my one, broken prayer?"

The wise old man shared a pebble from his handful. Impetuously, she threw it into the beautiful, calm ocean waters.

After laughing and marveling over the ripples she made, she asked for another. Pebble after pebble brought her great pleasure as she watch the ripples roll out into the distance.

As small waves began to mount, the old man threw his handful of pebbles far out into the deep.

Now, even happier with the waves than she was with the ripples, she teetered on the sand, dodging the splashing water. Laughter rolled from her mouth as she chased the waves, then turned to run away as they chased her.

(miriadna.com)

After she'd had her fill of running and giggling and falling on the beach, she took the old man's hand and they made their way to drier sand to sit down.

Soaked and covered with sand, she plopped beside him and gazed up into his smiling eyes; she admired him more than anyone else in the world.

She laid back and asked again, "Father, you didn't answer me. What good are my simple little prayers? How can they do anything?"

"Little one, do you suppose there's a child in the sands on the other side of the ocean?"

She thought but didn't answer.

(deeperchristian.com)

"As each of your pebbles plunked into the water, tiny ripples made their way out into the ocean. Suppose those ripples sent waves to the other shore."

"And she splashed and laughed as I did?" she asked with great anticipation.

They looked out over the great body of water.

She smiled and said softly, "Now, she's my friend!"

He smiled down at her. "One little pebble did all that?" asked the old man. "I wonder what one little prayer could do."

“…Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” – James 3:4 (NIV)

Have you read The Butterfly Effect (How Your Life Matters), by Andy Andrews?

Now called The Law of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions, the Butterfly Effect began as Edward Lorenz’s hypothesis that said: “A butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules if air in motion, which would move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air – eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet.”

You can very affordable get a copy of the book here: The Butterfly Effect

It’s a quick read, minutes, actually. It makes a great gift to those who matter most in your life. 

                 

 

Since YOU matter so much in my life, I’m giving away a copy of the book to one randomly chosen reader who comments on this blog post, whether here on the actual blog site, or on Facebook, my social media of choice.

Insignificant? No. I don’t think so!

You’re impacting everyone. Do it purposefully.

Borrowing a season from my friend, “Happy Lovember”!

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers:

“Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

– Isaiah 49:6-7 (NIV)

Peace Like No Other

The other night, well past midnight, I roamed my house. In yet another battle with sleeplessness, though thoroughly tired, I paced. Of course, in the quiet of night it’s a great time to listen and to pray. Admittedly, I’d rather be sleeping.

As I sat in the rocking chair in the front room, I closed my eyes. I was praying for my son. Sometimes the words to pray don’t come easily, those are times when I depend on the groaning of the Spirit of God, whether audible or not. Those are the times I yield myself to how He wants to pray, through me. Those are generally the most passionate and emotion-filled prayers.

With a flutter of my eyelids, I melted as the front porch light, creeping through the slats in the blinds, illuminated our American flag waving in the breeze.

When our children are young, we presume we can, or are at least supposed to meet most of their needs. We love them and teach them, we nurture them while watching them teach us so much more. We hold them. I miss holding them most.

My heart aches for the hearts of my children. Their grown up struggles are so much harder than that to which their childish concerns could ever amount. Perhaps because with age comes wisdom I didn’t have as a young mom, and I realize that it’s not my job to pave their way through life. I can’t show them their purpose or their path. They need to discover that on their own. Something given to us is sometimes less appreciated than something we work for ourselves.

Our children see our flaws more often than anyone else, perhaps even better than our spouse. They see when we don’t even realize they’re watching. And of course, they’re observing our shortcomings through the innocent eyes of a child, I’m quite sure that adds facets to who we are to them that we don’t even know about.

(fanpop.com)

No matter what I’ve done or how they see me, they’re all grown up now. I’ve done my part is messing with their view of reality.

Now, they struggle within their own hearts. Life is between them and God and their reality of God. It was always their own journey. My hope is that someday the struggles end and they’re at peace and can share their peace through just being who they are.

I can’t pray my will over theirs, I can’t pray for the path I want them to choose – that may not be the road God has planned to take them down.

I can only pray God’s perfect will over them and trust Him to complete the good work He’s begun in them.

(likesuccess.com)

That beautiful flag waving on the front porch may be part of the reason my son is on the other side of the world. But, my heart has to trust that it’s all part of a greater plan, the plan of God Himself.

Do I get all choked up and cry? Absolutely. But, praise God for His peace, which passes all my human understanding and teaches me to hope and stirs up supernatural patience and trust within me.

I’m so blessed and glad and honored to serve the Almighty God of the universe and to know that I know that I know that He’s in control. There’s no greater joy than to know God and trust Him completely. Anxiety comes from feeling the need to do life on my own or worse yet, from trying to control the destiny of another.

Thank You, Jesus for Your sweet, bountiful peace. Thank You for Your unconditional, never-ending love. Hallelujah!

(suggestkeyword.com)

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

When I Don't Know How to Pray

(meveda.com)

As my friends sometimes do, one sent me a scripture this morning. Two verses that made me take note – and ponder.

When someone asks how they can pray for me, I often stumble for a response. 

Of course, my loved ones are first on my mind.

They’re suffering.

Yet, God is in control; nothing is happening that He hasn’t already seen, none of this has taken Him by surprise. To pray for their deliverance seems trite, because He’s already working on that. To pray for their salvation; He’s got that covered, too. To pray their eyes be opened and that He reveals Himself to them in ways they will understand and receive – yes, He’s already doing it.

(1ms.net)

 To pray that I trust Him with them, yes, I trust Him completely.

There’s no thought of my loved ones He hasn’t already heard, no cry He hasn’t already considered. How do I identify how to pray over what God is already seeing through to glory? Tearfully and sometimes feeling ill-equipped, I pray in faith and through a yielded heart; rejoicing that God prays through me. His Spirit is in me, and He knows exactly how to pray. Always.

Pray that I not get in His way? Ah, that might be even better, as one who loves deeply, my heart wants to jump right to every situation that arises; it can be hard to close my mouth and sit on my hands and watch pain and anguish and fear twist those I love. Especially when pride tells me that appearing to do nothing might convey that I don’t care or understand.

(mnn.com)

Yet, sometimes my own spiritual growth and understanding comes most brilliantly and powerfully through the painful breaths in my own life. Anguish can be a tool. Fear can paralyze or catapult me. Struggles can teach. Nothing we experience is wasted.

And we can’t experience for someone else.

Freedom is treasured more intimately when we’ve fought for it; when we’ve discovered for ourselves how that liberation exhilarates us.

In “wishing” for less turmoil, I dare not hope to remove God’s hand from the lives of the very ones I love more than life itself, or slow His plan, even if I could......

(theguardian.com)

With every request I bring to my Lord, He assures me: “I Am.........” 

My friend sent me a verse from Isaiah.

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.” – Isaiah 46:9-10 (KJV)

Who Are You Feeding?

(photo courtesy of analyticalarmadillo.co.uk)

We feed our children.

We feed the birds that frequent our birdfeeders.

We feed the homeless through soup kitchens and outreach ministries.

We feed our minds. (Remember this: garbage in – garbage out!)

But, do we feed our doubts?

Our pastor tells us that when we feed our faith, we’ll starve our doubts to death.

Yes, we can feed our faith, but sometimes we’re too busy feeding our doubts.

This reminds me of the old Indian story about two wolves. I’ll paraphrase:

An old Indian chief taught his grandson, telling him of two wolves that fight for his soul. One is mean and greedy; the other is kind and gracious.  When the boy asked which would win, the grandfather wisely told him, “The one you feed the most.”

So, how do we feed our doubts?

We feed our doubts by rehearsing our fears over and over again, allowing them to paralyze us. We feed our doubts by worrying and complaining, by watching movies, videos and televisions shows that paint immorality, corruption, and sin in general, as acceptable, numbing our brains. We feed our doubts by reading that same type of material. We feed our doubts by hanging around people of little or no faith, people who applaud the things our God abhors.

One of our favorite ways to feed doubts and fears is through negative self-talk, which becomes so commonplace we fail to see it. Too often, we beat ourselves down with critical and condemning thoughts and wallowing in guilt and shame until we convince ourselves we’re worthless. We reinforce the lies of the enemy, the great deceiver, the one who hates us for nothing we’ve done, but simply because God loves us. Before long, we doubt that we’re loveable, then eventually, the doubt becomes the false-truth we believe about ourselves.

What a subtle enemy. What a patient enemy.

We become what we believe we are. Our god becomes small and helpless, even pathetic, as we believe one lie after another, feeding our doubts their favorite junk food.

But, remember the other wolf.

We can also feed our faith. By reading and studying God’s Word, our faith grows. When we praise God, when we refuse to gossip or curse, when we pray and think on the good things (Philippians 4:8) our faith gets stronger. We also feed our faith by hanging around faith-filled people who search out the Bible for every treasure hidden there for them.

Which plate will you fill today?

“…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,

think on these things.”

~Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

Hanging on to Hope

What happens to hope when we let it go?

When I’ve hoped for something and I begin to see tell-tale signs that what I’m hoping for just isn’t going to happen, I admit, I sometimes let go.

Did I not want it badly enough? Or did letting go of hope result in the weakening of my faith to the point that I could no longer call it faith, therefore I stopped believing I’d receive?

Remember, Jesus said, “I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” – Mark 11:24 (NKJV)

Perhaps like in so many children’s stories brought to life before our eyes on the big screen, in surround sound and Technicolor, we just need to hang on a minute more.

The magic comes when it looks like the hero can’t hold out any longer, in the breathtaking, intensified moment that occurs just after the hero is emptied of himself, when defeat is upon him, and the sparkle of life in his soul looks like it’s extinguished.

But, as if hope itself has a hold on the hero – the light deep down inside of him that gave him hope in the first place is rekindled; now comes the breakthrough!

Some things we’ve hoped and believed for didn’t happen. Life’s events didn’t have the outcome we anticipated. Could it have gone the way we so wished it would if we’d have hung in there one minute more? We can’t relive it to find out.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

The things we’re hoping for are made of a substance we can’t tangibly hold in our hands, but a real substance nonetheless, called faith; not mere plastic or cloth or stone or wood – but faith. Is faith an imaginary substance? No, but it’s not something we see with our eyes. There’s plenty we can’t see, and it’s all as real as anything we can.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” – Hebrews 11:3 (NRSV)

What we see around us didn’t come “from nothingness” – but what it was created from is hidden from our carnal eyes.

So by faith, we can cling to hope.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

Simply Put...

Cheating a little today, I’ll borrow from my recent attempt at writing a devotion.

 

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4 (KJV)

 

We find ourselves at divine appointments without realizing we had one to show up for. In His infinite knowledge of past, present and future, God always shows up on time.

 

At the lowest point in my life, a night I considered suicide, God provided the divine connection to steer me into His Word and plant me on the living room floor with instructions to rejoice.

 

Looking back, it’s easy to see, at least in part, what God was doing in my life that night. From the turmoil of suicidal thoughts to the relentless peace and power that comes from rejoicing, only God could have pulled it off so effortlessly. With no biblical knowledge, I had to concede that He was there with me, not only to comfort me, but also to empower me.

 

Though circumstances didn’t change, God being in the midst of them changed me.

 

So began my journey into God Himself; or at least the part of the journey that rises to the conscious mind. He knew me before He formed me in my mother’s belly; He had been wooing me a long time.

 

When things look so bleak that there’s no seeable fork in the road, no place to turn around, no light to even follow the pavement, we can praise Him. We don’t even have to focus on the things we’re praising Him for; it’s enough to praise Him for Who He is.

 

 

 

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a......

So these walls that seem to bounce our prayers back to us as though they never pierced the heavenlies, what do they look like and how do we tear them down?

I can only write from my perspective and the things I believe God has shown me. You have your own journey, your own discoveries and revelations and promises to cherish. I hope you’ll share them with those you love. Seldom is revelation to be kept secret, we cannot hide our light under a basket; we’re instructed to let it shine.

The love God fills us with is none other than His own love. He professes love because He IS love. This love doesn’t cause an illumination around us that’s merely an inch or two deep, the light of this love radiates all the way from one soul to another and back.

One plan of the enemy is to convince us to keep to ourselves, that our lives are no one else’s business and their lives are none of our business; all foolishness and lies.

It’s easy for Satan to convince us to keep to ourselves in a society that breeds interaction through electronic means. It’s easy to hide our feelings behind a computer screen. But there is give and take via the internet. There can even be a degree of intimacy. The written word is powerful. Forgiveness can be extended, encouragement can be given, and sorrow can be related, we can entertain, we can uplift and teach, we can share prayers and needs, all through social media. Time and thoughts can be shared quite well over long distances, but generally speaking, we can love more intimately through touch.

The people we surround ourselves with on a daily basis either know we have nothing to give them, or have the privilege of receiving the love of God we share. If we’re not sharing it, there can only be two reasons why: 1) We haven’t received it 2) We’ve been deceived into believing our love isn’t good enough to share. If you’ve received God’s love, it is the only love truly worth sharing.

We all have comfort zones, but I believe we sometimes use them as invisible safety nets. Of course, when the Holy Spirit of God nudges us to proceed with caution, there is trouble ahead. But hiding from awkward situations or circumstances that create an obvious uneasiness because we’re afraid or feel we’re unequipped to face them means we’ve not taken the necessary time to prepare ourselves for the missions God’s placed in our way. God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips those He calls, and I don’t believe you’d be reading this if He hadn’t called you.

I plan to share new blog posts in this series every other day to keep this train of thought moving forward and not overwhelm anyone with thousands of words in one single post. So stay tuned for more.