What's That Word?

 

Futility. That’s the word that came to mind. Yet upon looking it up to make sure I was using it correctly, I was wrong. Futility means pointlessness or uselessness.

Then the word redundancy came to mind. That one technically means ‘the state of being not or no longer needed or useful’.

So, no, that’s not the word I’m looking for, either.

Sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a rut where we know that what we’re doing has a point and is needed and useful to someone, somewhere.

Shout out to all my factory worker friends, those who stand on an assembly line doing their part; forever playing your role in the production of something useful to someone else, but perhaps never seeing or using the end product yourself.

I mentioned to a friend that sometimes it feels like we’re all cogs in a giant clock, each pushing the next cog forward one click at a time.

Maybe I’m just longing for a glimpse of the big picture. And I hear this whispered into my heart:

“Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!” – Psalm 27:14 NKJV

I feel like I have my spoon in a lot of pots, stirring up others to fruitfulness, while watching from the background. Maybe that’s my role. Maybe I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

But I can’t help but feel like there’s something more for me. Somewhere. A new pot to stir?

Is it just time for a change?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

All those years as a military wife were filled with upheaval and moving from time to time. And you know what? I loved it! Now I feel like I’ve been sitting in the same chair for too long. I need to get up and stretch my legs, if you know what I mean – before I get too old to get up out of the chair at all.

Right now, I feel like I’m pacing around in Limbo. Waiting. Not even knowing exactly what I’m waiting for.

But you know Who’s right here with me, waiting alongside me? You know Who knows the whole plan and sees the big picture? You know Who’s got His hand on my shoulder all the while calming my anxiousness? You know Who’s holding me on the faint days and dancing with me on the days I feel more ready to go than I am?

Yep. My Jesus. He’s with me.

I’m still fine. F.I.N.E.

[Finally, and] forever in need of Emmanuel.

I’m anchored in the Rock of Ages.

If you’ve ever been to the lake or an ocean and walked along the shore, you may have noticed large rocks or pieces of concrete with big metal links anchored deep into them. I have no idea what they may have been used for, but something was chained there for its own safekeeping. It was protected from drifting out to sea or from being lost in a storm or dashed against the rocky shoreline.

Jesus is my Rock. I’m safely anchored in His peace, living in my purpose. – Even when I can’t see the whole picture.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” – Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV

I guess the word I was searching for is TRUST! I’m TRUSTING GOD!

What I DO Know

 

(wallpapercave .com)

As I was laying in bed praying for you the other night, this is what I felt God had me write down for you.

I don’t know a lot of things. I know you believe there’s a God; I don’t know your thoughts towards Him. But I do know His thoughts towards you. (See Psalm 139)

I do know that He loves you.

I do know that He isn’t mad at you.

I do know that He isn’t punishing you for anything (Jesus already took all your punishments when He went to the cross for you).

I do know that He’s reaching out to you, always.

I do know that He’s always with you, whether you realize it or not – and whether you want Him there or not.

I do know there’s no place you can go where He isn’t already there.

I do know what great value He places on you. Jesus values you so much that He chose to die in your place so that you can live in His place.

I do know that this great value has nothing to do with what you do or choose not to do; your value is intrinsic (you were born with it).

I do know that He has a plan and purpose for your life.

I do know that God created you in His own image.

I do know that He’s filled you with gifts and talents and promise.

I do know that He always wants to communicate with you, even when you think you can’t hear His voice.

I do know that He wants you healed and whole, inside, and out.

I do know that He loves the people you love.

I do know that He loves the people you hate or are angry with. He’s reaching out to them, too.

I do know that the Psalmist David said that God keeps your tears in a bottle, and that your prayers are a sweet-smelling savor to Him.

I do know that He sings over you.

I do know that He sees you, all the time.

I do know that He knows your thoughts before you even think them.

I do know that He’s already planned a way out of every trouble you’ll get yourself into.

I do know that He wants to live in your heart and that He wants you to live in His.

I do know that He’s already provided all you need; all you’ll ever need.

I do know that He’s already positioned friends and allies for you, right when and where you’ll need them.

I do know that He breathed life into you for His own precious reasons.

I do know that He’s protected you when you weren’t even aware that He was there.

I do know that He’ll continue to be your protection.

I do know that He’s not “out there somewhere” but that He’s as close as the mention of His Name.

I do know that He’s given His children His power and authority.

I do know that He always gives you choice, the right to choose Him or to ignore Him.

I do know that God’s heart is your home.

I do know that when no one sees you or what you’re going through, He does.

I do know that He will always be speaking to your heart.

I do know that you can hear Him when He speaks.

I do know that He made you strong, but that He is stronger and that He shows up in your times of weakness.

I do know that your feelings don’t explain the situation.

I do know that He doesn’t just want you to know about Him, but that He wants you to know Him, personally and intimately.

I do know that He always wants your love and your praise and your thankfulness.

I do know that with every temptation, He’s already provided an escape.

I do know that He wants you to see yourself the way He sees you.

I do know that He trusts you.

 

I do know that I love you, too, even though I’m not always with you.

I do know that I pray for you every day.

I do know that He hears my prayers for you, every single time I pray.

I do know that He hears you, every single time YOU pray.

I do know that He gave me these words just for you, for good reason.

Standing on the Edge of Revelation

 

(picture from wallpapercave.com)

To me, intimacy is a big deal. I want intimacy with the people in my life.

I’ve noticed, though, that so many people in my life would rather keep to themselves. They don’t seem to want intimacy with their friends and family members. It’s not that they seem to have some big, deep, dark secrets in their lives that they’re hiding from people. Maybe it’s just that in a society that affords us so little privacy, they’re trying to create a private place. Maybe it’s just a matter of boundaries, of which I have too few.

The other night, in the middle of an emotional prayer… I may have gained a little insight on intimacy - or the fear of it. 

With great excitement, I prayed -

Heavenly Father, I love You. I adore You. I worship You! Help me to revel in You, to delight in You, to walk in Your presence and breathe my every breath in You, to bring my every thought to You.

Help me to see you with my spiritual eyes. I know that You see all of me. Allow me to see inside of You, allow me to look into Your heart. I need to see what You see, to feel what You feel.

Then, suddenly, I was afraid to see.
I looked away. My excitement went from a rolling boil to the simmering of a desperate plea.

Father, draw me close. Draw me closer and closer until I'm nestled in Your arms and can feel Your breath against my face and our hearts beat together as one. You created me and know my inner most thoughts, fears and longings, You know my desire to be completely immersed in You.

Don't let me go.
Hold me tight.
I need You.

Knowing intimacy is shared, fear wrapped her boney fingers around my tongue.

Now my prayer was filled with weeping.

Your love will be too great! Your pain will be too deep.
I feel as though I'll sink into the vast pool of Your love and the depth will overwhelm me.
If I drown in Your love, though I'm so terribly afraid of drowning, yet, let me abide there. Saturate me.
I long to explore the untouched places in Your heart.

Still afraid, but reassurance begins to creep in.

Your Word so often reminds me to fear not...
Your mercy exposes Your patience with me.
Your grace displays Your compassion for me.

I want to run completely into You. No looking back. No hesitation.
You didn’t give me a spirit of fear or timidity! You gave me Your Spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind.

 

Questioning and reasoning peek into the conversation.

 

What will it take to step forward and leave my fear behind? What am I afraid to commit?
You are my Lord, my Savior, my God and my King. Surely my heart will explode with Your love. That’s a good thing! That’s the goal!

 

Submission falls over me with refreshing peace.

 

Father, replace any fear in me with Your holy boldness.
Have mercy on me, Lord. Snatch me up into Your arms of grace. Rescue me.
Again.

Again, I fell asleep as God continued to work on entwining my heart with His.

(from thommiodem.com)

What Would Please God?

(photo from thereisagreenhill.blogspot.com)

Whether you participated or not, most everyone witnessed the WWJD phenomenon of recent years. Perhaps you still toss the question around in your mind when faced with a challenge.

A friend of mine recently addressed that and took it one step further. WWPG? What would please God? Immediately her mind went the direction of scripture and she realized that without faith, it’s impossible to please God.

This made me ponder on all the things that we do that we consider to be “godly” or Christ-like, but that we do out of habit or out of ritual or simply because we were taught to do so. But, if it’s done without faith, does it actually please God? Scriptures indicate, no, because as Hebrews 11:6 says, “But 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.” (NKJV)

Many children grow up trying desperately to please their parents, some to no avail; nothing seemed good enough, no matter how hard they tried. Other parents make a celebration out of everything their children do.

How do we please our heavenly Father?

Simply by living from a place called faith, already found within our hearts, but takes a choice to activate.

Not only must we uncover that seed of faith God has already given us, we need to use it to first believe that God is! Without God, we wouldn’t exist; neither could that seed of faith be present in our hearts. But scripture goes on to inform us that God also wants us to believe that He is One Who rewards those who diligently seek after Him. Keep in mind that diligently doesn’t mean that we occasionally send a thought or glance in His general direction. It means we keep seeking until we find Him, for He is here – ever present!

This scripture doesn’t say that God is a rewarder of those who “do for Him….” Or of those who “sacrifice for His Name sake….” Or even those who are martyred for the cause of Christ – but of those who diligently seek Him!

Are there rewards for living righteously? Yes. But, only when that righteousness is found in the faith of Jesus Christ; faith in God. For, without faith, it is impossible to please Him.

(photo from thegreatrightblog.com)

What WOULD please God?

What would please God - in your life? What do you do out of ritual, versus from a place of obedience, in faith?

I imagine many of us have some adjustments to make…..which is great, as long as we make those adjustments. God is very patient with us, but who wants to be the child that tries His patience?

How do I make this adjustment? Ask Him. He knows your heart better than you do. Maybe subtle changes are all that’s necessary. Or maybe you need to start over today; He’ll give a clean slate just for the asking!

What would please God? 

Hard Questions

(photo mine)

Someone I love recently asked me a hard question about something they’d read in the Bible. The things we read in the Bible can bring up a lot of hard questions, there’s just so much we don’t understand. I thank God for the men and women among us that study the Bible (perhaps the way we all should) that have taken the time to learn both Greek and Hebrew, who are schooled in the cultures of biblical times and can expound on what we’re reading. We need to avail ourselves of the books and/or perhaps blogs they’ve written, websites they’ve created and teachings they provide.

Many things in the Bible are hard to digest. We ask, ‘why did God do that?’ – or, ‘why is this even recorded here?’ We ponder and pray, but oftentimes come away with no viable answers. Does that mean we should just throw our hands up in the air and conclude that we weren’t meant to understand?

Now, more than ever, answers are at our fingertips. We pull up an internet browser, type in a question and voila – we have more answers than we know what to do with. Of course, we can’t believe everything we read or hear, we need to pray for discernment and keep our nose in the Word of God ourselves and listen for when God speaks directly to us. He does still do that, you know. But if we’ve convinced ourselves that we’ll never hear from God in a personal way, we may well miss out on that experience.

(photo mine)

When we open our hearts to what God’s sharing with us, our whole world opens up, too. We see things in a new light; we experience things we never knew were possible, we find answers more easily than we find our car keys. We discover a depth to our existence that wasn’t there before. We connect with those around us, and with nature itself on a brand new level. Life holds greater value and physical death takes on deeper meaning. Relationships unfold and purpose is revealed.

Will we ever have all the answers? I’m thinking that won’t happen until we completely let go of this world and take hold of the next. Anticipation mounts when we begin to accept things we can’t see with our eyes or hear with our ears. Lack of tangible evidence shouldn’t limit our imagination or lock us into tiny paradigms with no room to explore. Discovery is the treasure of discovering treasures.

What if God is communicating things to us that we’re refusing to acknowledge? It’s not only our loss, but a loss to ours and future generations.

(insidesales.com)

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” – 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for that that love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:18 (KJV)

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

Dig deeper? Walk a few steps further? Look outside the box you're sitting in? Let go of the ties that bind you? 

Answers come. Freedom happens. 

Void

Void. Each of us walks around with a void in our lives. We’re in constant search for something to fill that vacuum. Some of us look to people, some to substance – and wind up abusing either out of the frustration that results from the void burning a hole through our hearts like a magnified ray of sun burning it’s way through a thin piece of paper.

 

It may sound cliché to say that this hole in our being is a god-shaped void. What we fill it with becomes our god; what we put before everything else, until it fails to satisfy us. Then we go off in search of another god.

 

More specifically, this emptiness is a God-shaped void that only He can fill completely and perfect and forever. Everything and everyone else will fail us.

 

Children love unconditionally! If only I had a child, that would fill my void!

 

A spouse, a mate, a life partner – surely that will erase my loneliness!

 

Success, which will absolutely keep me so busy I won’t have time to notice this emptiness!

 

Money! If I have money to spend on whatever I want, that will satisfy me!

 

The hunger within us grows.

 

The children, the partner, the success and the money leave me lacking still.

 

Alcohol! The preferred method of many to numb the sting of heartache, sorrow, lack of direction or the overwhelming pressure we’ve created to fill that void on our own. Or drugs, recreational or prescribed, it doesn’t matter, they will lull us to a place where nothing matters, not even our emptiness.

 

No, even the chemicals that dim our inhibitions can’t drown out the deafening sounds of the silence in our soul. No addiction found by man can drive away the darkness that strives to swallow us up, daily.

 

Why, oh why must we turn every direction we see, searching out fulfillment, running after it – until we’re exhausted? We need only to look up, our redemption draws near…

 

Why, oh why do we search in vain, hurting ourselves and others in the process? God is there, as close as the mention of His Name.

 

When we turn to God and admit our brokenness, bowing before Him in need of mercy and grace, does that fix everything that’s wrong in our lives?

 

No. We’re still left with struggles, circumstances that we’d rather not face. We still search the path to heavenly eternity.

 

But now, we have the light to see the path before us. The light of God, shining from within us, which can only be extinguished if we choose to turn against it.

 

Now, we have peace in our soul, our only hunger is for more of Him. Now we are assured of eternal rest and joy for the journey.

 

Now, and only now, the God-shaped void is filled and we have peace.

 

 

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”  (KJV)

 

Psalm 105:4 “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” (KJV)

 

Isaiah 55:6 “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near”

 

Acts 17:27 “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us”

 

 

 

 

More Questioning?

How did we get to where we are?

Do I really get to choose what to believe? Or do life’s circumstances dictate what and whom I trust? Does what I was taught is true hold fast all my life? Do events that occur around me or to me shape what I perceive as truth? Do I get to select the path I’ll take in life? What influences my choices?

Of all the minds in the world – you (questions) have to walk into mine.

For me personally, all of creation resounds with a chorus of, “Yes, Helen – there is a God!” I was taught that God is God and that He is good, all the time. But events and circumstances show up on the path I’ve chosen and beg me to question. I question why God does or allows the things that go on around me. I question how His “on time” sometimes appears to be “too late” or “too little”. I question why I question. It seems like it would be simpler to just believe what we’re told. But to some extent, we all question.

When I told my young son, “The iron is hot, don’t touch it,” something in him compelled him to find out for himself. Nope – mom didn’t lie, or was it that he needed to know for himself what hot was, or how it applied to something that was never in the oven? I don’t believe our questions are shallow at all, but actually have layers and layers of investigative efforts behind them. When I told that same son that Crisco is not frosting, again, he had to taste to believe. (By the way, again I was correct.)

Repetition teaches us. When we experience the same outcome over and over again, we begin to trust that it’s the outcome we will always get… until we experience something different. Then we begin to question the outcomes we had up to that point. And rightfully! We begin to investigate what made this outcome different. A chair that’s faithfully held us at the dinner table until now becomes suspect: did it let me down because it wasn’t built correctly twenty years ago or because over time it’s taken a beating and needs repair, or because I’ve gradually gained fifty pounds? (No, a chair did not really collapse beneath me.) Would it be logical to say that the chair never really did support me?

To question, or not to question – this is my question!

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. –Isaiah 1:18 (KJV emphasis mine.)

Searching.....

If stars could be held
and sunshine contained
If trials were no trouble
if parents came trained
If darkness revealed things
instead of concealing
if pain didn’t hurt
and we’d never need healing
If sin wasn’t ugly
if heartaches weren’t real
then life wouldn’t matter
and we wouldn’t feel
If doubt didn’t happen
and fear didn’t scare
we wouldn’t find God -anywhere...
Helen Williams! c 12/02

The Key to the Kingdom Part 6

England is a tremendous ocean away from everything I knew. But God’s divine appointments were many, and right away we found ourselves seated in a little missionary church. The congregation was comprised of military families and the local Brits.

So many of the ‘truths’ I’d learned were challenged. Having always been full of questions, I pursued those challenges by asking my questions and searching out the answers. I thought surely the wise women and men of God that were now in my life would grow weary of my questions. But they didn’t. They continued to point me into God’s Word with every question I asked. It was joked that on my tombstone it would say, ‘But wait, I have one more question!’ The most common response to my questions was, ‘Did you check in the Word?’ That frustrated me, because I wanted quick easy answers. But it taught me that every question I have is answered in the Bible.

Within five months after arriving in England, I sat crying in my seat on the back row of the church, asking Jesus to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart to live forever. But that couldn’t have happened until I believed that God truly loved me! That was the truth that the devil used so many lies to hide. That truth is the key to the kingdom of God. God’s Word says that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35, 38-39 KJV

That means nothing can separate us from the love of God. Not the devil’s lies, not his weapons of choice, nothing we think, say or do…. Nothing! Selah, pause and think about that and take a look into God’s Word for yourself!

Ezer Rising V

Okay, so some of you didn’t find yourself in the last post. You read your Bibles every single day. The angels are celebrating your commitment. I rejoice with them. What a way to seek after the heart of our Father!

This post isn’t aimed at everyone either, but to those who read the Word out of habit, like they take their vitamins every morning. I think some people even read their Bibles out of the superstitious feeling that if they don’t something will go wrong that day. So is it a good-luck charm?

Today I want to challenge you to examine your motives when you read God’s Word. Are you looking for something? That’s okay. But be ready to receive what God’s desiring to pour into you, as well. If you’re looking for a ‘word in due season’ – something to provide encouragement for your day or the answer to a question, great. But be open to the idea that God may be pointing you toward something you didn’t go there for.

When you’re looking for something you’ve misplaced, isn’t it great to find something else you thought you’d lost forever, or discover something you didn’t realize you had in the first place? God has nourishment and blessings and instructions and commands and even correction for us that we might not have been looking for when we opened our Bible covers. I love digging a purse out of the closet to discover there’s money in it I’d forgotten about. I love finding a note I’d written to myself with a nugget God gave me, refreshing me once again. But I love it best when I’m reading God’s Word and I find that He’s talking about me, that He’s written something there just for me, that I need right now. He knew I’d need it today since before I drew breath!

He’s good like that!

Look at your routine. Is it just a routine? If it is, you’re missing a lot.

Ezer Part 11 - Questions and Answers

Hopefully you’re discovering some points to ponder as you read through these blog postings. If you have answers to some of the questions I’ve posed, please share them with us.

As I navigate through this walk of life I am constantly bombarded with questions. Perhaps it’s my personality type; I’m just curious by nature. But my need-to-know sometimes gets the better of me. I ask silly questions. I ask questions that none of us can really know the answers to until we can ask God Himself Face-to-face. To my human mind there are plenty of verses in the Bible that seem to conflict with each other – and for many people, that is enough for them to dismiss the idea of the Bible being accurate and directly from God. I’m a little more humble than that when I admit that my finite brain can’t yet boast to understand all of God’s thoughts and ways. I take God at His Word, even when I don’t completely understand what He’s saying. It’s not blind faith; it’s a faith that constantly asks God for more; more knowledge, more wisdom, more understanding, more grace, more compassion and more discernment. I want more of God Himself. There are plenty of things I know in my heart but can’t find words to express.

But honestly, I have more unanswered questions than I do answers. Most likely, because one good answer leads to dozens more questions. I’m okay with questions. To stop learning is to stop living. I’ve met people that don’t ask questions – maybe they’re afraid to ask or they’re afraid of the answer. Maybe they don’t even care enough about the answer to ask the question. Or maybe, just maybe – they need someone like me to ask the questions for them?