“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
― Denis Waitley
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
From Day To Day
I was visiting a church out of town last Sunday which played/sang "The Blood" and I was struck by the words in the beautiful timeless hymn... "The Blood that gives me strength from day to day, will never lose it's power." I began to reflect upon all the countless desperate times I have pleaded the blood over a situation and how I needed the power in that blood to sweep over the situation to cleanse and heal. In the "big" times I need God to apply His blood covering to my needs. I began to wonder, Is there anything big or little in God's eye?
It bodes the age old biblical question found in Jeremiah 32: 27 "Is there anything too hard for God?" No... of course not, as He stated, He is the Lord God and creator of all mankind. His power is not less or more in any given situation. It just is. When I am weak, His power is strong. When I am strong, His power is strong. The weakness is only found in me, in the humanity that embraces me. That is why I must daily seek His power. When I am capable and when I am not capable, His power is the same. From day to day, any situation I face, He is there beside me offering His power. Whether that power is giving me strength to face a "No." or propelling me forward into His blessings, it is constant, faithful and working its work in and for me.
I am often approached by people who request my prayer for situations in their life. I count it a privilege that they have faith in me, but I sometimes wonder if its easier to run to the phone and ask someone else to pray than it is to fall on my face and get the answers I need first hand and on a personal level. Of course there are situations that require strength of many to bind together in prayer and I am always ready and willing. But don't ever let the ease of asking someone else to pray, cheat you out of the strength God wants to give you in prayer. There is no greater time in your walk with God than when you seek His face and His power. Time with your creator, the Lover of your soul is the only place you can truly experience power. Don't be too quick to run ask someone else for prayer. Have more faith in the God who will be right there to answer, more so than the person you ask to pray for you. You be the conduit! You be the one who can run to God and get His attention! There is nothing that can make you feel strong in the Lord except for time with Him. If you are feeling weak spiritually it is most likely because you have not been in prayer ... from day to day! Just as an automobile needs gas, just as a plant needs water, just as you need food, your spiritual being must have time in prayer. It is the ONLY thing that will make you strong in the Lord and in the power of His MIGHT! Philippians 4:6 says "...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.... then verse 9 says ... these things... DO!
In other words just DO it! Pray, think on the things of God... whatsoever things are pure... holy... of good report... if there be any virtue (strength)... just do it! I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. Has there been a pause in your prayer life? Are you feeling very weak? Have you lost the faith? Run to the Father, your creator. He has every answer you need. Whether its in His Word, or on your knees, the answer is available to you because of His blood. He loves you so very much and is just waiting to spend time with you to renew your strength as His blood to cleanses you and frees your heart and mind. That same blood reaches to the highest mountain and flows to the lowest valley, and is reaching for you and wanting to flow through you. Go to the one from the blood so freely was made to flow. There is POWER in that blood of the spotless lamb. Oh Lamb of God, thank you for being there for me from day to day!
It bodes the age old biblical question found in Jeremiah 32: 27 "Is there anything too hard for God?" No... of course not, as He stated, He is the Lord God and creator of all mankind. His power is not less or more in any given situation. It just is. When I am weak, His power is strong. When I am strong, His power is strong. The weakness is only found in me, in the humanity that embraces me. That is why I must daily seek His power. When I am capable and when I am not capable, His power is the same. From day to day, any situation I face, He is there beside me offering His power. Whether that power is giving me strength to face a "No." or propelling me forward into His blessings, it is constant, faithful and working its work in and for me.
I am often approached by people who request my prayer for situations in their life. I count it a privilege that they have faith in me, but I sometimes wonder if its easier to run to the phone and ask someone else to pray than it is to fall on my face and get the answers I need first hand and on a personal level. Of course there are situations that require strength of many to bind together in prayer and I am always ready and willing. But don't ever let the ease of asking someone else to pray, cheat you out of the strength God wants to give you in prayer. There is no greater time in your walk with God than when you seek His face and His power. Time with your creator, the Lover of your soul is the only place you can truly experience power. Don't be too quick to run ask someone else for prayer. Have more faith in the God who will be right there to answer, more so than the person you ask to pray for you. You be the conduit! You be the one who can run to God and get His attention! There is nothing that can make you feel strong in the Lord except for time with Him. If you are feeling weak spiritually it is most likely because you have not been in prayer ... from day to day! Just as an automobile needs gas, just as a plant needs water, just as you need food, your spiritual being must have time in prayer. It is the ONLY thing that will make you strong in the Lord and in the power of His MIGHT! Philippians 4:6 says "...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.... then verse 9 says ... these things... DO!
In other words just DO it! Pray, think on the things of God... whatsoever things are pure... holy... of good report... if there be any virtue (strength)... just do it! I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. Has there been a pause in your prayer life? Are you feeling very weak? Have you lost the faith? Run to the Father, your creator. He has every answer you need. Whether its in His Word, or on your knees, the answer is available to you because of His blood. He loves you so very much and is just waiting to spend time with you to renew your strength as His blood to cleanses you and frees your heart and mind. That same blood reaches to the highest mountain and flows to the lowest valley, and is reaching for you and wanting to flow through you. Go to the one from the blood so freely was made to flow. There is POWER in that blood of the spotless lamb. Oh Lamb of God, thank you for being there for me from day to day!
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Falling Down. Getting up.
You Can!
... be a success story, no matter how far below the surface of overcoming you find yourself.
How I feel about myself is directly related to how successful I am to become.
Many times we have to fix how we feel about ourselves before we can go forward. You must have faith in yourself before you can expect anyone else to. Often we wait for the cheers, for the encouraging word to come from others before we take a step forward. We have fallen and we can't get up. In order for success to come, we must change our thinking. People follow after those who are confident. If you want encouragement, people on your team, cheerleaders, you need to have some measure of confidence in yourself. There is nothing worse than trying to give encouragement to someone who absolutely will not accept it. You must be in a place to accept encouragement when it comes, or you will shrug it off as not applying to your impossible situation. What is keeping you from being assured that you are still worthy of being lifted out of the place you have fallen? Do you feel you are not worthy of success? No one is worthy of anything compared to Calvary. No one is deserving of blessing. It is by His mercy that we can achieve anything. Are you afraid of failing before you even begin? Is there a bit of pride holding you back? In order to succeed you need failure. I would say that failure is the best starting line. What are you allowing to hold you back from being all that God intends for you? Is it your past? If you are unable or unwilling to exercise faith in yourself because of the past, then it has not truly passed. Whatever you are holding on to from yesterday's failure is the same thing that is keeping you from moving forward into today's success. Let go of yesterday and step up to the starting line for your dream, for your successful future.
Easier said than done you say? How do I even begin?
I am no philosophical guru, but, for me a few necessary steps need to be taken. I do these things while in prayer because that is when my mind is focused and I am at my most honest state of humility.
1. Acknowledge the failure of the past. Pray through it... allow the tears of regret to flow and wash
you clean. Become washed in the blood of the Lamb.
2. Look honestly at the facts of how your situation affected you, how it stopped you.
3. Examine what you could have done differently. Apologize to yourself for your fault. Apologize to
others, if they were affected. Take on the garment of sincere humility.
4. Forgive yourself.
5. Let GO! You cannot ever move forward until you do this. Don't let it define you!!!!!
6. Now take a step forward into your dream, into your calling. This must be an active move on your
part. Do something that will propel you into that new beginning. If at first you don't succeed... try
try again! I assure you that God will be with you every step of the way and you will find strength
you never thought you could have. I have been in the pit.
Each step forward that you take is one step further from the failures of yesterday. You cannot afford to let a failure be your defining moment. Once you have forgiven yourself and followed these steps, do not revisit the past. You will never forget it of course, but you never have to go back to that level of low. Don't allow yourself to ever be brought back to that pit from which you dug yourself out of.
Let the lessons learned be a point of motivation to propel you in a positive direction.
We cannot afford to allow the feelings of inferiority to be a gauge of how deserving we are to fulfill Gods calling for our life. He knows you, yet still He called you! He knows your past, present, and future and still He calls. Answer the call. He is still wanting to use you for His intended purpose, even in your ashes, even in your failure. Don't let it consume you. It is because of God's mercies that we are not consumed. We ALL have fallen and come short of the Glory of God. Some of our situations are more prevalent than others and less easily overcome. However, the pits are all just as dark and consuming. Whatever pit you find yourself in, His mercies are there, waiting for you to grab hold of and allow yourself to be pulled into a blessed future. You must succeed. There really is no other choice. He is calling. Pull yourself up.
... be a success story, no matter how far below the surface of overcoming you find yourself.
How I feel about myself is directly related to how successful I am to become.
Many times we have to fix how we feel about ourselves before we can go forward. You must have faith in yourself before you can expect anyone else to. Often we wait for the cheers, for the encouraging word to come from others before we take a step forward. We have fallen and we can't get up. In order for success to come, we must change our thinking. People follow after those who are confident. If you want encouragement, people on your team, cheerleaders, you need to have some measure of confidence in yourself. There is nothing worse than trying to give encouragement to someone who absolutely will not accept it. You must be in a place to accept encouragement when it comes, or you will shrug it off as not applying to your impossible situation. What is keeping you from being assured that you are still worthy of being lifted out of the place you have fallen? Do you feel you are not worthy of success? No one is worthy of anything compared to Calvary. No one is deserving of blessing. It is by His mercy that we can achieve anything. Are you afraid of failing before you even begin? Is there a bit of pride holding you back? In order to succeed you need failure. I would say that failure is the best starting line. What are you allowing to hold you back from being all that God intends for you? Is it your past? If you are unable or unwilling to exercise faith in yourself because of the past, then it has not truly passed. Whatever you are holding on to from yesterday's failure is the same thing that is keeping you from moving forward into today's success. Let go of yesterday and step up to the starting line for your dream, for your successful future.
Easier said than done you say? How do I even begin?
I am no philosophical guru, but, for me a few necessary steps need to be taken. I do these things while in prayer because that is when my mind is focused and I am at my most honest state of humility.
1. Acknowledge the failure of the past. Pray through it... allow the tears of regret to flow and wash
you clean. Become washed in the blood of the Lamb.
2. Look honestly at the facts of how your situation affected you, how it stopped you.
3. Examine what you could have done differently. Apologize to yourself for your fault. Apologize to
others, if they were affected. Take on the garment of sincere humility.
4. Forgive yourself.
5. Let GO! You cannot ever move forward until you do this. Don't let it define you!!!!!
6. Now take a step forward into your dream, into your calling. This must be an active move on your
part. Do something that will propel you into that new beginning. If at first you don't succeed... try
try again! I assure you that God will be with you every step of the way and you will find strength
you never thought you could have. I have been in the pit.
Each step forward that you take is one step further from the failures of yesterday. You cannot afford to let a failure be your defining moment. Once you have forgiven yourself and followed these steps, do not revisit the past. You will never forget it of course, but you never have to go back to that level of low. Don't allow yourself to ever be brought back to that pit from which you dug yourself out of.
Let the lessons learned be a point of motivation to propel you in a positive direction.
We cannot afford to allow the feelings of inferiority to be a gauge of how deserving we are to fulfill Gods calling for our life. He knows you, yet still He called you! He knows your past, present, and future and still He calls. Answer the call. He is still wanting to use you for His intended purpose, even in your ashes, even in your failure. Don't let it consume you. It is because of God's mercies that we are not consumed. We ALL have fallen and come short of the Glory of God. Some of our situations are more prevalent than others and less easily overcome. However, the pits are all just as dark and consuming. Whatever pit you find yourself in, His mercies are there, waiting for you to grab hold of and allow yourself to be pulled into a blessed future. You must succeed. There really is no other choice. He is calling. Pull yourself up.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
A Lesson From The Price of the Calling.
It's impossible. I can't. The criticism was too great. The haters hate too heavily. They said I was fake. They laughed at me. Talked among themselves. My accusers were many. The onslaught wouldn't stop. I am not capable. It's not important. It wasn't effective. Who am I kidding? I thought I could fight it and win... I can't. I thought I was secure and confident enough to handle it. I wasn't. I won't.
These are just a few of the many voices I have listened to for approximately two years. Now God is doing more than calling me... He is pushing me...compelling me with an irresistible strength and I am feeling the force of that push. I must continue in this. I have allowed myself to wallow in the "I Can't" long enough. I can't even begin to tell you the path my mind has taken to try and push this aside. It just won't go away. So here I am, two years later, beginning again and continuing this blog. I can!... and I will. What more criticism could come my way? I have faced it, stared it down and let it pause me, but I refuse to let it stop me. There have been hurdles, some of which I didn't clear, but I can't lay down what God has commanded me to pick up. I don't want to leave behind an unfinished task. Ironic that I can come out so boldly against something that has the power to stop me from doing the very thing that is my God-calling. It is often said that nothing has power over you that you don't allow. I understand that statement in theory, but criticism does have power on its own. Words hurt and kill. No one is exempt from being affected. The pause button was definitely pushed but I have found the power to punch it back on! The punch was a forceful one with a "TAKE THAT" behind it!
The experiences I have been privileged to have the opportunity and time to overcome have taught me so much about myself, but I am now thankful for the criticism and the accusation. I may have fallen from the call but I still hear it. God was not stopped by the criticism. His power in me was in no way diminished. I personally chose to stop. With that acknowledgement, I now know that I have the power to persevere and I can get back up and stand in the face of adversity, even though I may stumble and actually fall. While I didn't fall into sin, I did choose to turn aside from the calling placed upon my life. I didn't walk away from it, but I took awhile getting back up.
Never think for an instant there won't be a price to pay if you acknowledge a call. Know that it will be worth the price and you will not be forsaken in the journey up the hill as you take up your cross. The journey has been long and wearisome but God walked beside me. I knew the moment the attack became personal that I was on to something big. What I didn't know, was that in the midnight hour, when I was at my weakest, more assault would come. I didn't know the voices wouldn't stop. I did not understand that I would not be protected from an onslaught of proportions beyond what I knew how to overcome. I have sat and been silent and contemplated and learned a most expensive lesson.
For the next few posts I will attempt to share what I have learned. There will be a price to pay when you say I CAN! There will be a voice that tells you "YOU CAN'T". You will be given time to decide if you want to continue paying the price. You will be given the power to overcome. There will be scars, there will be relationships lost. There will be broken trust. There will be heart-pain beyond which you think you can endure. But in the end you will know every aspect of Philippians 4:13. You will know how to be abased and how to abound. You will understand how to be full and hungry at the same time. You will abound as you suffer need. You will survive. You will come to know a resounding voice that says, "I am still calling you to what I have given you strength to do."
Two years later, Lesson Learned! "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."
These are just a few of the many voices I have listened to for approximately two years. Now God is doing more than calling me... He is pushing me...compelling me with an irresistible strength and I am feeling the force of that push. I must continue in this. I have allowed myself to wallow in the "I Can't" long enough. I can't even begin to tell you the path my mind has taken to try and push this aside. It just won't go away. So here I am, two years later, beginning again and continuing this blog. I can!... and I will. What more criticism could come my way? I have faced it, stared it down and let it pause me, but I refuse to let it stop me. There have been hurdles, some of which I didn't clear, but I can't lay down what God has commanded me to pick up. I don't want to leave behind an unfinished task. Ironic that I can come out so boldly against something that has the power to stop me from doing the very thing that is my God-calling. It is often said that nothing has power over you that you don't allow. I understand that statement in theory, but criticism does have power on its own. Words hurt and kill. No one is exempt from being affected. The pause button was definitely pushed but I have found the power to punch it back on! The punch was a forceful one with a "TAKE THAT" behind it!
The experiences I have been privileged to have the opportunity and time to overcome have taught me so much about myself, but I am now thankful for the criticism and the accusation. I may have fallen from the call but I still hear it. God was not stopped by the criticism. His power in me was in no way diminished. I personally chose to stop. With that acknowledgement, I now know that I have the power to persevere and I can get back up and stand in the face of adversity, even though I may stumble and actually fall. While I didn't fall into sin, I did choose to turn aside from the calling placed upon my life. I didn't walk away from it, but I took awhile getting back up.
Never think for an instant there won't be a price to pay if you acknowledge a call. Know that it will be worth the price and you will not be forsaken in the journey up the hill as you take up your cross. The journey has been long and wearisome but God walked beside me. I knew the moment the attack became personal that I was on to something big. What I didn't know, was that in the midnight hour, when I was at my weakest, more assault would come. I didn't know the voices wouldn't stop. I did not understand that I would not be protected from an onslaught of proportions beyond what I knew how to overcome. I have sat and been silent and contemplated and learned a most expensive lesson.
For the next few posts I will attempt to share what I have learned. There will be a price to pay when you say I CAN! There will be a voice that tells you "YOU CAN'T". You will be given time to decide if you want to continue paying the price. You will be given the power to overcome. There will be scars, there will be relationships lost. There will be broken trust. There will be heart-pain beyond which you think you can endure. But in the end you will know every aspect of Philippians 4:13. You will know how to be abased and how to abound. You will understand how to be full and hungry at the same time. You will abound as you suffer need. You will survive. You will come to know a resounding voice that says, "I am still calling you to what I have given you strength to do."
Two years later, Lesson Learned! "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."
Friday, November 15, 2013
Obedience Is The Sacrifice, and The Path to Your Promise.
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Heard it a million times probably.
Never truly stopped and thought about it until the Lord hit me on the head with it.
Thankful He loves me enough to get my attention.
Throughout time God has used the foolish, crazy things to test man's faith, to shore up his obedience, not because He wants us to fail, but because the testing of our faith strengthens it. God wants us to be able to have faith in our own faith in Him. He wants to remove our faith in all the other things we so easily lean upon such as money, family, possessions, knowledge, etc. This brings a whole new level to Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."
God sometimes speaks to us and tells us exactly what to do, but in our own humanity, we have a better way, forgetting His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are higher, even when they make absolutely no sense at all, which they usually don't! God generally uses our plans as a way to show us how it won't work!
Look at the story of Abraham and Isaac. God called Abraham by name. There was no doubt to whom God was speaking. When Abraham answered, "Here I am.", God told him to take his only son and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on a mountain He would show him. The bible further shows us that this was a test of Abraham's obedience. Isaac was never to be the sacrifice. The OBEDIENCE of Abraham was the sacrifice. However Abraham did not know that for sure. His faith in God caused Him to believe that God had a plan, but the bible does not tell us that Abraham had any indication that God did not intend for him to follow through with the burnt offering plan. Abraham was obedient even to the binding of his son upon the altar. He passed the test.
Then there was Moses, who chose to elaborate on the commandment of God. God told him to speak to the rock, but Moses got all dramatic and hit it twice. He wanted a show! God was not pleased and the bible even tells us God was dishonored in Moses' action. , Because of this disobedience, Moses was not allowed to experience the promise. Those he led were allowed to ride into the Promised Land on the back of Moses disobedient sacrifice! The ultimate fail.
The following experience I am sharing at this point is not something I prefer to share. However, in obedience, I share it. I do hope that others will be able to more clearly hear what God is speaking to them, through me sharing my own long term act of disobedience.
For several years God has gently prodded me to get up early in the morning and pray. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person... at all! If early morning came about noon time I would be most happy. Not that I sleep till noon, I don't, but I generally am slow going till around 10:00. It is not that I hate mornings, it is just that my body and mind do not work together for a couple hours after I wake up and I generally feel awful. I enjoy getting up around 8:30 -9:00 and drinking a quiet cup of coffee. On my days off I like to go out on the patio and read or write for thirty minutes or so and then go pray for a bit. On my work days I get to work around 10 and like to read the bible and pray for a few minutes to start my day. Infrequently, I have gotten up and prayed a little earlier than normal, but I have never made it habit to do so.
A few months back a young lady in our church shared with me her story of God prodding her to get up early and pray, and her obedience to do so, no matter what faced her that day.
As she began to share with me, I wanted to tell her to hush. I knew where this was going, and why she was sharing this particular experience with me. More of God's prodding. Time went on and I did not heed to the almost daily bidding of God to get up at a certain time and pray. I flat out did not want to do it. So as a special offering to Him I would give Him my lunchtime. I work at the church and the guys usually go to lunch around the same time all together. I had that time alone, in the church, down at the altar that I would give to God. What a wonderful sacrifice that would be! How proud I felt of myself knowing God would be so pleased with my offering. Ha! I have definitely had some wonderful prayer times alone with God during that time and He always met me there. I have experienced His most amazing presence many times over the past several years. I made a commitment to daily offer Him this extra sacrifice.
Time passed and I faithfully offered up my daily "sacrifice" of praise. Soon the time came when I began to earnestly pray for a particular promise I had been given, that has yet to be fulfilled. I approached the promise from every angle possible in prayer. I used Praise, Petition, Thanksgiving, tried The Prayer Wheel, groanings that could not be uttered! You know the drill! I became more and more frustrated in my prayer and never felt I had reached that place the Lord was trying to get me to. I could not feel His touch, I could not hear His voice.
After a most frustrating day wrestling with this unfulfilled promise, I headed back down to the altar offering up my sacrifice once again! On that day God met me in the most peculiar way, by the absence of His presence. I walked and prayed, praised and prayed, cried and prayed, ... nothing.
I began to pray a prayer of repentance. I repented for everything I did, thought of doing, and didn't do just in case! I was led by God from my repentance into asking for forgiveness for letting the fleshly desires of this vessel clutter my soul. When I began to pray in that way, He met me with the force of a gale and began speaking to me. He began to reveal to me the main clutters in my life and how they were stealing my promise. Just as Moses' disobedience had stolen the Promise from him, mine was doing equal damage. My manipulation tactics were not going to work with God. They had become filthy rags of my selfish unrighteousness, and it was as if He was saying to me, "Get those stinking things out of my face, I do not want your idea of sacrifice, I want obedience." In that moment I laid down all my silly self-sacrifices and made a commitment to wholeheartedly OBEY His voice.
I did not just make a commitment, I put action to my commitment. I realized God meant business, so I got down to business! I set my alarm for 7:am (His time!) I knew it would be difficult and I would most likely submit to my snooze, so I set it for 5 minute intervals! I put a special prayer inducing song as my alarm sound, I wrote the words "Prayer; Obedience" so that when I look at that alarm those words stare me in the face. The first morning I woke up, went into my closet (His place) ready to pray. Excited even. Second morning the same thing. Third morning ... not so much, Fourth...stumbled into my closet and fell before Him in tears! The next few days after that were just pitiful. But I remained true to my commitment. I obeyed daily His voice. While I sometimes still have my noon time prayer, I remain to this day faithful to the time He chose and the place He chose.
I will admit at times my prayers are void of my own understanding, but I am acknowledging Him in my obedience and that is the way to my promise. I have more than once fallen asleep in my closet. I have trouble in the small space getting up and down, and have more than once gotten stuck in a very painful position. It doesn't seem like my thoughts form together and make much sense, but I have noticed I don't spend the time asking for things. My prayer is mostly filled with thanks and praise and Him speaking thoughts and assurances to me. I leave from these times assured that He is with me no matter what the day brings. I know in my obedience He is bringing my promise to fulfillment. I have a greater faith in Him than ever before, and when I need Him, it as if He is at my beck and call! The things He has called me to do I feel equipped for. When I am attacked by insecurity, inadequacy, abandonment, loneliness, His voice resounds, guiding me back into His security. Through this obedience, I have learned to instantly recognize the sound of His voice.
He has recently been speaking to me to read the Bible the very last thing I do at night before I fall asleep. I am obedient. On the nights when I forget, or if after I read the Bible, I read something else, I usually awaken way too early and have fitful sleep. On the nights I do it right, I sleep through the night with no interruption. I don't know the reason why He has asked these simple changes, but I trust Him. Completely! The things He asks of us may not make sense, but He doesn't owe us an explanation. He owes us NOTHING! We owe Him EVERYTHING. The least we can do is listen to His voice and honor Him with obedience. My obedience is very sacrificial, trust me. Much more than the so-called sacrifices I had been offering up. Usually the things we choose to "sacrifice" are not really all that hard for us. We offer a "fast" for a couple of meals, and think we have really done some great sacrifice, then we break that fast by eating enough for two meals. We commit to pray thirty minutes, and watch the clock like it is restraining us from our day. We wonder why we are not reaching the lost. We wonder why this feeling of frustration and lack of fulfillment. Our vessel is so clogged with our fleshly desires, that our sacrifice has become nothing sacrificial, and our prayer cannot flow as necessary.
We must lay aside the weight. This requires a physical act. We have to put away, remove every hindrance and be obedient to His voice no matter how crazy it may sound! It seems to me He would much more enjoy my eloquent prayer at noon rather than my mumblings at an hour when I am not coherent. But it is obedience He wants, and obedience He shall have!
While I do not believe He is necessarily requiring this same commitment from others,I do know if you will examine your heart you will find there is something that He is leading you to do as an act of obedience. Maybe I am the only one who has had a struggle being obedient, but I really doubt it! If you are struggling in your prayer life, if you have things that are weighing on you, that you cannot seem to pray through to the answer, try just listening to His voice and, with sincerity, see if there be some thing He is asking of you that you have not yet given. Just obey, it's much easier than ignoring His voice!
Heard it a million times probably.
Never truly stopped and thought about it until the Lord hit me on the head with it.
Thankful He loves me enough to get my attention.
Throughout time God has used the foolish, crazy things to test man's faith, to shore up his obedience, not because He wants us to fail, but because the testing of our faith strengthens it. God wants us to be able to have faith in our own faith in Him. He wants to remove our faith in all the other things we so easily lean upon such as money, family, possessions, knowledge, etc. This brings a whole new level to Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."
God sometimes speaks to us and tells us exactly what to do, but in our own humanity, we have a better way, forgetting His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are higher, even when they make absolutely no sense at all, which they usually don't! God generally uses our plans as a way to show us how it won't work!
Look at the story of Abraham and Isaac. God called Abraham by name. There was no doubt to whom God was speaking. When Abraham answered, "Here I am.", God told him to take his only son and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on a mountain He would show him. The bible further shows us that this was a test of Abraham's obedience. Isaac was never to be the sacrifice. The OBEDIENCE of Abraham was the sacrifice. However Abraham did not know that for sure. His faith in God caused Him to believe that God had a plan, but the bible does not tell us that Abraham had any indication that God did not intend for him to follow through with the burnt offering plan. Abraham was obedient even to the binding of his son upon the altar. He passed the test.
Then there was Moses, who chose to elaborate on the commandment of God. God told him to speak to the rock, but Moses got all dramatic and hit it twice. He wanted a show! God was not pleased and the bible even tells us God was dishonored in Moses' action. , Because of this disobedience, Moses was not allowed to experience the promise. Those he led were allowed to ride into the Promised Land on the back of Moses disobedient sacrifice! The ultimate fail.
The following experience I am sharing at this point is not something I prefer to share. However, in obedience, I share it. I do hope that others will be able to more clearly hear what God is speaking to them, through me sharing my own long term act of disobedience.
For several years God has gently prodded me to get up early in the morning and pray. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person... at all! If early morning came about noon time I would be most happy. Not that I sleep till noon, I don't, but I generally am slow going till around 10:00. It is not that I hate mornings, it is just that my body and mind do not work together for a couple hours after I wake up and I generally feel awful. I enjoy getting up around 8:30 -9:00 and drinking a quiet cup of coffee. On my days off I like to go out on the patio and read or write for thirty minutes or so and then go pray for a bit. On my work days I get to work around 10 and like to read the bible and pray for a few minutes to start my day. Infrequently, I have gotten up and prayed a little earlier than normal, but I have never made it habit to do so.
A few months back a young lady in our church shared with me her story of God prodding her to get up early and pray, and her obedience to do so, no matter what faced her that day.
As she began to share with me, I wanted to tell her to hush. I knew where this was going, and why she was sharing this particular experience with me. More of God's prodding. Time went on and I did not heed to the almost daily bidding of God to get up at a certain time and pray. I flat out did not want to do it. So as a special offering to Him I would give Him my lunchtime. I work at the church and the guys usually go to lunch around the same time all together. I had that time alone, in the church, down at the altar that I would give to God. What a wonderful sacrifice that would be! How proud I felt of myself knowing God would be so pleased with my offering. Ha! I have definitely had some wonderful prayer times alone with God during that time and He always met me there. I have experienced His most amazing presence many times over the past several years. I made a commitment to daily offer Him this extra sacrifice.
Time passed and I faithfully offered up my daily "sacrifice" of praise. Soon the time came when I began to earnestly pray for a particular promise I had been given, that has yet to be fulfilled. I approached the promise from every angle possible in prayer. I used Praise, Petition, Thanksgiving, tried The Prayer Wheel, groanings that could not be uttered! You know the drill! I became more and more frustrated in my prayer and never felt I had reached that place the Lord was trying to get me to. I could not feel His touch, I could not hear His voice.
After a most frustrating day wrestling with this unfulfilled promise, I headed back down to the altar offering up my sacrifice once again! On that day God met me in the most peculiar way, by the absence of His presence. I walked and prayed, praised and prayed, cried and prayed, ... nothing.
I began to pray a prayer of repentance. I repented for everything I did, thought of doing, and didn't do just in case! I was led by God from my repentance into asking for forgiveness for letting the fleshly desires of this vessel clutter my soul. When I began to pray in that way, He met me with the force of a gale and began speaking to me. He began to reveal to me the main clutters in my life and how they were stealing my promise. Just as Moses' disobedience had stolen the Promise from him, mine was doing equal damage. My manipulation tactics were not going to work with God. They had become filthy rags of my selfish unrighteousness, and it was as if He was saying to me, "Get those stinking things out of my face, I do not want your idea of sacrifice, I want obedience." In that moment I laid down all my silly self-sacrifices and made a commitment to wholeheartedly OBEY His voice.
I did not just make a commitment, I put action to my commitment. I realized God meant business, so I got down to business! I set my alarm for 7:am (His time!) I knew it would be difficult and I would most likely submit to my snooze, so I set it for 5 minute intervals! I put a special prayer inducing song as my alarm sound, I wrote the words "Prayer; Obedience" so that when I look at that alarm those words stare me in the face. The first morning I woke up, went into my closet (His place) ready to pray. Excited even. Second morning the same thing. Third morning ... not so much, Fourth...stumbled into my closet and fell before Him in tears! The next few days after that were just pitiful. But I remained true to my commitment. I obeyed daily His voice. While I sometimes still have my noon time prayer, I remain to this day faithful to the time He chose and the place He chose.
I will admit at times my prayers are void of my own understanding, but I am acknowledging Him in my obedience and that is the way to my promise. I have more than once fallen asleep in my closet. I have trouble in the small space getting up and down, and have more than once gotten stuck in a very painful position. It doesn't seem like my thoughts form together and make much sense, but I have noticed I don't spend the time asking for things. My prayer is mostly filled with thanks and praise and Him speaking thoughts and assurances to me. I leave from these times assured that He is with me no matter what the day brings. I know in my obedience He is bringing my promise to fulfillment. I have a greater faith in Him than ever before, and when I need Him, it as if He is at my beck and call! The things He has called me to do I feel equipped for. When I am attacked by insecurity, inadequacy, abandonment, loneliness, His voice resounds, guiding me back into His security. Through this obedience, I have learned to instantly recognize the sound of His voice.
He has recently been speaking to me to read the Bible the very last thing I do at night before I fall asleep. I am obedient. On the nights when I forget, or if after I read the Bible, I read something else, I usually awaken way too early and have fitful sleep. On the nights I do it right, I sleep through the night with no interruption. I don't know the reason why He has asked these simple changes, but I trust Him. Completely! The things He asks of us may not make sense, but He doesn't owe us an explanation. He owes us NOTHING! We owe Him EVERYTHING. The least we can do is listen to His voice and honor Him with obedience. My obedience is very sacrificial, trust me. Much more than the so-called sacrifices I had been offering up. Usually the things we choose to "sacrifice" are not really all that hard for us. We offer a "fast" for a couple of meals, and think we have really done some great sacrifice, then we break that fast by eating enough for two meals. We commit to pray thirty minutes, and watch the clock like it is restraining us from our day. We wonder why we are not reaching the lost. We wonder why this feeling of frustration and lack of fulfillment. Our vessel is so clogged with our fleshly desires, that our sacrifice has become nothing sacrificial, and our prayer cannot flow as necessary.
We must lay aside the weight. This requires a physical act. We have to put away, remove every hindrance and be obedient to His voice no matter how crazy it may sound! It seems to me He would much more enjoy my eloquent prayer at noon rather than my mumblings at an hour when I am not coherent. But it is obedience He wants, and obedience He shall have!
While I do not believe He is necessarily requiring this same commitment from others,I do know if you will examine your heart you will find there is something that He is leading you to do as an act of obedience. Maybe I am the only one who has had a struggle being obedient, but I really doubt it! If you are struggling in your prayer life, if you have things that are weighing on you, that you cannot seem to pray through to the answer, try just listening to His voice and, with sincerity, see if there be some thing He is asking of you that you have not yet given. Just obey, it's much easier than ignoring His voice!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Trusting With My ALL..even when "sea billows roll".
It is well? We sing the song and have heard the story of how it was written, and think it to be such a beautiful anatomy of trusting completely, yet when a little storm comes our way we often react with fear and doubt. At times when I have seen the storm coming, I have retreated into my own little world of thought as though I was my own God trying to figure out a way to protect myself. It seems I trust my own ways more than His, even when I know I can't make it without Him. How human we are!
Proverbs 3: 5-6 is a scripture we can all quote in our sleep, but can't seem to remember when the sea billows roll! Trust in the Lord WITH ALL your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge HIM, and He will direct your path. Key words being WITH ALL and IN ALL!
I am convinced that the reason for lack of trust in God results from not exercising it in the small things! If we are only calling on HIM when in trouble, therein lies the reason for our trust issues. We cannot have a relationship where trust is not cultivated. Daily communion with the One in whom we should place our trust, cultivates love, without which we cannot have trust. It is not that hard to set aside time each day to spend on our relationship with God, yet we often put it off, denying Him that communion. Is it that we are lazy, undisciplined or do not have our priorities straight? We must overcome the temptation to put God last in our life. There must be a daily focus on Him.
There is a reason Paul gives us an example to die daily. We must decrease in order for there to be room for HIS increase or direction. If I do not maintain a relationship with God outside of asking Him to supply my own needs, I will never learn to trust Him with my all. If I do not give Him my ALL, but keep bits and pieces of trust in my own strength, then I will never experience what it is like to fully trust HIM!
His strength is only realized when we acknowledge our own weakness. When we finally stop trying to figure things out on our own, acknowledging that HE is our source of strength, our only hope for rescue, then He can freely direct our path. If we keep depending on our own resources, we are not giving God ALL of our heart. God is wanting to perfect that which concerns us, but with our hands and thoughts and ways continually getting in His way, we will constantly be left with imperfect outcomes. The sooner we learn that, the quicker we are on the road to fully trusting with ALL! Once we conquer trusting Him with our ALL, there is no end to the joy and peace that we will enjoy on a daily basis. The peace which passes all understanding comes when we quit having to try to understand Him because without hesitation, we trust Him. His ways are higher than we can ever comprehend! He sees the whole picture, the before and after of the storm and He knows what is best for us in the middle of that same storm!
I have learned when the storm lingers and the waves crash, and it's dark and scary, I may not be able to stop the moments of fear from coming, but I don't have to allow them to roar into a full blown panic attack. I must walk in faith. If I entertain the questions pounding my mind, they will eventually literally shut down my trust in God. He is our maker, our savior, so if we truly trust Him, we must allow Him to do whatever He so chooses, and not let HIS outcome become our biggest question! We must stop allowing the questions of life to weigh us down, to slow us on our journey toward His intended purpose. Just keep walking on against the winds of question, knowing that your all-knowing all- seeing God is holding your hand and leading you into what is best for you.
What on earth is a sea billow? It is defined as a swelling or surging mass. When the sea swells, when all hell threatens to break loose! A tsunami, so to speak! When sorrow upon sorrow, storm upon storm, the hail, the winds, the rain, the fog all assail you at once would be a sea billow. When wave upon wave threatens your destruction and you cannot see your hand in front of you, much less hear the voice of God, those are the tsunami's of life. It is during those times that you must exercise blinding trust. When you cannot hear His voice, you must still know He is there. Trust Him with ALL your heart! He will do what is best concerning you! It is only when you break that trust that you find yourself going in the wrong direction. It is He that must direct our path! He knows the way you should take! Trust His plan even when the outcome is not to our liking or understanding He is always working all things for our good.
"Whatever the course, thou has taught me to say...It is well with my soul!" Let the words of this song fill your heart. When question assaults the fibers of your faith, shake them off. Read His Word, quote it, sing of His faithfulness. Keep walking on, no matter the force of the storm! "I trust you Lord, with my ALL! Even when I cannot see one step ahead, I will trust that you are still going to bless, keep and deliver that which I commit into your most capable hands."
Proverbs 3: 5-6 is a scripture we can all quote in our sleep, but can't seem to remember when the sea billows roll! Trust in the Lord WITH ALL your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge HIM, and He will direct your path. Key words being WITH ALL and IN ALL!
I am convinced that the reason for lack of trust in God results from not exercising it in the small things! If we are only calling on HIM when in trouble, therein lies the reason for our trust issues. We cannot have a relationship where trust is not cultivated. Daily communion with the One in whom we should place our trust, cultivates love, without which we cannot have trust. It is not that hard to set aside time each day to spend on our relationship with God, yet we often put it off, denying Him that communion. Is it that we are lazy, undisciplined or do not have our priorities straight? We must overcome the temptation to put God last in our life. There must be a daily focus on Him.
There is a reason Paul gives us an example to die daily. We must decrease in order for there to be room for HIS increase or direction. If I do not maintain a relationship with God outside of asking Him to supply my own needs, I will never learn to trust Him with my all. If I do not give Him my ALL, but keep bits and pieces of trust in my own strength, then I will never experience what it is like to fully trust HIM!
His strength is only realized when we acknowledge our own weakness. When we finally stop trying to figure things out on our own, acknowledging that HE is our source of strength, our only hope for rescue, then He can freely direct our path. If we keep depending on our own resources, we are not giving God ALL of our heart. God is wanting to perfect that which concerns us, but with our hands and thoughts and ways continually getting in His way, we will constantly be left with imperfect outcomes. The sooner we learn that, the quicker we are on the road to fully trusting with ALL! Once we conquer trusting Him with our ALL, there is no end to the joy and peace that we will enjoy on a daily basis. The peace which passes all understanding comes when we quit having to try to understand Him because without hesitation, we trust Him. His ways are higher than we can ever comprehend! He sees the whole picture, the before and after of the storm and He knows what is best for us in the middle of that same storm!
I have learned when the storm lingers and the waves crash, and it's dark and scary, I may not be able to stop the moments of fear from coming, but I don't have to allow them to roar into a full blown panic attack. I must walk in faith. If I entertain the questions pounding my mind, they will eventually literally shut down my trust in God. He is our maker, our savior, so if we truly trust Him, we must allow Him to do whatever He so chooses, and not let HIS outcome become our biggest question! We must stop allowing the questions of life to weigh us down, to slow us on our journey toward His intended purpose. Just keep walking on against the winds of question, knowing that your all-knowing all- seeing God is holding your hand and leading you into what is best for you.
What on earth is a sea billow? It is defined as a swelling or surging mass. When the sea swells, when all hell threatens to break loose! A tsunami, so to speak! When sorrow upon sorrow, storm upon storm, the hail, the winds, the rain, the fog all assail you at once would be a sea billow. When wave upon wave threatens your destruction and you cannot see your hand in front of you, much less hear the voice of God, those are the tsunami's of life. It is during those times that you must exercise blinding trust. When you cannot hear His voice, you must still know He is there. Trust Him with ALL your heart! He will do what is best concerning you! It is only when you break that trust that you find yourself going in the wrong direction. It is He that must direct our path! He knows the way you should take! Trust His plan even when the outcome is not to our liking or understanding He is always working all things for our good.
"Whatever the course, thou has taught me to say...It is well with my soul!" Let the words of this song fill your heart. When question assaults the fibers of your faith, shake them off. Read His Word, quote it, sing of His faithfulness. Keep walking on, no matter the force of the storm! "I trust you Lord, with my ALL! Even when I cannot see one step ahead, I will trust that you are still going to bless, keep and deliver that which I commit into your most capable hands."
Thursday, October 24, 2013
The Great "I Am!"
Jesus Christ, Our All in All!
Anything we need, He said "I Am!"
"I AM YOUR NEED!" It is ALL in HIM!
He is our security, our insurance, our safety!
He is our source of strength, our power, our steroid!
He is our portion, our supply, our resource.
He wants far more for us than we want for ourselves.
He is our biggest fan, cheerleader, coach, and team mate all in one!
He is proud of his creation!
He wants to elevate us!
He desires for us to reach our full potential in Him.
He is constantly cheering us on!
He is always with us!
Always looking out for us!
He is our constant defender, protector, our guard!
All the strength we will ever need is in Him alone!
He is approachable and always on call! Available at the whisper of His name!
We can just think of Him and He swoops in to share a moment with us!
He always hears our cry and attends unto our need!
He is our rescuer, our retriever, our 'always on time' help!
He loves us with a love that never ever EVER ends!
He is our healer!
He is our provision!
He is our road map, our navigator, our guide, our GPS!
He propels us to our highest possible peaks and walks with us through our darkest lowest valleys!
He carries us when we cannot stand! He gives us rest when we are weary!
He is our peace maker and our peace keeper!
He is the beginning and end of our every breath!
He is the first and the last of all our blessings!
He is the joy in all our successes!
He is the all knowing, ever loving, ever present God of our universe!
... How could we not succeed?
We are completely and unequivocally secure in Him! With the God of our universe at the helm of our ship of life, we wont be lost in a sea of sorrow!
He will bring us into all fullness of joy.
We have the assurance that with Him as captain of our vessel, we can do all!
We are going to make it!
I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)