Faith

The Mighty Move of God

Now therefore stand still and see this great thing

that the LORD will do before your eyes. I Samuel 12:16

My mind is a jumbled up ball of the goodness and greatness of God. I can hardly contain myself. I have to hold myself back so I don’t sound like some crazy religious lunatic and just run people off. I have given my life back to God and He is MOVING in it. Not only that, the church that He has positioned me in seems to be in the very same place I am. God is MOVING in our church. I can feel it rising up all around me. I am having a hard time writing this out because my heart knows what it happening but my mind is struggling to put words to it. 

About a month ago, after my declaration of my one word for this year (Fearless), I met with an old friend not having any idea that it would be more than a casual lunch date. She shared with me something she was dealing with and wanted us to pray about – FEAR. Fear is paralyzing and we both personally know that well. We ran out of time before I could share with her what God had been doing with me so we vowed to meet again.

Later that week, at the urging of the spirit, I went to the bookstore to look at any Christian books on fear that I could find. There were several I had found online that looked promising but when I went to the bookstore, I felt strongly that Joyce Meyer’s “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” was the book I should read. And I was working it out with my friend to read along with me. We decided to meet for lunch to discuss the first 3 chapters.

The Sunday before we met, our Pastor shared with us that his wife has been diagnosed with cancer. Our church was in shock but immediately responded as he has been teaching us – with WORSHIP and prayer.  You know what? Joyce Meyer’s first three chapters talk about exactly what to do in these situations and it includes exactly what our Pastor has been preaching about. What makes this life changing is that there is scripture to back it up and that it isn’t just the word of people. It is the Word of God.

Do you see how God orchestrated all of this? How all of this is a puzzle that I had no idea was being put into place until now. I have a strong feeling that He’s not finished putting pieces together yet either. And this is just the last month of my life! I could write a book about the pieces He put together when I didn’t see how it would fit over the course of my life!

I am on my knees and in awe of the One who moves in mysterious ways. He has a way of working things out for His people in ways we never expected.

There are battle blows dealt toward us on all sides but we battle back. On our knees in battle position. From there, we trust that God is moving and will continue to move. We  passionately, precisely, and persistently pursue Him. Because we know that all things are in His hands and in His perfect plan.

And I will fight alongside my sister doing this study with me as well as my church family. Because I have never been so determined to SEE HIM MOVE even more.

Watch with me and see what He is going to do. Come alongside me and see for yourself what the excitement is all about. It’s been so long… well maybe never… since I have felt His presence like I do now. And I want as many of you to experience it with me as possible.

The Strength and Dignity Flop with a Side of Fear

She is clothed with strength and dignity,

   and she laughs without fear of the future. Proverbs 31:25

I’m not feeling very Proverbs 31 woman-like today. Not when it comes to this verse and how it describes some woman, because there is no way it could be me! Not today. The day has been a normal day without much of anything going on outside of everyday happenings.  There hasn’t been anything bad happen. In fact, all has gone quite well. Except for one thing. Me. I have lost my strength temporarily. I have misplaced my ability to laugh without fear of the future. There is so much in my life that I can fear. And some days, I do. I get tired of being strong and happy and content. I get tired of being positive.

It’s hard to admit this to you, to anyone. But I really want us, specifically women, to understand that sometimes we just feel this way. And it’s okay. It’s okay to temporarily feel “in the mulligrubs” as my dad would say. We just can’t hang out there all the time. This is normal, right? Tell me I’m not alone. Sometimes, I am just down. Period. No particular reason. Just life weighing on me.

So today I read this verse and I cling to it. I cling to the hope that I will be clothed with strength and dignity and laugh without fear of the future as I do on so many other days. Deep down, I trust Him. I trust His plan for my life and the lives of those I love. I get so tired of having to keep giving the fear back to Him, but I keep picking it back up! And as long as I keep picking it back up, I have to continue to keep giving it back to Him.

I would love some encouragement today. I need it. I crave your prayers and your encouragement. I try to be outward and give to others what I truly desire myself. Because I want to be an encourager and I want you to know how much God loves you and is in control of your life, as He is mine. But today, I am wrapped up in myself and need to be freed. I don’t like this place I’m in and need to give it up to God. In fact, writing about it is helping me. Admitting my weakness to you is helping me.

I will let God renew my spirit and I will put on strength and dignity as only He gives. I will not fear the future. In fact, I will laugh without fear of the future. Because I know I am in His hands. I relinquish my need for control because I know the One who knows what is best for me and I am trusting Him. Who is with me?

God Still Speaks

You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. Psalm 77:14

I need a miracle in my life. A full out, no doubt about it, God given, miracle. I’ve been praying about it for a while  now and just keep holding on to hope that it’s going to happen. Above all, I want God’s will to be accomplished and sometimes it’s hard to swallow when His will is not OUR will. But this… THIS… has to be something God would want as well.

At times I lose faith. The pain that I incur from the situation that needs God’s hand is almost unbearable at times and I just wonder if it will always be. But this morning in church service, He spoke to me. It was as clear to me as anything I’ve ever heard.

The words of the song we were singing was  “The ground began to shake, The stone was rolled away, His perfect love could not be overcome, Now death where is your sting, Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated”. I love worship and with my heart completed immersed in worshiping God, I sang these words. I wasn’t even consciously listening for His word in my life at that moment. I was just loving Him with my words, my heart, and my actions. But at that moment, He decided to encourage me and into my heart He spoke,

“Look at what I did, for YOU, for all of mankind. If I can do this, surely I can provide you this miracle you need in your life. And I will”

Normally, this word would have caused me to shake with emotion and break down in a fit of tears, but today, I was totally at peace. Oh, there were tears, but He held me together. At this moment, I believe He wanted to show His emotional strength in me. He showed up in my life and gave me  the encouragement I needed to keep going, keep praying, keep trusting Him.

Through it all, God will prevail and His plan will be carried out. He has the power to do ALL that He has said He’s going to do and will overcome the world. He will overcome evil.

He is going to provide this miracle in my life and I am going to keep trusting Him for that. When? I don’t know. How? I don’t know. It may be in a completely different way than I can even imagine, but He will.  My life is in His hands and He will provide.

Is there something in your life in which you need a miracle? Though sometimes His plan is not our plan or desire and things don’t always happen as we would like, there are times when a miracle is needed and granted. Trust in Him, no matter the outcome, for He has all of his children in His hands. He’s working this out for us and for His glory.

And when a miracle is granted, give Him the glory. Let’s show the world the power our Father has and the love He gives us that is like no other.

The Key To Being Strong

‘My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (Jesus). Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (Paul).  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

If there’s a single passage of scripture that describes what it’s like to live transparently, this one is it! It has been my theme for almost a year now yet I only stumbled across these verses just recently. Oh, I knew of them before, but during my years of not studying I had forgotten and even when I had read them or heard them at church, I didn’t know what it was like to let it sink in. My heart was too hard for it to land there and be soaked up.

What does this mean to us? Can it really be that our weaknesses and troubles are the key to having Christ’s power?

Living transparently means being honest about your weaknesses. AND IT IS SO VERY HARD TO DO THAT! You are opening yourself up to criticism and admitting to others that you don’t have it all together. It’s hard on our pride and scary.

However, living transparently (sharing weaknesses and difficulties in life)  is the avenue through which Christ’s power can be shown! 

Paul says that “he delights in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties.” Delights?!! Can this really be?

You know what I do during all those things? I sulk. I cry. I feel sorry for myself. I wonder why God is allowing this. I pray for it to be over, for it to come to an end. In short, I’m a big baby who acts like a spoiled brat. (Hey wait just a second… did I just admit my “weakness?” 😉 ).

How many times do I stop for a moment during a hard situation and praise Jesus that I am becoming a stronger person? How often do we think about how God’s power can be shown through our difficult situations? How often do we “delight” in our shortcomings and hardships because we know that God has a plan and is being revealed
through us if we choose to allow it?

I don’t know about you, but I sure do want to be more like Paul in this moment! Our lives would be so much more peaceful and content if we learned how to showcase God’s power through our storms.

So the next time you are facing something that is hard, even if it is the hardest thing you’ve ever faced, remember these words in I Corinthians 12:9-10. Let it encourage you that God is using YOU (yes, YOU!) to showcase His power!  Trust that He is working things out for the good of us and the glory of God. And know that when you are weak, then you are strong.

Finally, read verse 10 again, out loud. Instead of this being Paul’s words, claim them for your own. And repeat them any time you are going through a difficult situation. I’m certain he won’t mind us borrowing his words! I think he’s a pretty cool guy… 😉

Think On These Things

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

I was having a rough day. Nothing was going right it seemed and everything I had worked so hard to make progress on was crumbling right before my eyes. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting. My mind was completely on myself and the situation that immediately surrounded me. There was no other perspective besides my own. An altered reality based upon my feelings at the time. I was feeling sorry for myself. I had it so bad! Couldn’t everyone see that?

Have you ever felt like this? Like there’s no one else in the world that has ever been dealt these cards in life? Have you ever just sat down and had an “all-out cry your eyes out pity party?”

I have. More than I’d like to admit.

The other day, my boys and I were in the car and the conversation veered toward them and their feelings about how bad they had it in life. Their parents are divorced. It was not what they wanted and now they have to deal with so much heartache because of it. They are children. It’s a natural reaction and merited feeling. They have not yet figured out how to look on the positive side of things. They don’t realize how much it would help them have a happier life overall.

I’m driving and hypocritically thinking “Can they not see how good they have it? They have two parents who love them and spend time with them. They have now other additions to their family and more people who love them than ever before. God, show me what to say to remind them of what they do have in their life that is good. Show me how to teach them to be grateful.”

God clearly spoke to me that morning. He told me that I could not TELL them anything while I was doing THE SAME EXACT THING. I was the one that needed that lesson.

I’ve had the “poor pitiful me” attitude often since my life took a downward turn through the events that led up to the divorce, the divorce, and post divorce. I’ve spent hours curled up in a ball on my bed crying my eyes out in pain and thinking this is the worst thing ever.

It is good to allow yourself to feel pain and release emotion sometimes. However, to the extent of thinking that this is the worst thing ever and allowing our mind to run wild and free with thoughts of negativity is not what God wants from us.

Completely ignoring the pain and heartache and only focusing on the positive creates a world that is not real. It doesn’t give us the opportunity to analyze our behavior and emotions and begin the heal from what caused the pain.

But in general, God wants us to think on the positives of life. To be grateful and content for the life we do have!

When we shift our thoughts to the things of God and His blessings in our life, we begin to see outside of ourselves. When we focus upward and keep our eyes on Him, we can have hope that we will get through this and come to the other side of it a better person.

We can have confidence that ALL things work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28).

I am convinced that I would not be where I am today without the trials I have gone through in life. It has been bad and I have many times wondered if I can go on another day, but I am on the other side of it and I am more thankful for my Creator than I have ever been. I am more hungry than ever to know God’s heart and to seek Him in my life. I recognize my need for Him in every area and I marvel at His mercy and grace in my life.

I could not have made it to where I am today without Him giving me a chance, over and over again. He has made me new and cleansed my heart and will forever be my God, no matter what life throws at me. How could anyone think “poor pitiful me!” and know that?!!!

I am human and make mistakes and will continue to need a reminder of this. I will fall into the despicable pit of feeling sorry for myself from time to time.

But I must remind myself to think on the things that are true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. 

With God in my life, nothing is impossible!