His word says if you seek Him you will find Him. If you are looking for answers, He will give them to you. Just be prepared when you start asking, you may not always be prepared for the answers. IF you want to know what you should do next, listen....He will show you. So many times we get frustrated and stressed out because we don't feel like He is answering our questions, prayers, requests but He is. We keep looking for the answer we want, when we should be looking for the answer He wants. We look for the way we want things to turn out, but we should be content and thankful He gives us what He has planned. Oh how many times if we could look over the side we would see He's trying to get us over the cliff or the bridge and the only way to not fall is taking each step with Him.
The more determined we are to stay the course, the more the enemy will do what he can to throw us off course. Stay the course regardless of feelings.....stress will come..God's bigger than it. Sometimes we pray for God to take away the overwhelmed feelings or give you more hours to get the list done, but He wants to show you His peace. Peace to stay focused on Him which leads to energy to do more. Peace to know He's helped you finish the list every year, this year isn't going to be any different. Peace to know He's got this...because He's got you.
If we never had strengthening times, we would never know how strong He really is. The moments that make us feel should remind us to kneel.
I'm not perfect, no one is....but I am head over heels with the One who is and He gets me. Birthday is in a couple of weeks and I'm so looking forward to this upcoming year. For once I'm focused, moving forward and leaving some junk UNDER His feet. I asked Him for answers, He said it was time to rip off the band-aids, so apparently healing is His plan for this season. We all have struggles and scars that have made us who we are. It's our choice if we cover them up and hide them, or let Him use them for His glory.
This morning He knew I needed something. He knew I needed that push to keep moving forward. I've been on this journey just two weeks and I was ready to just sit down and say enough, I'm done. Oh how that would have made the enemy happy, but guess what God's bigger than that. His revelation came right on time this morning. So if you are wanting to just sit down and stay put instead of moving forward, don't! God has a purpose and wants nothing more than to see your chains crushed(not just broken!). Keep doing what He told you to and know He is stronger than any feeling that makes you want to do otherwise. More on that later...
Have a great week readers! This girl is getting ready to see some chains crushed....
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
Moving Forward Journey Part 1
I wanted to wait until the journey was fully complete to type the blog out, but God prompted me last night that could be a very long blog. So here's to the start of the journey thus far and what He has taught me.
Last night the Casting Crowns concert was simply amazing. It was more than a concert, it was church, it was worship. When you are listening for whispers, you hear them. When you are asking for revelation, He reveals. When you are seeking truth, you find it. When you are searching for Him, He's right there. So much that was said last night was confirmation to this place I am at right now, to the moving forward journey He has called me to.
I wasn't looking for a journey shift exactly, but I was praying for answers. I wasn't looking for the next step just yet, but I was praying for peace. I was looking for the mountain to be moved, but He was looking for me to climb it. God has been pricking my heart with the Time Hop app over the last couple of weeks, and last week He started putting some pieces together. This time of the year is ALWAYS stressful at work regardless of location, job title etc. Stress will find you in the Spring if you are in the field of education. Reality check: I am easily overwhelmed when the to-do list is longer than the hours in the day. I am easily distracted by trying to do for others when that may not be what He's called me to do. (Need to please versus call to serve...but that's a blog in itself). My focus hasn't been right over the last year or so, but I wasn't exactly sure where I got off course. If you are feeling that way and not exactly sure where you took a mis-step, keep listening and seeking truth...He will lead you back to the place He planned. Stress and Chaos are not from God, they are tools the enemy uses to get straight to our heart and mind. The enemy is clever in knowing that if he can keep us busy and overwhelmed, we won't slow down long enough to listen to God's whispers (much less ask Him to whisper). We get so focused in capturing the moment so we can post it on social media that we forget to just savor and enjoy the moment. We are exhausted running the race while barely noticing we aren't going anywhere. The busy race is not productive, it keeps you running in circles(which only leaves you disorientated and frustrated). So back to me...Sometimes God doesn't change the situations because He wants us to rely on His strength in the midst of what the world calls stress. God can handle the list, if we let Him. He can provide a strength and energy that only comes from Him so that you can focus and accomplish things. The enemy wants you to feel overwhelmed and discouraged, so you start to doubt yourself. Listen closely...You are the child of the Most High and have the power to squash the enemy in the moment. Being a Christian and trying to live according to the busyness of the world is like holding a lamp and never plugging it in. Plug it in sweet reader and draw from the source that can keep the flame burning even when you don't feel like it.
You can't move forward while still chained to the past. I heard that whisper over a year ago, but never understood it until recently. Sometimes we ask God to break the chains, but we don't want to deal with what it takes to break them. Ask God to do a search and to show you anything you need to deal with, take care of, let go of...in order to move forward. When you have laid it all out to Him, I mean really laid it all out(how you feel about it, what you think etc.), leave it at His feet. At some point you have to realize that if you could handle it, you would have already and you wouldn't be stressed about it. God has a destiny planned for each of His children, personally I think mine is closer than I can even imagine. Shake off the ties that bind you and so easily beset you and run the race He has planned for you to run. How do shake it off? How do you let it go? You pour your heart out to the One who already knows it anyway. You tell Him everything, how you feel, what you wish He had done etc., but most of all you tell Him how much you trust Him and how you know He's got this all planned out. God will reveal your steps of obedience to your breakthrough if you listen. He will also place people in your life who will help you move forward to what He has planned for you. Discernment is a gift He gives His children, use it and listen to it....He's been telling you what to do, now do it!
This is getting longer than I planned for the first part. I'm two weeks into this journey and learning to let Him handle the stress moments. I haven't turned to food, I've turned to Him. I'm letting Him do what He does best, and I'm just being me. Being me doesn't always mean perfect, but He knows that. Being me means knowing who He has made me to be, who He called me to be, and who He has purposed for me to be. I'm learning to deal with things I've stuffed over the years and then to release it into the hands of the One who has been waiting on it all along. I'm learning to defeat the enemy with truth, before he can defeat me with stress. I wish I could tell you the overwhelmed feelings and stress have been eliminated(you should see the to-do list), but they haven't. Learning to be more like Him means pressing through opportunities for the seed that has been planted in you to grow into the fruit that He created. Growing takes place through seasons,...and this is the season for blooming!
Take heart sweet reader if you are feeling frustrated. God knows exactly where you are. Quit laying it down at His feet only to pick it back up again. Quit measuring yourself against the standards of the world (comparing yourselves to others). God made you and He knows what strengths and weaknesses He has planned. Trust Him to take care of His creation. Ask Him for Godly counsel to speak into your life and to hold you accountable as you move to the next season and forward on your journey. The enemy wants nothing more than to keep you stationary, dormant, focused on the feelings of the load the world has placed on you. (but guess what....God has already defeated the enemy). So walk in that victory and know that truth always wins!
More to come later! The journey is a process...
Last night the Casting Crowns concert was simply amazing. It was more than a concert, it was church, it was worship. When you are listening for whispers, you hear them. When you are asking for revelation, He reveals. When you are seeking truth, you find it. When you are searching for Him, He's right there. So much that was said last night was confirmation to this place I am at right now, to the moving forward journey He has called me to.
I wasn't looking for a journey shift exactly, but I was praying for answers. I wasn't looking for the next step just yet, but I was praying for peace. I was looking for the mountain to be moved, but He was looking for me to climb it. God has been pricking my heart with the Time Hop app over the last couple of weeks, and last week He started putting some pieces together. This time of the year is ALWAYS stressful at work regardless of location, job title etc. Stress will find you in the Spring if you are in the field of education. Reality check: I am easily overwhelmed when the to-do list is longer than the hours in the day. I am easily distracted by trying to do for others when that may not be what He's called me to do. (Need to please versus call to serve...but that's a blog in itself). My focus hasn't been right over the last year or so, but I wasn't exactly sure where I got off course. If you are feeling that way and not exactly sure where you took a mis-step, keep listening and seeking truth...He will lead you back to the place He planned. Stress and Chaos are not from God, they are tools the enemy uses to get straight to our heart and mind. The enemy is clever in knowing that if he can keep us busy and overwhelmed, we won't slow down long enough to listen to God's whispers (much less ask Him to whisper). We get so focused in capturing the moment so we can post it on social media that we forget to just savor and enjoy the moment. We are exhausted running the race while barely noticing we aren't going anywhere. The busy race is not productive, it keeps you running in circles(which only leaves you disorientated and frustrated). So back to me...Sometimes God doesn't change the situations because He wants us to rely on His strength in the midst of what the world calls stress. God can handle the list, if we let Him. He can provide a strength and energy that only comes from Him so that you can focus and accomplish things. The enemy wants you to feel overwhelmed and discouraged, so you start to doubt yourself. Listen closely...You are the child of the Most High and have the power to squash the enemy in the moment. Being a Christian and trying to live according to the busyness of the world is like holding a lamp and never plugging it in. Plug it in sweet reader and draw from the source that can keep the flame burning even when you don't feel like it.
You can't move forward while still chained to the past. I heard that whisper over a year ago, but never understood it until recently. Sometimes we ask God to break the chains, but we don't want to deal with what it takes to break them. Ask God to do a search and to show you anything you need to deal with, take care of, let go of...in order to move forward. When you have laid it all out to Him, I mean really laid it all out(how you feel about it, what you think etc.), leave it at His feet. At some point you have to realize that if you could handle it, you would have already and you wouldn't be stressed about it. God has a destiny planned for each of His children, personally I think mine is closer than I can even imagine. Shake off the ties that bind you and so easily beset you and run the race He has planned for you to run. How do shake it off? How do you let it go? You pour your heart out to the One who already knows it anyway. You tell Him everything, how you feel, what you wish He had done etc., but most of all you tell Him how much you trust Him and how you know He's got this all planned out. God will reveal your steps of obedience to your breakthrough if you listen. He will also place people in your life who will help you move forward to what He has planned for you. Discernment is a gift He gives His children, use it and listen to it....He's been telling you what to do, now do it!
This is getting longer than I planned for the first part. I'm two weeks into this journey and learning to let Him handle the stress moments. I haven't turned to food, I've turned to Him. I'm letting Him do what He does best, and I'm just being me. Being me doesn't always mean perfect, but He knows that. Being me means knowing who He has made me to be, who He called me to be, and who He has purposed for me to be. I'm learning to deal with things I've stuffed over the years and then to release it into the hands of the One who has been waiting on it all along. I'm learning to defeat the enemy with truth, before he can defeat me with stress. I wish I could tell you the overwhelmed feelings and stress have been eliminated(you should see the to-do list), but they haven't. Learning to be more like Him means pressing through opportunities for the seed that has been planted in you to grow into the fruit that He created. Growing takes place through seasons,...and this is the season for blooming!
Take heart sweet reader if you are feeling frustrated. God knows exactly where you are. Quit laying it down at His feet only to pick it back up again. Quit measuring yourself against the standards of the world (comparing yourselves to others). God made you and He knows what strengths and weaknesses He has planned. Trust Him to take care of His creation. Ask Him for Godly counsel to speak into your life and to hold you accountable as you move to the next season and forward on your journey. The enemy wants nothing more than to keep you stationary, dormant, focused on the feelings of the load the world has placed on you. (but guess what....God has already defeated the enemy). So walk in that victory and know that truth always wins!
More to come later! The journey is a process...
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Truths...mid-week thoughts...
Oh my I wish I could go ahead and type out the blog that He's writing as I'm walking it, but it's just not time. I can't even put into words the way He is moving and doing what He does best over the last couple of weeks. It's enough to make this Baptist girl want to taking a running spell. Title of this one though is truths, mid-week thoughts
You can't walk into your destiny, the purpose God has for your life while still chained to the past of yesterday. You may be thinking you are walking clear of the past, already laid that at His feet, but how many times have you picked it back up again? I'm notorious to lay it down at His feet and later on pick it back up again when I have a new idea or think I can "fix" it. At some point, it gets to be either so big you realize you can't or so tiring that you just can't do it anymore. At some point the mountain you keep circling gets on your nerves. At some point you come to the realization and it clicks....God made me to go around and/or over this mountain...Enough is enough.
At some point you head over the wall regardless of feeling, knowing His destiny is on the other side.
Quit putting band-aids on something and trying to move forward. Take the band-aid off, pour the peroxide in, and let the healing take place. Yes it is going to hurt, but healing starts when the infection clears.
I'm going to stop there or I'll be getting ahead of myself and He's not done with the other blog just yet.
I don't know what you are dealing with right now, but He does. How tired of it are you? Enough that you leave it in His hands and let Him handle it? He never intended for you to carry it on your own silly child, so let Him help.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
It's a process....
I am on a 40 day journey with God. Nothing in particular just need some revelation on a few areas, so I asked Him what I needed to do. The hardest thing to this relationship is the telling our flesh to hush it and listening to the next step, The easiest thing is to stay put, but then again growing becomes stagnate if we stay stationary. I read in a devotional last week about the blind man's healing. It was a process. He had to walk back with that stuff on his eyes and follow what Jesus told him to do. What if he had taken the stuff off his eyes before he arrived at his appointed place? What if he had been walking down that road and just said that's it I give up, I don't want to do this anymore? If he hadn't followed through with what Jesus told him to do all the way to the appointed place, he wouldn't have received his healing and his miracle.
How many times are we in the same situation? God's given us a word of obedience and we stop mid way through and say I'm done. If we would just follow through with what He said (because after all His plans are always for our good and not to harm us), we would have made it to our appointed place and received our healing/miracle/answered prayer a long time ago. We stop when start feeling out of our comfort zone and in short end up having to do the same journey over and over again. I know that feeling. I love the the TimeHop app, but it has also stepped on my toes the last couple of months. Yep He has used my own words this time to push me to the next level. The last couple of weeks have been tiring. Sometimes God gets us back to the point where we realize He is all that can take care of it at this point, so we have no choice but to let Him. I've poured out my heart to Him this week through tears and feelings of..well feelings. He knows my heart and now He is showing it to me through His eyes. I'm so thankful for friends who love you with truth(Not truth as they see it, but truth as He sees it). Sometimes the ones who are always giving, need someone to pour back into them. Sometimes the ones who are always smiling, need someone to just listen. Being strong doesn't mean you know all of the answers, but you have faith and trust in the One who does.
If I've learned anything from the first week of this digging in journey with God, it's the enemy doesn't like it. Discernment is a gift from Him for a reason. Use it, learn to listen, and avoid some heartache and stress. So many times we let the disease to please become louder than discernment. The enemy wants to make you shake and fear, but what he doesn't realize you have a foundation that can't be shaken. The enemy does not like it when children of God get serious about this journey and living it by God's standards and not his (aka the world's).
He's working on several blogs, most I'm walking out right now. Sometimes I wish I could put my heart into words without worrying if someone is analyzing it or judging it. Soon.... There are some chains about to not just be broken, but crushed. You don't become stronger by picking it back up again, you become stronger by leaving it in His hands.
How many times are we in the same situation? God's given us a word of obedience and we stop mid way through and say I'm done. If we would just follow through with what He said (because after all His plans are always for our good and not to harm us), we would have made it to our appointed place and received our healing/miracle/answered prayer a long time ago. We stop when start feeling out of our comfort zone and in short end up having to do the same journey over and over again. I know that feeling. I love the the TimeHop app, but it has also stepped on my toes the last couple of months. Yep He has used my own words this time to push me to the next level. The last couple of weeks have been tiring. Sometimes God gets us back to the point where we realize He is all that can take care of it at this point, so we have no choice but to let Him. I've poured out my heart to Him this week through tears and feelings of..well feelings. He knows my heart and now He is showing it to me through His eyes. I'm so thankful for friends who love you with truth(Not truth as they see it, but truth as He sees it). Sometimes the ones who are always giving, need someone to pour back into them. Sometimes the ones who are always smiling, need someone to just listen. Being strong doesn't mean you know all of the answers, but you have faith and trust in the One who does.
If I've learned anything from the first week of this digging in journey with God, it's the enemy doesn't like it. Discernment is a gift from Him for a reason. Use it, learn to listen, and avoid some heartache and stress. So many times we let the disease to please become louder than discernment. The enemy wants to make you shake and fear, but what he doesn't realize you have a foundation that can't be shaken. The enemy does not like it when children of God get serious about this journey and living it by God's standards and not his (aka the world's).
He's working on several blogs, most I'm walking out right now. Sometimes I wish I could put my heart into words without worrying if someone is analyzing it or judging it. Soon.... There are some chains about to not just be broken, but crushed. You don't become stronger by picking it back up again, you become stronger by leaving it in His hands.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Monday's moments
I wasn't going to write a blog tonight. I felt one starting, but I was determined "the list" was going to come first. (If you saw how long it was, you would know the struggle is real...) Then I went to my TimeHop and saw a couple of the posts from this day over the last couple of years. Humbled and in awe was all I could say....In awe with some of the words I wrote because I needed to read them again tonight. Humbled by the fact that He has been so patient with me. Patient as it seems the enemy has played the same song and pushed the same buttons yet again. Ding, ding, ding I finally see the answer...What is the answer? {Me}.
So many times we try to control things we can't control, when God only said control ourselves. Well that's a full time job if you ask me. Honesty check, the last couple of weeks have exhausted me. I've given out more than I had to give(which is only my fault). People will take as long as we let them. It's not prideful or wrong, to have me time each day. One of His greatest commandments is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Another little nugget He showed me yesterday was with some of my favorite verses Proverbs 3:5-6. When He said lean not on your own understanding, He never planned for us to understand the bigger plan. When we understand things we forget to trust. When we understand things, we think we don't have to trust. Oh let that sink in on this Monday.
Mondays remind me how thankful I am for grace. I'm thankful for a chance to start again tomorrow. I'm thankful that He knew how my Monday was going to go before I even woke up.
Truths I know from today...God's got a word that He has been trying to whisper all day. This gift of discernment is not always easy, but it is always for my good(when I listen). Feeling effective and being effective in His eyes are TWO totally different things. This mountain is getting old, God and I are going to discuss getting off of it more tonight.
I would love to tell you this will be the only blog for the week, but yeah it won't....God's moving this week, the enemy isn't happy. Monday is almost over...leave your feelings in His hands. Trust that He knows you don't quite understand what He's doing in the midst of what seems like chaos, but He has a plan.
Priceless moment this afternoon was getting in the car and Greater was the song on the radio. If you have never listened to the lyrics of that song, it is truly a Monday song. When you are tired and worn out, He's greater. When you really aren't sure what's going on, He's greater. When you would rather just run and hide, He's greater. He didn't say you would become greater, but He said He would.
Blessings this week!
~Melissa
So many times we try to control things we can't control, when God only said control ourselves. Well that's a full time job if you ask me. Honesty check, the last couple of weeks have exhausted me. I've given out more than I had to give(which is only my fault). People will take as long as we let them. It's not prideful or wrong, to have me time each day. One of His greatest commandments is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Another little nugget He showed me yesterday was with some of my favorite verses Proverbs 3:5-6. When He said lean not on your own understanding, He never planned for us to understand the bigger plan. When we understand things we forget to trust. When we understand things, we think we don't have to trust. Oh let that sink in on this Monday.
Mondays remind me how thankful I am for grace. I'm thankful for a chance to start again tomorrow. I'm thankful that He knew how my Monday was going to go before I even woke up.
Truths I know from today...God's got a word that He has been trying to whisper all day. This gift of discernment is not always easy, but it is always for my good(when I listen). Feeling effective and being effective in His eyes are TWO totally different things. This mountain is getting old, God and I are going to discuss getting off of it more tonight.
I would love to tell you this will be the only blog for the week, but yeah it won't....God's moving this week, the enemy isn't happy. Monday is almost over...leave your feelings in His hands. Trust that He knows you don't quite understand what He's doing in the midst of what seems like chaos, but He has a plan.
Priceless moment this afternoon was getting in the car and Greater was the song on the radio. If you have never listened to the lyrics of that song, it is truly a Monday song. When you are tired and worn out, He's greater. When you really aren't sure what's going on, He's greater. When you would rather just run and hide, He's greater. He didn't say you would become greater, but He said He would.
Blessings this week!
~Melissa
Saturday, April 4, 2015
He's alive....Have you seen Him?
I've known another blog was coming today and I've tried to be sensitive and let Him do what He does best. We are in the middle of our Easter play at church and over the past month of practices, I've had the amazing opportunity to watch this story unfold multiple times. It never gets old, it never bores me, and every year there are certain parts that bring tears each and every performance. It seems like each year He finds a spot in it to write something new on my heart. This year it's a line that happens right before the finale. Mary is excited about just seeing Jesus alive and asked someone have you seen Him? God's been writing on that line all day...
So many people go through every day life acting like He's not alive, but oh sweet reader He is. While writing this one, He started on a Religion vs. Relationship post that I'm sure He'll finish up later. The sweetest part of that one though, was Relationship says I'm His Princess. A relationship with Him doesn't mean perfection. Goodness knows I mess up more times than I can count each day on this Faith walk with Him. It's not about getting it right, it's about moving forward. It's about growing and letting Him change/mold you into who He made you to be. It's about knowing that at the end of the day when you feel you have made a mess out of things, you can crawl up in His lap and know that He still loves you(most of the time more than you love yourself!). He gets you, understands you, and thinks you are pretty special. He literally thinks you are to die for! So many times we put pressure on ourselves to think that Christians have to have it altogether, but the world needs to see the Children of God being real. The world needs to see God's grace and forgiveness through our lives. They need to know He's not like when company comes over. You know most people want to clean house and get everything perfect when company is due to arrive. When a friend who may as well be family comes over, your house is your home and they know that. You don't put on a front and clean everything up. God's not looking for you to have everything cleaned up, He's looking to help you do what needs to be done. So many times we think we have to try and change ourselves on our own....well praise God we don't....(Hello..how many times have you tried to have self control when eating sweets on your own?) We have the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit that are planted in us they day we accept His gift of salvation. The day we say yes with our hearts, the seeds are planted that will grow into those fruits as we grow to be more like Him. Just as a tree doesn't produce an apple the day after it's planted, that's how it is with us as well. When we spend time with Him, our roots deepen and that relationship grows. One day we look up and we can see the apples hanging from the tree. Be patient with the process and know that the Master planter has got this!
He's alive...have you seen Him? What can you look back on this week and see that God has done for you, whispered to you, spoken into you, answered for you? If you can't see evidence of His moving...then it's time to step back and look at your relationship. God never changes, so if you can't see Him moving....you may be too far ahead or running in too many directions. God desires a personal relationship with you. He doesn't want you to only hear Him through other people, He wants to whisper to your heart each day. He wants you to not only bring your requests to Him, but your fears and your tears. He wants to be the One that calms that anxiety inside of you by speaking peace daughter...I've got this. Oh how sweet the journey is when you see how He completes every part of who you are. He knows just where those things you call faults are(He calls them weaknesses and shinning moments for Him). Reading books by Christian authors and devotionals are good...but make sure you leave some time to listen to what He has to say to you as well. He has a Word just for you!
So many people go through every day life acting like He's not alive, but oh sweet reader He is. While writing this one, He started on a Religion vs. Relationship post that I'm sure He'll finish up later. The sweetest part of that one though, was Relationship says I'm His Princess. A relationship with Him doesn't mean perfection. Goodness knows I mess up more times than I can count each day on this Faith walk with Him. It's not about getting it right, it's about moving forward. It's about growing and letting Him change/mold you into who He made you to be. It's about knowing that at the end of the day when you feel you have made a mess out of things, you can crawl up in His lap and know that He still loves you(most of the time more than you love yourself!). He gets you, understands you, and thinks you are pretty special. He literally thinks you are to die for! So many times we put pressure on ourselves to think that Christians have to have it altogether, but the world needs to see the Children of God being real. The world needs to see God's grace and forgiveness through our lives. They need to know He's not like when company comes over. You know most people want to clean house and get everything perfect when company is due to arrive. When a friend who may as well be family comes over, your house is your home and they know that. You don't put on a front and clean everything up. God's not looking for you to have everything cleaned up, He's looking to help you do what needs to be done. So many times we think we have to try and change ourselves on our own....well praise God we don't....(Hello..how many times have you tried to have self control when eating sweets on your own?) We have the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit that are planted in us they day we accept His gift of salvation. The day we say yes with our hearts, the seeds are planted that will grow into those fruits as we grow to be more like Him. Just as a tree doesn't produce an apple the day after it's planted, that's how it is with us as well. When we spend time with Him, our roots deepen and that relationship grows. One day we look up and we can see the apples hanging from the tree. Be patient with the process and know that the Master planter has got this!
He's alive...have you seen Him? What can you look back on this week and see that God has done for you, whispered to you, spoken into you, answered for you? If you can't see evidence of His moving...then it's time to step back and look at your relationship. God never changes, so if you can't see Him moving....you may be too far ahead or running in too many directions. God desires a personal relationship with you. He doesn't want you to only hear Him through other people, He wants to whisper to your heart each day. He wants you to not only bring your requests to Him, but your fears and your tears. He wants to be the One that calms that anxiety inside of you by speaking peace daughter...I've got this. Oh how sweet the journey is when you see how He completes every part of who you are. He knows just where those things you call faults are(He calls them weaknesses and shinning moments for Him). Reading books by Christian authors and devotionals are good...but make sure you leave some time to listen to what He has to say to you as well. He has a Word just for you!
The Power
Thank you God for getting my heart that seems to feel her way through more times than I would like. Thank you God for knowing that I always end up in your lap even if I get stressed and worried on the way there. Thank you for not bonking me upside the head last night to remind me and instead using a sweet whisper.
If you have read any of my blogs than you probably already know this about me, I have many moments still where my feelings are louder than truth. In short that thing we call flesh sometimes just has to be put in its place. Oh how we know He's got us in the big things, but we sometimes forget He has us in the "little" things as well. That email that makes you want to give up, causes tears, and makes you question why you do what you do...is not a God thing, but He can turn it into one. Oh how quickly we sometimes forget that the God who took care of the last email and covered you then, is the same one covering you now. I've already asked Him for the strength at some point to not let my feelings dictate so loudly, but I know with that will come more practice tests. So here's to reading this blog in the future I'm sure to remind me of this truth. He knows how I learn best, so it's time to just let the Master do His thing. Victory is on its way...I'm claiming it! Remember sweet reader...the same God who takes care of what you call "big" things takes care of the "little" things too. Just trust Him with every moment...and walk in that faith. Sometimes it's the little things He uses to get us out of the boat of our comfort zone. He knows we are already comfortable with Him handling the big things. It's those moments when our faith is stretched, because we are stretched. If God never gave us the moments when we know we are weak....(the ones that typically lead to stress, doubt, frustration, worry etc.) than we wouldn't get to see the power of what relying on Him can do. It's in those times that we are weak that He gets to show us how strong He is. It's often those moments we ask Him to take away, that He uses to make us more like Him.
Relationship means trust. Trust Him that He has you right where He wants you(otherwise He would whisper moving time). Trust that He's got you covered and nothing goes through that isn't a part of His plan. Trust Him that you will arrive at the destination when He's ready, but for now enjoy the journey. Don't get so caught up in where you are going that you forget the path you are walking. Busyness can cause you to miss some of His amazing stops along the way.....don't!
Just wait....
I wish I had a tape recorder inside my head yesterday to capture all of the conversation God and I had throughout the day. There were moments that truly made me laugh, tear up, and He stepped ALL over my toes. Truly looking back over yesterday God orchestrated each and every moment for a purpose. He knows me so much better than I ever realized(and He knows exactly how to get my attention). Thankfully I'm learning to catch those glimpses and clues before they get full scale(been there done that..already a time or two before). I'm a work in progress and always will be....but it's time for some of these lessons that have been in progress to be mastered so I can move on to the next set. How patient He really must be to give us time to learn things at our own pace (how stubborn we must be to take as long as we do).
Spring time is here...new things are blooming and there is excitement in the air. God's moving and putting things into place. Some have already started blooming, some are waiting for a little more rain and time. Either way it is a new season literally and figuratively. A new season of growth, a new season of savoring the beauty of what was planted seasons ago. A season of expectation because after all this is the season where Fridays turn into Sundays. The season where God says just wait. The season where it looked like defeat (and that lying devil) had won, but God said hold on. The season where pain gave way to new life.
I don't know what you may be dealing with (or feeling like) in this new season right now, but God does. He's telling you just wait, hold on..... It may look like defeat has won, but Sunday is on it's way. His promises are true, and His word said the plans are always for our good and not to harm us, but to give us a hope and future. He says I've called you to be more than a conquer. So whatever is causing stress, frustration, doubt, or even confusion....it's not Him. As hard as it is to tell your feelings to be quiet...you have to. The enemy knows his days are numbered, his time is drawing to a close, and he's on the prowl. Stay focused on what God is doing this season and know....Sunday's coming!
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