Prayer, Thanksgiving, Peace

Have you ever tried to do it all on your own without asking for help? In my case, I have been trying to walk out what I know to be the will of God in my natural strength. It seems that if I am to walk out the will of God, I should do it with God, in his supernatural strength. So, this morning, I committed myself to praying and petitioning The Lord. Not just a fly by night prayer, which I am so often in the habit of doing; "Oh, yeah, I checked the box off. I prayed. Ok, what can I do now?" but a sincere prayer, spending time in prayer with the Father, worshipping my Savior. 

In my prayer, I poured out my heart, which I sometimes guard and try to keep hidden. However, he is such a wonderful, loving, Father, and he just wants us to commune with him. And the things that I think I guard aren't guarded at all without him. The things I think are hidden he already sees. So, this morning, I opened myself up. I became vulnerable again. I let my inmost desires, my inmost feelings, my inmost cries for help be heard to the one who can do all things. When I was praying, I cried, I bared my soul, I let it all be known. I asked God for his help, rather than just my own. After I prayed and petitioned The Lord in Jesus' name, my heart was pure before him, and I began to thank him and praise him. How awesome he is and so worthy to be praised! And you know what happened? An overwhelming sense of peace flooded my soul. I quit my worrying, because he had given me a peace that surpasses all understanding. 

Immediately following my prayer, I opened my online devotional and the scripture that came up was Philippians 4:6-7, NIV. It says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus." What a promise! I've read this before, and I've felt it's truth before, but what an awesome reminder it was to me this morning. I came to my God anxiously. I began to pray and petition him for the things I need. Then, I offered up praise and thanksgiving. And the peace of God flooded my very soul, my heart, my mind, my being. The things that I was previously "guarding" in worry, he took and they are now guarded in peace. 

His word is living and true. If you are struggling with worry, let go. Give it to him. Pray and petition him. Praise and give him thanks. And watch your worry disappear and your heart and mind be filled with peace.

God bless you today!

thank you

It has been quite some time since I have written anything on my blog.  I have been battling in my mind.  Thankfully, the Lord loves me enough to wait on me, let me go through my temper tantrum, then scoop me up in His arms and tell me how much He loves me.  He never lets me stay down long.

Recently, my fleshly desires have been springing forth like crazy in my mind.  I desire to do His will, which, of course, I felt is different than what I'm doing now.  I desire to have a home to call my own.  I desire to have a family.  None of these things are bad things, but they have deterred me from truly seeking the Lord.

Even though, in my flesh, I desire these things, God desires them for us, as well.  He wants us to be smack dab in the center of His will.  He longs for us to be a part of His family.  He wants us to find a home with Him.  I often place too much value on what the world says is valuable, when really what is truly valuable is a relationship with my Savior.

So today, I simply am thankful.  I am thankful that I have a job that provides for me and my family.  I am thankful that I have a warm place to lay my head.  I am thankful that I am not hungry, that I have food to eat.  I am thankful that I have a home in Christ.  I am thankful that I am walking through this journey of life not alone, but with Him.  I am thankful that "He has lifted me up out of the slimy pit, out of the miry clay," that He "set my feet upon the Rock and gave me a firm place to stand." (Psalm 40:2- taken from a few translations). You, Lord, and You alone are worth to be praised!

fear not

²⁵ Proverbs 29:25: Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

In my last post, I spoke of fear, somewhat indirectly.  I spoke of not having faith.  Well, the opposite of not having faith is fear.  

In the past few weeks, I have been asking the Lord to show me new things about who He is.  So.... He did.  I thought that I was ready for what He would show me, and I was, but...  You know that word, but; it can be a good word or a bad word.  In this case, it was bad.  Unknowingly, I began to doubt what He showed me.

So, last night I had a dream.  I have often joked that the Lord speaks to me in dreams because He knows that I will be quiet enough to listen.  I'll explain the dream in a moment.  First, let me share it.  In my dream, I was with my grandfather.  He had a gun and I wanted to shoot it so badly.  He finally let me hold it so that I could shoot it, but when he gave it to me, it seemed to grow five times in size.  I couldn't believe the size of it, and it overwhelmed me.  Rather than ask him for help to guide me, I got scared.  I began to fear. In my fear, I shot earlier that I should have.  And although this probably wouldn't happen in real life, the bullet hit the ground a few hundred yards off, ricocheted and hit the top of the barn behind me, then bounced off of that and shot me in the shoulder.  It completely immobilized me.  It was painful, but just enough so that I couldn't move it.  My grandfather immediately came down, made me get it his truck and was prepared to carry me to the hospital. Since we were in the country, it would have been wiser to just go to the hospital in his truck (for speed).  But, I was stubborn and wanted to wait for the ambulance.  So, we waited and waited and waited.  By the time the ambulance finally got there, the lodged bullet was beginning to make my mouth go numb.  I got into the back of the ambulance and before they could take me, I had to decide if I wanted to eat fried chicken or a piece of cake.  Why would I need that?  What's more important, why would that distract me from getting to the hospital?

I woke up, just thinking that it was only a silly, really weird dream.  During our church service today, the Lord gave me the meaning of my dream.  My grandfather represented God.  My request of shooting the gun was reminiscent of my wanting to receive from the Lord.  When my request was granted, I got scared.  I began to fear.  The scripture at the top says that fear of man will prove to be a snare.  What does a snare do?  It traps you.  It immobilizes you so that you can't move and are therefore, useless.  In my dream, my fear made the bullet enter into my shoulder and immobilize me.  It ensnared me so that I was useless.  Rather than being rescued from my fear by God, I chose my own way; which was not the best choice.  It took longer, and when what appeared to be the answer finally arrived, it only proved to be more distraction.  

Do you let fear immobilize you?  Does God want you to receive from him, but do you, like the disciples in the last post, get caught looking at your storm rather than at your Savior?  Ask the Lord what has immobilized you.  Ask Him what it is that is keeping you from being used.  Don't be so focused on the storm that you can't see your Savior.  Deuteronomy 4:9 says, "Do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live."  Don't forget the miraculous things the Lord has already done for you.  Don't let the storm cloud your view of the miracles He has already performed.  In doing so, you will lose faith that He can and will do them again.  

look only to Him

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:25-31 NIV)

With every post I write, it comes from what the Lord has been showing me. Lately, he keeps telling me to trust Him. That is always a lot easier said than done. And, I obviously, haven't completely done that, because he keeps telling me.

You know, it's so easy for us to be like Peter. At first, he wasn't really sure it was the Lord. And that's okay for us to make sure it is Him before proceeding. We certainly don't want to step into unknown territory without being certain that it's Him. So, not being sure, Peter asked Jesus to verify it was truly Him. Once he did, Peter jumped boldly from the boat to meet his Lord on the water. He was walking along just fine until he looked at his circumstances. When his eyes were fixed on Jesus, knowing that He, and He alone, had called him, he stayed afloat. But, as soon as Peter looked at all of the turmoil about him, he began to sink. He began to not trust. He began to doubt.

You know what's so awesome about impossible situations? God gets to show Himself through them. He gets to show His majesty, power, and He always proves to be victorious. But, we do have a choice to make in order for that to happen. We have to trust Him. We can't look to the left or the right, but have to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon Him.

Recently, the Lord gave me a vision. In the vision, I was standing on a road in what looked like New York City. To the left and right were buildings. There were also people milling about. Straight ahead of me was this awesome, blinding light. This incomprehensible light was my Lord. In the vision, I was looking and was drawn to the light, but being curious wanted to look at the buildings. There was only one building that had anything written on it. It was what I already knew to be. All of the other buildings were blank. I began to feel panicky, not knowing what would come next. God spoke to me so clearly and said, "Don't worry about what's in the buildings or what they should be. Keep your eyes on me. Stay focused on me. Look neither to the left or the right. And, I will fill in all the blanks. I will lead you when you don't yet know what to do with them. Just keep walking towards me. Don't be concerned by your circumstances. I work best in impossible circumstances. Keep me first, and everything else will fall into place."

I had forgotten the promise from that vision until I read that scripture from Matthew. As I continue to put my faith and trust in the Lord for my own situation in life, I hope you will, too. Look to Him. Get in His word. Build your faith. "For faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

Tests

Job 1:1-22

Do you ever think about how terrible you have it? I know that seems odd, but seriously, how often do you go through things and just can't believe how bad it is? I know that I, for one, am guilty of this. Sometimes, I may think to myself, "Lord, how will I get out of this? When will it be over, God?" I too often find myself in a complaining mode. I may not complain out loud, but in my mind, I think it.

However, God is so much bigger than my circumstance. This past weekend, I was privileged to hear Pastor Debbie Gamble speak. She said something that struck me. She said, "You may not have control over your circumstance, but you do have control over your atmosphere."

I considered Job. He had everything going for him. Satan approached the Lord and asked to take things away from him to prove that Job would indeed curse God. God said, "Ok, let's see what he does, but do not bring harm on the man himself." (my translation).

So Satan proceeds to take all of his animals and destroy them (his wealth) and kills his sons and daughters (his lineage, future). Satan was sure that Job would curse God, but instead Job says, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:21 NIV). The chapter goes on to say, "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (Job 1:22 NIV).
Now I don't know about you but I know that it would have been pretty hard for me to not ask God why he did that. Job didn't do this. The word even says that it would be a sin to charge God with wrongdoing. Wow!

In the New Testament, it says that, "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 NIV). I want to persevere and stand the test. I want the Lord to tell me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Father, forgive me for charging you with wrongdoing. Give me grace to withstand the test. Help me to control my atmosphere regardless of my circumstance. I love you, Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.

just be you

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27 NIV)

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13, 14 NIV)

How often do you feel like you just aren't good enough? Do you ever feel like you don't have the skills and abilities like another person? Or think, "I am not as pretty as her," or, " she/he is more qualified for this"? It is so easy to fall into the comparison game. Women, especially, have a hard time with comparing themselves to others. Our very culture sends these messages all the time. It tells us that we have to have the right clothes to be enough, the right haircut to be enough, the right figure, the right complexion, the right car. The list could go on and on. 

But, the Word of the Most High God says, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). How awesome is this! In the scripture reference above, it says that God has made us in His own image! He has made us like him. When he knit me together, He thought, "Let me give her this characteristic of mine, and let me make her like me in this." 

How many times have you heard parents get so excited when they are talking about their children? They get so excited when their sweet little Sarah looks like them. Or maybe precious Yvonne has her mother's determination. Mama is so proud that she is like her. Why would we think that our Heavenly Father is any different? He loves to create us like Him. Maybe you have a compassion for hurting people. So does God. Maybe you call it like you see it. So does God. Maybe you are good with administration. So is God.  

However, just because He has made us in His image, that that does not give me the right to go acting any way that I please. I have to come to Him, seek Him, to grow with Him. When I do that, the characteristics of mine that are like His will shine forth. He longs for me to be in relationship with Him. As you begin to seek Him, get in His Word, and ask him to show you the things about you that He made like Him. He doesn't want you worrying about not being like Jasmine or like Michele. He wants you to be you. He wants you to be the person He created you to be. Seek Him and just be you.

say yes to the call

"I would like to say that I had all kinds of great ideas about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I would like to say my ministry was born out of a carefully thought-out plan. These things simply aren't true, though. I was walking through life one moment at a time, blown away by what God could do through me if I simply said yes."
-Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption

I feel so much this way. Although I have certainly had thoughts about what I could do, I usually just don't know. I just want to rely so heavily on God that it doesn't matter what my 5-year, 10-year, or 20-year plan is. What really matters is my willingness to say yes to His plan. After all His word says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path." (Psalm 119:105 NIV). His word never says that He gives us everything all at once. A lamp does not provide much light, only enough light to see the next step.

Lord, let me always be willing to say yes to you. Let me not worry about what man thinks of me and my lack of a plan. Your plan is so much better than any I could make anyway. In my humanness, give me grace to accept that I cannot see the full plan yet, but to fully trust you. Bless those who read this. Grant them peace in the midst of their journey. I love you, Lord.
Your child,
Emily