Before I began walking with Lord, I walked with fear as my constant companion. Strangely enough, you probably wouldn’t have guessed it. I was a bit of a dare devil. As a child I was one of those who had to climb to the highest branch in the tree and sit there holding on tight as the branch swayed in the wind. At the beach I would be the one trying to make it out to the “next” sandbar, fighting the currents of the “big” waves in water that was over my head, determined to reach the point where I could touch again when I hit the sandbar. Then, I was a gymnast through college, swinging and flying from bars and tumbling across a 4-inch balance beam. Basically, if there was a triple-dog dare, I was there, ready to give it a go. My whole family was like that. Why was I like that? Well, my father wouldn’t tolerate us being fearful of silly things. He taught me to fight through the fear. He was a courageous man. Yet, perhaps even then, God used my earthly father to plant a realization within my heart that being lead by fear was wrong. God is good about that, implanting Kingdom concepts within our heart even when our heart isn’t exactly following Him yet. It’s just one of those many ways He entices us to find Him.
As Christians, we are still faced with a daily battle against fear. We pray and ask God to reveal to us His plan and purpose for our lives, and we rejoice when He places a passion in our hearts for His plan. Then, when we walk out of our quiet time, into the “real’ world, we are bombarded with all the reasons why His plan won’t work. Mountains rise up in front of our path, and the way He wants us to walk suddenly seems treacherous and fraught with danger. Fear of failure sets in, and we are frozen in place, too frightened to take the first step.
Don’t feel badly, we are in good company. Some mighty men of God stood frozen in fear when God revealed His plan to them. At times they tried to tell God that He had the wrong person. Look at Moses. His first response to God’s plan was “But why me? What makes You think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11 The Message). His next objection was “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say.” (Ex 4:1 The Message). Even when God countered each of these objections, Moses continued to object! “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.” (Ex 4:10 The Message). After God countered that, Moses finally just said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!” (Ex 4:13 The Message) I have to laugh when I see that last one. That is so me. Can you imagine, arguing with God like that? Yet, that’s what we do, when we are too fearful to walk the path He has given us.
Moses wasn’t the only one. Look at Jeremiah. He tried to tell God that he was too young and that he didn’t know anything. To which God replied that He would tell Jeremiah where to go and what to say. Look at Joshua. God was telling him that he not only had to fill Moses’ shoes as leader of the Israelites, he had to lead them over the Jordan river to conquer all the people living on the Israelites’ Promised Land. Even though Joshua didn’t protest, God’s first talk with him was all about having strength and courage. In the first chapter of Joshua, some variation of “Be strong and have good courage” was repeated five times, four times from God, and once from the Israelites. Apparently, Joshua needed some encouragement!
We need encouragement, too. As God reveals our part in His Kingdom, we are at once overjoyed and humbled that He has chosen us. Much like Peter, when Jesus called to him to walk on the water, we want to walk and do everything our Savior has called us to do. Yet when we step out into the world, as Peter stepped out among the waves, our focus is removed from our Savior and His miraculous plan for us, and placed on the waves and the storms that stand in our way. We begin to sink, too afraid to take another step.
Take courage though, fellow wave-walkers! All Peter had to do was to call out to His Lord, and Jesus reached out His hand and pulled him to Himself. When our own faith wavers, as we lose the focus that God has given us, all we have to do is call out to God, and He reaches out and restores our faith. As we recognize His “perfect love” for us, it casts out all our fears. Our faith grows, and mountains are moved, storms are calmed, and our path is made clear. We step forward once more along the path He has carved for us, which, when viewed through the eyes of faith, is no longer treacherous and fraught with danger. It may have challenges for us to pass through, but our faith frees us to walk through them, believing that nothing is impossible with God. We believe that we can tell this mountain to move from here to there, and it will.
So, it all comes down to the way we walk. Do we choose to be frozen by fear, or freed by faith? God is so faithful. As He reassured Joshua again and again in Joshua 1, “I will be with you. I won’t give up on you. I won’t leave you”, God reassures us. “This is the path I have for you. This is what you will do. Go. Do it. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. I will be with you wherever you go.”
The great thing is, that with each step that we take in faith, our faith grows and our fear shrinks. We become bolder and bolder as we cast off our fears and begin to walk in faith. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a strong mind. 1Tim 3:6-7. We begin to walk in His power, in His perfect love that casts out all fear, and we lay claim to the sound mind He has given us to discern His presence that will never leave us. We begin to see more and more miracles, and our faith grows and grows. And it all starts with just one step out into the waves.
Kutless has a song out now called “That’s What Faith Can Do.” It says, “I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains, hope that doesn’t ever end...I’ve seen miracles just happen, silent prayers get answered,....that’s what faith can do.”
God’s got a plan for each one of us to step out in faith to further His Kingdom. The question is...what can your faith do? Take that first step and see!
Walking in His faithfulness and love,
Jeanne
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
My Detail God
Have you ever read the last few chapters of Exodus or the books of Leviticus and Numbers? If so, you were most likely dazzled by the details God gave His people about everything. When I consider the amount of details in the feasts of Israel and how Jesus fulfilled each one, I’m amazed. I thought I was detail oriented! Why then does it astound me that in my life, God is just as detail oriented as He was with the Israelites?
Sunday night He reminded me of His nature. While praying, my mind was swirling with “stuff”. You know what that’s like, don’t you? There seems to be an unending list of things that plague us in prayer - the dog, need to send an e-mail, forgot to call someone, need to make the kids’ dentist appointment... and the list goes on.
One pastor said he keeps a notepad beside him during his time with God, so he can write these things down and get them out of his head. I’ve also found that to be helpful, but I’m still frustrated because I want to rest in His presence not make my daily to-do list.
So, back to Sunday night. I’m praying, thoughts are swirling and I can’t rest in Him. Grrr. Then He speaks to me. “I love the details. I’m a detail God.” Deep cleansing breath. “Yes, you are. Thank you."
Now, because our Father knows me so very well, He wanted to give me tangible evidence that He’s in the details. Monday morning I looked up some information on the computer regarding a timing issue that was plaguing both me and my sweet husband. Sure enough, God had it all worked out better than we could imagine. Yep, that’s our God!
What details are interrupting your prayer life? Let God take care of the details. He loves to show up and amaze his children.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear....Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27
Tonya
Sunday night He reminded me of His nature. While praying, my mind was swirling with “stuff”. You know what that’s like, don’t you? There seems to be an unending list of things that plague us in prayer - the dog, need to send an e-mail, forgot to call someone, need to make the kids’ dentist appointment... and the list goes on.
One pastor said he keeps a notepad beside him during his time with God, so he can write these things down and get them out of his head. I’ve also found that to be helpful, but I’m still frustrated because I want to rest in His presence not make my daily to-do list.
So, back to Sunday night. I’m praying, thoughts are swirling and I can’t rest in Him. Grrr. Then He speaks to me. “I love the details. I’m a detail God.” Deep cleansing breath. “Yes, you are. Thank you."
Now, because our Father knows me so very well, He wanted to give me tangible evidence that He’s in the details. Monday morning I looked up some information on the computer regarding a timing issue that was plaguing both me and my sweet husband. Sure enough, God had it all worked out better than we could imagine. Yep, that’s our God!
What details are interrupting your prayer life? Let God take care of the details. He loves to show up and amaze his children.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear....Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27
Tonya
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Futile Thoughts of Man
Yesterday when I awoke, I began to look for my Bible so I could read it and spend some time with the Lord. It was soon after I was saved when I realized that when I spent time in His presence in the morning, my whole day would go so much more smoothly. Not that there weren’t challenges during the day...just that I handled the challenges much better if I had sought Him that morning. Over the years there have been weeks where I have been more obedient about this than others...some weeks I met with God daily, and some weeks I was doing great if I met with Him twice. As a young mom, it wasn’t always easy, still isn’t. His grace always covers me when I don’t get to have my quiet time. He is good that way! Praise, You, Lord!
However, this morning was different. It was a Wednesday, and as I began to look for my Bible, I couldn’t find it. Now, I’ve had this Bible for five years. It’s my study bible, so it is filled with notes and highlights from over the years. It is also filled with scraps of paper with names written on them of people that I’ve felt led to pray for, as well as some words of encouragement for different people that God had revealed to me in my quiet time over the years. There are also those papers that others have given me with a word from God on them. Those are all treasures to me, mementos, if you will, of what God has done in my life and the lives of others, sort of a scrapbook of God memories. Now I couldn’t find it.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was Wednesday, and when I began to think back of where I had had my Bible last, I realized it was at church on Sunday. Two things stood out to me here. The first was that there was a chance that my Bible wasn’t even in the house, and that it might be lost forever, along with all my mementos. The second screamed at me...I hadn’t opened my Bible or even thought about opening my Bible for two days! Now I already said that I had skipped my quiet time before, so that was nothing new...but it was different this time. I think the difference this time was my motivation behind it.
Yes, the last two days, I hadn’t been feeling my best. I wasn’t sick, just fighting sinus and allergy issues. I wasn’t motivated to do anything, really. However, there were some other issues buried under all the non-motivation. You see, this time, it wasn’t that I was only too tired or too busy or whatever excuse I had given before for not spending time with my God. This time, I was purposely avoiding Him. I had some sin issues that He needed to deal with, and I didn’t want to deal with them. I was shoving them under the rug, hoping that He and everyone else wouldn’t notice the big lump under the rug in the middle of the living room of my heart. It wasn’t working. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if part of my not feeling well was directly related to the sin I was hiding!
One of my sins was a pride issue, directly related to my Bible in fact. Actually, I had already asked forgiveness for it, the moment it happened. God, however, saw fit to use this situation to teach me a little something. He’s good that way.
On Sunday (the last day I had opened my Bible) and at least one other time in the last week, when I had opened my Bible and looked at all the scribbling and highlights, a flash of pride had come over me. Stupid, I know, but I admit, it did. I thought, “Wow, anyone can see that I read my Bible from all the notes I have in here! Surely they must think that I’m a really good Christian!” As soon as the thought struck me, I recognized it as sin (and pure silliness), yet God brought this back to my mind to show me something. I was completely lost without my Bible. It held keys to doors along my journey over the last 5 years! Keys that might help me walk through those doors again as God directs me for many years to come! Now it was lost! Suddenly, the true importance of that Bible came into clear focus. Those highlights and notes were not to prove anything to anyone. They were my road map, my path that I had followed with God’s direction and the path I was to follow in the future. It’s not that my God isn’t faithful enough to guide me through a new Bible, but that He was already faithful enough to give me this gift, and I was reading it all wrong, through pride instead of gratitude.
Not only that, but here I had completely ignored my road map (my Bible) for two whole days, and not even missed it! Can you imagine (before the days of GPS) if you had set out on an extended journey and ignored your roadmap for two whole days? You’d be lost...and I was. One wrong turn was leading to another and I had no clear direction. You see, my other sin was disobedience in another area. I knew what God wanted me to do and I was ignoring Him. Psalm 94 tells us in verse 7, Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand." That’s where I was in my sin, thinking God just isn’t seeing things the way I am, and I really think that my idea of how to handle things is better. Come to think of it, that’s a bit prideful, too...another wrong turn. Like I said, I was ignoring my roadmap and becoming more and more lost.
Psalm 94 also says in verse 11, The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. I was futile in my thinking, and I was futile in my direction. In fact, I was beginning to think everything was futile in relation to my disobedience issue, and both my spiritual and physical health were showing the futility. No wonder I wasn’t motivated to do anything. It wasn't that I had no motivation; I had the wrong motivation, motivation that was futile without God guiding me.
Thankfully, Psalm 94 goes on to say in verse 12, Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law. When I sit under His instruction, I am blessed, and my thoughts and actions are blessed, not futile. My whole problem was that I hadn’t been sitting under His instruction. Needless to say, my spirit was convicted and I confessed and repented and I am being obedient to His plan, and yes, He is blessing me. Immediately He blessed me by reminding me where my Bible was. I had placed it in a bag that had been given to all the moms at our church for Mother’s Day because I had a lot to carry out of church that day! He blessed me later that day with the grace extended by the ladies in my life group, and He is blessing me as I obediently type this story...
By the way...a closing note...why all the references to Psalm 94? That was what I was supposed to be studying those two days when I didn’t spend time with Him! Psalm 94 was supposed to have been my road map those two days! God had planned for me to read those and be convicted two days ago rather than wandering in futility for two days! So, even though I was being disobedient and ignoring Him, He wasn’t going to let me miss out on the lesson He had for me, even if I missed two days of time with Him!
Ladies, even when you take a wrong turn (accidentally or purposefully); we have a GPS system, as Pastor Jimmy Evans said in a sermon not long ago. Our GPS doesn’t get angry, He just patiently and softly says, “Recalculating” and then makes sure we don’t miss out on what He has planned for us! Our God is good...and so very faithful, even when we are not! Thank You, Lord! Praise You, God!
Walking in His mercy and grace,
Jeanne
However, this morning was different. It was a Wednesday, and as I began to look for my Bible, I couldn’t find it. Now, I’ve had this Bible for five years. It’s my study bible, so it is filled with notes and highlights from over the years. It is also filled with scraps of paper with names written on them of people that I’ve felt led to pray for, as well as some words of encouragement for different people that God had revealed to me in my quiet time over the years. There are also those papers that others have given me with a word from God on them. Those are all treasures to me, mementos, if you will, of what God has done in my life and the lives of others, sort of a scrapbook of God memories. Now I couldn’t find it.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was Wednesday, and when I began to think back of where I had had my Bible last, I realized it was at church on Sunday. Two things stood out to me here. The first was that there was a chance that my Bible wasn’t even in the house, and that it might be lost forever, along with all my mementos. The second screamed at me...I hadn’t opened my Bible or even thought about opening my Bible for two days! Now I already said that I had skipped my quiet time before, so that was nothing new...but it was different this time. I think the difference this time was my motivation behind it.
Yes, the last two days, I hadn’t been feeling my best. I wasn’t sick, just fighting sinus and allergy issues. I wasn’t motivated to do anything, really. However, there were some other issues buried under all the non-motivation. You see, this time, it wasn’t that I was only too tired or too busy or whatever excuse I had given before for not spending time with my God. This time, I was purposely avoiding Him. I had some sin issues that He needed to deal with, and I didn’t want to deal with them. I was shoving them under the rug, hoping that He and everyone else wouldn’t notice the big lump under the rug in the middle of the living room of my heart. It wasn’t working. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if part of my not feeling well was directly related to the sin I was hiding!
One of my sins was a pride issue, directly related to my Bible in fact. Actually, I had already asked forgiveness for it, the moment it happened. God, however, saw fit to use this situation to teach me a little something. He’s good that way.
On Sunday (the last day I had opened my Bible) and at least one other time in the last week, when I had opened my Bible and looked at all the scribbling and highlights, a flash of pride had come over me. Stupid, I know, but I admit, it did. I thought, “Wow, anyone can see that I read my Bible from all the notes I have in here! Surely they must think that I’m a really good Christian!” As soon as the thought struck me, I recognized it as sin (and pure silliness), yet God brought this back to my mind to show me something. I was completely lost without my Bible. It held keys to doors along my journey over the last 5 years! Keys that might help me walk through those doors again as God directs me for many years to come! Now it was lost! Suddenly, the true importance of that Bible came into clear focus. Those highlights and notes were not to prove anything to anyone. They were my road map, my path that I had followed with God’s direction and the path I was to follow in the future. It’s not that my God isn’t faithful enough to guide me through a new Bible, but that He was already faithful enough to give me this gift, and I was reading it all wrong, through pride instead of gratitude.
Not only that, but here I had completely ignored my road map (my Bible) for two whole days, and not even missed it! Can you imagine (before the days of GPS) if you had set out on an extended journey and ignored your roadmap for two whole days? You’d be lost...and I was. One wrong turn was leading to another and I had no clear direction. You see, my other sin was disobedience in another area. I knew what God wanted me to do and I was ignoring Him. Psalm 94 tells us in verse 7, Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand." That’s where I was in my sin, thinking God just isn’t seeing things the way I am, and I really think that my idea of how to handle things is better. Come to think of it, that’s a bit prideful, too...another wrong turn. Like I said, I was ignoring my roadmap and becoming more and more lost.
Psalm 94 also says in verse 11, The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. I was futile in my thinking, and I was futile in my direction. In fact, I was beginning to think everything was futile in relation to my disobedience issue, and both my spiritual and physical health were showing the futility. No wonder I wasn’t motivated to do anything. It wasn't that I had no motivation; I had the wrong motivation, motivation that was futile without God guiding me.
Thankfully, Psalm 94 goes on to say in verse 12, Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law. When I sit under His instruction, I am blessed, and my thoughts and actions are blessed, not futile. My whole problem was that I hadn’t been sitting under His instruction. Needless to say, my spirit was convicted and I confessed and repented and I am being obedient to His plan, and yes, He is blessing me. Immediately He blessed me by reminding me where my Bible was. I had placed it in a bag that had been given to all the moms at our church for Mother’s Day because I had a lot to carry out of church that day! He blessed me later that day with the grace extended by the ladies in my life group, and He is blessing me as I obediently type this story...
By the way...a closing note...why all the references to Psalm 94? That was what I was supposed to be studying those two days when I didn’t spend time with Him! Psalm 94 was supposed to have been my road map those two days! God had planned for me to read those and be convicted two days ago rather than wandering in futility for two days! So, even though I was being disobedient and ignoring Him, He wasn’t going to let me miss out on the lesson He had for me, even if I missed two days of time with Him!
Ladies, even when you take a wrong turn (accidentally or purposefully); we have a GPS system, as Pastor Jimmy Evans said in a sermon not long ago. Our GPS doesn’t get angry, He just patiently and softly says, “Recalculating” and then makes sure we don’t miss out on what He has planned for us! Our God is good...and so very faithful, even when we are not! Thank You, Lord! Praise You, God!
Walking in His mercy and grace,
Jeanne
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