In order to live life successfully in the present and move into the future God has planned for us, we have to step out of the past.
People who suffer from eating disorders, addictions, or any other destructive habits of the flesh that are rooted in the past often beat themselves up over reoccurring failure in their area of weakness. They can't forgive themselves and, as a result, the past controls their lives so much that they are unable to function successfully in the present. No matter what our past has been, it doesn't have to rule our lives today.
When we walk with the Lord, healing, deliverance, and growth are ongoing in our lives. That's why what may have been true for us last year will not necessarily be true for us today. Yesterday's failure may become today's success.
If there are things in your life about which you have a choice, yet you keep making the wrong choice over and over, you are probably living in the past in some way. There are no shortcuts to emotional healing, but it can happen if you get close to God and take one step at a time with Him. That means coming to Him every time you are tempted or tormented by the problem, and asking Him to help you move forward step by step.
If you are in a place where you're not able to see a future for yourself, it may be because you believe the past has kept you from moving into the future God has for you. The truth is that God redeems everything. Even our past. He does it one step at a time as we depend on Him.
Getting free from our past doesn't happen overnight. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Don't hesitate to get godly counsel, but know that in the end it will be you and God together walking out of the past.
Once you step out of your past, don't look back. Along with not looking back, it's not good to look too far ahead, either. Doing so may cause you to worry about where you think you should be, and that can be overwhelming too. Looking back, you'll see all that you didn't do. Looking too far forward, you see all you think you can't do.
The way we step out of the past is to walk in the Spirit. We are walking in the Spirit when the guide for our life is God's Word instead of magazines, television, movies, worldly books, or ungodly people. We are walking in the Spirit when we ask God daily for direction, guidance, and revelation. We are walking in the Spirit when we commit every aspect of our life - relationships, work, decisions, thoughts, and actions - to prayer instead of leaving it all to chance. We are walking in the Spirit when we determine each morning to worship God and set our mind on the things He has called us to, and not on things that have happened in the past.
When we come to a place where we trust that God's timing is perfect, we can be content no matter where we are because we know that God will not leave us there forever.
Being grateful for what we have doesn't mean we will never have more.
Walking with God means living moment by moment with Him in the present.
We must live in the present as if we don't have a past, certain that the steps we take today will determine our future.
God says you are not to be anxious about tomorrow, for there will be plenty of things to concern you when you get there.
We worry so about our future because we can never be completely certain about it. A single event can change our lives. For the better, we hope. For the worse, we fear. God says that although we won't know everything about our future, we are still to inquire about it. When we ask, He sometimes reveals specifics. But most of the time He doesn't give us anything more than the assurance that our future is secure in His hands. He shows us that we have a future, and this simple knowledge must be enough for us.
Living in the present doesn't mean we should not plan for wha't ahead. We can and we must. It's just that we are not to make plans without consulting God first and bringing Him into them. We must never consider our future without first asking God to be in charge of it. And once we do that, we are to leave it in His hands and not lose sleep over it.
You have a great future ahead and it will be reached as you move out of your past and walk step by step with God as He reveals Himself to you in the present.
Just as you should not live in the past, resist the urge to live in the future also. Put your future in God's hands, trusting that He will never withhold anything good from you, and then stop worrying about it. God is not asking you to have your whole future figured out. He is asking you to trust that He has your future planned. Thinking too much about the future can keep you from fully living the life God has given you now. You don't have to have your life all figured out; you only have to take one step at a time.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Reaching For God's Hand in Times of Loss
At some point in each of our lives, we may find our world being violently shaken. Such traumatic experiences as a devestating illness, a debilitating accident, desertion by a spouse, the death of a loved one, criminal violence, financial ruin, or a natural disaster can occur with disarming suddenness.
Circumstances don't have to be catastrophic to be overwhelming. We can experience things that are nowhere near as life-threatening as what I just described, but can seem every bit as frightening. Some people view public speaking as a terrifying experience. For others, confronting a difficult person, having to make a dreaded phone call, or facing the daily challenge of an eating disorder or an addiction are earthshaking challenges.
Sometimes the pileup of many little things - each one alone being relatively harmless - becomes more than we can handle. Such things as stress in the workplace, uncomfortable social situations, or anything else that brings expectations that we feel we can't live up to can fill us with overwhelming anxiety. No matter what the specifics, the key to overcoming these kinds of overwhelming circumstances is to walk step by step with God through them.
When we set our anchor in the Lord, we will not be carried away by the storms that threaten to overtake us.
Being afraid doesn't mean that God is not with you, that you are out of God's will, or that you are a spiritual weakling. It could be a sign that you are in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, or that something is out of order in your life. It may also be an indication of enemy attack or a warning of a threat to your safety. If fear comes upon you without any apparent reason, ask God to show you what it means and where it is coming from. It may be a signal from the Lord to pray.
Never underestimate the significance of praying through any unexpected and unexplained fear. Don't ignore your fear, but refuse to be controlled by it. Any sign of fear should always be a call to prayer. The moment you feel it, draw immediately close to God. Get a sense of His presence and leading and allow His love to fully penetrate your situation. In the darkness of your earth-shaking circumstances, reach up to God and know that His mighty hand can reach forth to yours faster than the speed of light.
Everyone experiences loss. It's a part of life. It's the part we don't like and wish we never had to go through. But we all will. When we walk in the light of God's resurrecting power, He can soothe our pain, heal our wounds, and fill the empty places in our heart.
During the dark times of loss, whether it's the death of a loved one, a crippling disease or injury, divorce, a straying child, the end of a relationship, or the loss of home and finances, we grieve because someone or something we love is no longer part of us. Life as we once knew it is forever destroyed. These kinds of losses can bring such pain that we wonder if we will survive them, and, if we do, will we ever feel anything other than the pain? Will we hurt forever? Will life every feel normal again?
While every act of compassion, sympathy, and love shown to us by others can be a great comfort and help to lift us out of our grief, only the healing touch of God can completely restore us again. We can't expect mere humans to say words that will make the pain go away. It's the love in people's hearts, expressed however eloquently or awkwardly, that brings us comfort.
When we have suffered a deep loss, only God can sustain us, take the pain away, and make us whole again.
If you suffer any kind of loss, don't try to get your arms around it. Let God get His arms around you. He knows your suffering and will give you the comfort of His presence and the healing balm of His love.
If you will walk step by step with God through each day of your loss, in time this pain that seems to be without end will actually subside and you will know happiness again.
When a tragedy happens, it's normal to feel that life has come to a complete standstill. But actually it's life as you knew it that has stopped. Your new life, without that which was lost, is going forward. You just can't see it yet. Even though it's hard to imagine the future being any different than it is at that moment, healing and restoration are happening. You won't always feel this way. There will be an end. The loss may have been sudden, but the transition to your new life must be traveled one step at a time.
In times of loss, reach up and take your Heavenly Father's hand. He wants to comfort you and shoulder your grief. He wants to walk with you and bear your burdens. Seek His steadying arm moment by moment and He will draw you closer to Him. Even if your well of tears seems to never run dry, continue to walk in the light of God's presence and you will make it through the river of grief to the other side. God will not only provide enough light for your next step, He will also enable you to take it.
Circumstances don't have to be catastrophic to be overwhelming. We can experience things that are nowhere near as life-threatening as what I just described, but can seem every bit as frightening. Some people view public speaking as a terrifying experience. For others, confronting a difficult person, having to make a dreaded phone call, or facing the daily challenge of an eating disorder or an addiction are earthshaking challenges.
Sometimes the pileup of many little things - each one alone being relatively harmless - becomes more than we can handle. Such things as stress in the workplace, uncomfortable social situations, or anything else that brings expectations that we feel we can't live up to can fill us with overwhelming anxiety. No matter what the specifics, the key to overcoming these kinds of overwhelming circumstances is to walk step by step with God through them.
When we set our anchor in the Lord, we will not be carried away by the storms that threaten to overtake us.
Being afraid doesn't mean that God is not with you, that you are out of God's will, or that you are a spiritual weakling. It could be a sign that you are in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, or that something is out of order in your life. It may also be an indication of enemy attack or a warning of a threat to your safety. If fear comes upon you without any apparent reason, ask God to show you what it means and where it is coming from. It may be a signal from the Lord to pray.
Never underestimate the significance of praying through any unexpected and unexplained fear. Don't ignore your fear, but refuse to be controlled by it. Any sign of fear should always be a call to prayer. The moment you feel it, draw immediately close to God. Get a sense of His presence and leading and allow His love to fully penetrate your situation. In the darkness of your earth-shaking circumstances, reach up to God and know that His mighty hand can reach forth to yours faster than the speed of light.
Everyone experiences loss. It's a part of life. It's the part we don't like and wish we never had to go through. But we all will. When we walk in the light of God's resurrecting power, He can soothe our pain, heal our wounds, and fill the empty places in our heart.
During the dark times of loss, whether it's the death of a loved one, a crippling disease or injury, divorce, a straying child, the end of a relationship, or the loss of home and finances, we grieve because someone or something we love is no longer part of us. Life as we once knew it is forever destroyed. These kinds of losses can bring such pain that we wonder if we will survive them, and, if we do, will we ever feel anything other than the pain? Will we hurt forever? Will life every feel normal again?
While every act of compassion, sympathy, and love shown to us by others can be a great comfort and help to lift us out of our grief, only the healing touch of God can completely restore us again. We can't expect mere humans to say words that will make the pain go away. It's the love in people's hearts, expressed however eloquently or awkwardly, that brings us comfort.
When we have suffered a deep loss, only God can sustain us, take the pain away, and make us whole again.
If you suffer any kind of loss, don't try to get your arms around it. Let God get His arms around you. He knows your suffering and will give you the comfort of His presence and the healing balm of His love.
If you will walk step by step with God through each day of your loss, in time this pain that seems to be without end will actually subside and you will know happiness again.
When a tragedy happens, it's normal to feel that life has come to a complete standstill. But actually it's life as you knew it that has stopped. Your new life, without that which was lost, is going forward. You just can't see it yet. Even though it's hard to imagine the future being any different than it is at that moment, healing and restoration are happening. You won't always feel this way. There will be an end. The loss may have been sudden, but the transition to your new life must be traveled one step at a time.
In times of loss, reach up and take your Heavenly Father's hand. He wants to comfort you and shoulder your grief. He wants to walk with you and bear your burdens. Seek His steadying arm moment by moment and He will draw you closer to Him. Even if your well of tears seems to never run dry, continue to walk in the light of God's presence and you will make it through the river of grief to the other side. God will not only provide enough light for your next step, He will also enable you to take it.
Surviving Disappointment
Disappointment is inevitable. That's because life can never consistently live up to our expectations. Life certainly doesn't always turn out the way we imagine it will.
Often our greatest times of disappointment come when someone fails us, or we at least feel that they have. People can hurt us deeply. Sometimes they know what they are doing, while other times they're only doing the best they know how to do with the tools they have. In either case, the level of fulfillment and happiness we experience in our lives doesn't depend on other people; it depends on God.
The ultimate success or joy of our life should not depend on them. We don't have to prolong suffering over what others do or don't do to us, because ultimately our reward is in God's hands.
Even when we have to bear the consequences for the wrong choices we've made, God is still on our side. How wonderful it is to know that even in a darkness of our own creation, God is still there and so is His light. Even in our greatest depth of failure, God brings good out of it as long as we reach humbly to Him.
We make a mistake in expecting too much from ourselves, other people, and life, when our expectations should be from God.
God often allows hard things to happen in our lives in order to bless us in some way. If we are willing to allow for that possibility in everything that happens, it saves us from being devastated by people and situations that are ultimately going to be used for God's glory.
When disappointing things happen to you, ask God to help you discern His truth about what you are experiencing. Ask Him to reign in the situation instead of your feelings. It's easy to go with anger or hurt, but far more rewarding to find God's blessing in the situation instead.
When you experience disappointment, do not run into the arms of bitterness or unforgiveness. Run to your Father's arms instead so He can hold and sustain you. If you will maintain a humble, submitted, faithfilled, expectant heart, you will see God's goodness manifest in the midst of all that's happening to you. He will use this experience to bring you closer to Him, and your greatest treasure will be a deep sense of His presence. He will make things right, and He is the only one who can. Remember that no matter how dark times of disappointment become, God is still your light. Walk in the light He gives you.
Any kind of relationship can bring pain. Relationships are very important to each of us. We can't live without them. Nor were we ever inteneded to. God never planned for us to live entirely separate from other people.
Much of what God wants to work in us will come about as we grow in our relationships with the people God puts in our lives.
Every relationship requires a sacrifice. Every sacrifice has a reward. If we knew the rewards, we wouldn't hesitate to make the sacrifices. Part of the sacrifice we must pay in a relationship is laying down our pride and our needs. We need to be loved, cared for, valued, and respected, but we never get those needs met when we demand them. We get them met when we give them up.
Humbling ourselves and putting the other person's needs before our own can resurrect a relationship that has suffered mortal wounds.
Marriage, especially, has the greatest potential for deep emotional injury and by far the stiffest requirements for sacrifice. That's because the person who knows us best can hurt us most.
Problems in any marriage require a special portion of God's grace and revelation for each moment. We must ask God every day to take all our hopes, expectations, dreams, and disappointments, and give us more of His love, patience, kindness, and a willingness to sacrifice.
Staying on the right path in any relationship means getting rid of excess baggage that keeps us from seeing the light. Unforgiveness and jealousy are examples of such baggage. These negative attitudes will drive a wedge into any relationship. The dark moments of relationships can be kept to a minimum if we humble ourselves before God and ask Him to walk us step by step through every layer of unforgiveness and jealousy. It's a sacrifice that always brings a great reward.
The best way to protect all of your relationships is to make sure your primary relationship is with the Lord. Then commit each of your relationships to God and ask Him to be Lord over all of them. Cover them in prayer and seek God's hand of reconciliation where it needs to happen. Even though we can do a great deal to offer our love and forgiveness to other people, only God can soften their hearts enough for them to receive it. Ask Him to do that too.
If you are having trouble with a particular person who is causing you to feel so much pain that it incapacitates you, release him or her to God and allow the Lord to take the relationship away if He so chooses. He may need to do that for just a season if something needs to be worked in each of you individually that can't happen when you are together. If that relationship is to be restored again, He will restore it on His terms. If not, you can trust that it was not meant to be a part of your life. If that person is never to have the place in your life that you want him or her to have, don't try to hang on and make it happen. Relationships only work when the Lord is in charge of them.
In ironing out the wrinkles in relationships, I find it's best to remember two things - release people and cling to God. The stronger your relationship is with the Lord, the better your other relationships will be. The dark moments of any relationsip can strengthen your walk with the Lord as you draw closer to Him. So make Him the focus of your attention, and trust Him to shine a special light at the crossroads of where your path intersects with the path of another person.
Often our greatest times of disappointment come when someone fails us, or we at least feel that they have. People can hurt us deeply. Sometimes they know what they are doing, while other times they're only doing the best they know how to do with the tools they have. In either case, the level of fulfillment and happiness we experience in our lives doesn't depend on other people; it depends on God.
The ultimate success or joy of our life should not depend on them. We don't have to prolong suffering over what others do or don't do to us, because ultimately our reward is in God's hands.
Even when we have to bear the consequences for the wrong choices we've made, God is still on our side. How wonderful it is to know that even in a darkness of our own creation, God is still there and so is His light. Even in our greatest depth of failure, God brings good out of it as long as we reach humbly to Him.
We make a mistake in expecting too much from ourselves, other people, and life, when our expectations should be from God.
God often allows hard things to happen in our lives in order to bless us in some way. If we are willing to allow for that possibility in everything that happens, it saves us from being devastated by people and situations that are ultimately going to be used for God's glory.
When disappointing things happen to you, ask God to help you discern His truth about what you are experiencing. Ask Him to reign in the situation instead of your feelings. It's easy to go with anger or hurt, but far more rewarding to find God's blessing in the situation instead.
When you experience disappointment, do not run into the arms of bitterness or unforgiveness. Run to your Father's arms instead so He can hold and sustain you. If you will maintain a humble, submitted, faithfilled, expectant heart, you will see God's goodness manifest in the midst of all that's happening to you. He will use this experience to bring you closer to Him, and your greatest treasure will be a deep sense of His presence. He will make things right, and He is the only one who can. Remember that no matter how dark times of disappointment become, God is still your light. Walk in the light He gives you.
Any kind of relationship can bring pain. Relationships are very important to each of us. We can't live without them. Nor were we ever inteneded to. God never planned for us to live entirely separate from other people.
Much of what God wants to work in us will come about as we grow in our relationships with the people God puts in our lives.
Every relationship requires a sacrifice. Every sacrifice has a reward. If we knew the rewards, we wouldn't hesitate to make the sacrifices. Part of the sacrifice we must pay in a relationship is laying down our pride and our needs. We need to be loved, cared for, valued, and respected, but we never get those needs met when we demand them. We get them met when we give them up.
Humbling ourselves and putting the other person's needs before our own can resurrect a relationship that has suffered mortal wounds.
Marriage, especially, has the greatest potential for deep emotional injury and by far the stiffest requirements for sacrifice. That's because the person who knows us best can hurt us most.
Problems in any marriage require a special portion of God's grace and revelation for each moment. We must ask God every day to take all our hopes, expectations, dreams, and disappointments, and give us more of His love, patience, kindness, and a willingness to sacrifice.
Staying on the right path in any relationship means getting rid of excess baggage that keeps us from seeing the light. Unforgiveness and jealousy are examples of such baggage. These negative attitudes will drive a wedge into any relationship. The dark moments of relationships can be kept to a minimum if we humble ourselves before God and ask Him to walk us step by step through every layer of unforgiveness and jealousy. It's a sacrifice that always brings a great reward.
The best way to protect all of your relationships is to make sure your primary relationship is with the Lord. Then commit each of your relationships to God and ask Him to be Lord over all of them. Cover them in prayer and seek God's hand of reconciliation where it needs to happen. Even though we can do a great deal to offer our love and forgiveness to other people, only God can soften their hearts enough for them to receive it. Ask Him to do that too.
If you are having trouble with a particular person who is causing you to feel so much pain that it incapacitates you, release him or her to God and allow the Lord to take the relationship away if He so chooses. He may need to do that for just a season if something needs to be worked in each of you individually that can't happen when you are together. If that relationship is to be restored again, He will restore it on His terms. If not, you can trust that it was not meant to be a part of your life. If that person is never to have the place in your life that you want him or her to have, don't try to hang on and make it happen. Relationships only work when the Lord is in charge of them.
In ironing out the wrinkles in relationships, I find it's best to remember two things - release people and cling to God. The stronger your relationship is with the Lord, the better your other relationships will be. The dark moments of any relationsip can strengthen your walk with the Lord as you draw closer to Him. So make Him the focus of your attention, and trust Him to shine a special light at the crossroads of where your path intersects with the path of another person.
Expecting a Call
God has a great purpose for each one of us. There is a call from God on your life and mine.
I've seen many people who were too busy, too tired, too preoccupied, or too in pursuit of riches and fame to hear God calling them. Others were afraid they might be called to insignificance and so they didn't want to know about it. I've known others still who clearly heard the call of God and ran away from it. The direct line from heaven was ringing and turned up the volume on their lives so they wouldn't have to hear God and answer. I've also known people with such a low opinion of themselves that they didn't believe God had them destined for anything great. So when the call came, they thought it must be for somebody else and didn't respond.
The only reason it appears that some people are "more called" by God than others is that they were expecting the call and answered it.
God's line to you is not a party line. You won't hear conflicting opinions. His call is entirely personal and private, and He will speak directly to you.
Do not ever think you have strayed so far away from God that you've forever missed your call. God will find you wherever you are. You can never be in so remote a place that He cannot bring you into all He has planned for you.
God is a Redeemer who redeems all things - even our past. When God issues a call, He doesn't take it back. He only waits for us to move into it. Therefore, we can never be such a lost cause that His call on our lives is no longer applicable.
If you feel called to do something better than what you are doing now, let me assure you that it is probably because you are. If you have never sought God about His plans and purposes for your life, do that now.
This doesn't mean you have to accept everything that comes your way as the will of God. Far from it. Ask Him about it. Say, "Lord, is what I am doing consistent with Your purpose in my life? If it is Your will, I submit to it and embrace You in it. If it isn't, then make me what You created me to be." As long as you are consistently praying about it, God will either take you where you're supposed to be, or give you grace to remain where you are until He says it's time to move on.
Keep in mind that once you hear God's call on your life, it doesn't mean that things will start happening immediately. You will most likely experience a time of waiting until He decided you are ready. So don't let the waiting period turn into a dark time that causes you to doubt whether you've heard God at all. Keep in mind that in this time He wants you to forget any plans you might have for accomplishing your purpose on your own. He wants you to be totally convinced it won't happen without Him.
God's call on all of us is to be a light to those who are in darkness, but sometimes He has to take us through our own darkness so we will learn to depend totally on His light.
Our hearts break when we think we have missed our destiny. We suffer over unfulfilled purpose. But God perfects our hearts when we suffer. He makes us humble and compassionate, and these are two traits we must have for success in the call He has for us.
Don't be afraid of the perfecting process that prepares you to move into God's call on your life. Just stand strong through the fire and you will be purified, molded, humbled, and made ready for what He has for you to do. If you walk step by step with God, you'll come out of that time with a sense of His presence and power that will make it all worthwhile. It will set you on the path to greatness. Let me clarify the meaning of greatness. Greatness is not about us; it's about His greatness in us. A great person is one who obeys God. A great person is one who is a servant.
When we acknowledge God's greatness through our worship of Him, we invite His greatness to dwell in us. When we obey God and serve Him, then He does great things through us. This is the kind of greatness God has called us to in our lives.
Remember that in order to hear God's call, you must be expecting a call. You need faith that He will speak to you, that you can hear Him, and that it will be good news. When an encounter with the living God is your greatest desire, you can be sure you will have it.
God is never through with you. He always has a plan for your life. There is no time limit on His call or what He wants to do in and through you. God will use you for His purposes until the day you go to be with Him. And don't let yourself be convinced otherwise.
What may be true about what you are experiencing is that life as you have known it is changing. What existed before may be over, but what is ahead for you is as great or perhaps much greater. Just when you suspect things may be winding down in your life, God will do someting new. He may call you to rework the details of your present walk, or He might set you out on a completely new path. God will call you to a new time, a new assignment, and a new work of His grace.
Major life changes can be scary. But if we don't cling desperately to the old life, the new experiences can be exciting as well. Trying to keep things from changing only makes the process miserable. It's far less upsetting to just let the old go and walk step by step with God into the new life He has for us.
If the job you've been doing ends, or the provision you've known shuts off, or the fulfillment level of your work and activities ceases, or something major happens to change the status of your life, don't be alarmed. These could be signs of a change God is doing in your life. He may be getting you ready to enter into a new and exciting season.
If life as you have known it and the path that you have walked seems to be ending, draw especially close to God and He will reveal what your next step is to be.
No matter what age you are, God has a path for you. It will undoubtedly take you someplace you've not been before. Be willing to let Him prepare you as He sees fit.
I've seen many people who were too busy, too tired, too preoccupied, or too in pursuit of riches and fame to hear God calling them. Others were afraid they might be called to insignificance and so they didn't want to know about it. I've known others still who clearly heard the call of God and ran away from it. The direct line from heaven was ringing and turned up the volume on their lives so they wouldn't have to hear God and answer. I've also known people with such a low opinion of themselves that they didn't believe God had them destined for anything great. So when the call came, they thought it must be for somebody else and didn't respond.
The only reason it appears that some people are "more called" by God than others is that they were expecting the call and answered it.
God's line to you is not a party line. You won't hear conflicting opinions. His call is entirely personal and private, and He will speak directly to you.
Do not ever think you have strayed so far away from God that you've forever missed your call. God will find you wherever you are. You can never be in so remote a place that He cannot bring you into all He has planned for you.
God is a Redeemer who redeems all things - even our past. When God issues a call, He doesn't take it back. He only waits for us to move into it. Therefore, we can never be such a lost cause that His call on our lives is no longer applicable.
If you feel called to do something better than what you are doing now, let me assure you that it is probably because you are. If you have never sought God about His plans and purposes for your life, do that now.
This doesn't mean you have to accept everything that comes your way as the will of God. Far from it. Ask Him about it. Say, "Lord, is what I am doing consistent with Your purpose in my life? If it is Your will, I submit to it and embrace You in it. If it isn't, then make me what You created me to be." As long as you are consistently praying about it, God will either take you where you're supposed to be, or give you grace to remain where you are until He says it's time to move on.
Keep in mind that once you hear God's call on your life, it doesn't mean that things will start happening immediately. You will most likely experience a time of waiting until He decided you are ready. So don't let the waiting period turn into a dark time that causes you to doubt whether you've heard God at all. Keep in mind that in this time He wants you to forget any plans you might have for accomplishing your purpose on your own. He wants you to be totally convinced it won't happen without Him.
God's call on all of us is to be a light to those who are in darkness, but sometimes He has to take us through our own darkness so we will learn to depend totally on His light.
Our hearts break when we think we have missed our destiny. We suffer over unfulfilled purpose. But God perfects our hearts when we suffer. He makes us humble and compassionate, and these are two traits we must have for success in the call He has for us.
Don't be afraid of the perfecting process that prepares you to move into God's call on your life. Just stand strong through the fire and you will be purified, molded, humbled, and made ready for what He has for you to do. If you walk step by step with God, you'll come out of that time with a sense of His presence and power that will make it all worthwhile. It will set you on the path to greatness. Let me clarify the meaning of greatness. Greatness is not about us; it's about His greatness in us. A great person is one who obeys God. A great person is one who is a servant.
When we acknowledge God's greatness through our worship of Him, we invite His greatness to dwell in us. When we obey God and serve Him, then He does great things through us. This is the kind of greatness God has called us to in our lives.
Remember that in order to hear God's call, you must be expecting a call. You need faith that He will speak to you, that you can hear Him, and that it will be good news. When an encounter with the living God is your greatest desire, you can be sure you will have it.
God is never through with you. He always has a plan for your life. There is no time limit on His call or what He wants to do in and through you. God will use you for His purposes until the day you go to be with Him. And don't let yourself be convinced otherwise.
What may be true about what you are experiencing is that life as you have known it is changing. What existed before may be over, but what is ahead for you is as great or perhaps much greater. Just when you suspect things may be winding down in your life, God will do someting new. He may call you to rework the details of your present walk, or He might set you out on a completely new path. God will call you to a new time, a new assignment, and a new work of His grace.
Major life changes can be scary. But if we don't cling desperately to the old life, the new experiences can be exciting as well. Trying to keep things from changing only makes the process miserable. It's far less upsetting to just let the old go and walk step by step with God into the new life He has for us.
If the job you've been doing ends, or the provision you've known shuts off, or the fulfillment level of your work and activities ceases, or something major happens to change the status of your life, don't be alarmed. These could be signs of a change God is doing in your life. He may be getting you ready to enter into a new and exciting season.
If life as you have known it and the path that you have walked seems to be ending, draw especially close to God and He will reveal what your next step is to be.
No matter what age you are, God has a path for you. It will undoubtedly take you someplace you've not been before. Be willing to let Him prepare you as He sees fit.
Surrendering Our Dreams
Most of us have experienced a time when our lives appear to be standing still. No matter how hard we work, it seems like every door is closed and no new ones are opening. Often that's because we have an image in our mind of what we want to be happening, and when we see that it isn't we think nothing is happening.
God wants us to dream. He puts dreams in our hearts for His purposes. But in our dreaming, He doesn't want us to exclude Him. If we don't have a vision from Him, then we don't have a vision that will ever be realized.
God wants us to surrender our dreams because we can't be led by Him if we are chasing after a dream of our own making. And He wants us to surrender all of them. If they are only our dreams and visions and not His, we will experience a lifetime of unfulfillment and strife trying to make them happen. Even if the dream in your heart is from God, you still won't see it fulfilled until you give it to Him. The dream has to be realized His way.
When God wants to make changes in our lives, and we're willing to let Him, He starts by cutting away all that is unnecessary.
God puts dreams in our hearts to give us vision and inspiration and to guide us to the right path. That's why we have to make sure the dreams we have are not from our own flesh. The only way to be sure of that is to lay all of our dreams at His feet and let them die. And we must also die to them. The ones that are not from Him will be buried forever. The ones that are from Him will be given new life.
We don't want to be just wishful thinkers, always living in a dreamworld and never seeing anything of significance materialize. We don't want to be continually chasing after someting God is not blessing. We want to live with confidence that our hopes, dreams, and expectations are based on God-given certainty that He is behind them.
Dying to our dreams is not fun. It's painful. Especially if our identity is wrapped up in them. But we have to do what God asks of us. And we must have a right attitude in the process or it's meaningless. Doing the right thing with a bad attitude does not work.
We don't like waiting. We want action. But God says waiting can be good, because that's how we learn patience. God says we need patience because it will ultimately make us complete. That's because patience is one of the attributes of God. When we are patient, we are like Him. When we are being tested, walking in the wilderness, surrendering our dreams, or standing in the line of fire, part of what we are learning is to be patient.
It's best to view these waiting times by thinking of them as times of waiting on the Lord. It's much easier to think about waiting on God than it is to be patient with your circumstances. Waiting on the Lord gives you the sense that something is going on - only you just can't see it. You are waiting in eager anticipation of what God is going to do next.
Going through a waiting period doesn't mean there is nothing happening, because when you are waiting on the Lord, He is always moving in your life.
Even though it may not seem like it, as long as you are walking with the Lord you are going from "glory to glory" and "strength to strength." You are always going somewhere in God's plan. And His purpose for you is constantly being realized. But you have to be patient and wait for Him to accomplish it His way and in His time.
If you ever feel like you are just going through the motions in your own life, don't let yourself become frustrated over it. Know that God's mercies to you are new every morning and as a result, God freshly hears your words spoken to Him as well. There is no such thing as the same old prayer. Each prayer you pray, even if it's about the same thing, has new life to it every time you pray it. Every day you have another opportunity to affect your future with the words you speak to God. Even though you may not see results as soon as you would like, much is happening in the spirit realm that you don't see. Each prayer sets something in motion.
Besides praying, there are other things you can do to keep your season of waiting on the Lord from turning into a dark time. Stay in God's Word and keep learning about Him. Ask the Lord to show you the talents and abilities He has given you and how you should develop them. Ask Him to reveal anything you need to start or stop doing. Perhaps He is waiting on you.
If you continue to walk with God and take the steps you know are right, you will get where you need to go. It may seem like forever, but don't be discouraged. God has been known to do a quick work for which He has been preparing a long time. Patience is not resignation. It's joyful anticipation of the glory that is before you.
God wants us to dream. He puts dreams in our hearts for His purposes. But in our dreaming, He doesn't want us to exclude Him. If we don't have a vision from Him, then we don't have a vision that will ever be realized.
God wants us to surrender our dreams because we can't be led by Him if we are chasing after a dream of our own making. And He wants us to surrender all of them. If they are only our dreams and visions and not His, we will experience a lifetime of unfulfillment and strife trying to make them happen. Even if the dream in your heart is from God, you still won't see it fulfilled until you give it to Him. The dream has to be realized His way.
When God wants to make changes in our lives, and we're willing to let Him, He starts by cutting away all that is unnecessary.
God puts dreams in our hearts to give us vision and inspiration and to guide us to the right path. That's why we have to make sure the dreams we have are not from our own flesh. The only way to be sure of that is to lay all of our dreams at His feet and let them die. And we must also die to them. The ones that are not from Him will be buried forever. The ones that are from Him will be given new life.
We don't want to be just wishful thinkers, always living in a dreamworld and never seeing anything of significance materialize. We don't want to be continually chasing after someting God is not blessing. We want to live with confidence that our hopes, dreams, and expectations are based on God-given certainty that He is behind them.
Dying to our dreams is not fun. It's painful. Especially if our identity is wrapped up in them. But we have to do what God asks of us. And we must have a right attitude in the process or it's meaningless. Doing the right thing with a bad attitude does not work.
We don't like waiting. We want action. But God says waiting can be good, because that's how we learn patience. God says we need patience because it will ultimately make us complete. That's because patience is one of the attributes of God. When we are patient, we are like Him. When we are being tested, walking in the wilderness, surrendering our dreams, or standing in the line of fire, part of what we are learning is to be patient.
It's best to view these waiting times by thinking of them as times of waiting on the Lord. It's much easier to think about waiting on God than it is to be patient with your circumstances. Waiting on the Lord gives you the sense that something is going on - only you just can't see it. You are waiting in eager anticipation of what God is going to do next.
Going through a waiting period doesn't mean there is nothing happening, because when you are waiting on the Lord, He is always moving in your life.
Even though it may not seem like it, as long as you are walking with the Lord you are going from "glory to glory" and "strength to strength." You are always going somewhere in God's plan. And His purpose for you is constantly being realized. But you have to be patient and wait for Him to accomplish it His way and in His time.
If you ever feel like you are just going through the motions in your own life, don't let yourself become frustrated over it. Know that God's mercies to you are new every morning and as a result, God freshly hears your words spoken to Him as well. There is no such thing as the same old prayer. Each prayer you pray, even if it's about the same thing, has new life to it every time you pray it. Every day you have another opportunity to affect your future with the words you speak to God. Even though you may not see results as soon as you would like, much is happening in the spirit realm that you don't see. Each prayer sets something in motion.
Besides praying, there are other things you can do to keep your season of waiting on the Lord from turning into a dark time. Stay in God's Word and keep learning about Him. Ask the Lord to show you the talents and abilities He has given you and how you should develop them. Ask Him to reveal anything you need to start or stop doing. Perhaps He is waiting on you.
If you continue to walk with God and take the steps you know are right, you will get where you need to go. It may seem like forever, but don't be discouraged. God has been known to do a quick work for which He has been preparing a long time. Patience is not resignation. It's joyful anticipation of the glory that is before you.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Testing, One, Two, Three
God's tests are not like school tests. First of all, He already knows how much we know. The test is not for Him. It's for us. God's test helps us clearly see what we're made of. It teaches us about ourselves and about God. The test itself is part of our learning process. It won't necessarily be how much we know that counts, but what we do with the knowlege we've got.
In the tests that God gives us, we receive no grade. We will either pass, or we'll have to keep taking it until we get it right. The good news is that the more challenging the test, the more monumental the reward waiting for us on the other side of it - if we react to it in the right way.
We are often put to our most difficult test just before the greatest work of God in our lives is about to be accomplished. God decides the time, place, and manner of testing.
God puts us through different kinds of tests. But He gives us three major tests that we will all have to take at one time or another.
In the tests that God gives us, we receive no grade. We will either pass, or we'll have to keep taking it until we get it right. The good news is that the more challenging the test, the more monumental the reward waiting for us on the other side of it - if we react to it in the right way.
We are often put to our most difficult test just before the greatest work of God in our lives is about to be accomplished. God decides the time, place, and manner of testing.
God puts us through different kinds of tests. But He gives us three major tests that we will all have to take at one time or another.
Test One: God Tests Our Heart
The famous fall that pride always goes before is something God allows in order to purify us from our inclination to be full of ourselves. Just when we have enough arrogance to think we can live one moment without Him, God searches our heart for humility. If found wanting, He allows us to hit rock bottom and gain a new perspective. Looking up. And this is exactly what we need if we've been looking down for too long. God doesn't give this kind of test to torture us. He does it so our hearts can be purified and we can see Him.
Test Two: God Tests Our Faith
One of the most profound times our faith is tested is when we are struggling with out finances. Few things are more upsetting than the prospect of losing your home, not having enough food, or not being able to pay your bills. But learning to walk in the provision God gives us for the day in which we find ourselves opens our eyes to see how we must depend on Him for everything. It forces us to live in God's presence in a deeper way as we look to Him to work daily miracles on our behalf.
When our faith is tested during these times, our response to it is revealing. Do we trust Him to provide, or do we get angry and take it out on others? Do we view this as a time that God wants us to draw closer to Him, or do we see it as the termination of our future? Do we understand that God is testing us in order to prepare us for what He is going to do in our lives, or do we believe He is forsaking us? Will we lose patience in this time, or will we grow in faith? The answers we give to these questions are the keys to passing the test.
Test Three: God Tests Our Obedience
He requires specific things of us and tests us to see if we will do them. If we don't, He doesn't withhold His love, provision, and protection from us. But He wants to bless us in so many more ways, and He can't unless we are completely submitted to Him. None of us want to go through the fire of being tested, but we can eliminate much of our misery by being quick to respond to what God asks us to do.
We're still made of flesh no matter how spiritual we get. We can all be tempted to think, say, or do things that are not right in the sight of God. That's why we must also say, "Lord, have I done anything to cause this?" He will reveal it to you if you have. God doesn't keep our sins secret from us.
Don't fear the time of testing God takes you through. It doesn't have to be miserable. Think of it as a refining that will reveal anything amiss in your life and show you where changes need to be made. The only way God can lead you to where you've never been, and can't get to without Him, is to call you to a new place in your life that requires more purity of heart, more faith, and more obedience than you've ever known. Your reaction during this period will be revealing. Will you love Him above all else? Will you believe He is who He says He is and trust Him to provide for your needs? Will you do what He tells you to do? If you are fearful and bitter during the process, you delay the blessings God is waiting to rain on you.
Walking with just enough light for the step you're on in a time of testing is God's way of preparing you for the great things He has ahead. Ask Him to help you learn your lesson well.
It's not where we are in life that matters, but Who is with us.
The wilderness is where we are forced to leave behind the familiar, the comfortable, the past successes, the accomplishments, and the old bag of tricks that always worked before. He wants to separate us from all that we crave, so that all we crave is Him. He wants to get the lust for certain comforts out of our appetities too. It's not that He doesn't want us to ever be comfortable. It's just that He doesn't want us to depend on the comfortable. He wants us to depend on Him. He doesn't want us to love the comforts more than we love Him. When God aims us in a new direction, we have to let go of what we've known, be willing to embrace the unfamiliar, and trust that He will sustain us on the journey.
We need to be walking so close to the Lord that we hear His voice in the midst of any upheaval in our lives. We have to trust Him so thoroughly that we will follow Him wherever He leads us. We must walk perfectly within the revealed light God has given us, not running ahead, not hanging behind, not striving to go somewhere else.
The reason God takes us through these wilderness times is because He wants us to learn a walk of faith whereby we trust Him for every step. We recognize that the wilderness is a place where God calls us to forsake what's comfortable and move into the unknown so He can guide us where we need to go.
We, too, have to daily gather the manna God has for us. We have to seek God's presence and find the strength, joy, peace, and rest that nourishes and feeds our souls. We have to understand that in a place where there appears to be nothing, God will provide everything we need. The knowledge that all this is there for us in the wilderness is liberating. It frees us from having to be discontent. It frees us from striving to get out of the wilderness before it's time to leave. It frees us from trying to make things different than they are. It liberates us to allow God to do a new thing in us as He wills.
He wants your attention, your trust, your mind, your soul, your body, and your obedience. In a word, he wants you. Don't deny Him that pleasure.
When travelling in the wilderness, learn to seek the abundance of the moment. Ask God to open your eyes to all the blessings He has for you there. As you see each one, let them become a refreshing spring. Soak them into the dry pores of your soul, drink them into the parched areas of your spirit, praise Him for every one, and feel that solid ground at the center of His will.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Let God Bring Justice into Your Life
God has promised if we will put our trust in Him, He will pay us back for all the unfair things that have happened to us. If you want to live your best life now, you must learn to trust God to bring about the justice in your life. You don't have to go around trying to pay everybody back for the wrong things they've done to you. You don't have to go around trying to get even with people. God is your vindicator. You need to start letting God fight your battles for you. Let God settle your cases. God has promised if you'll turn matters over to Him and let Him handle them His way, He'll make your wrongs right. He'll bring justice into your life.
It takes faith to believe that God wants to vindicate you, but He really does. Don't make the mistake of sinking down to your offenders' level, getting into arguments and fighting. That will just make matters worse. Leave it up to God. Take the high road, respond in love, and watch what God will do. If you will do it God's way, He'll not only fight your battles for you, but in the end, you'll come out better off than you were before.
Sometimes God allows us to go through certain things to test us. If you have somebody in your life right now who is not treating you right, that situation may very wel be a test of your faith. God is interested in seeing how you are going to respond. God sees every wrong that's being done to you. God is keeping good records. He's closely watching your situation, and He said that He's going to pay you back. And friend, when God pays back, He always pays back in abundance.
God will not allow somebody to continually mistreat you. If you will do your part, keep a good attitude, and turn your circumstances over to Him, sooner or later God will bring justice into your life. God is a supernatural God. One touch of His favor can make us any lost ground, plus give you so much more. One touch of God's favor can bring the right person into your life. We serve a God who wants to do more than you can ask or think. It doesn't matter how people are treating you. Keep doing the right thing; don't get offended; don't let them get you upset; don't try to pay them back, returning evil for evil. Instead, keep extending forgiveness; keep responding in love. If you do that, then when it comes time for you to be promoted, God will make sure it happens. He'll make sure you get everything you deserve, and more!
The key is, you must turn it over to God. Let Him do it His way. You don't have to fix everything that happens to you, you don't have to get all upset and try to pay somebody back for what they did or didn't do. You don't have to get worried or try to manipulate the situation. When you know that God is fighting your battles, and He has promised to make your wrongs right, you can walk with a new confidence, with a spring in your step, a smile on your face, and a song in your heart. You are free! When you have that kind of attitude, you are leaving the door wide open for God to pay you back.
If you will leave your situation up to God, in the end you'll come out much better off. You will be far ahead of where you would have been had you tried to solve matters in your own strength. God can truly bring justice into our lives.
Maybe you've been working through a situation and you've been doing the right things for a long time. You've been taking the high road and forgiving somebody again and again. You keep overlooking their faults. You keep biting your tongue when they are rude to you. You have kept a good attitude even though they have mistreated you. Perhaps this has been going on month after month, maybe year after year, and now you're tempted to get discouraged. You're wondering, Is God ever going to change this situation? Is God ever going to bring about justice? Does He even care about what I'm going through?
Don't give up! Keep doing the right thing. God is building character in you, and you are passing that test. Remember, the greater the struggle, the greater the reward. Don't grow weary; God will bring justice into your life.
We must trust God to bring justice in His timing, not ours. Sometimes, it doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes you're going to have to love somebody who's unlovable for a long period of time. Sometimes you're going to have to do the right thing when the wrong thing is happening to you, and it may be a long time before you see any kind of change. It may require a strong will on your part, and a determination to trust despite the odds.
God knows how to bring justice into your life. If you will leave your concerns in God's hands, He will settle your cases. He will make your wrongs right. He's promised to take that evil and turn it around and use it to your advantage. It doesn't matter how badly somebody has hurt you, or how far their actions or words have set you back, God can turn that situation around and make it all up to you, plus much more!
Leave it to God. Live a life of forgiveness. Don't go around trying to pay people back, trying to get revenge. God sees every wrong that's being done to you. God sees every person that's ever hurt you. He's keeping the record, and the Scripture says if you don't avenge yourself, God will pay you back. And friend, He'll not only pay you back, He'll pay you back in abundance.
It takes faith to believe that God wants to vindicate you, but He really does. Don't make the mistake of sinking down to your offenders' level, getting into arguments and fighting. That will just make matters worse. Leave it up to God. Take the high road, respond in love, and watch what God will do. If you will do it God's way, He'll not only fight your battles for you, but in the end, you'll come out better off than you were before.
Sometimes God allows us to go through certain things to test us. If you have somebody in your life right now who is not treating you right, that situation may very wel be a test of your faith. God is interested in seeing how you are going to respond. God sees every wrong that's being done to you. God is keeping good records. He's closely watching your situation, and He said that He's going to pay you back. And friend, when God pays back, He always pays back in abundance.
God will not allow somebody to continually mistreat you. If you will do your part, keep a good attitude, and turn your circumstances over to Him, sooner or later God will bring justice into your life. God is a supernatural God. One touch of His favor can make us any lost ground, plus give you so much more. One touch of God's favor can bring the right person into your life. We serve a God who wants to do more than you can ask or think. It doesn't matter how people are treating you. Keep doing the right thing; don't get offended; don't let them get you upset; don't try to pay them back, returning evil for evil. Instead, keep extending forgiveness; keep responding in love. If you do that, then when it comes time for you to be promoted, God will make sure it happens. He'll make sure you get everything you deserve, and more!
The key is, you must turn it over to God. Let Him do it His way. You don't have to fix everything that happens to you, you don't have to get all upset and try to pay somebody back for what they did or didn't do. You don't have to get worried or try to manipulate the situation. When you know that God is fighting your battles, and He has promised to make your wrongs right, you can walk with a new confidence, with a spring in your step, a smile on your face, and a song in your heart. You are free! When you have that kind of attitude, you are leaving the door wide open for God to pay you back.
If you will leave your situation up to God, in the end you'll come out much better off. You will be far ahead of where you would have been had you tried to solve matters in your own strength. God can truly bring justice into our lives.
Maybe you've been working through a situation and you've been doing the right things for a long time. You've been taking the high road and forgiving somebody again and again. You keep overlooking their faults. You keep biting your tongue when they are rude to you. You have kept a good attitude even though they have mistreated you. Perhaps this has been going on month after month, maybe year after year, and now you're tempted to get discouraged. You're wondering, Is God ever going to change this situation? Is God ever going to bring about justice? Does He even care about what I'm going through?
Don't give up! Keep doing the right thing. God is building character in you, and you are passing that test. Remember, the greater the struggle, the greater the reward. Don't grow weary; God will bring justice into your life.
We must trust God to bring justice in His timing, not ours. Sometimes, it doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes you're going to have to love somebody who's unlovable for a long period of time. Sometimes you're going to have to do the right thing when the wrong thing is happening to you, and it may be a long time before you see any kind of change. It may require a strong will on your part, and a determination to trust despite the odds.
God knows how to bring justice into your life. If you will leave your concerns in God's hands, He will settle your cases. He will make your wrongs right. He's promised to take that evil and turn it around and use it to your advantage. It doesn't matter how badly somebody has hurt you, or how far their actions or words have set you back, God can turn that situation around and make it all up to you, plus much more!
Leave it to God. Live a life of forgiveness. Don't go around trying to pay people back, trying to get revenge. God sees every wrong that's being done to you. God sees every person that's ever hurt you. He's keeping the record, and the Scripture says if you don't avenge yourself, God will pay you back. And friend, He'll not only pay you back, He'll pay you back in abundance.
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