Think Bigger

Oh, so often I go to God thinking so small. As if He gives me only as much as I have earned. I have learned in the past few years the practice of asking big! In my old way of thinking I would ask God in prayer to lift a suffering friend's nose just above the stormy waters for relief. However, now I come boldly before the throne with full confidence that God's grace is more than sufficient for our needs. His supply of grace, mercy, healing, love.... is abundant and endless. I now pray that same prayer with assurance by asking God to pluck them from the stormy waters and walk with them on the glassy sea. Ministering to them as to why they are in a drowning situation. I pray that in God's timing they would have deliverance from what was causing them to drown and that He would bless them abundantly in all ways with maturity in Him. Menial prayers represent a low faith posture. We should not pray with the limits of  what we think we deserve to ask for. We should pray the way God told us to pray! Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace for help in times of need."

More than not we ask God to get us or someone else OUT of a trial. Never considering that God wants to use the pressure of that hard time to turn us from a chunk of coal into a diamond. Under pressure, in pain, being uncomfortable... those are the places of growth and transformation. No one likes to be in those situations. We are humans and we always seek survival, comfort and control. However, those dark places are where God gets our attention. We can fight Him there or we can surrender to His love and let Him transform us. Few ever change because it's a very scary prospect that we will loose control or become overcome with fear when we step out of our comfort zone. That's why we must go boldly before the throne daily and ask God to make those changes with full trust in His love. He wants us to come to Him and trust Him to take our hand and see us through to the other side. When we consider pain we see torment but when God talks of pain He sees healing. It's not a place of punishment, it's a place of grace. Way to often we will not voluntarily go to God for growth because our fear is bigger than our faith. That is why He will change our route or cause a detour in our life so that He can get our attention and work on completing the good work that He began in us. (Philippians 1:6) He loves us way too much to leave us the way we are.

Try it for a week and THINK BIG. Pray bigger prayers, See His love as limitless and kind, filled with purpose and good will. Reach your hand out to Him and ask Him to help you with an area of your life that you want to change. Trust Him to heal you of your past and turn your shame into rejoicing. Pray believing and trust His timing. Faith it till He fulfills it. Pray for Him to use the dark times that you or someone else are going through to recycle you and turn your old into new. Each 24 hour cycle of life has light and darkness in it. So is our walk with the Lord as He always takes us through times of Light and times of darkness. Learn to trust Him BIG, love Him BIG, pray BIG, think BIG and know with full certainty that He is BIG and able. His grace IS sufficient for all our needs. The biggest problem in our fast paced world is impatience. Slow down, meditate on His Word, and come to the realization that God works in His timing not ours. His plans are way bigger than we could ever imagine! His plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future... You will call to him and come and pray to Him and He will listen to you. You will seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. He will be found by you and He will bring you back from captivity..." (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

Ephesians 3:16-21, "May you grasp how wide and long and deep My love for you is; a love that surpasses knowledge... you cannot ask or imagine the things I am planning for you."

Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Matthew 7:7-11, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened"

God wants tenacity, faith, belief in His unwavering love and power. Never stop thinking BIG, asking BIG and believing BIG. His good works are as beautiful in the dark as they are in the light.

Psalm 139:12, "even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to you."

His grace is great enough to meet the great things-
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,
The sudden storms beyond our life's control.

His grace is great enough to meet the small things-
The little pinprick troubles that annoy,
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.

Annie Johnson Flint

My Psalm Part 2

Oh Lord, My God, Praise you for hearing the cries of my heart yesterday. Thank you for not just raising my nose above those scary waters but for pulling me into your life boat and giving me full relief. I was weary and you gave me rest (without guilt:). I was confused and upset but you calmed my mind with your Word. My feelings were taking over but you raised your hand and said, "Be still." and they obeyed your command. I was crying from sadness but you turned them into tears of gratitude for your grace and presence.

Having the flu and its lingering affects brought me to my knees. However, when I cried out in my distress You were so faithful to reveal your love. Sometimes we want to be able to look into your eyes or feel you swipe the fever drenched hair off our foreheads. I know it's because my mom died when I was young that I desire that physical tenderness when I'm ill. Thank you for refocusing my thoughts toward the blessings I do have rather than what's absent. My dear friends and family texted and called to check on me, my husband carried every load and loved on me, my sister-in-law made me soup and my son made me his Valentine :) Lord, you not only provided shelter and provisions but you lavished your love upon me. ONE PRAYER CHANGED EVERYTHING.

When we feel desperate and it seems like even God has forgotten us, He hasn't. All it takes is one prayer, one scripture to refocus our attention. James 4:8 is one of my favorite scriptures, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." When we are at our weakest He promises to be our strength (2 Corinthians 12:9). He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Sisters and brothers, keep your focus on the Lord. We all get turned around so it is vital that we know His Word. It is imperative that we know His truth. This world and the forces of darkness are busy at work every day to get your attention off of God and onto worldly things. I let my weariness turn my focus to sad and pitiful thoughts rather than clinging to His Word like a mast to get me through the storm. We must be children of God and know with full assurance who we belong to and what His promises are for us. It is our duty to service that we encourage each other and lift each other up. Read Proverbs chapter 4 and understand how important it is to guard our hearts. The mind is the pathway to the heart (Read Philippians 4:7).

When I was a baby Christian I fell all the time, however, as a mature Christian woman I fall much less and not as hard. I regroup and get my focus back on God's truth much quicker. I share my pitfalls to encourage others and let them know that we're only human and that's why we need Jesus. His grace, mercy, kindness, tenderness, long-suffering.... is simply who He is - a God that intimately loves us and will NEVER leave us or forsake us, ever.

My Psalm

I learned years ago that when I felt down or overwhelmed that I should journal those feelings. We need to see our emotions in writing so we can capture them and deal with them. Otherwise, they just circle around, uncontrolled and overwhelm us. I realized that just writing my feelings was only half of my story. I had to begin to tell my emotions the truth from scripture. Every doubt, fear, sadness, shame... had to have a counter-weight scripture of truth to put it in perspective. Our journaling should be written like a Psalm. At first, we pour out our lamentations then we conclude with God's truth, His Word, His promises! We're human and we have feelings. We must be honest with ourselves when we feel such child-like emotions. Put them out there for Jesus to go through with you and to begin the healing process. He wants to get us THROUGH the process of healing, NOT OVER IT. Pour out your emotions and feelings to Him and He will turn those open wounds into battle scars that we wear like badges of honor!

I've been sick for weeks now and I'm feeling weak, lonely and sad. This is my Psalm for today.

Hear my cry my Savior, bend down so I can feel your breath. I miss you so much. I have been in this foreign land away from you and my tears run like a river. My bones hurt and my mind burns. Being absent from the Lover of my Soul is too much. I lay in the darkness and cry because I’m so lonely and long to look into your eyes. Oh, to feel your arms around me would heal me. Where are you? I cannot rise from my bed, everything hurts and I’m consumed by sadness. This world is becoming increasingly scary and my fears are mounting. I feel my fear more than you and that scares me. This illness has me feeling so vulnerable and I feel like I can't fight back. My weakness is causing me to fear.

Oh child of mine. Not only do I hear your cries but I save each tear which is more precious than diamonds. You do not feel my breath upon you because my Holy Spirit lives IN you. I live in you. The day is drawing very near when I will meet you in the clouds and we will be together forever! (1 Corinthians 15:51) You are NOT alone. You may feel lonely but your faith must remind you that I am with you always. I will never leave you or forsake you, even until the end of the world. (Deuteronomy 31:6) You are in a foreign world, you are an ambassador for me until I call you home. (2 Corinthians 5:20) I will be the rod of iron in your back to keep you upright and strong. Use the armor I gave you every day and these “feelings” will get behind you. (Ephesians 6:11) Your emotions will send you spiraling downwards, whereas, your faith will rise you above the clouds! This world is infected with sin and that sin takes a toll but I have overcome sin and death. Where ever you are, I am the strength in your weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:7)

My daughter, 

Your honesty and my truth will heal many. I will personally deliver these words of hope to exactly who needs it.

Jesus

Heavenly Compost

Have you ever wondered why your life isn't growing a rich harvest of good? Do you question or blame God for bad circumstances? Are you easily angered? Do you feel depleted or ineffective? Maybe, you aren't tending to your soul the proper way? Our soul is like a garden and the attention that you give it determines whether the harvest is bountiful or distressed.

A couple years ago we revitalized our garden with compost, vermiculite and manure. With our hands and rakes we blended the rich fertilizers together and then planted our seeds. Our harvest that year was robust and flavorful! We took waste and turned it into nutrients and the results were obvious. The next year we just reused the soil as it was and the garden was full but nothing like the year before. Now, a few years later, we became lazy and never enriched the soil. The results were puny vegetables and scraggly vines. How often do we neglect our souls that way?

When we purpose it in our heart and mind to be good to ourselves, we focus on doing the right things such as eating healthy, exercising, going to church, reading our bibles, fellow-shipping, staying up on our chores... When we do those things we then see our lives give back to us a beautiful harvest. However, when we neglect ourselves and the things that we know are good for us we shrivel into hopelessness and despair.

God's will IS NOT that we struggle through life. He doesn't want us depleted and ineffective. His will is that we are living full lives filled with joy, peace, insight, self-control, love... He wants us to come to him and ask him to tend the gardens of our mind and heart!  This world is filled with pressures from world events to daily personal situations. It feels overwhelming and unmanageable to us as we try to navigate it. So, how do we thrive rather than survive? It's all in our focus. Is your hope in the world or is it in God? The world offers temporal happiness in small bites as it falls apart around us. Whereas, Christ offers hope, peace, joy and a safe place to find respite while he strengthens us and loves us. Our focus is key. Do you tell your mind that you're lonely, sad, depressed... Or, do you reaffirm throughout your day the promises of God? Whatever your mind chases, your heart is sure to follow.

God can take all the waste and manure that life throws at you and sift it through his beautiful hands until a rich, robust, nourishing compost is made. Then, if you'll allow him, he will use all that refuse that the world dumps on you to fertilize your life. You will be blessed and then become a blessing! This world is sins domain right now but Christ is working among it. He can and will use every bad thing to his glory and for our benefit. Romans 8:28 says, "For all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose." God is a God of renewal, restoration, redemption, revival... He recycles the ravages of sin and remakes it into lessons that bless us! He calls us to give him glory for his great love and then to go and love others with the love that has been shown to us. 

You can be a child of God by simply saying this prayer, "God, I've heard about you and how you sent your son Jesus to save me through his death on the cross. Today, I choose to believe that I cannot save myself and that it's only through your son that I can be saved. Forgive me my sins and guide me into a strong relationship with you. Amen."

Child of God, you are not worthless. You were worth dying for. You are loved unconditionally. Nothing and no one can pluck you from His hand. Even if you fall, He will pick you up. When you wander He will come for you. His thoughts toward you outnumber the sands. He will give you the same Spirit that rose him from the grave to guide you, heal you, teach you... Nothing can ever separate you from his love. Your sins are forgiven, they are removed as far as the east is from the west. You matter, you are eternally loved, you have a purpose. He made you in your mother's womb and is intimately acquainted with you. He calls you sons and daughters. He will protect you, stay with you, love you and save you. You are LOVED.

If you said the prayer of salvation then you are now God's child. You are eternally saved and you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Go and tend your garden with Jesus as you grow in the grace and knowledge of Him. I encourage you to get a bible and start by reading the gospel book of John. Also, read Luke Chapter 8, verses 4-15. Be sure that the seed of the good news falls on good soil.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.

Deuteronomy 31:8, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Isaiah 41:8, "I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the deserts into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs."

John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

Don't Give Up

Who's Zerubbabel? I wasn't aware of him until I opened my bible the other day and decided to read what I opened it up to. Coincidence? No. I've read my bible cover to cover quite a few times but there is a huge difference between reading your bible and having God speak to you through it. God introduced me to Zerubbabel because he knew I would need this lesson just a few days later.

The last couple weeks were very difficult for me for many reasons. We all know that difficult times either set us running in our own strength or remind us to sit at the Savior's feet. I was pretty much winging it on my own. By that I mean that I didn't open up my bible or reach out for prayer... I felt myself sinking deeper and feeling more alone. Upon awakening this morning I felt the prodding of the Holy Spirit to get close to God but I chose to start a project first. Needless to say, my project turned into a hot mess and I just starting crying. While sitting at my desk with tears flowing I looked up and saw my bible open to The Book Of Ezra with the profile of Zerubbabel before me. The first sentence read, "Sometimes God's ownership of a project is only recognized after our best efforts have failed." My tears turned to laughter as I realized that the God of the Universe just spoke to me in a very personal way!

God's people had been exiled to Babylon for many years. In 539 B.C. Babylon was defeated by the Persian ruler Cyrus. He allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and Zerrubabel was the man chosen to lead the job. Long story short, he met some resistance and gave up on the project. His excitement turned to discouragement and hopelessness. It wasn't until sixteen years later that God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage him to restart and finish the temple. Zerubbabel lacked tenacity and faith when times got hard. When encouragement from the people stopped he stopped. He exhausted his own strength but did not turn to God for the strength to carry on.

John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches.If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." As I sit here in Upstate New York looking out my window, my yard looks like a tornado hit. There are dead branches all over our property! They are no longer connected to their source of life so they must be burned because their purpose is gone. Staying connected to God's power, purpose and joy is a moment by moment choice. When what we have been called to do becomes wearisome, unpopular, lonely... it is only the choice of drawing near to him that empowers us. Galatians 6:9 reads, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."

Zerubbabel may have given up but God did not give up on him. God will NEVER give up on us. His grace and mercy are bigger than us and he will always pursue us with his love. Seek him first, proclaim his might and find your strength in him. By the way, after I put God first and gave the project to him, it all worked out perfect.

Hebrews 4:7b, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

Beautiful Brokenness

Are we willing to be broken??? Our first reaction is to cry, "No! " However, my most precious moments were when I was broken in the presence of God. I felt full, whole and safe even as the storm raged around me. Compare that to when I am living out of my own strength and telling God to keep up behind me. My mind is overwhelmed, my spirit weak and empty, my body aching, dragging, my heart frightened and racing. We plow along like that because "we haven't physically and mentally broke yet!" We chase adrenaline, caffeine, sugar.... Squeezing every last drop out of our own abilities and trying to avoid breaking because we are so afraid to go there! Satan actually fools us into believing that it is the crash that represents God when in truth we are the ones who crashed and burned because we tried to live apart from God's love and strength!

The actual brokenness is beautiful. It's not a state of exhaustion but a voluntary step into the presence of God. We stand before him before we break in our own strength. We ask him to break anything in us that is self reliant and to give us a humble heart to trust him, follow him and work it all out for us. It's a nest of protection and unconditional love where we rest, laugh and confide with the One who adores us and restores us.

Don't confuse our crash with His grace. The notion that we must get to the end of ourselves before we crawl to him is a falsehood! Spending time in our bibles, praying, resting, having fellowship... Those are our daily flow stations. The enemy tries to make us believe that we should wear ourselves out and then make God a fill up station. The enemy tells us to run from brokenness. However, God tells us to have a broken and contrite spirit. We are NOT to be broken with weariness but to be broken in love. We should never be empty because God offers to flow his strength and love through us daily. Truth be told, he knows we are just sheep who need a Shepherd and every time we get lost he leaves the rest to come get us. Forgiving us over and over again. So let us try to stay near the Shepherd and not fear being broken in his presence. We drive ourselves like a relentless, cruel task master whereas Christ leads us with tenderness. Follow the Savior not the world. Be not afraid of complete vulnerability as you surrender your way to his. The world tells you its all about your power whereas, God empowers us with the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead! I've done it both ways and trust me, his way is better.

Isaiah 41:18, "I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs."

Isaiah 43:19, "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

Deuteronomy 31:8, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Zechariah 4:6, "So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty."

Running ahead of God in our own strength is not wise. Be still and ask Him to go before you.

Update

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He's Listening

"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to My Cry for Help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, oh Lord, you hear my voice; and in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:1-3

Having faith is about two things, trust and patience. When we are suffering, those seem to be the two hardest things to muster up. I found that it is in my daily time with the Lord where I have grown a heart of trust within me. You can't ignore God everyday and run at your own pace and then expect him to appear like a genie and solve your big personal dilemmas. He's an intimate God who wants to be a part of every small detail of your life. Until you still yourself before him by reading your Bible I assure you that you will live in more confusion than peace. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind." Wouldn't it be nice to not feel confused, overwhelmed or out-of-control? Growing in a relationship with Jesus builds a fortress of trust in our heart and mind.

Patience on the other hand is a muscle that must be worked every day. Every time you drop that pencil and it rolls way back underneath your desk, you have to say praise the Lord with a smile on your face instead of swearing. When someone cuts you off while you're driving you have to say a prayer for them instead of cursing them. When you're having one of those days and everything seems to be going wrong you must remember that they're just small inconveniences and not disasters. Not exaggerating our circumstances is one way to start to have patience. It's a moment by moment exercise that works incredibly by making you into a person of faith one tiny step at a time.

So, today why don't you purpose it in your heart to begin your day by seeking God. Crying out to him and letting him know what you need for the day. THINK ABOUT IT, the God of the Universe who created everything including you, wants to hear from you. He wants to know what you're up against, what victories you need. He wants to comfort you, guide you, heal you, and simply just be with you.  Getting to know him is how you will get to trust him and he will work everything out. Find comfort in the fact that the God of the universe truly listens to you and cares about you.

I've had some circumstances that didn't change but they changed me and that's what God intended. I've also seen clear cut miracles where someone who was blind received their vision and another where a situation that was believed to be impossible worked out perfectly! Each true child of God has stories of great miracles and victories. When your relationship with God grows, you will begin to have your own stories and miracles. That is how it is intended to be. God blesses us and then we go and bless others. The Great Commission is exactly that! Go and tell of the greatness of God! Take your heart to him and tell him what's going on in your life. He's listening.

Psalm 18:6, "In my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears." 

Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears..."

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