Success is Inevitable

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being successful, encouragement, getting to your goals, God is able, God is faithful, hitting the mark, how to be successful, reaching your goal, succeeding, walking with Jesus, with God all things are possible

The author of this exact quote is unknown, but I love it. It reminds me of First Thessalonians 5:24 -“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” In other words, success is inevitable… when it’s God’s call on your life.

Has He called you to coach?

Has He called you to teach?

Has He called you to write?

Has He called you to raise those kiddos?

Has He called you to sing your heart out?

Has He called you to tend to your home on a full-time basis?

Has He called you to tend a sick loved one?

How about going to the mission field (close to home, or abroad)?

Has He called you to drive a school bus, deliver mail, or maybe even clean windows?

Whatever He has called you to do…rest in the fact that success is inevitable. No striving. No freaking out. Only simple obedience, faith and trust in Him is necessary. He will bring it to pass. It’s not only a great quote…it’s Scriptural.

Rest in that truth this week and know that no matter what circumstances may look like in this moment, when God has called you and you have answered, “Yes”, success is inevitable. Don’t proceed with caution. Proceed in faith knowing that your God has more for you than you ever imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

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Who Needs a Map?

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a redeemed map girl, adventure, encouragement, looking at the map, seeking adventure, wanting to know the future

I’m not what you would call a naturally flexible person. In fact, my husband has been known to call me “road map girl” because I like to know where I’m going…all the time.

I like to not only know where I’m headed on a trip, but also where life will take us in general. I mean who wouldn’t want to know whether they were moving in the next year, or staying put? Who wouldn’t like to know if they were going to be at the same job this time next year?

Life just doesn’t work that way though, does it? Abraham didn’t get a map, Joseph didn’t get a map, Jonah got a map and didn’t use it, Jesus’ mother didn’t get a map, and I sure didn’t get one either.

I used to only want a mapped out experience, but as I am maturing (ahem) I’m finding I want adventure. I want new experiences.  I’m finding that not having a map doesn’t necessarily mean I’m lost. It simply means I’m enjoying the moment I’m in.

When I have a map, my focus is in the wrong place. When I have a map, my eyes are downward, trying to figure out the next step. But, when my map is gone, my eyes are looking up. Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I will life up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” This is where my eyes should be…on the Lord, not on some map.

When I’m not too busy trying to figure out where I’m going, I realize where I am and it’s always wonderful. Always. Because God is here. Hebrews 13:5 says, “…be content with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.” This verse tells me to be content with where I am because God is here and that’s all I need.

One step forward and two steps back? No problem. God is here.

A marathon? No problem. God is here.

Several mountains to climb? No problem. God is here.

An adventure is eyes wide open to everything around me. A map leads to seeing one thing…the map. Did you notice the picture above? All around the guy holding the map is an adventure waiting to happen, but all he can see is his map. Sad, isn’t it? Eventually, he’s going to have to look up to see if he’s arrived, but he’s missing the journey. He’s missing the adventure. He’s missing the here and now. He’s missing everything… but his map!

I want to stop being “road map girl”. I want the adventure that God has for me, the plan that only He can decipher, and the map only He can read. I want the adventure that He’s called me to and in order to see it I have to take my eyes off the map and turn my eyes to Him.

You in?

Seeking Hearts Ministries 

** Photo by muddymatches.co.uk

 

Staying Connected

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abiding in Jesus, encouragement, how to abide, how to destress and rest in Him instead, how to not stress about growth, how to rest in God, it's all up to Jesus, producing fruit, producing spiritual fruit, resting in Jesus, sitting is HIs presence, spiritual encouragement, spiritual results, trusting God with results, vine and branches, what does abiding look like

John 15:5 says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”

In Andrew Murray’s book Absolute Surrender, Murray says that the branch’s only job is to stay connected to the Vine. In other words, the branch doesn’t have to worry with where its nourishment will come from. It doesn’t concern itself with how much fruit it’s producing. It doesn’t even have to fret over what the future will look like. The branch’s only job is to stay connected to the Vine. In Scripture, this state of being connected is also called abiding.

Watchman Nee, in his book Sit, Walk, Stand, describes abiding as sitting in a chair. When you sit, he explains, you have faith the chair will hold you up. Your whole weight is depending on the chair.

I love that picture! It sounds easy. After all, I sit in chairs all the time. But, I confess, spiritually speaking, sitting, abiding, staying connected to the Vine does not come naturally. In this season of my life though, I am learning that this truly is the best way to live.

When I am connected to the Vine, to Jesus Christ alone, when I am abiding in Him, I am not filled with stress, I am filled with Him – His strength, His joy, His love.

So, whatever results happen (or don’t) I’m great with… because it’s all up to Him. If He decides I need lots of strength for what He has for me today? No problem. I’m attached to Him already, so I already have what I need at my disposal.

If He decides it’s time for me to forgive? No problem. His forgiveness is already flowing through me.

Need some love today? No problem. His love is already in me.

See how simple it is? Yet, most of the time, we make it so complicated.

Jesus says in Matthew 10:28, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” He goes on to say in verse 30 of this same chapter, “…For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Let’s choose the easy path today, the less complicated perfect will of our Father and simply stay connected to our Vine, Jesus. Let’s sit in His presence, breathe Him in and destress knowing He’s got it all and simply abide as He has called us to knowing that all the branch has to do is stay connected to the Vine. He does the rest.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

** Photo by Kerry Vale Vineyard  “Adopt a Vine”

Helping to Build

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church life, encouragement, encouraging others, helping each other, helping others, helping people, how to encourage, how to help each other, how to serve together, mentoring, nehemiah, protecting each other, serving together, ways to help, weaker Christians, Zephaniah

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Nehemiah 4:6 says, “So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”

I love the book of Nehemiah. There is so much goodness in it. The leadership of Nehemiah, the teamwork of the people, the enemies getting stronger but God’s people steadily plodding to build the wall anyway, all the prayers and encouragement throughout the book and of course the strategy…I love it all.

When I came across Nehemiah 4:6 a while back, I focused on “for the people had a mind to work”. After all, that’s usually what pastors preach about, isn’t it? This time though I was asked to look at how smart Nehemiah was to build all the wall to its half way point. My devotional leader Kelly Minter said, “So instead of completing the sections that were easily coming along and leaving the more difficult chunks for later, they decided to get the whole wall to the halfway mark. This may have meant leaving certain portions that were well-along in order to fill the gaps that were leaving vulnerable holes. It was better for the whole wall to be shored up, even though incomplete, than to have fully built sections here and there while others lie disconnected. This feels like divine wisdom to me.”

It felt like divine wisdom to me as well and I couldn’t help but think about people within our churches. Each church has people who are great at “wall building”. They just seem to be able to pray and trust and have the kind of faith everyone desires. They build great walls of protection around their loved ones through prayer, standing firmly on God’s Word and depending on the Holy Spirit. Through years of pressing in to Jesus they have faithfully built their section of the wall.

Others are more vulnerable. They haven’t gone through as much faith testing. At times, they’ve trusted in things besides their Lord. They sometimes forget to pray when an attack comes. They may not have as much Scripture memorized and they often forget to rely on the Holy Spirit. Their wall still has gaping holes where the enemy can easily penetrate.

Nehemiah 4:6 tells us the smart thing to do is to come together and help each other build the whole wall until all the sections are joined. We may not understand why their section isn’t further along, but we are still called to help.

The people of Jerusalem knew they were still vulnerable if any section of the wall was crumbling. Just because their section was finished, they realized in order for everyone to be safe all the separate walls needed to become one, big wall.  That’s just being smart. That’s wisdom. How many times have we heard that we are only as strong as our weakest link? It’s true. It’s also true that our church is only as strong as the wall of protection around it.

There are many people in our churches who need help building. Many people are still too vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. Their foundation is barely started and they need help.

Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of teaching. People need to know the basics of building a strong foundation through prayer and Bible study, but they also need a side by side mentor that helps teach them the building process.

Others in our churches once had a magnificent wall, but sin, tragedy, or just the pounding of life has reduced it to a crumbling mess. We need to be faithful to help those dear ones clear the rubble away and rebuild. Christian counseling may be needed, forgiveness is often required and the clearing away of lifestyle choices can often help the rubble to be gone and the rebuilding to occur. This takes time and effort. A fresh build is much more exciting than the clearing away of old debris, but it often takes rebuilding the old before the whole wall can be strong once again.

Then there are those who are building for all they are worth, but need our protection. This is especially close to my heart right now because we have some friends who are being hit from every side imaginable. It’s not quite Job, but it’s getting there quickly. We need to be especially vigilant with these precious wall builders. Our wall is doing okay in the moment, our wall is standing strong, but our sweet brothers and sisters are being beat to death by the enemy. They are trying to build, they are trying to learn, they are trying to keep the faith, but the fiery darts keep hitting their backs over and over again. They can’t build because they are too busy defending.

Later in Nehemiah 4, Scripture tells us that in order for the wall to be built and joined together, guards had to be stationed. Some would build and some would guard. Those building had their sword at the ready as well, but they knew someone else was guarding, so they were able to focus on building and not be as distracted. They were encouraged to keep building because their fellow wall builders were taking the time to protect them.

Imagine that…guarding each other so everyone’s section of wall can be built. That’s beautiful. That’s what we need to do for one another and Nehemiah is a beautiful picture of Zephaniah 3:9. This is what it says, “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder.”

Serving shoulder to shoulder. That’s what it’s all about. Protecting each other and helping each other to build no matter what task that may include.

So, who in our churches needs to be guarded?

Who can you hold your sword up for today?

I’ll admit I look at my half built wall and think, “I still have so much work to do.” The sad fact is we will always have work to do. Our walls will never be finished completely, but God has called us to protect each other, to help everyone get their wall to the halfway point, to join all our walls together and become less vulnerable from attacks by the enemy as a whole church fitly joined together (Ephesians 4:16).

That’s a wonderful picture isn’t it? Building and guarding. Building and guarding. Building and guarding. Loving each other like the family we are. Praying together as a true army and lifting our swords not just for ourselves, but even more readily for those around us. Let’s take the example in Nehemiah and make it true today. Let’s build, help, protect and love as we are called knowing that the vulnerable places in our brothers and sisters will become our own if left in a state of rubble. Knowing that building together is the only way our churches will be strong. Knowing that without the Master Builder we would all be lost. Knowing that our walls will never be perfect, but that fellow believers are raising their swords for our protection and we are raising our sword for theirs.

Beautiful! Absolutley beautiful. Now, let’s get out there and actually do it.

My Story          Seeking Hearts Ministries

 

Success is Inevitable

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encouragement, encouraging words to get you going, faithful God, fast encouraging words, good start for your week, good start to your day, great start for the week, great start for your week, He has called you, our calling, quick devotional thought, quick devotions, short word of encouragement, success, success in life, truth, unevitable success

The author of this exact quote is unknown, but I love it. It reminds me of First Thessalonians 5:24 -“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” In other words, success is inevitable when it’s God’s call on your life.

Has He called you to coach?

Has He called you to teach?

Has He called you to write?

Has He called you to raise those kiddos?

Has He called you to sing your heart out?

Has He called you to tend to your home on a full time basis?

Has He called you to tend a sick loved one?

How about going to the mission field (close to home, or abroad)?

Has He called you to drive a school bus, deliver mail, or maybe even clean windows?

Whatever He has called you to do…rest in the fact that success is inevitable. No striving. No freaking out. Only simple obedience, faith and trust in Him is necessary. He will bring it to pass. It’s not only a great quote…it’s Scriptural.

Rest in that truth this week and know that no matter what circumstances may look like in this moment, when God has called you and you have answered, “Yes”, success is inevitable. Don’t proceed with caution. Proceed in faith knowing that your God has more for you than you ever imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

No Petting the Snake (Dealing with Fear)

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Christian encouragement, conquering fear, controlling anxiety, controlling fear, controlling worry, destroying fear, encouragement, fear, gaining new ground with God, getting free of fear, getting new terrotory this year, getting rid of fear, getting rid of the spirit of fear, how to control anxiety, how to control fear, how to gain new ground with God, how to gain new territory with God, how to get new life with Christ, how to get rid of fear, how to let our powerful God do His thing, how to not be controlled by fear, how to not let fear control you, how to stop fear, letting go of fear, the real story about fear, truth, walking in victory

As I was reading Joshua 24 this morning, I found Joshua reminding the children of Israel of all the times the Lord had delivered them on their journey to the Promised Land. Over and over and over again the Lord provided, encouraged and conquered nations on their behalf.

It made me realize that seeing victory required seeing mountains and enemies and scarcity of resources. I realized that the Israelites were human beings just like us, so just as many times as God provided for them, just as many times as God defeated their enemies, they had to have had fear to some degree. I only have the proof from Judges 7 where part of Gideon’s original army was afraid and (as stated earlier) they were human. I also have the knowledge of how many times God tells us to “fear not” in the Bible, so obviously it was as big of an issue then as it is now.

Normally, I would be fearful of how many times I’m fearful. You know, freaking out at how many times I’ve disappointed God with my lack of faith when He has cleared obstacles before. But this morning, I took courage from the fact that even though God’s people must have had some fear every time they were asked to clear the way, God still gave them the victory. As long as they were dependent on God alone and His guidance, they continued to gain ground. That’s really encouraging to me!

So, what can we learn from the Israelites? Should we just huddle in our fear and do nothing? Should we stay behind and let the brave few march forward? I think not! We should hand our fear over to God every single time it pops up. Sometimes, fear is so much a part of us that we don’t even recognize it, but we can pray for eyes to see fear for what it really is and then stop playing with it and allow our Savior to stomp it into the ground while we march over it into our Promised Land.

Think of fear as a rattlesnake. Do I know that rattlesnakes will pop up in certain territories? Yes, but that will not keep me from hiking through anyway. So, we simply take precautions and kill that sucker when he blocks our path.

Just like with fear. Do I know that fear will pop up when I am trying anything new, or having a breakthrough with my Lord? Yes, but that will not block my path. I’ll come prepared with my Bible verses and in the name of Jesus allow Him to crush the head of the serpent as only He can (Genesis 3:15).

Fear will come, but let’s not allow it stop us and for heaven’s sake let’s not play with it either. I know with me personally when I allow fear in one area of my life, it breeds into every area. So, it must be destroyed completely. We can’t keep fear as a pet. It will always grow too big to control. Always.

So, be encouraged today. Know that fear does come with conquering new territory, but allow God to destroy it and give you the victory anyway.

I’m leaving you with some verses to read through, meditate on and help to prepare you for those steps into great, new territories that God has for you. He has a Promised Land for you this year. Don’t allow fear to keep you from it. Some of these verses will resonate more than others. That’s the Holy Spirit working in you and letting you know how to prepare for the coming days. Take hold of those, memorize them, write them down and cling to them instead of fear.

Here you go …

Psalm 27:1-3,”The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom should I be afraid? When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. Though an army deploys against me, my heart is not afraid; though a war breaks out against me, still I am confident.”

Psalm 46:1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil.Selah”

Psalm 118:6,“The LORD is for me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 118:8, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.”

Psalm 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 91:5, “You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day…”

Psalm 112:7-8, “He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the LORD. His heart is assured; he will not fear. In the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”

Isaiah 35:4, “Say to the cowardly: “Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.”

Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” — How beautiful is that? Put your hand in His as a trusting child.

Isaiah 41:13, “For I, Yahweh your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you.”

Isaiah 43:2, “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and ⌊when you pass⌋ through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.”

Isaiah 44:8, “Do not be startled or afraid. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no ⌊other⌋ Rock; I do not know any.”

Isaiah 8:12, “Do not call everything an alliance these people say is an alliance. Do not fear what they fear; do not be terrified.” — I love this one because it reminds us that we are not to be terrified like those who do not have the hope of Jesus. I can’t even imagine trying to deal with fear without Jesus!

Jeremiah 17:7-8, “The man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence indeed is the LORD, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”

Matthew 10:29-31, “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  

Luke 12:31-32, “Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”

Hebrews 13:6, “Therefore, we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love.”

Be blessed this week, dear ones and know that our God does not want us be smothered by our fear, but He wants us to acknowledge it and bring it to Him so that He can destroy it completely as only He can.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

 

Sometimes Love Looks Like a Potty

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assumptions, christian walk, encouragement, family life, focus, getting the right perspective, God's love, God's practical love, having the right perspective of God's love, how God shows His love to us, love, perspective, practical ways to love, reality of family life, seeing God's love every day, seeing God's love for us, what love looks like

Yes, you read the title right. After 24 years of marriage, (I hate to break it to the newlyweds), love sometimes looks like a brand, spanking new, no clog, beautiful porcelain, name brand potty. Sometimes, love does look like you imagined growing up with all the candlelight, moonlight and any other light you can imagine, but oftentimes in the existence of everyday issues, a potty is involved.

Last week, we had an issue in our home and a new potty got moved from the someday list to the today list. After a few calls to my guy, he was able to buy, deliver and install said potty within a few hours. Wow! What a man! We teased each other about our “potty love” for the rest of the night. The really crazy thing is if he had brought me flowers that day and took me to a candlelit dinner I wouldn’t have felt as loved as I did with him installing our new potty. Love needed to look different from a fairy tale that day.

I wonder how often God shows me His love in practical ways every day, but because it’s not what I imagined, I don’t see it?

Believe me, the day of the potty I felt God’s love as well as my man’s. You see, my guy wasn’t even supposed to be able to come home until the next evening, but unexpectedly he finished what could be done on the job site and was able to come home…a whole day early! Our God is practical in His love.

If God had sent me a phone call from a friend that day when I really needed a potty, I wouldn’t have felt His love as much. He gave me what I needed and I was able to feel how loved and cherished I am to Him.

On other days, if a potty showed up at my door, I would have been thankful, but very confused. I’m sure those were the days that a call from a friend did come because that’s what I needed that day. You see? We need eyes wide open to see all the ways God shows His love to us just like I need eyes wide open to see all the ways that my guy shows his love for me. Some days, it’s candlelight and some days… it’s a potty.

Look around this Holiday Season and notice all the ways God is showing His love to you. Did your family’s favorite pie turn out just right? That’s God’s love. Did your pie get burned to a crisp, but your new daughter-in-law needed to see you’re not perfect? That’s God’s love to both of you. Did you have money to buy the ingredients for the pie? Did you have a stove to cook it in? All God’s love. Didn’t have any of that? Well, how about air to breathe? That’s God’s love. Water to drink? God’s love. A coat to wear? God’s love. A hug from a friend? God’s love. The ability to read this blog? God’s love. God shows His love in many, many ways we just need eyes to see it.

So, as you look around for all the ways that God is choosing to show His love for you over the next few days, pray that seeing His love becomes a habit. Pray that you will see and feel His love as you never have before and realize that sometimes God’s love looks like candlelight, but oftentimes times it looks like a new potty.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

 

 

Getting Mud Between My Toes

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a messy life, being hurt in church, christian journey, dealing with vain tradition, disappointments in church, encouragement, encouragement for the brokenhearted, getting dirty, getting messy in life, God's truth, how can I get past the hurt, I need encouragement, man's opinion, religion, tradition, tradition of men, truth, vain tradition, when life gets messy

 

Song of Solomon 5:3-5 says, “I have taken off my dress. How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet. How can I dirty them again? My Beloved extended His hand through the opening, and my feelings were aroused for Him. I arose to open to my Beloved…”

Lately, I’ve been pretty discouraged with what I will call the “established” church. Not the doctrine, but the implementation of that doctrine through tradition and opinion. I’ve really questioned my place in ministry on a local level and I’ve been anxious about God calling me to another area of service before I’m “ready”…whatever that means. (Imagine the kid on the team who doesn’t think he’s ready to play, white knuckling the bench every time the coach needs another player, cringing in case he hears his name called? Yep, that’s been me.)

As I was reading through Song of Solomon, I came across this beautiful passage in chapter 5 and realized that even though I feel as if I have washed my feet and taken off the old garments and do not want to get dirtied up again, when my Beloved reaches for me, I’ll be ready. Why? Because my feelings for Him will once again allow me to willingly say, “Yes” to whatever He has for me. I won’t be excited because of the assignment. I will be ecstatic because I get to run away with my Beloved. So what if I get a little dirt on my clothes and feel mud oozing through my toes? So what if life gets messy once again? As long as my Beloved is guiding me, as long as I am open to His guidance, it will always be worth it. I’m finally remembering that it’s always better to be a little dirty with Jesus than sitting in a room scared that I’ll ruin my shoes.

Life is messy. Ministry is messy. Family life is messy. You name it and it’s messy, but God has called us to minister, to love and to bless others, not to stay in the chamber of our life too scared of a little dirt to follow Him when He reaches for us.

Right now, God has me in a place of encouragement and excitement and I am able to enjoy simply being in His presence. It’s fun, but I know that there may come a time when He reaches for me to enter the fray once again. Whatever that may look like, however things may play out, whenever He reaches for me to come out of my pristine chamber I will run after Him knowing that He loves me more than I could ever imagine and knowing that when I get dirtied up again He is faithful to cleanse, restore and renew. How could I not run with a God like that?

So, if you’re like me and a little nervous about the next step, (maybe you feel like the kid on the bench not quite ready to be in the game), know that when your Beloved extends His hand towards you to come away with Him, it’s always the right time and even if you don’t know you’re ready, He does. Be confident in who He sees, take His hand and run with Him as you have never run before.

My Story

Seeking Hearts Ministries

(image by seat of my soul)

 

God is Bringing…

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christian journey, christian walk, Christianity, encouragement, faint hearted, faith, future, Jesus follower, present, the is of God, the way He leads

This past weekend I was asked a question about how I had hope through my recent illness. To be honest, my mind went blank and I gave some answer that I can’t even really remember, but afterwards I began to recall all the ways that God had encouraged me. There were Facebook messages, cards in the mail, prayers of so many friends and Scripture verses that would pop into my mind at just the right moment. Honestly though, God wanted me so dependent on Him that I was often alone battling strength for each moment simply knowing that God was there even though things were difficult.

He is not a mean God. He is simply the best Teacher and I had asked for some things that He decided to say, “Yes” to. This time of convalescence was part of the way He could get me to where I needed to be. Wordy, I know, but the only way I can think to describe it.

I definitely remember one very important Scripture for me during that time. It was actually deeply embedded in my spirit before my illness and God kept reminding me of it throughout those months. Here’s what it is:

“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fog trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.” – Deuteronomy 8:7-10

Did you catch the first part of this? “For the Lord your God is bringing you…” That “is bringing”is absolutely the best part of the passage for me. No matter what things look like around me, no matter what circumstances may appear to block my way, my God is bringing me into a good land.

Many times as I’ve struggled in a friendship, in finances, or with health God often reminds me that He is bringing me into a good land.

Remember that in the days ahead. Look around. Seek Him and see that He is bringing you into a good land, a place that will bring Him glory and a place much better than you ever imagined. Isaiah 64:4 says,“From ancient times no one has heard, no one has listened, no eye has seen any God except You, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.” Wait for Him. Seek Him. Focus on Him. He is bringing you into a good land.

My Story             Seeking Hearts Ministries

Running Instead of Walking

Tags

christian walk, encouragement, encouraging others, enlarging our hearts, fast growth, growing, loving others, loving our neighbor, loving people

Psalm 119:32 in Young’s Literal Translation says, “The way of Thy commands I run, For Thou dost enlarge my heart!”

So many times when I imagine my Christian life, I picture a slow plodding, a testing of each step to make sure there are no land mines and honestly, a rather slow experience overall. The psalmist in this passage though describes a Christian life that is filled with running. He is so sure of God’s commands that he is able to run forward because he is sure of the steps that God has before him.

Are we able to run as well?

We are. When we know God’s commands we are able to not just meander along, but run. We can move faster than we imagined because we can be sure of our steps. We don’t have to second guess everything because our path is clear before us.

So, what are some of our Lord’s commands?

Jesus Himself said that the greatest command is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22). So, we can run in that experience with Him. There is no need to be shy in His presence, or to avoid Him. He has called us to love Him and He has made a way in our hearts for that to happen, so we can run into His arms with complete abandon knowing that loving Him with unrestraint is His command.

Another sure command of the Lord is to love our neighbors as ourselves. In fact, Jesus calls this the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22). So, we know that this is another path in which we can run.

We can run towards telling our neighbors about Jesus, because we know that we would want to be told about Jesus. We can run towards forgiveness because we know we want to be forgiven. We can run to help someone who needs encouragement because we know we want encouragement. We can run to our knees for a request for a friend because we know we cherish the prayers of others. You see? Running is easy when we are running in His commands.

I love the second part of Psalm 119:32. It tells me that when I run in His commands, my heart enlarges. My love can’t help but grow. So, maybe I don’t feel like encouraging anyone today, but I know I need encouragement. Instead of waiting and sulking for someone to encourage me, I run in His commands by loving someone as I want to be loved (in this case, a simple word of encouragement) and He enlarges my heart. I end up feeling encouraged myself because He is always faithful to enlarge my heart when I am running in His commands.

I can’t help but think of The Grinch and how “his heart grew three sizes that day.” Maybe that’s why we all love that part of the movie so much (the 1966 version!). Our spirit knows that’s what God does for us when we run in His commands. He enlarges our hearts. He puts a goofy grin on our face and we are able to serve others in genuine love.The truth is when we are faithful to run in our Lord’s commands He fulfills His part of the bargain. He empowers us to do things we wouldn’t normally do. He lifts our spirits in ways we can’t imagine. He enlarges out hearts to love as we could never love before, even more than Mr. Grinch.

So, let’s lay down the idea of a quiet, slow Christian life and start running in His commands. Let’s stop looking for land mines and take Him at His Word that He will enlarge our hearts to love our neighbors as ourselves. Let’s stop limping around injured and afraid and run into arms wide open for discovery. Let’s pick up the pace and run!

My Story    Seeking Heart Ministries