Shout from the Mountaintops

Daniel 4:2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

I just love this statement from Nebuchadnezzar.  How often I find myself wanting to shout from the mountaintops about what God has done! There is so much sadness and tragedy in the world, and sometimes we just need the positive Word. God is always at work, sometimes it's small things like running into someone and having a nice conversation to big things like cancer-free declarations.  I have spent a lifetime looking for what God is doing in my life and where He is doing it.  I have gone through valleys where it seems as though my circumstance could not be any more awful and yet the closeness of Christ in that moment I cannot begin to describe.  I have been on the highest mountain elated beyond all expectations and felt the Presence of the Holy Spirit through the goosebumps on my arms and the happiness in my soul. Yes, the miraculous signs and wonders are things I think we forget to enjoy.  We forget that God is in all things, even when it seems He is not.  I would love to share all of the ways God has been faithful and providential in my life, but there are just too many.  I do keep track in certain situations because sometimes it is literally unbelievable, even to me, how He works out details.  So, what are the miraculous signs and wonders you have seen God do for you?  If you think He has done none, look again, talk to a friend, seek Him and you will see Him.

Feeling Blue

Psalm 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Sometimes I feel blue when there seemingly isn't any reason for it.  I find myself feeling down and a little lost in my own world.  The psalmist, in 42, talks about how he remembers God's work from before and how his life was in days past. That tends to be my go to as well, although at times that makes me feel worse, not better.  For me, the best thing I can do is look to the times where God has been faithful and present.  I seek time with God and ask for His presence to wash me.  It doesn't always help my feelings, but it often does. Seeking to be in God's Presence changes my perspective.  It reminds me that I am so much more than the earthly existence I experience. I take comfort in knowing that I am made for more and that God has a plan and purpose in mind just for me. My hope in God is that He is doing something, even when I can't see it, and He is actively working for my good, even when I can't feel it. When my feelings are getting the best of me, I do my best to remember who God is and what He has done.  I seek Him and ask that He free me from the lies that seem to hold my feelings hostage. Only He can give me true, deep joy no matter my circumstance.

Follow Them All Then...Good Luck

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

I really like the whole book of Galatians, and today I'm going to write about the above.  Sometimes I fall into the trap of trying to make myself better.  I find a "God law" I think God wants me to follow, ie stop swearing, and try to do it on my own.  In these verses in Galatians, Paul reminds me that if I'm going to choose to do my own transformation by following one of "God's laws", here he discusses circumcision, then I am bound to follow all of them on my own as Jesus lived (not only outwardly, but inwardly). Good luck!  And if that is the road I choose, to live life by following rules, then Christ died for nothing; again, according to Paul's words. So there becomes the hard part of trying to stop taking over the transformation of my life and let the Holy Spirit do the work it is sent to do, transform my life. I've learned that when I catch myself in these self improvement modes, I have to spend time in prayer each time it pops up and give my desires, my actions, my words, over to God and pray that the Holy Spirit works in my life to transform me into the person I know God wants me to be.  No matter how hard I try, I will fail.  No matter how strong my will, it isn't perfect.  No matter how righteous I can become on my own, I will  not be fit to enter into the Presence of God.  Only in Christ do I have hope and only through the work and power of the Holy Spirit will I be transformed, from the inside out. It's a journey and it's not easy to give up control, but it's a must when you walk with God in Christ.

In a Whisper

I don't know that I have so much to say on this Friday.  It has been an interesting week with many ups and downs.  I never seem to adjust to the way that life takes us to the heights in one moment and drops us to the depths in a whisper.  I am very thankful that I have the constant love and peace of Jesus to keep my path straight and to even out the craziness of life's circumstances. I rest in the fact that nothing can separate us from that love. Life isn't always easy to understand or explain and neither is God, but at least I know in the depths of my soul that I am loved, I am saved, and I am okay in any and all circumstances through Christ who gives me strength.

But Why the Suffering?

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.

But why the suffering? That's the real question, isn't it? I understand that God will restore me and make me better than before, but why does He have to use suffering? I actually think I may have an answer. I don't know that it's completely correct, but it makes sense in my life for what I have seen and experienced personally and in watching the lives of others.  So, let's get to it. When we suffer we typically draw closer to God because we find that we have to.  We are driven to our knees in prayer when we truly experience suffering.  We spend time in prayer building a stronger, deeper relationship with God.  Our suffering connects us to others as well.  None of us ever go through an experience that no one else has ever had.  We find people who have similar stories with similar struggles and we build relationships with them.  Suffering produces a softening of the soul. It makes our hearts malleable and vulnerable. In this vulnerable state, the Holy Spirit is able to transform our hearts and bring an eternal focus to our souls that we cannot gain otherwise.  When life is going awesome, we remain focused on our earthly circumstances in a way that can't produce eternal wisdom.  This is the reason for suffering.  Suffering causes our focus to become eternal as we are transformed by the Spirit, held by the Savior, and comforted by our brothers and sisters in Christ giving us eternal wisdom and peace.  And on the other side, a strength and authority no person could ever gain on his/her own.  It is of God. That's what I think anyway. :-)

Thought Replays

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

I'm not sure I'm always thinking "about such things". I find myself wasting my time on things that are not excellent or praiseworthy.  Lately, I've caught myself thinking about things from the past that still have sting.  I've been spending time in prayer with God about this, as I don't want to spend my time in thoughts that are over.  It's amazing to me how easily I find myself sliding right back into those thought patterns though replaying all of the things that transpired.  I spoke with God about that today, asking Him what it is that causes me to struggle and think back on these things at this point.  I am happy where I am today.  God has done huge work in my physical, emotional, and spiritual self and I have deeper joy now than I've ever had.  And yet, my mind draws back to the former things.  This verse is a great reminder to ask God to train my brain.  I have started to seek Him when those former thoughts come to mind, and He definitely falls under all of the topics Paul lists here.  It's not easy to move beyond our past, even when we have moved beyond our past.  Satan is quick to pull it out whenever he can.  Dad has been putting a particular quote from the Matthew Henry Commentary on Ezra 3:8-13 in his sermon series and it is now a pic on my phone screen saver.  It's perfect for what I'm dealing with in my thoughts these days. "Let not the remembrance of former afflictions drown the sense of present mercies."  Amen!

Being Actively Still

Psalm 21:7 For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.

Trusting in the Lord has been something I have been working on over the last 9 months or so.  I have written about it in the past, I believe, about the fact that I had faith in God, but that trusting in Him is so different.  In a similar way, I have learned also that I was good at trusting in God's timing but didn't really trust in His providence.  All of these have been pressed in the last 9 months: faith, trust, timing, and providence.  I had the faith that God was going to do something, but I didn't want to trust Him for it fully.  I wanted to take matters into my own hands and do the things that I have skills to accomplish.  God had me be still and wrestle with trusting Him to do the things I wanted so badly to do on my own.  He challenged me to trust Him in a way I had never done before, by being actively still. It's an oxymoron, I know. Then came the challenge of trusting in God's providence.  Because of prior experience with God, I knew that His timing would be perfect and that He had that under complete control.  However, the providence piece was something I had not considered. It was easy to wait for the timing when I knew what was coming.  It was a completely different experience to wait for the timing when I had no clue what was coming, and it didn't seem like anything was going to come.  That was when God mad His providence known.  He brought things to me in a way I would have never concocted and did it at a time that seemed completely ridiculous.  It has been an incredible journey.  Have you ever considered your own walk in terms of the faith, trust, timing and providence of our Lord? Only when we have wrestled with our own humanity and God's divinity can we truly understand the psalmist.