Confident Prayer

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (James 1:6).

I’ve talked before about praying for others. My prayers sometimes go like this: Lord, please be with so and so. Please give them strength. Please give them comfort. Please help them through this. I am so worried about them. Please help them make good choices. Please keep them safe. I don’t know what to do. Please be with everyone involved.

Hmmm …I don’t feel much comfort from that except for the fact that I let God know what was going on. I know I should surrender it all to Him and trust. But I am still unsettled about the whole situation. Pleading and begging for mercy.

But what if I pray like this: Holy God, I know You are with so and so. I know You will be their Strength in time of need. I know too, that You are the Father of all comfort. You are their Help and their Salvation. We do not need to worry, for You never desert us or take Your eye off of us for one second. You have promised and have been faithful to the promise of being their Guide. And Protector. Under the shelter of Your wings, they are safe. Heaven and earth and beneath the earth all bow down at Your command. You are an awesome God. I know that full well. You are good.

Now I feel more reassurance. I feel more at peace by praying. I urge you to change up your prayer life to include all the wonderful truths we know about God’s character. And may peace come to your heart as you truly trust in the great I AM.

A groovy kind of love

 A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense (Proverbs 19:11).

I titled this post as such, because love has its ups and downs, pits and valleys and mountaintop highs. Our feelings run here and there and everywhere. This dawned on me this morning as my cats were crying (begging, whining) for food (again! Didn’t I just feed them a half hour ago?). Sometimes I love them to death! Like early in the morning Mandy climbs into my lap, then up onto my chest – and purrs. Max sits on a table (a no-no) by the half-wall and peeks his head over the top, then ducks down when I shoot the squirt bottle. Then looks up and over again. They do bring laughter and joy to my life. I love them so! But they can be irritating as well.

My cats are named Max and Mandy, good people names and maybe with good reason. Because it reminds me that I both love dearly and “dislike” certain things about them. I admit I feel the same about people. But no matter what naughtiness they get into, love, tolerance, acceptance wins with them. Shouldn’t all our relationships be like that?

Relationships can be groovy. May they be a groovy kind of LOVE.

Hope for today

We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him. They are the people He called, because that was His plan (Romans 8:28 NCV).

Hope. Believing in something good, but as of yet, unseen; not experienced. It’s what gets us through our days. Whether it’s physical, relational, or financial, whatever the concern might be. In our eyes, a good turn-out may seem unimaginable. But there is a way: a God-way.

Hope is what’s going to bring you your next breath. Hope puts one foot in front of the other. Hope is what’s going to carry you through. Hope in the living, loving, powerful, wise God.

Don’t save hope for just the great, big trials of life. In every daily challenge, decision, struggle: from what to eat to what to say, put your hope in the God Who saves, guides, strengthens and protects.

Don’t let your day moan and groan and drag you down with worry and wondering. You don’t have to know the outcome when your trustworthy heavenly Father does. He promises good to those who love Him. Trusting and putting your hope in Him can calm the most unsettled heart. Even yours.

In a matter of minutes

What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? (Isaiah 5:4)

But they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of His hands. (Isaiah 5:12)

When I first read this passage, I was filled with guilt, shame and sorrow.

I’m so sorry, Lord, that we haven’t loved You as we ought and that we are so consumed with ourselves, we don’t love neighbor as we ought either. I’m sorry we’re chasing after all the wrong things and neglecting the One right “Thing”. I’m sorry we blame You for all the badness in the world and in our personal lives. I’m sorry we see You as some domineering tyrant instead of the God of love and mercy that You are. I’m sorry we put so much store in the opinions of others and that even for Christians, You often come last. Why can’t we see You as Savior and Watchtower for us in a good, loving way? Why can’t we see sin for what it is and that You power us through the consequences of it? Oh, that every knee would truly bow at Your name, dear Lord, That highest honor and glory and exaltations would be given You; that we would see the Almighty as powerful and great and good. That He is for us not against us; that life doesn’t have to be hard when you accept the fact that God is always on your side, fighting for you. Stop struggling. Stop getting in the way. Just focus. Believe in His goodness. Honor Him with love and gentleness and kindness fully believing it is He who will repay the evildoers. Believe God hold you – tenderly and close. There will be consequences to sin while on the earth but He can keep you from being totally destroyed by it. In fact, He has the power to change Satan’s attempts into something for good. Trust in God and cling to Him and Satan loses time and time again. Don’t give Satan a foothold by falling for his deceitfulness and lies. Stay consciously present in the shelter of God’s wings. These are the Bible-truth concepts you can rely on. Dear near to God and He will draw near to you. Don’t you see how even now in just a few moments He moved me from shame and guilt to the protection of His loving arms? I wasn’t seeking comfort exactly. I was just confessing sadness after reading a chapter in Isaiah. And He brought me to a place of peace. Thanks be to God. 

All I have needed

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father … (James 1:17)

I was reminded yesterday by a dear, sweet woman that worry is a sin. Eek! How many times have I written about worry? As I thought about it this morning, I think fear and pride could be related as well. All three are focused not on God at all, but on self and what we can or can not do to provide for ourselves. Leaving God out of the picture at any time is a sin. We have this amazing, lifetime opportunity to trust in God for all things; to thank and praise Him for all things; be recipients of all things needed – and more – from the very heart and hands of God. And not just things like food, water, clothes, shelter. So much more! When you’re with God, there is love, peace and security. Hope, too. And miracles no human can make happen. With God there is freedom. You focus on all God’s attributes (found in the Bible) and you can’t help but believe in how almighty, perfect He is and how that can be displayed in your life as you trust in Him. You don’t need to worry and fear about what others will think about you or what you will do, (because that’s really the basis of most of our fears): to be seen as “less than” or “lowly” in the eyes of others. But glory always belongs to the Lord. Don’t forget Whose you are. But also don’t forget HE is above all. And rightly so. Humble yourselves before the Lord Most High. Give reverence and respect due Him and do not be afraid for it is this same great, big, honorable God that love and cares for you beyond your wildest imagination.

O Lord, it is a hard message to swallow. It’s hard to surrender to Someone I can’t see or feel all the time. I have to remember the times I have recognized Your hand on things. Worry, fear, pride are all hopes in my own self. And a sin against You. My life is in Your hands. All my days were written in Your book before one of them came to be. You are always with me and beside me and for me. Peace is mine for the taking. May I rest in You as I trust in You. Your gift to me.

Smooth sailin'

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace –  (1 Corinthians 14:44)

Sometimes I have to force myself to settle down. Sometimes it doesn’t come so easy or natural. There are easy-going days when things seem to flow and there is space in between to catch a breath and relax between the “doing”. And then there are days where it’s one thing after another. And you don’t have a minute’s peace to yourself.

But I’m not talking about those days really. I’m talking more about days when I start thinking about all kinds of future things and expectations and what-ifs. Thinking all day long about overwhelming things that haven’t happened.  Commitments. Responsibilities. Anticipations. Potential problems, barriers, obstacles. And the time needed to accomplish it all. Yes, thinking can be very draining. More draining than the doing.

Successful people have a way of breaking things down into smaller bites. They set a reasonable goal for each day. They don’t obsess about potential interruptions or a change in course. They seem to have a plan but also still rely on a higher power to see things through to completion.

In almost all things, there is a beginning, middle and end. At some point, you go through all three. And you can do it in a frantic, panic state. Or a progressive, staging process state. One definitely seems more appealing. You’re going to end up at the end either way. Why not take a more steady, more manageable approach?

Maybe we need to pay attention to our daily emotional health. Are you constantly on edge, chasing, running, struggling, in a whirlwind?  When you’re with God, everything that needs to get done, will be done. He is the Master of both order and peace. Trust in Him. He settles the stormy seas by His presence (Luke 8:23-25).

I have decided to follow Jesus

When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” – Luke 24: 30-32

I was faced with making a big decision recently. My instinct said, "No.” Plain and simple. I do not want to take on this size of responsibility. I am not qualified. And how many times have you been told to stop saying, “Yes” all the time? It’s okay to say, “no” – right?

So I slowed myself down and started to pray. I questioned God about being able to hear Him; if I really am the one for this job; and why can’t I sense a clear direction from Him? That’s when He “led” me to open up my bible and there I found the words to a song which pretty much says, “I am here in the silence, you will hear my voice, you are my choice, be still and know that I am God.”

I tried to think of other reasons why I couldn’t possibly fill this position adequately. Every time, there was a verse or a song or a line from a devotion in response. I was hearing His “Go!” but I was not sensing a peace about it. I wasn’t feeling it.

I tried to reason with Him some more. It seemed like He stopped talking. Then I received this kind of “message” in my head and heart: You don’t need to know what’s ahead and you don’t need to feel comfortable.

That hit pretty hard. Because in the past when I’ve sought the Lord, it seems like He responded with a confirmation that brought me inner peace and I felt more prepared to go forward. This time the message was just “Go”.

So my closing remarks to you this day is this: don’t argue with God. Go with God. He will take care of everything. Just focus on the next step. Do not be afraid or overwhelmed or discouraged. I may not feel prepared but I know the promise of God to equip the called. He will not let me down. At this point I can’t perceive Jesus; I’m on the road. But I don’t want to stop while my heart is burning. I want to stick around long enough for my eyes to be opened – I want to see Jesus.

Are you in the midst of a call? Listen to God and God alone. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on seeing and experiencing  a walk with Jesus either.

Go for the Gold

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! - Matthew 7:11

My kitties. We’ve had them for several months now. I bought some toys for them to play with when we first adopted them. They weren’t really interested. A month or so later I saw something else that might be fun for them. It wasn’t. They even ignored the catnip mouse. What do they like? The milk ring from the jug. All these nice toys available to them and they are content with a cheap little milk ring.

Reminds me of babies and toddlers. They too, seem to be more fascinated with the wrapping and the box instead of the really nice gift inside. Frustrating, isn’t it?

Which made me think about the gifts of God that He sends to us. But we are more focused on some lesser thing we stumbled upon ourselves. Can you imagine something bigger, better, more wonderful within your reach, and you are so intent on something else, you miss out?

Don’t be like my kitties or like that toddler. Let your life be more beautiful by the gifts of God and not that of your own design.