words of encouragement...

Good old Oswald Chambers challenges me again :) In yesterdays devotional, He is talking about adversity and the role it plays in our lives. He talks about how as Christians we can be confused that believing means we are going to be delivered from all adversity, but it in fact means we are going to be delivered IN all adversity.  It was such a good reminder of how present Jesus is when I am at my lowest. I don't always know it or sense it in those times, but looking back at a tough time there is no doubt in my mind he walked through it with me and gave me the strength to endure. I liked this part especially...

"God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength....If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God."

So encouraging to be reminded of what God CAN do and what he DOES do in times of our adversity. We just have to trust that He's there, He's giving us the strength we need....whether we can see it or not.

"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"  —John 16:33

words of encouragement...

I was reading ahead a bit in My Utmost for His Highest (by Oswald Chambers) and was really struck by this entry for tomorrow. It really challenged me. I am a planner and constantly thinking ahead and looking forward. It made me wonder...how many times have I missed an opportunity right in front of me because I was pressing forward to the next thing? how often do I walk right past the chance to see God at work because my eyes are on MY goal, not his? I want to be present. Right here, right now.  I liked this part....
"God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God."
I don't want to miss seeing Him "walking on the sea" because I was looking for what he was walking toward or leading me to when the whole purpose is to know that He is walking on the sea!  Father God, help me to be present. Help me to see the process as the purpose. Help me to see what you are doing right now as the goal. Thank you for being so present with us that each moment is an opportunity to know you better and be closer to you.

words of encouragement...

a favorite verse to share.....

"The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing"    
Zephaniah 3:17

Such a beautiful picture of who God is...a mighty warrior who saves, always with us, and taking great delight in us. Thank you Father God for such great HOPE that you give us in your love and in who you are!

a favorite verse...

This verse has been a long time favorite of mine that really came alive this last year during the study of Isaiah at BSF. I came to understand the verse so much more and it became that much more meaningful.

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"    Isaiah 30:18

Read in the context of the rest of the book of Isaiah, it is just amazing HOW full of grace this verse is.  It's a promise to Isreal that despite their unfaithfulness and in the midst of their hardships the Lord IS faithful, He is gracious, and He is just.

words of encouragement...or in this case, challenge!

I came across this passage today and felt compelled to take a closer look. I think I've looked over this passage (even though it's a favorite of mine) or just saw it as a vague encouragement that everything was going to be ok (in whatever situation at the time). But, today I felt like I needed to break it down, take a closer look, take it more seriously. So, I did. Here was my challenge (or rather God's challenge) to myself as I read over and prayed about this throughout today. Hope you can be challenged by it as well...

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:4-7

Challenge 1: Rejoice. Not because of my circumstances but regardless of my circumstances. Rejoice because my Lord is GOOD. He is faithful and true.
Challenge 2: Let my gentleness be evident to all. Even when the car in front of me is turning WAY to slow. Even when that guy just cut in front of me in a long line. Even when Sydney is testing my patience. Even when I feel like they don't deserve it. Even when I'm tired, angry, hurt, or upset. To all. At all times.
Challenge 3: Do NOT doubt where God is. He is near. ALWAYS.
Challenge 4: Do not be anxious. about ANYTHING. Remind myself who is in control (Hint to self: it's not me)
Challenge 5: Pray. Talk to God. Bring everything to Him and bring it with THANKFULNESS. Thankfulness that he hears my prayers, that He's a mighty and yet still personal God, that He knows me better than myself.
Challenge 6: TRUST that God's peace, that surpasses my understanding, will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Father God, THANK YOU for your Word. Thank you for truth that penetrates my heart no matter how many times I read it. Thank you for walking through life with me, challenging me to be better when I'm patient enough to listen. Thank you for being faithful when I am unfaithful. Help me to trust your peace. Help me to trust that I have nothing to be anxious about because YOU are in control. In Jesus name, Amen.

today's WORDS of encouragement...

I was evangelized to by a couple Jehovah Witness ladies today. They went through their spiel and I told them that I knew Jesus and was familiar with all the information on the tract they handed me (to which they seemed disappointed. hm, not the reaction I was expecting). One of the ladies, Gail, had actually stopped by one day before when I was sick and said she would come back (and she stuck to her word!). Anyway, their visit wasn't all that enlightening but she did read me a verse of encouragement from Isaiah that stood out to me because I studied that book all year in BSF (if you don't know what that is, you NEED to check it out. GREAT study!) It made me miss studying Isaiah, a book that became almost like a friend. When I came back inside from talking to the ladies I just had the urge to read through some of my favorite verses from the Isaiah study.....

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:18

"See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:10-11

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings."  Isaiah 58:9b-12

"The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.  "   Isaiah 25:8

" But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;  the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" Isaiah 43:1-3

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."  Isaiah 61:1-3

I learned so much through this study but what stood out to me most was that our LORD is faithful, He loves us so perfectly, and there is GREAT hope to be found in Jesus.

good vs. best

I dont' know if anyone else is familiar with "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, but it has remained a staple reading for me through out my Christian life. I've read through the devotional book several times over several years and it never ceases to challenge me. This week imparticular has kicked my butt. Two days worth of devotions are sticking with me and I just had to share these truths with you (whoever "you" may be :)

The first one came from Monday's devotional (See link here for web version: May23rd) This devotional refers to worry as infidelity against God. That is a strong word (infidelity) and seems like a very strong accusation to make about something as small as worry. But it got me thinking, how faithless am I to spend the majority of my time thinking and stressing about things that God has clearly told me he will take care of? How often have I considered not worrying just being irresponsible? Now I'm not saying that we should just quit worrying about paying the bills because Jesus will pay them (although he could :) But I was just so challenged that I do not have as much faith as I thought, that I am not abandoned to my God as I thought, that I want to control everything...I don't want His help. I don't want His provision because I can handle it. Wow, yeah, now infidelity doesn't seem so strong of a word to me. It challenged me that I need to keep giving God control, daily, and trust Him. Tough for my personality, but essential for my life.

The second challenge came today (see link here for web version: May 25th) I've heard the saying that "good" can be the enemy of "best" but for some reason the way Oswald wrote this entry really struck home. It made me wonder, how often have I confidently chosen "right" or "good" only to give up experiencing "best"? Again, it's a control thing for me, for all of us...to believe we know what is best. The perfect example I can think of from my life is Sydney. We didn't plan her timing. We were on the brink of moving to Seattle, me starting grad school, waiting another year or two to start a family. It was a good plan. It felt right to us.  But it wasn't best. God chose for us. And although we still could have moved and I still could have started grad school, we didn't feel like it was the best God had for us. Instead we got to stay in Arkansas for another year with people who had become family. I got to be a stay at home mom for almost all of Sydney's first year. And best of all, we got Sydney. Even though it wasn't our timing, it was the very best thing that ever happened to us and proved itself to be the PERFECT timing. God used this devotional to remind me of this great example in my own life of how awesome it is when I leave Him in the control seat and let him choose. Best definitely wins over good. Every time.

So, Oswald may not be for everyone but if you are looking to be challenged with some simple (and some not so simple) truths, you should check out this classic....My Utmost for His Highest