The Calling

We have been here in Liberia for seven months. I realize I have practically abandoned my blog in the last seven months, but I did not expect to be hit in the face with the adversities of just trying to survive life. I never would have expected that things like preparing meals, doing laundry, dishes, shopping for food, getting water (because we have no running water), and cleaning absolutely everything (especially during dry season when the dust is insane) would take up the majority of our time most days. In the states most of these things are done with machines and take a fraction of the time they do here. Just living is a full time job here!

Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world! After living here I can honestly say they have surpassed the third world status. Liberia is truly a fourth world country! Their infrastructure was destroyed by 24 years of civil wars and coos. And today, 15 years after the war’s end, they are still struggling immensely! Living here is almost like living 80 years ago, with one exception, cell phones. Many Liberians have cell phones, and often at the expense of buying food for their families. We personally know Liberians who virtually starved their family just so they could purchase a smartphone. That may sound ludicrous to you and I, but there is a rational to why they made that choice. It was done so they could make connections with people outside of their Liberian circle. For one individual family that we know of, it paid off. That is how we met one of our Liberian pastors! No joke! My husband connected with him over Facebook. This pastor is in charge of a large compound and school. By virtually starving his family, he changed the course of life for not only his family, but for the many families that live on the compound and attend the school. Desperate times call for desperate measures. But not all Liberians think this radically. Most Liberians settle for surviving one day at a time and not planning for tomorrow. They eat the very seed that they should be planting to harvest a crop for future meals. Many say “why starve today when there is seed to eat?” It takes radical thinkers and those who are willing to put hope in tomorrow to reach outside the here and now and invest into a tomorrow that may never come. Here in the fourth world, tomorrow is truly just wishful thinking. They don’t plan for tomorrow because they might not survive the hardships of today.

This way of life is so unimaginable to most westerners. We have never had to decide between today’s meal and a chance to survive tomorrow. We can’t understand, we have never felt that degree of poverty. For many of us, we have never even seen it, other than the occasional commercials and pictures we see on television. But even, that is not truly tangible to us. It’s nothing we have touched or seen in flesh and blood. It’s easy to walk away from the scene we see on television, but let me tell you, it’s far more difficult to walk away from the flesh and bones standing right in front of you with eyes of desperation piercing your heart. Everywhere we go there are needs, real, evident, legit needs! We are continually bombarded with people asking for help with this need and help with that need. It’s overwhelming. Before coming to this country I had a family member, who had been a missionary in Africa for 52 years tell me “you really need to know why you are called there, because if you don’t the needs of people will distract you from your calling.” Oh boy, is that ever true! If we tried to help every person who came up to us and asked for help we would miss the reason we are here completely. We would find ourselves frustrated and discouraged. Please don’t get me wrong. We do not go around refusing to help people who ask, but we have learned to ask “Lord who would you have us help.” And yes, at times that means saying no to the voices who are asking for help. Sounds cruel right? Well, let’s take a look at Jesus shall we.

There were times even Jesus could not help people, not because He did not want to, but because the circumstances did not allow Him to act. Matthew 13:58 says “And he did not do any miracles there because of their lack of faith.” If the people of Nazareth (Jesus’ hometown) would have believed and had faith, Jesus could have helped, but their lack of faith kept Jesus from helping. Jesus also said in John 5:19 ...“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Jesus did nothing without hearing from the Father first. If he did not hear, he did not act, or speak.

We truly believe there is a specific reason we are called to Liberia. The longer we are here the more clearly we are understanding that calling. Now as people come asking for help, we are more inclined to run it through the filter of our calling. If it lines up with our purpose, we feel more freedom to help. If it doesn’t line up at all, we do not act. This has given us great peace about when to help and when not to help. It’s not that we don’t care and love those we don’t help, on the contrary, we truly do, but we can only do what God has called us to do, anything that does not line up with that calling is nothing more than a distraction. This has been a hard lesson to learn, and one that we still fail at from time to time, but we are thankful that the Lord is a tuning our ear to his voice in this time.

The saying goes, “give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” We are learning to walk the line of giving verses teaching. We desire to see the Liberians not only learn the art of “fishing”, but to have those Liberians teach other Liberians to “fish” as well. In other words. We desire to see Liberians become self sufficient and reproductive. We want them to pass along the knowledge and skills that they have learned from us to others. We have known from the very beginning that we wanted to work our way out of a job. We want the Liberians to not need us anymore because they have the skills they need to be successful. We realize that this is an investment of much time and many years, but that is part of the calling.

For more posts on this subject of calling please click here.

Lord, it has been a challenging road here in Liberia, but one we know that you have called our family to. Father, I pray that each one who reads this post will search out their calling in the kingdom and walk it out with boldness and confidence. Thank you for knowing the plans and purposes for each one of us (Jeremiah 29:11). Let us not grow weary in searching those plans out. Jesus, let your will be done in our lives, and in the lives of our family for your honor and your glory. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.  

What's Your Thorn?

Over a year ago I wrote a blog post entitled “Worthy To Be Praised.” In that post, I shared briefly on the topic of Paul’s thorn in his side. I had mentioned that perhaps Paul’s thorn was some form of physical pain (although, this is not clearly stated in scripture). Whatever the thorn was, be it physical pain or not, it was something Paul was continually dealing with, something he had to keep in a crucified state and laid down at the feet of Jesus. Today I would like us to take a look at this thorn, this continual struggle that needs to be crucified on a daily, hourly or even a minute by minute bases.    

Roses and thorns
In the plant world, roses were created with thorns. God made them that way on purpose, not to harm the rose, but to protect it. I want us to think about this concept just for a moment...the very thing that brings pain to a predator (the thorn) is the very thing that brings life and protection to the rose. I find it ironic that our hardest struggles can sometimes turn out to be our saving grace, and our Heavenly Father ingeniously designed it that way. The very sin that trips us up time and time again can sometimes be the very thing God uses to bring about the growth and protection of a beautiful rose. Please don’t misunderstand me here, I’m not saying God created sin in our lives for our protection. But I am saying that sometimes I think God allows us to have our own way and walk in our own struggles long enough for us to blossom from them. Sometimes God will use our struggles to bring about something so exquisite that we never could have predicted the full extent of its beauty. This is why we can claim “all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

I was out walking with my husband the other day and as he was talking about the topic of pride, the Lord began to drop in my spirit… “that is your thorn.” I had to do a double take for just a quick second, and then I began to realize that all of my issues with self-esteem boils down to this five letter word. PRIDE. God had placed a finger on it. Now, the question remained what was I going to do with it? I believe we all have to deal with some level of pride, and keeping it in a dead state. However, I am learning that, for me personally, it is requiring way more work on my part. God is not going to take away this battle of pride in my life. He has allowed it to stick around as a continual reminder to me to stay focused on him. The extent to which I can lay down my pride (aka: my self-esteem issues) is the extent to which I will blossom. In other words, the thorn is there so my rose can come forth. Without the sweat equity required by the thorn, the blossom will not be protected. If I continue to be lead by my self-conscience nature, I will never see my rose.

So, I find myself brought back around the mountain, yet again, to wage war. But this time, I understand a little better why my battle seems to keep cropping up. When I wrote my post entitled “Time To Wage War” I wrote from the standpoint that this thing was going to flee and never return. In some cases that is exactly the standpoint we must take in order to see change. However, I feel as if the Lord has changed my thinking a bit on this particular area of my life. When the Lord said “that is your thorn.” I believe He was showing me that I will always face this battle. In knowing that piece of information, I can now fight just a little different. I do not believe this information was shown to me so I can throw up my arms and give up. However, I think the Lord chose to share this so my fighting could be adjusted for a marathon rather than a sprint, for a lifetime rather than a moment in time. It has made a difference knowing the duration of time I have been called to fight this battle. It has put my mind to rest just knowing that it’s okay for me to struggle with this issue because it is my protection for the rose God has in my life. Believe me, coming from someone whose sin of self-consciousness has deeply entangled her at times, my mind has been truly calmed by knowing that my continual battle with this will bring about my own protection in the end. The Lord never ceases to amaze me in the intriguing ways he weaves our deepest hurts, struggles and hardships to bring about the highest honor and glory for His name.  In our weakness, He is strong! (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Call to action
What is your thorn? What is the thing in your life that Christ is continually putting His finger on that will bring about your very protection in the end if you willingly and faithfully lay it at His feet? May I be so bold as to encourage you to seek out your thorn. Ask the Lord what it is that you will be expected to battle with for the rest of your life, not as a form of discouragement, but as a source of relief in knowing where your protection is coming from. May we all have the courage to ask the Lord to reveal our thorn.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for thorns. I thank you that our very struggles are the things you use to display your strength. May you reveal to our hearts the specific struggle that we will face for a lifetime so that your honor and glory can come forth like a rose! Thank you that your ways are higher than our ways. We ask all this in Jesus name.

Do you love me?

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
John 21: 15-17

I find it interesting in this passage of scripture that Jesus would ask Peter three times in a row if he loved Him. As you study out the original Greek and Hebrew of this word love you realize why. In the English language we just have one word for love, but many definitions, or expressions of the word love. However, in the Greek, there are six different words for love with six very distinct meanings and expressions. In the Hebrew, they have three different words for love, each conveying a very different weight and connotation to it. I feel like the original language does a better job of helping us to see into the heart of Peter in this passage better than our current English translation can. 

The original Greek
I wanted to take some time and examine the Greek words used in this passage. When Jesus asks Peter the first time if he loves Him (vs 15). That word love in the Greek is agape. This word carries a unique weight to it because it is the word used in scripture time and time again to describe the way God loves. Agape love is an all-consuming passion for the well being of the one being loved. It is a love that esteems, elevates, prizes, and delights in others expecting nothing in return. It keeps loving when the love is not reciprocated when the one being loved is unkind, unlovable, unworthy and rejecting the love being given. It is an unconditional love that only desires the best for the one being loved and nothing less. Doesn’t that just sound like our Heavenly Father? Agape love is God. That is the very definition of who He is. Agape love is how He loves us! 

Now that we understand the weight associated with this word agape, let’s return to Peter. When Jesus asks “do you agape me?” I can just picture Peter squirming a bit and somewhat getting defensive as he answers… “you know I love you.” But here is where it gets interesting. Peter does not respond with the word agape. He responds with a completely different word for love and he says... “you know I “philos” you Lord.” 

This word philos has an entirely different meaning and carries a much lighter weight than the word agape. It is a word that means brotherly love, a friendship kind of love. It is a fondness or a liking for another person. I read one definition that actually went as far as to say that this type of love can collapse in times of crisis. When I read this it made me stop and wonder if Peter was unknowingly foreshadowing his coming denial of knowing Jesus (Luke 22:54-71) when he said... of course I philos you, Lord. 

If we keep reading Jesus asks Peter a second time “do you truly agape me?” Again, I can picture Peter still squirming and feeling a bit perturbed with Jesus’ questioning… “Yes, Lord, you know that I philo you.” Now, for a second time in a row, Peter did not answer with the same word. I wonder if that word agape had such weight in the original Greek that it was too much for Peter to even speak? 

Finally, Jesus asked Peter a third time if he loved Him, but this time instead of agape He used philo, love of the friendship variety, a brotherly kind of love. Peter again replied with… “you know that I philo you.” Finally, Peter’s answer was lining up with Jesus’ question!

I don’t believe Jesus was trying to exasperate Peter here by repeating the same question over and over again, but I do believe Jesus was trying to make a point. We serve a God that loves us with an all-consuming kind of love, a love that cannot be broken, weakened or taken away. What Christ was showing here is His desire for us to love Him with that level of passion. As I studied this out I found myself asking...Do I really agape the Lord? Do I really love Christ in the manner He desires for me to love Him? God desires an all in composing, all-consuming kind of agape love. Do I even remotely give that type of love to Him or is it more of the friendship variety?
Just like Peter, I can honestly say that I absolutely philo the Lord, but agape Him is a whole new dimension, one that I wonder if I have remotely come close to.  

Call to action
How about you? Do you love the Lord with the weight of an agape kind of love, or does it lean more towards the philo or friendship type? I know there are some of us out there who can honestly answer that we love the Lord in an all-encompassing, all-consuming agape type of love. But for those of us whose love for the Lord leans more towards the philos variety, we have some work to do.  I wish I could say I have answers for moving from one level of love to another, but I do not. I will be seeking the Lord to reveal to my heart how to make that transition. I am just thankful that the Lord brought me to a place where I noticed there was a difference. 

To read more on the topic of love visit the series on love.

Father, thank you for showing me the difference between the agape love that you shower upon me and the philos love that I end up returning. My heart’s prayer is that you bring me to a place where I can love you and others with an agape love, one that does not have expectations involved. I pray for anyone reading this post that may need to make a change in their level of love for you, that you deal with their hearts compassionately and gently. Lead them to a greater understanding of agape love. Show us, Lord, how to love like you! Show us how to agape others!

A Painful Pruning

As I was reading in John this morning I came across a verse I had read about a thousand times before, but God always seems to have a way of making things jump right off the page in a new way no matter how many times I have read it. This is why reading the word of God never gets old! This is why his mercies are new every morning! This is why we can spend a lifetime devoted to studying God’s word and learn something new each time we open its pages! I absolutely love God’s word for this reason. As I have shared before our family has recently been through some major life changes. (A major move, a change of jobs, and now traveling around the country.) So, when I read John 15:1-2, I finally began to understand the reason behind all of the painful pruning I have been experiencing lately.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2

I always looked at this section of scripture as if it was only talking about cutting out sin. Never did I look at this passage as the possibility of not having sin and still needing a pruning just so you can be more fruitful. We all have things in our lives that could use some tweaking from the Holy Spirit from time to time. It may be an attitude that needs to be adjusted, thoughts that need throwing out, or words that could have been spoken a different way. Whatever the case may be, we all have pruning that must take place in order to make us more like Christ and more fruitful.

In doing some research about the process of pruning fruit trees, I learned that pruning should take place in the late fall and winter months. This exposes the branches and the farmer can see exactly what the branches will be producing in the spring and summer. The tree’s dormant period is a map of what is to come. By strategic pruning, the farmer can actually encourage growth that otherwise would not have come by letting nature take its course. So, let’s take a look at this from the Lord’s perspective. There are going to be seasons in our lives that are winter seasons, our dormant seasons. And much like the tree loses its leaves and is exposed, the Lord wants us to “expose,” or lay open our hearts to Him. When we are willingly do this, He will be able to go in and remove anything that is not fruitful in our lives, as well as prune things back so that we can become a vigorously fruitful person when the winter/pruning season is over.

Another interesting thing I learned was that when a farmer plants a new tree, he will prune that tree back hard for three years straight and not allow it to produce fruit. The reason for this is so that it can put all its energies into putting down a strong root system, getting established and becoming strong. Wow! Isn’t this much like what our Heavenly Father does with us? Think about the importance of our quiet time with the Lord each and every day. Think about the early days of coming to Christ. In those early days, our focus was not on helping others to grow, nor was it on producing fruit. It was on getting our spiritual legs up under us so that we could stand on our own two feet. This is one reason why Paul tells Timothy that leaders within the church “must not be a recent convert” in 1 Timothy 3:6. There is a reason for a season of growth in the kingdom before we are asked to bear much fruit.

The more vigorously a tree is pruned, the more this will encourage exponential new growth. So, when we feel like the Lord is really doing a number on our heart with the pruning shears we need to realize it is only for our betterment in the kingdom. If we want to produce much fruit a painful and heavy pruning is sometimes necessary to get those kinds of results. So, sometimes we just need to open up our hearts close our eyes and say “here I am Lord, do what you must do so that I can be exponentially fruitful.” What is hard is being able to recognize that the pruning is taking place and that it is God’s hand bringing about a pruning in our lives in those moments of pain.   

Lord, we lay our hearts open before you. Help us to remember that your pruning shears are not meant to bring us pain for pain's sake, but for your kingdom’s sake. Help us to remember that in those moments of painful pruning that you have great things in store for us when the winter season is over! Give us eyes to recognize that it’s your hand doing the pruning in our lives so that we know not to fight against it, but to embrace it. Lord, we thank you that you have such wonderful plans and purposes for our lives. Help us to focus on your face and not the pruning process. We ask all these things in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Casting

I had written a post a while back entitled “Casting Our Cares” which covered the importance of literally throwing or hurling our cares upon the Lord. This post has recently collided with another post entitled “Testing My Words” in which I shared how God will test us on lessons we have learned. I can do nothing more than laugh at the fact that these two things are having a full out head on collision with one another yet again, and I am quite sure this meeting will not be the last time. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to cast with a fishing rod and reel instead of with a ball and glove. If you have read my post entitled “Worry Wart,” then you already know that by nature I wear that badge quite well, but it is one I wish I could simply throw, toss, hurl away and never to have it return. But as I just mentioned, I cast with a rod and reel, so inevitably I end up reeling back in whatever I have thrown out.

In preparation for our Missionary Ambassador position to Liberia, in West Africa, we have sold our house and made the move to live with family. While I have inevitably seen the hand of Christ in every step of the way and by no means doubt the calling, that does not mean it has not riddled my mind with worry over when we are going to get this thing done, and how are we going to finish that thing all before we have to leave. Oh, and did I mention in the tangled mess of worry comes wrapped around haunting thoughts of insecurities? I have had to rehearse time and time again that whom God calls God equips, and “I can do all things through Christ” Philippians 3:13. The scary part is that my efforts to rehearse the truths of God’s word has not hushed the voice of worry that swirls around inside my head. It is all because I have cast with the rod and reel.

Control issues

What exactly is the difference between the rod and reel and the ball and glove when it comes to casting? The biggest and most important difference is whom we allow having control of the end result! When we cast with a rod and reel, no one has to be on the other end because the control is never actually transferred to anyone. We hold the control to reel back into our hands the worry, anxiety, and strife. So in essence, we never actually get rid of the anxiety in the first place. We are still literally attached to it. When we cast with a rod and reel, our hands never actually become empty. We still continue to carry around the burden that we tried to cast away earlier. And whether we realize it or not we will inevitably reel that thing back in because we remain attached to it. On the contrary, when we cast with a ball and glove we transfer the end result to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one on the other end. He is never going to toss back our ball of worry. And therefore, we are left with an empty glove free from the heavy burden of worry.

Two to play that game

Another difference is the fact that with a rod and reel we could play that game of catch all day and all night by ourselves and never need to have a relationship with anyone else. With the ball and glove, it takes two to play that game. We must rely on our relationship with the Lord. In the natural playing, a game of catch is always better when we have a friend. This is what God desires, for us to have fellowship. We are designed to for relationship! We are not to go through this life on a self-reliant basis because all that does is leaves us holding on to the same old worries we had yesterday. But with Jesus, our hands can be free of yesterday’s worries, so when today’s worries come flying out of nowhere, we can be ready to hurl those at the feet of Christ too.

How about you? Have you ever cast your worries with a rod and reel instead of using the ball and glove that the Lord desires?

Lord, help us to get out of this rod and reel mentality of casting and into the ball and glove mode of casting. You desire to have a relationship with us and that is not a possibility when we keep on pulling our worries right back into our laps every time we try to cast them off. Show us exactly what we need to do in order to keep from holding that old fishing rod in our hands. Thank you, Lord, that you care about our worries, anxieties, and troubles. Thank you for desiring to keep them and not give them back to us. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus.

Dodging Bullets

I had shared in previous posts about our trip to Liberia, Africa. This trip has hurled us into a much larger plan that God has faithfully been revealing to us little bits and pieces at a time. We recently  found ourselves packing our bags for a whirlwind trip to Florida for an interview that would directly affect our ability to raise funds more on a full time bases for Liberia. I can only figure that satan felt directly threatened by this because he desperately tried all he could to distract us from the greater picture. He was shooting bullets at us left and right and all we could do was dodge them as they came and try to keep a good attitude while it was all happening. I wanted to share with you the events that took place surrounding trip so that you could see just how hard satan will work in our lives in hopes that things will go his way, as well as share with you a heart lesson that was learned in the process of being shot at.

The attack begins

Two days before our flight my husband was in a car accident. Praise God it was nothing too serious, but enough that caused us to recognize the attacks of the enemy when we saw them. That same night someone smashed our mailbox with a baseball bat, while this may seem unimportant and unrelated, we recognized that satan was kicking into high gear in hopes to distract us from the plans and purposes of the Lord. Unfortunately for him, we had already made up our minds, so we towed the car to our mechanic and straightened up the mailbox and headed for Florida. Once we got there, the attacks did not stop. I ended up leaving my purse on a chair in the airport, of which we quickly had to run back and snatch up before someone else did. By this point I was starting to get weary in the attempts to derail what God has already orchestrated. Once we landed in Florida we got a taxi from the airport to our hotel. While in the taxi, my purse fell off the seat onto the floor and I did not realize until several hours later that my phone had fallen out and was riding around in the taxi for the remainder of the afternoon. Upon discovery, we called my mother in law who was able to locate my phone using a simple app. We were even able to set an alarm off on my phone which then alerted the driver to call my husband's cell phone. We were able to reconnect with the driver and my phone was back in my hands by the next morning.

Round two

The interview came and went and you would think that by now satan would have given up. Nope, he was stubborn enough to keep shooting the bullets right at us. Our return flight was canceled due of a major snowstorm on the east coast. This forced us to reschedule our return flight and stay another night in Florida. But instead of being able to stay in the hotel that we were currently staying in, we were forced to find other accommodations because along with our flight, over 1,000 other flights were also grounded, so needless to say we were in a race with many other passengers to find a place to stay. We decided to book a room closer to the airport. Now, we just so happened to be in Florida over spring break, and the closer we got to the airport, the closer we got to the beach. And the closer we got to the beach the closer we were to unsupervised college students who were foot loose and fancy free to say it kindly. Now, I was a college student at one time. I did not enjoy the party scene then, and I have found that I enjoy it a whole lot less now that I am older. However, our new accommodations found us smack dab in the middle of a party we did not want to be in. I guess satan figured that by now, the interview was over and decisions had been made so now he was just going to torture us. We lay in bed listening to screaming and yelling college kids until about 3:00 a.m. At 1:30 a.m. one guy actually tried quite vigorously to get in our room, by pounding on the door and yanking on the door handle. I guess he thought it was his room. My husband forcibly reminded him without opening the door that he had the wrong room. (My hero).

The REAL Battle

As I laid in bed that night, all I could do was think about all of the emptiness that these young people were more than likely experiencing. They probably would not be able to remember what they had done that night or whom they had done it with. One guy walked past our room yelling “I don’t know where in the world I’m at. I don’t know how I got here.” That young man had drank himself right out of his cognizant mind and was left wondering around unable to navigate life in the slightest. My heart hurt for these young people who will more than likely spend eternity separated from the saving grace of our loving heavenly father. I prayed earnestly for their eyes to be open, for their hearts to be broken and for their lives to be transformed in the name of Jesus. As I lay there, I knew there was nothing I could do to save them from the choices they were making. My heart ached for them. I wondered if this is how our heavenly father must feel as He looks upon us when we make the conscious choice to choose sin over Him. Oh, how his heart must break as He watches his creation choosing the worldly idols to worship over their own loving creator. Yet, despite the scorn, rejection, and scrutiny the Lord still loves and desires that one day each one will look at Him with adoring eyes rather than eyes of disdain. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad that must hurt Him.

Our battles truly are not against flesh and blood, but the battles we face are in the spirit realm. We are called to battle for the hearts and souls of this generation, for a lost and dying world, a world that does not even realize they are lost and ding.  Our Lord does not want any to perish, but all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). We are to stand in the gap in prayer for these people!

While this trip started out causing me to dodge one bullet after another, it ended up with me learning so much more about the heart of my Heavenly Father. This trip allowed me to see a world full of brokenness, hurt, and emptiness, a world desperate for the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart will forever be impacted by the faces that I saw bowing the knee to their own selfish ambitions. My heart was broken as I realized that the path these young people were on will never satisfy them, in fact it will do just the opposite. It will leave them more tormented than ever before.

Father God, I am so thankful that you allow us to have trials and hurdles come into our lives so  we can see the things of your heart. Thank you for showing me just how much this world needs you. Please continue to deepen my heart of compassion for those who do not know you.  I pray that each of us learns what it means to have your heart of compassion. Fill us with your love for the lost because we know it is not our desire that anyone should perish. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.

Our Placement

God has each of us where we are at for a very special purpose in mind. Sometimes, we are able to pinpoint the Lord’s reason’s behind us being called to a specific location and then other times we will need to seek out God’s reasons through much prayer and simply being patient in God’s timing to reveal to us His motivations for our placement. We have to keep in the forefront of our minds during the season of waiting that God is not trying to punish us, but to teach us. The Lord does not call us to a place for no reason at all. He calls us to a place for His plans and purposes. We just need to make sure that we are not fighting the placement in the process. I have spent way too much time fighting the placement and it wasn’t until I saw the why behind the placement that I was able to be thankful for where I was placed. God does not make mistakes in His placement of us. Sometimes we just have to be willing to wait for His reasons to be revealed, and trust that He knows exactly what He is doing even when we don’t have a clue. That is why it is called faith. We have to trust that God knows better than we do!

Example of Jonah

If we take a look at the life of Jonah, we can see just how quickly things can go wrong when we fight our placement. (Jonah 1) Jonah was called to go to Nineveh. Nineveh was a city so full of wickedness that Jonah had decided he didn’t like the idea that God would call him to such a place. Jonah had viewed Nineveh as hopeless, and a lost cause, so much so that he decided to fight the placement by running from it. This caused a whole mess for Jonah until he finally realized that God’s way was better then his way.

I’m sure we have all run from the placement of God a time or two, and if we have not run then perhaps we have just fought God about the placement. How does fighting with an omniscient God make any sense? When did we get to the same all foreseeing level as our all knowing creator? Can I get a big NEVER on that one! Yet, we are still willing to say to God “I’m not going there”, or “I’m not doing that.” Thankfully, just like God was patient with Jonah, He will be just as patient with us as well.

Are there going to be times when we question the placement? Absolutely, but that does not mean we should not obey. Just because we do not understand everything that God is doing does not give us the license to say “no way.”,  “not a chance.” or “not me God.” Our Lord is looking for a yielded heart, one that is willing to jump out of the boat and walk on water when He says “Come.” (Matthew 14:28-29) How many of us are willing to do that? How many of us would much rather fight the placement and simply stay in the comfort of our little boat when Christ is out in the water beckoning our name? God will not call us to a place and then abandon us. Just like Jonah, he will go with us to the location He is calling us to go. And while we are there He will teach us a few things (sometimes even a lot of things). The Lord is faithful to work in each of us His character through our circumstances and placement, but we must be willing to let Him do the work. When we fight the placement we inevitably end up fighting the very hand of God working out His character in our lives. All this does is prolong our journey around the mountain. It simply means that instead of taking the direct route to where we are called, we just might get swallowed up by a whale until we have learned to trust and obey that God is God and we are not.

Envying others

Not only do we have to make sure we are not fighting the Lord on the specific area He has placed us, but we also must make sure we are not looking at others around us and wishing that we were placed where God has them. God has wired each of us so very differently! I was not designed to function in your placement, and you were not designed to function  in mine. Actually, if we would try to switch places we would find ourselves more frustrated and exasperated then if we had simply learned to flourish where God had originally placed us. It’s kind of like plants. God designed certain plants to flourish in certain environments and if we take that plant and put it in a different environment it inevitably dies because it was only designed for one specific environment. If we put a rainforest plant and place it in the middle of the Sierra Dessert, it will be dead within weeks. God has designed each of us to grow and thrive in a specific placement. Embrace where God has placed you!

Keep in mind too, that sometimes God will call us out of one placement and take us to another. Be willing to not only accept the one you are currently in, but to also look forward to the one you are called to as well. The Lord called the Hebrew children out of Egypt and to the Promise land, but before they could get there, they had to go through the desert. They did not embrace the desert in the least bit. In fact, all they did for 40 years was fight with God about their placement. That 40 years could have been drastically cut down if they had accepted where the Lord had them for the season and looked forward to where the Lord was taking them. Embrace your placement.

Thank you Lord that you work all things together for the good for those who love you (Romans 8:28). Thank you that you know the plans and purposes you have for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Father, I pray that we remember these things in those moments when you beckon us to come to a placement we are uncertain of. Help us to put our trust and our faith in you and to keep it there! You know all and see all and therefore know what is best for us.Thank you for being willing to place us in specific places to build your character in our lives. Help us not to run from or fight the placement you have specifically hand chosen for us. Help us not to envy the placement of others. Lord you have the very best for us in mind. Help us to recall that in those moments of second guessing. In the precious name of Jesus Christ

The Battle Is Not Ours

We so often want to pick a fight when we have no business ever picking anything up in the first place. We want to take matters into our own hands when it was never a matter that was ours to begin with. There are so many battles that are not ours, that will never be ours, that were never meant to be ours, but sometimes we feel the need to play God and fight for things we are better off laying at His feet and letting the Lord do the fighting.

The battle belongs to the Lord

“...For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15 b

Several years ago my husband found himself being yanked into situation that ended up making national headlines. Yes, I did say national! And while you will never find his name associated with any of the news national news reports, his good name was drug through the mud in so many ways it was ridiculous! Actually, it was beyond mud. Tar and feathers was probably a little more of an appropriate picture of the mess that was being hurled at him on the daily. You see, with mud you can clean that off yourself, but with tar and feathers you need some professional help to clean that mess up. My husband had been blamed for all kinds of things that he never should have been blamed for. We watched people turn their backs on him who in the past, had supported him and it was disheartening to say the least. But through it all my husband remained silent to the finger pointing and accusations that he was being bombarded with. He knew that if he opened his mouth to speak that his words would inevitably be twisted and thrown right back in his face. So, instead of fighting back, like he so desperately wanted to, He laid his heart before the Lord daily!

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

God has can sometimes have a funny way of working things out to bring justice to a situation and yet restore a man’s name to an even better standing than it was before the whole thing got started. My husband was not only justified, but praised for standing up for what was right in the midst of extreme pressure. He faced the tar and feather flinging with more integrity and dignity then I had ever seen from anyone.  Did he have moments of doubt? Yes! Was he scared? Yes! Did he worry? Absolutely! Who wouldn’t be when your good name is being ruined? But when things got really bad, all he could do was set aside the doubt, worry and the fears and cry out to the Lord.

“The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

All we could do in the midst of the chaos to was run to the Lord because we knew that there was protection there! The Lord never backs down on His promises. My husband and I remain grateful that the promises of the Lord do not return void! I know that if my husband had tried to fight his own battle it would only have tainted his reputation more than it already been tainted. In the end we found that the Lord did not forsake. The Lord had gone before him and brought to light the injustice that my husband had seen from the beginning. The Lord used someone else to bring into light the truth. This was what brought the restoration of his good name.

Call to action

Is there a situation in your life that you are fighting with that really should be laid at the feet of Jesus? The battle belongs in the hands of Christ. I want to encourage you to hand over your weapons that you have been fighting with to the Lord and wait to see what He will do with the situation. Stop fighting and start running. Start running into the protection of the Lord. You just might be surprised with how the situation turns out.

Related posts: My Battle Verses

Related Song: The Battle Belongs To The Lord

Lord, thank you for going before us in battle. Thank you that you are willing to fight for us. Help us to remember that there are times when we should lay down our weapons and let you take over our battles for us. Help us to run to you in our times of need rather than running head first into a fight we should not be fighting. Thank you for going before us, protecting us and keeping us. We put our trust in you today knowing that you are more than able to bring victory to our biggest battles. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Change Of Heart

Have you ever asked the Lord to help you have a better attitude towards someone, and for one reason or another it seems as if your prayer is falling on deaf ears? There have been times in my life when I have not had a good attitude toward another person and for one reason or another I was unable to let it go. I would ask God to take it from me so that I could just move on. The Lord never seemed like He was answering that prayer. Those feelings and thoughts that truly needed much adjusting seemed to linger and weigh heavy on my mind, until I began to realize that not only was I having a wrong attitude about the whole situation, I was also not doing anything about it. Yes, I was praying about it, but I wasn’t doing anything in the natural to make the situation better. All I was doing by sitting on my heels was leaving the door cracked open just enough for the devil to have a hay day with my thoughts. I began to realize that when my attitude does not line up with the word, then maybe my actions should. There are times when our  attitude about a particular person or situation will not change unless we are busy about doing the right thing first. Our wrong attitudes sometimes simply need the right actions to follow in order to get us out of the rut we have found ourselves in. God does not always answer our prayers in the way we wish He would. I found that for me, in these particular instances, I was praying the wrong kind of prayer. I was praying that God would just take away those thoughts and feelings. God is not interested in rescuing us from our problems when He knows very well that a heart change will not be a result of that rescue. In other words, why would God deliver us from our troubles only to watch us walk right back into the very same trouble He has just delivered us from? He would much rather that we work our way though a particular situation with his guidance all the while learning from from the situation so that a heart change develops. These types of struggles create in us long term results. We will remember the lessons we have learned in the times of hard work. If God just waved His magic wand every time we wanted delivered from our troubles we would never have a reason to change.

Community and growth

I read something thought provoking lately about how God has wired us as human beings. We are wired for community. We need others within the body of Christ to stretch us and help us grow. Due to the fact that we live in a fallen world, we are going to encounter those who rub us the wrong way, and furthermore, we are more than likely going to rub someone else the wrong way as well. This is the beauty of community. It is in the rubbing that iron can sharpen iron. (Proverbs 27:17) Knives will eventually get so dull they are worthless for cutting if they never get rubbed up against the iron sharpener. This is exactly how God has orchestrated the body of Christ. We are designed to be in community so that we sharpen one another. But like a knife, we must be careful not to cut people. Christ did not call us to cut, but rather sharpen.

 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

I am learning to be thankful for those around me who rub me the wrong way, because it is in the rubbing that I am seeing the shortcomings in my own life, and the desperate need to lay those things at the feet of Jesus. Without the irritations I probably would not see these areas that need change. Without these areas coming to the surface, why would I ever change? The truth is, I wouldn’t. I can’t lay a sin at the feet of Jesus if I am unaware of its existence. While I could pray the prayer that David prayed,

The Lord would still have to reveal those things so that I could confess them. The only unforgivable sin is the one that remains unconfessed. So, yes, I remain thankful for the times of stretching from those in the body of Christ because I know that God is “working all things together for good.” Romans 8:28

Call to action

Are there people in your life who rub you the wrong way? Try to look at them through the eyes of Christ this week. Instead of letting that person get under your skin, pray that the Lord uses them to reveal in you the things that need placed at the foot of the cross. Once those things are revealed, confess and move on. The Lord does not place difficult people and circumstances in our lives to watch us squirm. He places those things in our lives to watch us flourish and grow. How can you grow from the irritation?

Lord, thank you that you love us too much to let us remain as we are. Thank you for placing in our lives different people and situations that will cause us to grow. Help us to recognize those moments and those people as opportunities of growth rather than moments of irritation. Help us to pray for those areas of our lives that need adjusting and changed to be revealed so that we can confess those things. Lord, we do not want things to hinder our walks, but when they are there, help us to take care of those things quickly. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Be Still

“Be Still and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10

When all the chaos of this life seems to pile up on us, God asks us to simply be still. He doesn't require one more thing to be put on our plates or for us to be stretched any more thin than we already are. His only request is that we be still and in our moment of stillness, that we know that He is God.

What does being still look like?

1. Stop all that we are doing and focus on the Lord. Know that He IS God.
2. Remember that the wind and the waves are subject to His voice. They have no choice but to obey Him when He speaks.
3. Quiet our mind. Do not let that inner voice run away with those 5 little words that hijack our faith.
4. Wait on the Lord to speak.

It takes work to be still. This is not something that comes automatically. We must be willing to discipline ourselves to stop, remember, quiet our mind and then wait. Unfortunately, getting one out of the four isn’t going to cut it. If we are willing to stop, but we are not willing to quiet our minds, than those 5 little hijacking words will surely work their way into our time of stopping and sabotage any efforts that we may have put into the process of being still before the Lord. It truly believe it takes all four components in order to accomplish the art of being still.

Stop

There are times when we physically need to stop whatever we are doing just so we can focus our hearts and minds on the Lord. There will be other times when the stopping is not so literal in nature, but I think the majority of the time God desires for us to put away the distractions that have overtaken our lives and concentrate on Him. We can even go to the extreme of excusing ourselves from these distractions and finding a place of solitude. In scripture, there are many times where we see Jesus stop, withdraw from the activities He was doing, and get Himself to a place of solitude all so He could focus His attentions towards His Heavenly Father. Jesus has set such a beautiful example of what it should look like to simply stop.

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
Luke 6:12

“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,”Matthew 14:23

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

Remember

We must never forget that the storms of this life are subject to the name of Jesus Christ. Our winds and waves know the voice of Christ, they have no other choice, they must submit to His authority. When Christ speaks, they WILL obey. Are we allowing the Lord to speak to our wind and our waves, or are we too busy focusing on the storm that God’s voice is being drowned out? Are we focusing on the Lord, or on those 90 mile an hour winds that are pounding against us? Are we looking to the Lord for our peace that passes all understand that will guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7), or are we looking at the trials and tribulations at our doorstep? As long as our attentions are on the storm we can not possibly expect God to speak to the wind and the waves. God can not calm the storms of life without our eyes being steadfast upon His face. God desires our attentions and our hearts. If our hearts are focusing on everything except Him, then all we have done was to tie His hands behind His back and we have kept Him from moving on our behalf.

How many times did the Israelite children forget what God had done for them when He delivered them from the bondages of slavery. How quickly did they forget the miracles that He performed and the supernatural ways God had provided for them? This forgetfulness is not just contained to the Hebrew children wandering around in the desert for 40 years. We as human beings can be such a forgetful lot. How many times has God done the impossible in our lives only for us to turn around in the face of the next major trial and forget how He delivered us from our last valley? This small feat of remembering can sometimes prove itself to be quite the challenge. Remember, God is the God of the wind and the waves in your life. The storms of this life fall under His authority and when He speaks they obey!

Quiet the mind

Honestly, I find this to be the hardest part of being still. My mind has a tendency to race a million miles an hour with every degree of worry known to mankind. Quieting my mind is about impossible to do on my own. This is when I go to the Lord and cast my cares upon Him.This is when I try with all I have to lay down my mind at the feet of Christ, and oh man, does this take work! This is no simple task. My mind likes to wage war on me like nothing else does. How about you? Do you struggle with this area of a racing mind? Why would this quieting of the mind be such an important part of being still? It simply gets our eyes and ears off ourselves and our circumstances and on to the one who is in control of it all. That is the key reason behind quieting the mind.

Wait

The Lord longs to speak to His children, the only problem is this, how often do we truly quiet ourselves before the Lord to listen? If it’s not our racing minds, then perhaps it is our endless chatter that drowns out the voice of the Lord. If we are the ones doing all of the speaking can we really expect God to interrupt us so he can have His say? We serve a gentle God. More often than not He will wait until we are finished speaking before He takes His turn. How often do we really give Him a chance to speak? And furthermore, how long are we willing to wait? Do we sit for two minutes, and expect that God will work on microwave time or are we willing to be patient and wait as long as it takes for God to speak? We do not serve a God who functions like a microwave. He is not a fast food kind of God. We can not give Him our order and expect that in five minutes we are going to have the answer that we want. As I have said before, God holds time in His hands. He is not bound by our time limits and our impatience. He will speak when our hearts are ready to receive what He has for us. That often times does not line up with when we think we are ready. The Lord is never late. He is always on time.

Call to Action

Being still can seem so challenging at times, but it is concept that once learned can save us from so many unnecessary bumps and bruises along this kingdom journey. I want to encourage you this week to make an conscious effort to be still before the Lord. See what happens when you stop, remember, quiet your mind and wait upon Him. The Lord just might bring your heart unspeakable encouragement, peace and joy.

Lord, thank you that when we find ourselves in the midst of life’s storms that you have given us this very simple instruction to be still and know that you are God. Thank you that you are the God of the wind and the waves. All you have to do is speak and they must obey you. Help us to learn the art of quieting our minds when they are racing faster than we can keep up. Give us the tools we need to silence the voices that seem to be doing everything but helping us to focus our hearts upon you. Give us a supernatural dose of steadfastness in the department of waiting upon your voice. Sometimes it can be so hard to wait, but we know that hearing your voice is always worth any amount of time that it takes. Please help us to be still. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.