A Place With No Food

Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children. There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Genesis 47:12-13 (New International Version)

For seven years, under the leadership of Joseph, food was stored up to prepare for a coming famine which would also last for seven years. When the famine hit, the food was available in abundance but one had to go to where the food was present. Joseph’s family came to him and he graciously provided nourishment for them. Outside of those stored up food parameters was a wasting away.

There is a parallel of spiritual truth for me that I am seeing in this passage. God offers me what I need in the way of significance, worth, value, and identity in abundance. All I could desire. All I could hope for. All I could receive. If I go to Him, I am in a position to receive. If I turn to other places, where the supply is not present, I will waste away and languish.

So where are the places of famine I find myself returning to time and time again? Where are the regions of deprivation and starvation? Relationships. Not all relationships. Some are rich, pleasurable, and balanced. In those, I am free to encourage and be encouraged. Free to interact without being entangled in emotional dependency. Free to spend time without desiring to never leave or fearing being left. Yet, what God means for good can sometimes become twisted, distorted, and out of place.

Rather than remain a healthy friendship the relationship becomes one in which I begin looking to the other person to give me what only God can provide….worth, value, significance, identity, security, a real sense of being loved, and an ability to love in return. Emotions vacillate between expectations and disappointments until the realization that I am putting this person in God’s place in my life flashes like neon lights.

It use to be if one such relationship ended I immediately looked for another to replace it. How futile the search has been! Only now, as I find the necessity to back away from one I’ve grown dependent on in an unhealthy way, am I realizing a desire to turn where the “food” is. To seek God as I have sought people. To learn how to be nourished by Him, sustained by Him, and fed by Him. Only now.

Father, the years of scrounging for food in places of famine have taken their toll on me. I am hungry (famished) and I come to You…my Bread of Life. Amen.

By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJODOpe_M8E&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

His Work and His Time

I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. Exodus 23:30 (New American Standard Bible)

God gave the children of Israel insight into the way He would lead them into the promised land and how He would bring them to the place of possessing that promised land. As they walked in obedience with Him, He would drive out their enemies and cause His people to be fruitful and to acquire the land of promise. Their inheritance and territory! It would not be a quick and easy process. It would take years. God would work according to His wisdom and His timetable.

I have often watched with fascination the programs which show the make-over of homes. One show demolishes an entire house and rebuilds it beautifully in one weekend! While it is possible to do that with a house, God is letting me know that is not the way growth and victory in the Christian life comes about. His words to Israel are His words to me and His words to you. I am in need of His reminder each morning. I need to hear Him say He is transforming and remaking me little by little.

His process is usually one that exposes my thought patterns, mindsets, weaknesses, and areas of need in order to show me what needs to go and what needs to be embraced. God is faithfully “driving out” those things in me that would hinder me from flourishing and acquiring all that He offers. It is a word that means to divorce. To allow Him to divorce me from how I have come to think, act, and speak. To allow Him to teach me the truth about myself, the way the enemy works, the things He has equipped me with, the power of prayer and speaking His words over my life and circumstances, the authority of the believer, the balance of looking to Him and receiving encouragement through the body of Christ, and many more things. There are days His revelations to me are profound and immediate change is forthcoming. But there are many more days when the steps are small and the progress seems slow. Either way, God is the one who sets the pace for this journey. He is the one who drives things out of my life little by little. I rejoice in the tiniest work and the hugest manifestations of His operations.

Father, You are as present and meticulous with me as You were with the entire nation of Israel in Old Testament times. You know where You are leading me and how You will get me there. I choose to watch You, listen to You, and follow Your lead. Not in my flesh but by Your Spirit. I delight in all You are doing! Amen.

Potter's Hand - Darlene Zshech (Hillsong)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDAITgJXO1I&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

The Choice is Mine

Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. Psalm 25:12 (New American Standard Bible)

God’s instructions to me in the way I should choose is contingent upon my fearing Him….standing in awe and trust of Him. Once those instructions are given it is imperative that I follow them. When I do, life is lived the way He intended. When I don’t, heartache and trouble follow. I often limit God’s leading to employment, actions, and decisions that need to be made. I don’t want to make mistakes that will have painful consequences. I, like you, want to make wise choices and head in the right direction. This morning, God is broadening my picture of being guided by His instructions.

I make many choices throughout my day: what I will eat, what I will read, what I will wear, what I will do, what I will not do, etc… Most choices take little time or thought on my part. I just choose! Yet there is one area of my life in which I consistently feel I have no choice. I live more as a victim than a victor. That is in the area of my thought life. For many reasons, I have come to believe that if a thought comes to mind I must dwell on it. If a perception makes its way into my thinking I must believe it. To push it aside and think on something else seems like denial of “truth” and deep down inside the dangerous thinking lurks and taunts, until it eventually comes to the forefront again and wreaks havoc with my emotions, feelings, and actions.

When caring people in my life try to tell me, “Pam, you can choose what you are thinking on. You MUST choose what you will think on.” I struggle to accept that truth and responsibility. Like a deer with the headlights in her eyes, I blink back a look of confusion. Yet, their words are true. They are based on Scripture which will never mislead me. Philippians 4:8 says I am to think on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent, and worthy of praise. What I am coming to see is that in order to do that I must first CHOOSE to do it. I must choose to reject certain thoughts and embrace right thinking. I must choose to think on other things and allow right thinking to take up residence in my mind. If I don’t do so, I will continue to live my life cycling from one pit dwelling thought to the next.

This is God’s guidance for me today and every day. I can see the truth and express the truth with ease at this point. But I know that real change and transformation is not going to be mine until I apply the truth of what I have written this morning. Will I do what is necessary the next time a wrong thought enters my mind? I pray so!

Father, help me to live what I so easily write about in devotionals. Help me to cooperate with You and choose correctly! Amen.

Power of Your Love - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA4narr2wyE&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Living Words

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. Genesis 1:3 (New American Standard Bible)

Three verses into the Bible and we see the first of many fulfillments of God’s Word. What He speaks, He does….every time! His Word never returns void or unfulfilled. A read-through of the Old Testament will disclose many instances whereby God spoke specific words to His prophets and those words always came to pass. They weren’t usually fulfilled that day or even that decade but they were fulfilled.

I have been reading through the Old Testament and I am struck by the times God tells a prophet something and years later it happens exactly as He said it would. Elijah was told to anoint Jehu as king of Israel and years later Elisha has a person do just that. Jehu is told to annihilate the descendents of Ahab for all the innocent blood that was shed at his hands, and Jehu is God’s instrument of judgment. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was foretold centuries before it all happened and yet it all happened as it was foretold.

These thoughts encourage me today. Because while God does not give me step by step specific instructions for my daily walk with Him, His Word is filled with precious promises I can count on! He has promised to never leave me, to finish what He has begun in me, to forgive my sin, to work everything out for good, to give me ways of escape from every temptation, to strengthen me in my inward person, to direct my steps, to give me sufficient grace at all times, to keep His eye and hand on me at all times, and to one day take me to Heaven to live with Him for all eternity. The list is endless! I don’t have to try and figure out if He meant what He said or if His words are applicable to me today. His words are sure and trustworthy.

As I come across situations today, I want to be able to recall His words that will fit every one of them. I want to anticipate the fulfillment of His spoken words to me. When I am tempted to give up on myself and assume desired change will never be realized, I want to hear Him say, “I am with you and I will complete my work in you.” When I am upset over something that is out of my control, I want to embrace His, “Peace I give you. Let not your heart be troubled.” When I desire to crawl under the security of another person, I want to be reminded that He is my shelter and refuge. I serve a risen Savior and His Word is alive as well!

Father, if left on my own I do not do well. If the only voices I hear are those of people, that will not be enough to carry me or transform me. Speak Your words to me through out today. For they are my life as well as my life line. Amen.

Word of God Speak - Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

A Word of Correction

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. Romans 7:15, 18(New American Standard Bible)

I wonder if Paul’s words in the book of Romans surprised those who looked up to him. Was he being a fatalist and just beating himself up over his own weaknesses and propensity toward sin? No! He was being authentic and admitting the truth about his personal life and heart condition. It was moment of truth not a time of condemnation and shame.

One of the reasons for Scripture is for correction. If I allow it, God’s word will help me to see lies I am believing and the truth that is meant to replace the lies and allow me to walk in freedom. Today’s passage is doing exactly that! While the people of Paul’s day were set straight on any false notion that Paul had arrived, stood in perfection, and never battled with being human, his words are finding a home in my heart as well and urging me to release my own false notions about other believers. While I don’t hold this view toward all people, I am aware of the times I can look at a significant person and feel she never has a bad day, never walks with insecurity, never gives in to temptation, handles each crisis with ease, never struggles, never sins, never doubts God, and basically doesn’t bleed when she is cut or feel pain when she is hurt. And this morning, God is telling me to put her name and every one else’s name into this passage. Not to condemn but rather to see the truth about others and the truth about myself. For He knows that as long as I believe someone is above the battle, then I believe I can reach that state of perfection on this earth. And when I fail to do so, I cringe at the realization of my weaknesses, I come to believe other people cringe at the realization of my weaknesses, and I live with the belief that God cringes at my weaknesses. I then fall into a life style of posturing, pretending, and hiding.

God says, “I have a better way for you to live. Admit you are human and still deeply loved by Me! See that this is a journey of progress and I am your personal Guide. Open your heart up to the truth that My love and acceptance of you is not based on what you do and who you are but rather on Me. My arms are not folded, My face does not wear a scowl, I do not groan in my Spirit when you approach Me, and I am not disappointed in the fact that you are still imperfect. I love you and I embrace you!” I rest in His words to me.

Father, You have seen the comparisons I have made to others and the wrong conclusions I have drawn. Thank you that You are working to instill truth in me and anticipating with joy the freedom I will find in that truth! Amen.

Mercy Said No - CeCe Winans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_SjhKJgqGg&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

The Exposing of Disbelief

Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. Genesis 32:11(New American Standard Bible)

Twenty years had separated Jacob and Esau’s past and future. Jacob left home with a brother who was angry enough to kill him. No contact had been made between them in all that time. As far as Jacob was concerned, Esau was still seething with rage. He feared the worst…complete annihilation of himself and his family. Yet, this verse which houses his words of fear is sandwiched between his recollection of God’s promise to prosper him and his descendents. Jacob did what we so often can find ourselves doing…he voiced truth without embracing it. Fear rather than faith was what ruled him and fueled his actions.

As I read further in this passage, I see Jacob planning and plotting his own story of redemption (Genesis 32:20). His actions reveal to me his core belief: God needs my help to insure my safety. He cannot be trusted to do what He promised. It is up to me to defend myself. Jacob had learned early on to take matters into his own hands rather than place those matters into the hands of God and trust Him to do what is best. He proclaimed truth, prayed for deliverance, and then moved full speed ahead with his own agenda.

I am learning to listen to the conflicting statements I and others can make when referring to God and His ways. Whether spoken out loud or whispered in our heart, we can proclaim a truth about God and then follow it with thoughts and feelings that contradict what we just said. On the surface we believe God is loving, kind, and in control. Deep down inside we fear He is disinterested, angry, absent, and uninvolved. That we are low on His priority list. We do not see the big picture therefore we limit God and either begin to scheme or live with a sense of despair and hopelessness. Why do I say this? Because until I admit what is really going on in my heart and mind I will not be free to move beyond that way of living my Christian life….and neither will you.

God knows my insecurities and doubts. He knows what turns my trust to mush. He knows what disheartens and discourages me. He knows it all and He is using the hard places of this life to help me to see what to do with all of it. He longs to bring me to the place where what I say I believe is what I really believe. It is what I really live. Is it hard? Absolutely! I don’t like to see how far from life changing faith I am but God loves me too much to allow me to live any longer with deception. He is after my heart and desiring that I live in intimate relationship with Him. In order for that to happen, He has to expose and dismantle the falsehoods of my perceived faith. Authentic faith is the goal and He is the One who will get me to that point.

Father, keep showing me where my faith and my feelings collide. My steps are tenuous on this journey but I praise You when each one is taken. Amen.

Do I Trust You Lord - Twila Paris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV1ZY7AWNdY

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Asking the Right Question

And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" Matthew 8:25-27 (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus’ question has always intrigued me and at times confused me. In the midst of a storm which produced waves big enough to cover the ship they were in, He is awoken by disciples who are sure they are going to die! He does not ask what the problem is (He already knows). Instead He gets to the heart of the problem….their fear and amount of faith. The fear was bigger than their faith. Jesus was not denying the reality of the storm but rather, He was helping them see that they had a bigger problem than the storm….their perception of what that storm would do to them and their belief that Jesus was unaware of their plight. Both produced a tremendous amount of fear. Their greatest fear was death even though the Giver and Sustainer of life was in their midst!

I am learning to ask myself questions that get to the heart of the problem as well. When life gets messy and my internal world shifts into a storm of emotions, it is time for me to reevaluate my thought process. If I am sad, there is a reason. If I feel hopeless, there is a reason. If I feel frustrated, there is a reason. I am responding to circumstances and drawing faulty conclusions based more on my emotions and feelings than on faith and truth. I am good at it too!

I will give the disciples credit, they went to Jesus with their fear….they had no other choice. I am learning how to do that. Learning to see truth in the light of Scripture and allowing that truth to rule me instead of the emotions. It may be as simple as being reminded that God has not abandoned me, that I am cared for, that His plans and purposes for my life will be fulfilled. It may be as simple as admitting I really don’t know what others are thinking or what the end of the story is for me. It may be as simple as voicing the truth out loud in order to silence the voices within. The moment I do so, the calming of the “storm” happens and like the disciples, I am AMAZED! Amazed that it works. Amazed that it has taken me so many years to learn. Amazed that truth is more powerful than my perceptions. Amazed that this is changing the way I live my life…..all areas of my life.

In this life, I will not reach a point whereby the storms of life do not have an effect on me…no more than I will reach a point whereby I could be cut and not bleed. What amazes me is that the effect no longer has to last!

Father, I am in awe of You and Your ways. May You never cease to amaze me and may I never cease to praise You! Amen.

The Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaVg0cWkgAw

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.