How?

Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (New American Standard Bible)

There are times when we want the people in our life to give us the answers we are looking for. When we feel stuck in certain behavior problems we want them to tell us how to move forward. When we have a difficult decision to make we want them to tell us the best option to choose. When we want victory in an area of our life we want them to tell us how to go about obtaining that victory. When we want to grow as believers we want them to tell us how to do that.

God is reminding me that He holds the answers and knowledge that I need. He longs for me to direct the “how do I do that” questions toward Him. He knows what I don’t know and He is willing to teach me in ways that I can understand and grasp. This morning, I am bringing the questions to Him. It sounds something like this.

Father, how do I allow Your love of me to impact my life? How do I stop looking to people to make me feel loved, validated, wanted, and welcomed? How do I take my eyes off myself and begin to look around at others and their needs? How do I seek You with all of my heart, soul, and mind? How do I love you with all of my heart, soul, and mind? How do I follow You with abandon? How do I make You the center of my existence? How do I receive from You all that You desire to give me in the way of internal needs? How do I stop forming unhealthy attachments to the ones You cross my path with? How do I walk by faith and not by sight? How do I practice Your presence? How do I find healing for the wounds and hurts of life? How do I stop believing lies? How do reflect You in my words, actions, and attitudes? How do I find my safety, security, and sense of well being in You? How do learn to live my life differently? Tell me, teach me, and show me the things I do not know. The great and mighty things! Thank You that You will never leave me or forsake me. Thank You that You know the plans You have for me and You will fulfill Your purposes in my life. Thank You for not allowing me to find what I am looking for in sources other than You. Thank You that You will work all things out for good. Thank You that as I call to You, You will show me great and mighty things that I do not know.

Learning to take God’s hand and walk with Him, look to Him, and listen to Him is my goal. Showing me how to do that is His desire.

Father, help me. Amen.

Open The Eyes of My Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wutmEjdbedE&feature=related

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

What He Wants Me to Know

I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. I will carry you and save you. Isaiah 46:3,4 (New Century Version)

If there is one thing I have learned about God it is that He has special purposes for pin-pointing areas in our life. Although it can be uncomfortable at times to have the light of truth shine on the very things we want to hide or run from, God’s purpose is to show us where we need His touch and transformation. It took me a long time to begin to see that He wasn’t condemning me but rather showing me where He wanted to work.

A couple days ago, I squirmed at the fact that I saw how easily I look to people to take care of me. Being under someone else’s care can make me feel safe and loved. But God wants me to see it is a false sense of safety and a counterfeit source of security. Temporary and inadequate at best. How He longs for me to see Him as the One who is really able to take care of me in every area of my life. I am still not sure why I am so convinced at times that I could be content otherwise. Not sure why people seem like such good sources. In time, He will let me know…of that I am sure.

For now, He is allowing His words through Isaiah to speak to me in a personal way. Most translations will use the word “carry” through out this passage. Last night I came across the New Century Version and the phrase “I will take care of you” was what I needed to hear God saying to me….all three times! It was like He was saying, “You want to be cared for. I will do that for you. Let Me care for you in a way you have never known on a human level. My ways are not only higher than your ways but also higher than their ways. Trust Me. Rely on Me. Rest in Me. Learn to be cared for by Me.”

Why is this so important for me to get? Because when the Bible speaks of God caring for us it means to look after, care for, pay attention to, attend to, take charge of, and watch over. Those are the exact things I have looked to people to do for me. God knows that and is intent on helping me see that only He can fill such a role in my life. Only He can be that watchful and attentive.


Father, let the truth of Your care impact my life in such a way that my desire to be cared for is finally directed toward You. Amen.

Be Still
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMaIEmliQt0&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

Already At Hand

"Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:6 (New American Standard Bible)

As I think back on the many miracles of provision recorded in Scripture a truth is coming home to me. Amy Carmichael said it well when she wrote, “Have you ever been strengthened to win a victory perhaps over some inward foe, and have you suddenly found yourself tired out and sore athirst? Quite close, just where you are, there is water. Call, and the Lord will cause it to flow for you; some word of life will come to mind, some line of a hymn, some thought of peace, and your spirit will come again and you will be revived.”

When the children of Israel cried out because of thirst, the rock which brought forth water was close at hand. When thousands were fed from multiplied bread and fish, the boy’s lunch was already in their midst. When the widow set out to prepare a last meal for her and her son during a famine, the meal and oil were already in her home. When Abraham raised his hand to slay his only son, Isaac, the ram was already in the thicket near by. When Hagar placed her son Ishmael under a bush to die of thirst, the well of water was within sight. In these cases and many more, the supply God would use was right there for each individual. None of them could imagine that would be the way God would choose to meet their needs. They became the recipients of His sovereign generosity and compassion without even knowing what God would do or how God would do it.

God is showing me today that the same is to be true in my own life. It is imperative that I cry out to Him for my needs and then watch as He faithfully meets those needs. What He did in the past may not be what He does now but He will do something! I must leave the decision up to Him as to what or who He will use to meet my needs each time they arise. His options are not limited and neither is His ability.

Already this morning I opened His Word after letting Him know I needed refreshment from Him. I was feeling internally shaky and wanted Him to bring about a sense of peace and well being. His Word did that but it was accompanied by the reminder to no longer look to the old ways of satisfaction and help. Allowing Him to determine the supplying of my needs is to be my daily experience. What a God!

Father, looking to You never fails to put me in awe. You are the God who sees me and in that I rest, revel, and rejoice! Amen.

El Shaddai - Amy Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la0bQAJTelU&feature=related

In Need of Help

I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. Numbers 11:14 (New American Standard Bible)

The burden and responsibility of leading the children of Israel through the wilderness had become too great for Moses to carry it alone. He was wise to admit this to himself and God. God’s response shows me that is never His intent! We are not placed on this planet to live in isolation from the assistance of others. God did not say to Moses, “I am all you need therefore keep coming to Me. Look to Me alone.” Instead He enacted a plan whereby 70 men, from among the elders of the people, would receive the same Spirit Moses had and they would bear the burden with him. He would not have to bear it alone.

This serves as confirmation to me of the very thing God has been teaching me. While there are some things I am able to do alone with God, there are many times I need someone to come along side me and help. At present, I am not in a leadership position but that does not mean there are no burdens to carry. Each of us have them. God is reminding me this morning that He is willing and able to intersect my world with helpers and encouragers.

Last year, I faced the most difficult challenge of my life and for months I felt I was on my own to wade through the issues. I thought that was the way it was suppose to be. Hence, I struggled and made very little progress in the area of healing and restoration. It wasn’t until I opened myself up to receive the help and counsel of others that internal changes began to take place. It necessitated me trusting individuals enough to tell them my story and allow them to help me. I had to see that they were willing to get down into the muck and mire of my emotional heap and would not walk away or think less of me as a result of my opening up. Even now as we talk about the victories and struggles of this process, they listen, pray, speak truth, and let me know they know God will do everything necessary to finish what He has started in me. They celebrate with me each time God helps me turn corners and take steps. I need them and I am no longer afraid to admit it! Not only do I need them but I appreciate them as gifts given to me by a loving heavenly Father.

For any who find themselves “going it alone” I would invite you to ask God for individuals to help you. He will handpick the right one(s) and you will be astounded at how well He can match you up. It may be someone you already know or it may be someone you have yet to meet. Either way, when your paths cross you will KNOW it!

Father, the Bible is filled with examples of people helping people and so is my life. Thank you for how You do that! Amen.

The One Who Is Responsible

Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. Deuteronomy 20:3,4 (New International Version)

I am taking encouragement from this passage today. Each day will entail battles of one sort or another. Whether it is with the world, my flesh, or my greatest enemy, the devil, there will be battles. But my reason for not allowing that to put me in faintheartedness, fear, terror, or panic is because of God’s promise to be with me and to fight for me. He has already assured me of victory. So why do I lack victory in different areas of my life and how can I change future outcomes?

One of my greatest detriments to victorious living is a lack of awareness of Who is making this promise to me. The Lord God is speaking the words and has the ability and desire to carry them out. He wants me to notice how much responsibility He places on Himself to be with me, fight for me, and give me the victory. It is not a matter of me mustering the strength within myself or surrounding myself with the “right” people. It is a matter of taking Him at His word and allowing His word to take hold of me. My eyes are to be on Him, my feet are to be in step with Him, my dependence is to be in Him, and my pursuit is to be for Him. Trust, obey, cooperate, rely upon, and know Him! Those are the channels through which victory flows.

Last night, God helped me to see something that was blocking that channel. It was something I had not been fully aware of and when I saw it I was astounded! It had to do with placing a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of others. In essence He was telling me, “You are expecting people to make you happy, fill your emptiness, fix your problems, answer your questions, complete your life, nurture your soul, and basically take care of all your internal and emotional needs. The disappointment you keep experiencing when they “fail” you is evidence of misplaced expectations. You are trying to make them responsible for your life, feelings, and emotions. Transfer your expectations over to Me. I have already made Myself responsible for all of that and more!” It is the full scope of His promise to be with me, fight for me, and give me the victory. What a gracious God and One in whom I can fully rely!

Taking Him at His word brings me victory and allows people to be what God meant for them to be. It frees me to appreciate them in a way my neediness often wouldn’t allow.

Father, in this holy moment, I no longer hold others responsible for my life. That responsibility lies squarely on Your shoulders and I am in awe of You! Amen.

He Still Knows What it is Like

He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him. Isaiah 53:3 (Amplified Bible)

What is it you take to Jesus today? Is it ever feelings of being seen as worthless and contemptible by others? Rejection and physical or mental pain? Grief and sickness of soul? Feelings of being forgotten, forsaken, and unthought of? We live in a fallen world in the midst of fallen people. Their negative words and actions toward us can often shape the view we have of ourselves and leave us feeling deeply hurt and in pain. If that is you this morning, Jesus has a message for you from today’s verse.

He wants you to know that He experienced the same thing when He walked on this earth and although it was to a greater extent, it does not minimize in His eyes the depth of what you are feeling. He does not let you know of His painful experiences in order to down play or down size your own, but rather to let you know He understands more than any one the full extent of your grief, pain, and difficulty. He, more than anyone, enters into your situation and stays with you. From Him you will never receive unattentiveness, disinterest, or distraction. He gives to you what no person was fully able to give to Him…undivided attention and a full knowledge of where and why you are hurting.

He also wants you to know the words of Isaiah 53:3 not only describe what He experienced here on earth over two centuries ago, but it is what He still experiences from mankind even in the present. He is still despised and rejected by the very ones He reaches out to. He is still fully acquainted with grief and sorrow of heart. He still has people who turn away from him, lack appreciation for Him, and think little of Him. And He feels the way we feel when it happens to us. So when you pour your heart out to Him and share the sorrow with Him, He knows and is filled with compassion for you.

He knows that in this world we have trouble. He knows that we respond to the things we hear, see, feel, and taste of this life. He knows how fragile our internal world is. He knows we lack the ability to see beyond our present circumstances. That is why this morning, I can picture a hurting person being held by Jesus. Gently rocked and tenderly spoken to like a mother with a small child. Held closely and being told, “Precious child of Mine, I hurt with you and I speak My peace and compassion over you.” If we let Him, He will speak the words we need to hear. They will be like balm to our soul. Words of healing and wholeness. Words of understanding. He is a personal God who knows us intimately and takes in every detail of our life.

Jesus, I lift up hurting individuals to You. Convey to them the full meaning of my words this morning. Speak to them as only You can. Amen.

Still Doing the Impossible

But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: Daniel 2:28 (New King James Version)

It was an impossible demand! The king of Babylon had a disturbing dream and wanted to know what it meant. He had men who were use to giving him their “interpretations” of his dreams. If a dream was told to them they could easily come up with what sounded like an accurate meaning. But this time there was a problem. The king could not remember his dream. He could only remember that it had greatly disturbed him. So he demanded that his men tell him what he had dreamed as well as the interpretation. When they insisted he was asking the impossible, his anger spewed out in a death sentence to any and all of his “wise” men.

Upon hearing of this, Daniel requested time to inquire of God what the dream was and what it meant. Daniel, and three companions, fasted and prayed and God revealed to him what only God knew. Daniel then stood before King Nebuchadnezzar and confessed that the king had indeed made an impossible demand on the men and then proclaimed today’s verse. What a contrast! Impossibility was met with BUT THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN WHO REVEALS SECRETS! The God of the impossible was revealed to the king of Babylon as the dream and its interpretation flowed from the mouth of Daniel.

The Word of God is filled with impossible situations in both the New and Old Testaments. Each was recorded for our benefit and encouragement. Each given to help us see that there is a God in Heaven who does the very things that cannot be done without His intervention. I praise Him that He is still doing it! No matter the situation God is still able to do the impossible. Whatever the need, God is able to meet it. No matter the length or depth of our problems God is able to do what needs to be done. All things are possible with our God!

Imagine saying to any person at any time, “There is a God in Heaven who can ______________.” He is not limited, powerless, or absent. Be it finances, health, relationships, areas of bondage, losses, or tragedy this same God is still in Heaven! The most amazing statement is that there is a God in Heaven who can forgive sin and make all things new! That is the God I serve and love. That is the God anyone can know and be in relationship with through Jesus Christ. Starting today, let’s determine to speak Daniel’s words over each part of our life and watch the impossibilities become possible.

Father, I have seen You do the impossible in my life and I gladly point others to You for the same purpose. Your name be praised! Amen.

All Means All

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NKJV

I have often looked at this verse and seen it only in context with physical needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. This morning, God is inviting me to broaden my view! He knows that I have needs that go beyond the physical aspects of my life. After all, I not only have a body, I have a soul and a spirit. Some of my needs are certainly external but many are internal. I know this to be true: all means all! God desires for me to see Him as the One who meets not only my physical needs, but my emotional, spiritual, and social needs as well.

Often times disappointment marks my path because I have intentionally or unintentionally placed my expectations upon people to meet my needs. Especially the internal needs. I look to them for acceptance, approval, affirmation, comfort, and love. And I will be honest, it feels wonderful when they are able to give me those things. The problem comes when my needs exceed their ability or willingness to give me what I am craving. The cycle is all too familiar. I sense a need, look to a person to meet it, face disappointment, experience a feeling of depravation and anger, walk in shame for seeing this part of myself, and eventually crumble in a heap. Once again I am confronted with a choice. Continue the cycle or break it!

For me, the breaking of the cycle is only possible as I take my expectations off individuals and place them entirely upon God. It is an act of my will God waits for me to put into words. So my prayer may sound something like this: “Father, once again, I take my expectations off __________ and place them entirely upon You. I release them from my need for them to be what only You can be and do what only You can do. I accept Your words of provision to me. Forgive me for running after my idols of flesh and blood. You are the One who supplies ALL I need and I praise You for that! In Jesus precious and powerful name I pray. Amen.”

It is a prayer that God delights in and honors. Instantly, the chains of dependency on others are broken and raw emotions are healed. Each time the issue resurfaces I will have to choose to take the same steps toward freedom. I joy in such truth! I now invite others who struggle in this area to do what I have learned to do. You will not be disappointed when the expectations are transferred over to the only One who is able to meet them. He is waiting for you to take Him up on His extravagant offer of supply!

Father, this is an ongoing battle for me but You supply the victory every time. Thank you for faithfully teaching me how to apply Your Word to my life. Amen.

Learning to Receive What He Offers

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 NASB

On the very night that Jesus was to be betrayed and eventually crucified He left His disciples with the assurance of His Spirit and His peace. Troubled and fearful hearts were apparent, but it is not condemnation I sense in His words to them. He has the presence of a mother holding a frightened child close and speaking words of comfort. He knew His words that night would shake up their world and He was telling them of the gifts He had for them to receive.

The Christian life is meant to be lived out in daily relationship with God. He has much to give us if we will but open our hearts to receive it. In addition to peace, He offers us countless things such as love, joy, satisfaction, confidence, definition of who we are, purpose, nurturing, comfort, strength, and direction. Who in this world isn’t looking for those very things? But He wants us to know they are different from the duplications the world attempts to give us and we attempt to receive from them.

I remember being somewhat confused when I realized my needs were legitimate and God-given but where I sought to get the needs met was actually hurting me. There is not a thing I look for from people that God is not offering to give me. So I must do some comparisons. What I receive from people is usually temporary, incomplete, and shallow. While their words and actions can certainly make me feel good for a while they cannot make a lasting change in me. What I crave and what they are able to give are proportionately worlds apart. But God’s gifts are different. He wants to meet my needs on a deeper level and the work He does is lasting. He wants to be my ever-available Source.

So as my needs surface, may I take them to Him and experience His ability to meet every one of them. Will He still use people in my life? Absolutely! But I must see them as the faucet while He is the main source of Living Water.

Father, drinking from the broken cisterns has left me thirsty. Only You truly know my needs and are able to satisfy the longings of my heart. Amen.