His Perfect Timing

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." (Hebrews 11:1,3)

Waiting is one of the most difficult things for me to do, and I am an anxious and impatient person who likes things done in my own way and in my own time. Sometimes things just don't happen the way I hope and expect them too, and it's hard for me to accept setbacks and delays. But when I believe and trust that God hears my dreams, desires, and concerns and wait for Him to respond and work things out in His own timing, (maybe not NOW but LATER!) I am demonstrating true faith and love. I know that He works things out in my life for my own good, and strengthens me to rise above life's difficulties when I trust Him and wait for His answers. He has a perfect timing for everything in my life, and He knows all the answers!

"These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" (Habakkuk 2:3)

 

Our faith will never grow and develop if we expect God to do everything we ask for immediately and in our own terms. God's timing is very different from our own. He knows the future and we can be assured that He will see us through to the end; whenever we stumble and fall He will be there to pick us up! We may not know how or when He has plans to fulfill our needs, but trusting Him requires not knowing when He will do it. So many times when we are hoping, praying, and waiting for something it's easy to stray from our faith and trust in Him. However, God uses these opportunities to stretch our faith, and when we accept and acknowledge that He has His own agenda, we actually grow during these times of waiting.

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

 

We need to make every effort to be encouraged, believe and wait patiently on the Lord even when we don't understand His timing. I know that if I place all of my trust in God and make myself available to Him in every situation, He will work things out in my life. I can then look back and reflect on God's perfect outcome to my needs and desires.

 

It may not be tomorrow

and yet it may

It will happen on God's set day.

The burden will be lifted

The lost will be won

The trial will be over

The long task will be done.

We cannot know the hour

but we will trust Him as we wait,

for He knows just what must come to pass

He will not be a moment l late.

So praise Him in the trial

give thanks for the task

rejoice and be obedient

He knows what you have asked.

It may not be tomorrow

and yet it may

It will happen on God's set day.

(Unknown)

Linking up with Joan at “The Beauty In His Grip”

In Every Situation

"Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness; your shadowed lives will be bathed in the sunlight. I will always show you where to go; I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places." (Isaiah 58:11)

Do you sometimes find it difficult to see the hand of God's goodness in every situation?

Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, our joy shouldn’t waver based on our circumstances or feelings; we should rely on God to orchestrate every situation we encounter to make us a better person, and it’s really going to depend on whether we respond to the trial or blessing in the way God wants us to. Our trouble is a blessing when it makes us stronger, but our good fortune and blessings can be an affliction if they entice us away from God. We need to rely and trust in Him to be stronger when we are weak, but also remember that when we are successful and thriving to use our prosperity for Him. In every situation God gives us comfort and encouragement that will make us stronger.

• The more we experience and believe in God's goodness in every aspect of our lives, the more we trust Him.

• The more we trust Him, the easier it is for us to put our lives into His hands.

Only by placing our lives in His hands will He bless us and work through us...

...so that His wonderful will can be done. 

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (2 Thessalonians 5:16)

The conditions and situations in my life are always changing, and I should never take for granted or become dependent on any of life's cycles, because whatever my conditions may be at the present moment are only temporary. My joy, prayers, and thankfulness should not be determined by the actions of others or the ups and downs I encounter in my day. God has a plan for me and each cycle of my life is an opportunity to reflect on His goodness and accept and appreciate God's perfect timing. Whatever my day brings, I should be content and have a heart that responds to God. Wherever I am, or whatever has happened, I can make a positive commitment to move forward, following God no matter what. Once our hearts really grasp the goodness of God, we can be confident that He will never let us down. As long as we follow Him and rely on His power for strength and contentment, He will always be on our side in every situation.

"I have learned the secret in being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Philippians 4:12)

Linking up with Angel on Follow Me Fridays

Refuse to Excuse

EXCUSE means to…..

            …..overlook some (usually) slight offense

                  …..to make allowance for a short coming

                        …..a desire to avoid punishment or rebuke

OUCH !!

Excuses, excuses…what are yours?

Sometimes it is all too easy to make excuses for our wrong-doing, times when we have failed, things we don’t want to do, or in situations we don’t want to be in. Are you one of those (like me!) who have made excuses when you wanted to avoid responsibility for your actions, or didn’t want to obey or go where God wanted to send you? What excuse do we use when God requires something of us? The Lord really doesn’t want our excuses and He most certainly doesn’t need them! He wants us to come clean, and provide us with the spiritual maturity not to excuse ourselves in uncomfortable situations or try to hide our sin. We may not be able to tackle a situation or sin on our own, but regardless of what we are facing or what God has called us to endure, He is with us. We can’t run away from God!

We can do it if we trust His strength!

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, this is the way; walk in it”. (Isaiah 30:21)

o   Why me God?

o   Why not someone else?

Even some of the great hero's of the Bible questioned God’s orders. Jonah ran from God as fast as he could when God called him to preach; Moses pleaded with God to send someone else more eloquent to free the Israelites. At times, we all make excuses to God; we just don’t see ourselves capable of handling or achieving the task or situation that God has laid before us, or we may feel that the time is just not right for us. But the best way to grow in knowledge is to step out in faith, and God is never off schedule; His timing is always right. It’s usually us that are running a little ahead of our time, or a little behind! We have to quit resisting and hiding behind the excuses we are so good at making, and quit saying, “I can’t”, but rather start saying “HE can”, and be willing to follow wherever He leads us. Who knows? If we can get past our excuses and be obedient to the Lord’s calling, we may be able to rejoice and be blessed by all the wonderful things He has planned for us before they pass before our eyes!

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. You must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and protect you. (Jeremiah 1:5, 7-8)

Linking up with Joan at “Sharing His Beauty”

Stealing Your Joy

"Has something taken the sparkle out of your worship? Whatever it is that is stealing your joy and sucking the life out of your worship must be removed!"(Charles Swindoll)

Do you ever feel physically dislocated and wonder what happened to your “spiritual high”? I have certainly had a lot of change and challenge in my home environment this past year, and when I am confused and begin to lose my patience with the elements and events going on in my life, I can emotionally and physically feel my joy and happiness being sucked out of my body! It’s so often hard to pinpoint what is stealing my joy, but I know there is only one thing that will help… and that’s trusting God. In fact, if trusting God is what I was doing in the first place, I wouldn’t have lost my joy! And I am pretty sure this happened because I tried to take my worries and anxieties into my own hands instead of letting Him take care of them and not worrying about the outcome. These distractions have led me into days of spiritual lows and I question what in the world happened to my calm and organized life style! However, none of us can avoid occasional chaos and confusion in our lives, but if we fix our thoughts on God, we can know perfect peace even in turmoil. We can choose to be joyful in the Lord, or we can choose to be discouraged, angry, or frustrated in the situation!

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” (Colossians 1:11-ESV)

There were occasional days when I just missed the sparkle in my life and my joy in the Lord, and when I quit relying on  my own self-sufficiency and gave it to Him, He directed me to take control of my life back, and open my eyes to the new day, feeling positively joyful. :)  When circumstances begin to get out of control, I needed to find a way to change the scenery, calm my mind, and surround myself with God’s love and mighty power. As I listened deeply to His kind and uplifting words of peace and joy, I became stronger and more capable of replacing every negative worry with multiple positive actions. Anytime we feel that our backs are up against a wall, we need to find a way to get through that wall and jump joyfully and enthusiastically into life, knowing that we can handle whatever may come our way. Even though at some points in our lives we allow sinful pride to lead us to go our own way, God will always pull us through every situation when we depend on Him alone to save and protect us.

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones, and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”
(Psalms 32:11)

Linking up with Tracy today on Winsome Wednesday :)

Abundant Life

“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green…” (Psalm 92:14)

It seems that most of us will do anything we can to put off the inevitable…..getting older. As I celebrate one more year of getting older though, I realize that the things that used to bother me just don’t seem as important anymore and that I look at things differently in life. Rather than fearing aging, it’s important to embrace each day with grace and gratitude, and keep an abundance of joy flowing through my life. When I reflect upon God’s overflowing of blessings in my life, I am filled with hope, thankfulness, and joy, and I know that He has a new beginning in store for me in each stage of my life! He challenges me to move beyond past disappointments and failures and experience His blessings; I’ve learned that I can trust God to always be with me, walk with me, and sometimes even carry me through the good times and the bad.

“God walks with us… He scoops us up in His arms or simply sits with us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that yes, even now, He is there.” - Gloria Gaither

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us a parable about a mustard seed and how it starts out as the smallest seed (within each of us!), and as it is watered it will grow and produce great results (as we mature and become stronger!) This seed of God never stops growing as long as we walk in obedience and choose to live in Christ. Spiritual growth is an ongoing process, and in order for us to mature we must allow God to renew our minds; His abundance and love is as endless as the heavens and His faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds; He is the fountain of living water that could quench thirst forever! Growth comes by His grace and He is the source; He gives us every opportunity to grow and bring us to maturity.

“I believe that God is in me, as the sun is in the color and fragrance of a flower, the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence.” - - Helen Keller

As we get older, I think we are approaching a time in our lives when we begin to reach a level of spiritual maturity we didn’t experience in our youth; we are at an age in which we have acquired spiritual experience which makes us truly rich. The aging of a Christian is a blessing!

“You got me when I was an unformed youth, God, and taught me everything I know. Now I’m telling the world your wonders; I’ll keep at it until I’m old and gray. God, don’t walk off and leave me until I get out the news of your strong right arm to this world, news of your power to the world yet to come, your famous and righteous ways, O God. God you’ve done it all!” (Psalm 71 17-19 MSG)

Linking up with Joan to “Share His Beauty” and Angel at "Finding The Inspiring"

Do It God's Way

But this command I gave them, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way I command you, that it may be well with you.' (Jeremiah 7:23 ESV)

The Bible defines disobedience as any choice that is contrary to what God has instructed. We have many choices, and there will always be people and situations that cross our paths and tempt us to behave disobediently because we are more concerned with our own free-will and well-being. I certainly have a tendency to yield to my own self-will instead of surrendering to God’s will. But God our Father doesn’t want us to consider His will an option! He has sacrificed a lot to forgive us of our disobedience, be we should never take advantage of His grace by continuing to disobey Him! As Christians, we will all have our crosses to bear as we attempt to follow Christ every day. Even in the most unpleasant situations that we encounter, we have a responsibility that we must choose and accept to be transformed by God’s grace and live a life worthy of all that He has done for us. We must choose to do it God’s way. :)

• Why do we disobey God? Why do we resist? If we are not obedient to His words and direction in our lives then it characterizes our lack of faith and trust in Him. We must show our trust in Him in every single situation and believe He has the right solution for any situation in our life.

• Why do we have trouble listening to Him? I am so independent and want to do things my way, and sometimes listening and trusting Him is tough stuff but it’s important! The sooner we open our hearts to God, and trust Him with what we cannot control ourselves, the better things will be for us.

• How can we correct what is lacking in our obedience to God? By listening to His command to make radical changes in our lives, and resist the urge to be defensive. If we trust in His word, it will change our hearts and direct our lives.

 It’s so important that we commit to total obedience, immediate obedience and wholehearted obedience to the things of God. We need to immerse ourselves in it and apply it to our lives, because the only way to find peace and rest for our souls is to walk on God’s path and do it His way.

“Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)

~Linking up with Tracy on Winsome Wednesday~