Not following the Manual!

My husband can tell you the many times that I would buy a piece of furniture and would completely set it up wrong.  He would always asked me the same question, "Did you follow the instructions?"  Needless to say I created alot of frustration for my husband and myself because of my lack of diligence.

I would always be so eager to see the finish product that I would just "wing it" to get it done.  Not once during all the times I did this did whatever I was building come out right.  Which just caused even more frustration when I had to disassemble it and start from scratch and actually READ the instruction manual.

Not taking the time to follow instruction in all areas of our life can cause so much unnecessary burdens.
Think about it.  How many relationships, jobs and decisions have we messed up because we didn't seek God's will first.  Some of us might still be reaping the fruit of those bad decisions. We need to make sure that every decision we make is centered in God's will.  How do we know when something is in God's will for  us and how do we confirm?

1:  The confirmation in God's Word
2:  Self Inner conviction
3:  Counsel of godly, mature Bible driven friends
4:  Peace even if it's a difficult decision

If we hastily make decisions without following the above we will most likely have to deal with future pain that could have been avoided if only we would have taken the time to diligently seek God's will for our situation.

READ your instruction manual (BIBLE), PRAY about the situation and if you need to speak to someone make sure it's someone mature and wise.  Most importantly God will give you peace with your decision, this doesn't mean you might not also feel fear but have courage to press through even in fear. 

The motive behind the action!

Motives are our inward thought and reasoning for why we do things.  People can't see our motives, only we and God know the reason for the things that we are saying and doing.
Doing the right things with the wrong motives is like doing the wrong things before God.  It is even considered sinful by God!  Why?  Because to God it matters more our heart and the condition of our moral compass than trying to show the world how holy we are so that we can receive recognition. 

"Watch out!  Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1

 We are to do good deeds before others, so God is praised. Yet, we must be careful not to do those same good deeds in order to receive praise for ourselves.  The praise of others is fickle and short lived. 

         "You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:14-16

 

Is this a contradiction?  No, What Jesus is teaching is when you do things with the right intention to bring glory to God, it is important that all seem but if you purposely do things for others to see so that you can get the attention than you will loose the reward from God.

Even King David fell into this trap.  He forgot that his real strength came from God.  He decided to take a census of his people.  This census was taken so David could take pride in the strength of his army.  In determining his military strength, he was beginning to trust more in military power than in God.  There is a thin line between feeling confident because you are relying on God's power and becoming proud because you have been used by God for great purposes.

From David's example we learn that an action that may not be wrong in itself can be sinful if it is motivated by greed, arrogance, or selfishness.  Often our motives, not the action itself, contain the sin.  We must constantly weigh our motives before we act. 
If we feel self-sufficient and put confidence in ourselves apart from God, we soon fall to Satan's schemes.  Self-sufficiency pulls us away from God. 

Since no one else but ourselves can examine our thoughts, let us take the necessary time to examine the WHY before the DOING! Let us strive to bring glory to God in all we do, so that when people look at us they see more of Him and a whole lot less of us.

Time for Me!

 

"But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." LUKE 5:16

 

Being able to withdraw ourselves OFTEN from the busyness of every day life in order to make time for our relationship with God is not only wise for ourselves as it is of benefit for everyone around us. 

 

I know that as a woman I can manage to do alot at once and carry the responsibilities of a wife and mother but if i get myself into overdrive and burnt out everyone  around me feels the effect.  I become less tolerant, tired and I start to loose my ability to make the correct decisions.  If you're reading this and you're thinking "that I'm a Pastor's wife and don't know what it's like to work full time and run a household", you are incorrect.  I worked full time for seventeen years up until a few months back and was successful in my industry.  What I learned during all those years is that I liked the drive of success but at times it came at a cost of sacrificing late hours working and it also meant my family would often have to deal with a tired, overwhelmed mom/wife. I achieved success in my workplace but not so much at home.  It took me countless years of living like this before I learned how to balance my work life and personal life. 

 

I had to look at the best example embedded within the Word of God!

Jesus!  He is a perfect example of balance when living with the demands of a calling!  He had to purposely separate Himself OFTEN, so that He wouldn't loose the most precious treasure He had, which was His own relationship with God.  He knew that seeking His Father would bring Him the spiritual and also the physical renewal He desperately needed after the demands of His daily ministry. 

 

If we run ourselves dry spiritually and physically we will have little to nothing of benefit that we can pass on to those around us.  I encourage you, learn to manage your time well.  Set time aside each day to pray.  Set time aside for yourself as well.  That might mean you have to put some not so important things aside.  You will thank yourself for doing it and so will everyone else around you. 

 

 

 

 

 



Help in times of trouble

Trouble isn't something we look for in life but it is very much a big part of our living here on earth.  Even the greatest of men and women that lived in biblical times had to endure great tribulations.  No matter how big or how small our seed of faith is one thing is certain, we will face trials at some point or another in our lives.
Recently, I too faced one of my biggest trials.  I had to receive the news that my husband went into cardiac arrest and was dead for a significant amount of time.  Even after he was brought back to life, which was a great miracle from God, there were alot of uncertainties of what his quality of life would be and as to whether or not he would make a full recovery. 
There was only one thing that I held unto tightly and that was desperately seeking God during this time. 
King David said,

 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 Therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." psalm 46:1-2

 

If during the biggest trials in your life you make God your refuge and seek Him for strength He will be a PRESENT help during your troubles.  If we rely on ourselves or on others for rescue when our soul is overwhelmed with a great trial we will be very much disappointed.  We can only push ourselves so far and a friend can give us encouragement but true rescue and strength to overcome one of the biggest battles we are facing can only come from seeking one that is greater than our trials.  Only by making God our refuge!

 

When you read Psalm 46 you see that it mentions that God was in the midst of the trouble.  He was present!  He wasn't absent, He was there ready to rescue those who make Him their refuge.  In this psalm it also mentions to be STILL, and know that He is God! 

 

I had alot of unbelievable support from friends, family and our church.  I am so grateful for all of them.  However, people can't be with us 24 hours per day.  The majority of my days during this difficult time I was alone and it was during this time that God tested my trust in Him.  It was during this time that He tested whether or not i would make Him my refuge. 

 

I encourage you my friend, there is nothing to big or great that you are going through that is big for God.  He is already in the midst of your issue.  He is just waiting for an opportunity for you to look to Him for refuge.  He already has a solution for your problem, so trust Him!  He is mighty to deliver and a very PRESENT help in your trouble.

 

 

Being Committed!

Much as happened in the last few months that have left me reflecting on my life especially my marriage.
I almost lost my husband two months ago and this gave me a harsh lesson of what life could have been like without him. 
I still remeber the earlier years of our marriage where I honestly just wanted to give up.  We were both very different people back then.  He was cold and I couldn't see pass his harshness.  I wasn't necessarily the easiest person either.  I was young and immature. 
We were however committed!  Regardless of the many times we wanted to call it quits we pressed through regardless of  how we felt.  When I tell you I pressed through I mean I literally PRESSED through! 
 We were both committed to make it work.  While he prayed that i would become the obedient quiet wife I was praying he would become the loving affectionate husband.  While those prayers have been answered during the twenty two years of our marriage I would have to say that before we saw the results we wanted to see in each other we first had to do harsh honest evaluation of us as individuals.

I learned that alot about myself during those first years.  I saw much of myself that I wasn't necessarily proud of.  My focus slowly started to change from praying for my husband to be molded into what i wanted him to be and i started to pray for the things of my character that i didn't like.

My best piece of advise to you who are struggling in a relationship (obviously if it's not an abusive relationship), look first into yourself.  Do a serious evaluation of yourself, what you think, how you respond to situations and especially what you say.  Focus on making strides to change the things about you that you don't like.  Chances are if you don't like things about your character than it is very likely that neither does the person that's in a relationship with you. 

When I worked on this myself I started to feel happy in my marriage, I started not only to see me change but my husband as well.  Don't take as many years as I did to do this self evalution.  I wasted precious time that I could of used to enjoy my relationship, yet I spent those years unhappy. 

Life is valuable, the things we say and do tomorrow we can never take back but we can certainly learn from them and make strides to avoid those unfortunate words and actions from repeating themselves.
Also, don't forget that we women are highly sensitive and see things through our emotions where men are more rational.  Men think with reason and logic where we think with however we might be feeling that day. 
God is simple, so let us not over analyze things in our relationship and instead lead each day with simplicity and grace.  Show the understanding that you yourself want to receive. 

Live each day with thankfulness!

Self-sufficient no more!

Are you a problem solver? 
I realized that every time that I face a issue I'm constantly trying to find a way that I can fix it. 
Even with people I'm at fault for doing this.  When someone comes to me with an issue I don't rest until I find a solution. 
As much as this can be virtue if it is unbalanced it can be a hindered from trusting God.

I consider myself self sufficient, but my self sufficiency means nothing unless it revolves around God.
The apostle Paul was also very self sufficient until God allowed him to deal with an issue that he couldn't solve.  This must of been very difficult for him.  Even thou God didn't heal him from his issue he received something far greater because he received greater grace from God, a stronger character, humility, and an ability to empathize with others.  In addition, it benefited those around him as they saw God at work in his life. 
Think about this for a moment!  Perhaps there's something that you are facing that you are trying to solve and God hasn't allowed it to be solved because You haven't trusted Him with the situation or His will for your life.

I had a recent serious situation that i couldn't solve, actually it was impossible for anyone to solve.  I had to seek God not only for His deliverance but especially for his grace.  I needed His grace more than ever before.  I needed to feel that the ground beneath my feet was firm.  I needed to feel his peace.  In seeking Him during this time I found peace during troubled waters.  My self sufficiency could not possibly during this time fix anything nor could it bring me peace, but in seeking God I found peace and I found His hand move in areas that i could not. 
My goal is to make Him my source for all things and that I no longer trust in my own understanding but solemnly in His. 

I pray that you do the same so that when trouble comes you will stand firm and that your trials become great testimonies of God's power and peace in your life. 

Daunting Mission!

Often the tasks that we are dealt with seem too daunting!
I have asked myself more times than I would like to remember, am I equipped for this?

There's a duty that we are all appointed with.  The question is whether or not we want to take hold of that mission.  Our mission can be to be the difference in our work place, or take care of our family or perhaps it's to help or assist others in different ways.  Whatever our Mission we ultimately make the decision whether to fulfill it or run from it.

We've all been through the path of either running away from our appointed mission or complaining about it.  One thing is certain when it's appointed by God we can fulfill our purpose or God will get someone that will.  Ponder on this thought!  

The Bible gives us an example of many missions given to ordinary people like you and me.  one of my very favorites is about Esther.  She was faced with such a mission and purpose for her life.  She could fulfill her calling or be afraid of it and hide but either way she needed to choose.

" Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. ¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:13-14

We can choose to be ordinary and run and hide when God presents us with a difficult task or we can choose despite our fears,to be obedient fulfilling our God given calling. 

God never runs out of options or ideas.  He is brilliant in His ways and if one person decides to not trust His brilliance than He will pick someone else to fulfill the task. 

What task do you know God has called you to do that you've avoided?  I encourage you that whatever you are called to do God has already equipped you to accomplish.  It's not up to us to do the figuring out sometimes for the most part He requires just obedience, to comply with His will and be submissive to His call.