The sermon this weekend was about listening. Listening for God's prompting, for His calling on our lives, for whatever He wants to tell us. Our pastor mentions the ways in which God speaks: His Word, the Spirit, the church, other people, and circumstances. He then asked us whether we wanted to hear from God, whether we were actively seeking His voice.
What does that mean? For me, it means spending serious time reading the Bible, intentional time in prayer. But it also means being open. It means approaching God with humility, asking to hear His voice rather than attempting to get Him to hear mine. It means not being afraid of what I might hear, or at least being willing to risk being afraid. It means being open to change, open to correction, open to being led rather than taking the lead. It means following up, pursuing God's wisdom, seeking clarity.
Are you seeking God's voice? What is He saying? Are you listening?
Today's Verse:
Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
An exploration of faith and hope in the midst of fibromyalgia and the various and sundry things of life.
Showing posts with label look to God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label look to God. Show all posts
Monday, March 18, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The Right Words
I have been finding myself without words a lot recently. Friends have presented me with issues or questions and I just don't have the answers. In some cases, I'm not even sure where to start. For me, a verbose and social person, this is strange and unnerving. I like knowing what to say, I like having the answers.
It's easier for me to tell myself to be patient and to pray about something or to wait on the Lord than it is for me to tell others the same thing. When I say it to others I think it sounds too easy, too simple, like I am brushing off their concerns. But it's not easy or simple. It's right. When the answers aren't clear, when the path ahead is shrouded in uncertainty, the only thing to do is look to God, pray, and be patient. I'm not saying that we shouldn't listen to our friends' problems and questions - we should, and we should consider our responses carefully and lovingly. But when we don't have a ready answer or plan of action, we should speak God's truth into the situation. God's word says to look to him, and that's what we should tell our friends.
The Holy Spirit guides and convicts, if only we will listen. God will speak through us to our friends if we get out of the way. He will speak to us if are patient and prayerful and attentive. Filling the room with empty words isn't fruitful, but encouraging a friend to pray and turn their eyes to God is always productive. It may feel like too simple a response to a friend in need, but sometimes its exactly what needs to be said.
Do you have friends who need to hear God's truth spoken into their current situation?
Today's Verse
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
It's easier for me to tell myself to be patient and to pray about something or to wait on the Lord than it is for me to tell others the same thing. When I say it to others I think it sounds too easy, too simple, like I am brushing off their concerns. But it's not easy or simple. It's right. When the answers aren't clear, when the path ahead is shrouded in uncertainty, the only thing to do is look to God, pray, and be patient. I'm not saying that we shouldn't listen to our friends' problems and questions - we should, and we should consider our responses carefully and lovingly. But when we don't have a ready answer or plan of action, we should speak God's truth into the situation. God's word says to look to him, and that's what we should tell our friends.
The Holy Spirit guides and convicts, if only we will listen. God will speak through us to our friends if we get out of the way. He will speak to us if are patient and prayerful and attentive. Filling the room with empty words isn't fruitful, but encouraging a friend to pray and turn their eyes to God is always productive. It may feel like too simple a response to a friend in need, but sometimes its exactly what needs to be said.
Do you have friends who need to hear God's truth spoken into their current situation?
Today's Verse
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Wait for Him
God often takes a LONG time to accomplish things, and I have a hard time with that. I move forward in little baby steps, always thinking the next step will bring me to completion. Instead, I find new things to deal with, new things to learn, new things to accept behind every bend in the road. I get frustrated with the slow pace, knowing that I am going as fast as I can, as fast as I'm meant to, but so eager to just move forward, to accomplish, to get that stamp of approval. I want to rush through this process to get to the next thing.
I was feeling frustrated, impatient, and antsy last night when I decided to watch the new Bible miniseries on the History channel. Regardless of a myriad of issues people have with the production as a whole, I was struck by the passage of time in the story of Abraham. God promises Abraham a life in a new land and descendants that will be more numerous than the stars, and then SO MANY years pass. Seeing the caption '40 years later' pop up at the bottom of the TV screen drove that home more to me than reading the story in Genesis ever has before.
Waiting that long didn't mean that God had forgotten Abraham or reneged on his promises to him. It just meant that God was doing what He promised in His own way, in His own timing.
I am comforted by this today. My slow progress in my journey of faith, the things I see as roadblocks, the seemingly endless progression towards something new that I just can't quite grasp are all part of faith. They are all part of God's promises - the journey is just as important as the destination. I am embracing the journey today, having faith in God's promises, and waiting.
What is God teaching you as you wait for Him?
Today's Verse
Romans 4:3
What does Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
I was feeling frustrated, impatient, and antsy last night when I decided to watch the new Bible miniseries on the History channel. Regardless of a myriad of issues people have with the production as a whole, I was struck by the passage of time in the story of Abraham. God promises Abraham a life in a new land and descendants that will be more numerous than the stars, and then SO MANY years pass. Seeing the caption '40 years later' pop up at the bottom of the TV screen drove that home more to me than reading the story in Genesis ever has before.
Waiting that long didn't mean that God had forgotten Abraham or reneged on his promises to him. It just meant that God was doing what He promised in His own way, in His own timing.
I am comforted by this today. My slow progress in my journey of faith, the things I see as roadblocks, the seemingly endless progression towards something new that I just can't quite grasp are all part of faith. They are all part of God's promises - the journey is just as important as the destination. I am embracing the journey today, having faith in God's promises, and waiting.
What is God teaching you as you wait for Him?
Today's Verse
Romans 4:3
What does Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Friday, March 8, 2013
Being, Not Just Doing
It isn't enough to go through the motions of faith, to say all the right things, do all the right things. It has to come from within. We have to BE faithful. We have to BE hopeful. We have to BE joyful. Acting the part will only get us so far.
It's in the early morning hours that I confront this concept most often. I wake, before I am ready to get up, filled with thoughts and worries, fear eating at my gut. In the dark, everything I knew and said and did in the light seems insignificant and insubstantial. I am practically powerless against the the thoughts running through my mind, the anxiety eating away at my peace and contentment.
I ask myself, "Am I just going through the motions? Or do I truly believe that God has everything in hand, that so long as I follow him I can't go wrong? Do I believe that He has a good and perfect plan for my life? That He WANTS to do good things for me? Do I believe that He is faithful and true and that He honors His promises?" I do. He is. He does.
So I say no to the fear and anxiety. I say no to the thoughts that run rampant through my mind. I turn my focus away from 'what ifs' and back to what and who He is. I can be faithful and hopeful and joyful because of who He is and what He has done and what He will do. Nothing has changed since I first fell asleep. Nothing will change if I sit up and worry and nitpick. Nothing will change if I let go, rest, and go back to sleep.
Worry and anxiety are my way of taking control back from God. Of saying 'Look at me, look how well I can reason this out, how well I can handle it." But that's not faith. That's going through the motions. I can say all the right things and still hold back on the inside. But I am not doing that today. Today, I will rest in His grace and I will be faithful. I will be hopeful. I will be joyful.
Are you being or doing?
Today's Verse
Numbers 11:23
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"
It's in the early morning hours that I confront this concept most often. I wake, before I am ready to get up, filled with thoughts and worries, fear eating at my gut. In the dark, everything I knew and said and did in the light seems insignificant and insubstantial. I am practically powerless against the the thoughts running through my mind, the anxiety eating away at my peace and contentment.
I ask myself, "Am I just going through the motions? Or do I truly believe that God has everything in hand, that so long as I follow him I can't go wrong? Do I believe that He has a good and perfect plan for my life? That He WANTS to do good things for me? Do I believe that He is faithful and true and that He honors His promises?" I do. He is. He does.
So I say no to the fear and anxiety. I say no to the thoughts that run rampant through my mind. I turn my focus away from 'what ifs' and back to what and who He is. I can be faithful and hopeful and joyful because of who He is and what He has done and what He will do. Nothing has changed since I first fell asleep. Nothing will change if I sit up and worry and nitpick. Nothing will change if I let go, rest, and go back to sleep.
Worry and anxiety are my way of taking control back from God. Of saying 'Look at me, look how well I can reason this out, how well I can handle it." But that's not faith. That's going through the motions. I can say all the right things and still hold back on the inside. But I am not doing that today. Today, I will rest in His grace and I will be faithful. I will be hopeful. I will be joyful.
Are you being or doing?
Today's Verse
Numbers 11:23
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"
Monday, March 4, 2013
What Really Matters
Today I find myself incredibly aware of the protective nature and provision of God. I'm not quite sure why these things are so clear to me today, but I do know that the feelings of peace and assurance that go with them make going about the day and my to do list a lot easier.
I am in the midst of the (hopefully) final revisions and changes for my Master's Thesis. I've sent it to my committee chairs. They might hate it. They might want me to do even more work. The whole process has now officially taken two semesters longer than it was supposed to: what if they hold that against me? What if they don't want me to pass?
I've realized that it doesn't matter what they think. Not really. If they want me to pour more work into my thesis, I will. But it won't change what really matters, because I don't do this work for them. I don't do it for my department. I do it for God and for me. I work hard, not to please my department, but because being a diligent steward of my talents and skills is something God calls me to do. All I care about is whether my work glorifies Him, not Penn State, not my adviser.
My department might not be pleased with me, but if I am walking the path God lays before me, that is all that matters. God goes before me, He honors me and my work when I honor Him. He protects and provides exactly what I need, in academics and in other areas of my life. When I make it about Him, when I keep my eyes on the true prize, the pressures and distractions of academia fade away and I am left with only God. And that's what matters.
What distracts you from God? Are you looking for approval from other sources?
Today's Verses
Psalm 91: 14-15
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."
I am in the midst of the (hopefully) final revisions and changes for my Master's Thesis. I've sent it to my committee chairs. They might hate it. They might want me to do even more work. The whole process has now officially taken two semesters longer than it was supposed to: what if they hold that against me? What if they don't want me to pass?
I've realized that it doesn't matter what they think. Not really. If they want me to pour more work into my thesis, I will. But it won't change what really matters, because I don't do this work for them. I don't do it for my department. I do it for God and for me. I work hard, not to please my department, but because being a diligent steward of my talents and skills is something God calls me to do. All I care about is whether my work glorifies Him, not Penn State, not my adviser.
My department might not be pleased with me, but if I am walking the path God lays before me, that is all that matters. God goes before me, He honors me and my work when I honor Him. He protects and provides exactly what I need, in academics and in other areas of my life. When I make it about Him, when I keep my eyes on the true prize, the pressures and distractions of academia fade away and I am left with only God. And that's what matters.
What distracts you from God? Are you looking for approval from other sources?
Today's Verses
Psalm 91: 14-15
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)