God's glory...His number one aim and His purpose in all of creation, redemptive history past, present and future, and for the Christian our driving passion. Yet it often seems like something we are always aiming for but maybe never accomplishing, or something that we are always throwing out as our heart's deisre, but maybe never really seeking; for the Christian it has become something we say we are all about, but I often ask myself is it really something I seek? Charles Spurgeon once said, "It is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the Christian life to learn this sentence – “Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name be glory.”"
Recently I have been wrestling with this whole idea of God's glory, what it really means, and how I might more effectively bring Him glory. I have realized some basic Truths of Scripture that I found both encouraging and convicting and that have drawn me closer to Him and has reminded me continually of the fact that as Piper said, "Nothing makes God more supreme and more central than when a people are utterly persuaded that nothing – not money or prestige or leisure or family or job or health or sports or toys or friends – is going to bring satisfaction to their aching hearts besides God."
God Doesn't NEED You: We need to understand the basic Truth of Colossians 1:16, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." What's this you might ask? It is simple yet so true, God is glorified no matter what. That means that He is glorified in and through both good and evil, by the nonChristian and the Christian, by the work of Satan and by the work of His Son...Jesus doesn't need one ounce of praise, one ounce of worship, one ounce of fame to get glory...He simply gets it all because HE MADE IT ALL. What a humbling reality that is once grasped, yet it is foundational to your salvation. Until someone realizes that they don't bring anything to the table, that everything that comes along with salvation and sanctification is by the mighty hand of God, there is not a true understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is ALL ABOUT HIM!
God Chooses YOU and Uses You: John 15:16 says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." The next crucial Truth we must understand is that God chose YOU, if you are His, from before the foundation of the world! That is a radical Truth and a powerful one at that; to think that the Creator of all the universe foreordained my salvation before there was even a planet earth just blows my mind! Why did he choose to save me or other children of His? Because it brings Him MORE glory; this doesn't mean that He needed me or you to bring Him glory but He chose to use us to bring himself glory! Do you realize that EVERYTHING you do in His name and for His kingdom and for His glory is because He chose to use you for that specific purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are His workmanship created for good works that He prepared beforehand. Is God glorified through your salvation and your good works? Absolutely, but it all is HIM and therefore He gets even more glory!
Striving to Give HIM Glory: John Piper, "Delight in the glory of God includes, for example, hatred for sin, fear of displeasing God, hope in the promises of God, contentment in the fellowship of God, desire for the final revelation of the Son of God, exultation in the redemption He accomplished, grief and contrition for failures of love, gratitude for undeserved benefits, zeal for the purposes of God, and hunger for righteousness. Our duty toward God is that all our affections respond properly to his reality and so reflect His glory." Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." So to the crux of what God has been teaching me, the glory of His name manifested in ALL things, and how? Well here John Piper and Paul give us some great practical tools in how to bring glory to His name...
1) Hatred for Sin- Romans 8:5 says, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." When we fight sin, say no to temptation and chose to follow the conviction of the Spirit, we bring God so much glory; He is working in us to say no to that sin. Think about what it looks like to the world when what seems like pleasure to them looks to us like hatred towards a Holy God and how much of an example that is of Christ in us when we say no to the temporary and fleeting things of the world.
2) Fear of God- 2 Corinthians 5:11 says, "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men." Our fear is not the fear that we had when we were unsaved, a fear of judgment and condemnation but rather a fear of grieving our heavenly Father and displeasing Him because of our love for Him. This fear is motivated by who He is, because He is holy. When we fear displeasing Him we say no to sin and we in turn honor and glorify His name.
3)Hope in His Promises- Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." How true that is! When we TRUST God's faithfulness, when we TRUST His providence, when we TRUST Him despite the circumstances in our life and cling tightly to the hope that we have in eternity, we bring Him glory! When we are able to have joy in the midst of trial and conflict and that peace that surpasses the world's comprehension because we are choosing to believe His promises, He is glorified.
4)Contentment in our Relationship With Him- Philippians 4:12 says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Paul got it right here, he had learned the secret of contentment and that was His relationship with the living God and all that came along with that. When we show again peace, joy and hope in all situations God is magnified and in turn glorified! The world will look at see something different and stand in amazement and even then His name will be acclaimed worthy.
5)Desire for His Second Coming- Are we praying MARANATHA, LORD COME? Do we long for Him to come back and reign victoriously and be seen for who He truly is by every eye? Do we long for this with everything that is within us. When we pray for Him to return, when we long for it along with creation as it talks about in Romans, God is glorified!
6) Praising Him for Redemption- 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Everyday we should be thanking God for His work on the cross, we should be praising and exulting His name for it. This in turn motivates us to share His Truth with ALL those we come into contact, and whether they respond rightly is up to God but despite it all HE IS GLORIFIED because His name is being proclaimed, and His great deed manifested. Always praise Him for the gift of salvation.
7) Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness- Matthew 5:6 says "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." When we LONG for righteousness, to be made more like Christ and pursue it with our whole hearts we glorify God. For the Spirit is working in us to make us more like Him and in and through that He is glorified, magnified and shown to the world.
8) Doing EVERYTHING With the Right Mindset- Paul said it right, if our aim is His glory we should be aiming for that even in the small things, like eating and drinking, hanging out with friends....every conversation, every thought, every meal, every vacation, every day at work, every day at school, every breath should be unto His name! Does that mean we are saying "To God be the glory" constantly? No, not necessarily, but it means that your heart's passion, your mind's affections, your everything is driven with a pure motivation and aim...HIS GLORY ALONE!
As we seek to be giving Him glory in all things may we be reminded that He is the one working in us to do this. I think John Hannah sums it up well, "Since God is only pleased with the perfections that He alone possesses, and since these have been granted to us through the Holy Spirit, the believer can glorify God. God is glorified when He sees Himself in the character of the believer." May His glory be our only aim!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Handiwork of God
I couldn't help but write this morning as I am sitting on a patio in Kauai looking out at the most beautiful mountain range and a perfect sky...all I keep thinking is WOW! The more I see of God's creation, the more "wowed" I become...not at the creation but rather at the Creator. Recently I attended the Resolved conference and heard a message that talked about how believers have spiritual eyes so to speak and minds etc. and in that we see thing differently than the unredeemed, especially creation. When I wake up in the morning to a perfect sunrise over the ocean here, I see the glory of God; when I hike to the top of a mountain and see a canyon below filled with flowing rivers and waterfalls, I see the handiwork of God; when I look out to the endless ocean and see the waves crash on the sand, I see our God...a nonbeliever merely sees a sunset, a mountain, a valley, and an ocean. I am reminded of Romans 1:21 in which we read, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." How true is that?! In Romans 1, Paul is condemning the unredeemed by showing their utter need for a Savior and their wicked fallen nature; in the end of chapter one he goes on into an explanation of God's wrath to come and the looming reality that all will face judgment one day. What is interesting to me is that the evidence of God's righteousness is first mentioned within and then in creation, Paul explains that just looking around at the handiwork of God is going to make it quite clear that there is a God and an active, all-powerful one at that!
I remember being little and hiking, which my family did quite often, and always wondering how anybody could look at creation and not believe there was a God...although at that point I wasn't saved, I still couldn't deny the Truth. Yet the wicked hardening of sin has made it so that many are blind to the reality of their creator; they have become a people who worships the creation rather then the one who has the voice who spoke it into being, what a tragedy. Romans 8:19 goes on to say that, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Do you realize that everything in the universe that has been created is longing for the transformation that we as believers eagerly expect?! The corruption of sin not only tainted us, but all of creation as well.
When I think of Christ's glorious return and the final victory and the bondage of sin being removed from the earth I can't help but get excited...a world with no corruption, a world with no sorrow, a world most importantly where God's glory is shown and worshipped how it should be! My prayer is that I will always be humbled by creation, by the reality of who I was in relation to who He is and the praise Him for the Truth that I am now His forever and always!
I remember being little and hiking, which my family did quite often, and always wondering how anybody could look at creation and not believe there was a God...although at that point I wasn't saved, I still couldn't deny the Truth. Yet the wicked hardening of sin has made it so that many are blind to the reality of their creator; they have become a people who worships the creation rather then the one who has the voice who spoke it into being, what a tragedy. Romans 8:19 goes on to say that, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Do you realize that everything in the universe that has been created is longing for the transformation that we as believers eagerly expect?! The corruption of sin not only tainted us, but all of creation as well.
When I think of Christ's glorious return and the final victory and the bondage of sin being removed from the earth I can't help but get excited...a world with no corruption, a world with no sorrow, a world most importantly where God's glory is shown and worshipped how it should be! My prayer is that I will always be humbled by creation, by the reality of who I was in relation to who He is and the praise Him for the Truth that I am now His forever and always!
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Glory of Christ in God's Sovereignty
I had the great privilege of attending the 2009 Resolved conference this past weekend and sitting under some great men of God who are being used mightly in His hand to refine men and women in the Truth. What a joy it was to learn vital and fundamental Truths from humble men like these. I HIGHLY recommend you check out the messages on resolved.org if you get the chance, you will be blessed. I was overwhelmed with the Truths I was hearing; yet there is one specific thing that stuck out to me that I felt compelled to share with all of you in prayer that it would encourage you, spur you on and make you fall more in love with the Savior of the universe...that being the glory of God IN ALL things...including sin!
God never ceases to amaze me. I find it so amazing that whenever He is trying to teach me some Truth or to refine me in something He doesn't just bring it from one source, but from all around. Recently I have been reading through the Old Testament and I have been able to see more of the glory of God through the disobedience of the nation of Israel; coupled with that I just finished Piper's book "Spectacular Sins" which definitely showed how God providentially ordains even the evil in this world. Last night Piper spoke on this very thing...God's Sovereignty OVER Sin in regards to the fall of Lucifer and the demons and Adam and man. Do you realize that EVERYTIME God does something to you, nudges you, bumps you, stirs your circumstances so to speak, He is doing a million things?? Everything relates to everything BECAUSE God is in control of everything. God is an infinitely purposeful and powerful Savior.
There is a Truth in Scripture that we seem to not be able to get around, some sort of tension that is somewhat of a mystery that we in our finiteness cannot comprehend, that is the sovereignty of God and the responsiblity of man. We come to verses in Scripture like 2 Chronicles 18:22 which reads ""So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."" and we go WHAT?! God is somehow connected with this evil??! How can it be?! Yet God in His grandiose and His perfection has made it quite clear as to the reality of His sovereignty and He answers our question of how and why in Colossians 1:16:
"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
That means that everything , yes everything including Satan, including evil, EVERYTHING was made BY Him and FOR Him. Do you realize that even before He made anything, including Satan and the fallen angels he already had thought about the prospect of their fall of rebellion? Piper likes to use the word "ordain" when it comes to God and evil or sin and he does a good job at defining it as either a) causing something directly or b) permitting something with infinite knowledge of what will come...in other words HE IS IN CHARGE! Do you realize that God could stop it, but He doesn't? Look at this in Revelation 13:8, "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain." The key here is realizing that God here is talking about the book, the book of life, the book with the names of everyone for whom Christ died for had been written from the foundation of the world!! That means that BEFORE you and I were ever created, before the world was created, BEFORE Adam fell, the plan of redemption had already been established!! How incredible of a thought is that??! That blows my mind. 2 Timothy 1:9 reads, "(HE) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity...", the unmerited grace we receive in Christ was granted to us in eternity past!! The entire story was written before the creation of time, and space and everything since...God IS sovereign and working it all together.
But why you might ask? Why would God "ordain" something like this? Why would He want to see a fallen creation end up like this, why would he want Lucifer and his demons to have power on earth? Why? Back in Colossians we read that everything, EVERYTHING, was made by Him and FOR Him...your answer then is FOR THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST. God is orchestrating it all so that He can make much of Christ. Fallen creatures in need of a Savior and the perfection of the cross and redemptive history put more of God's greatness and glory on display! Jesus Christ is magnified in such a profound way through this. You see the universe, the everything is about the cross of Jesus Christ on which He bled and died for the sins of those whom He called. The perfection of a creation that came by the power of God's words; the perfection of a fall that was orchestrated perfectly to display God's greatness; the perfection of the god-man living on this earth, and righteously, fulfilling everything we could not; the perfection of the death in which His perfect blood was spilled out for the sins of millions; the perfection of the wrath of God satisfied completely through His own crushing of His only Son, the perfection of the risen King; the perfection of the power of grace in which God calls unclean, filthy, depraved sinners to Himself and in an instant cleanses them of all inquity as they throw themselves facedown on the mercy of Christ; and the perfection of the end of a story to come in which evil will be cast out forever and a risen Christ will reign victoriously forevermore...it is all but for the glory of God and it will forevermore be the song we sing!
And the CRUCIAL Truth in all of this is realizing that this Truth of the sovereignty of God over evil, over all wickedness and the decree of His Will to crush His Son is vital to the purity of the Gospel...without it you cannot have salvation.
God never ceases to amaze me. I find it so amazing that whenever He is trying to teach me some Truth or to refine me in something He doesn't just bring it from one source, but from all around. Recently I have been reading through the Old Testament and I have been able to see more of the glory of God through the disobedience of the nation of Israel; coupled with that I just finished Piper's book "Spectacular Sins" which definitely showed how God providentially ordains even the evil in this world. Last night Piper spoke on this very thing...God's Sovereignty OVER Sin in regards to the fall of Lucifer and the demons and Adam and man. Do you realize that EVERYTIME God does something to you, nudges you, bumps you, stirs your circumstances so to speak, He is doing a million things?? Everything relates to everything BECAUSE God is in control of everything. God is an infinitely purposeful and powerful Savior.
There is a Truth in Scripture that we seem to not be able to get around, some sort of tension that is somewhat of a mystery that we in our finiteness cannot comprehend, that is the sovereignty of God and the responsiblity of man. We come to verses in Scripture like 2 Chronicles 18:22 which reads ""So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."" and we go WHAT?! God is somehow connected with this evil??! How can it be?! Yet God in His grandiose and His perfection has made it quite clear as to the reality of His sovereignty and He answers our question of how and why in Colossians 1:16:
"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
That means that everything , yes everything including Satan, including evil, EVERYTHING was made BY Him and FOR Him. Do you realize that even before He made anything, including Satan and the fallen angels he already had thought about the prospect of their fall of rebellion? Piper likes to use the word "ordain" when it comes to God and evil or sin and he does a good job at defining it as either a) causing something directly or b) permitting something with infinite knowledge of what will come...in other words HE IS IN CHARGE! Do you realize that God could stop it, but He doesn't? Look at this in Revelation 13:8, "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain." The key here is realizing that God here is talking about the book, the book of life, the book with the names of everyone for whom Christ died for had been written from the foundation of the world!! That means that BEFORE you and I were ever created, before the world was created, BEFORE Adam fell, the plan of redemption had already been established!! How incredible of a thought is that??! That blows my mind. 2 Timothy 1:9 reads, "(HE) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity...", the unmerited grace we receive in Christ was granted to us in eternity past!! The entire story was written before the creation of time, and space and everything since...God IS sovereign and working it all together.
But why you might ask? Why would God "ordain" something like this? Why would He want to see a fallen creation end up like this, why would he want Lucifer and his demons to have power on earth? Why? Back in Colossians we read that everything, EVERYTHING, was made by Him and FOR Him...your answer then is FOR THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST. God is orchestrating it all so that He can make much of Christ. Fallen creatures in need of a Savior and the perfection of the cross and redemptive history put more of God's greatness and glory on display! Jesus Christ is magnified in such a profound way through this. You see the universe, the everything is about the cross of Jesus Christ on which He bled and died for the sins of those whom He called. The perfection of a creation that came by the power of God's words; the perfection of a fall that was orchestrated perfectly to display God's greatness; the perfection of the god-man living on this earth, and righteously, fulfilling everything we could not; the perfection of the death in which His perfect blood was spilled out for the sins of millions; the perfection of the wrath of God satisfied completely through His own crushing of His only Son, the perfection of the risen King; the perfection of the power of grace in which God calls unclean, filthy, depraved sinners to Himself and in an instant cleanses them of all inquity as they throw themselves facedown on the mercy of Christ; and the perfection of the end of a story to come in which evil will be cast out forever and a risen Christ will reign victoriously forevermore...it is all but for the glory of God and it will forevermore be the song we sing!
And the CRUCIAL Truth in all of this is realizing that this Truth of the sovereignty of God over evil, over all wickedness and the decree of His Will to crush His Son is vital to the purity of the Gospel...without it you cannot have salvation.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Trusting a SPECIFIC and Faithful God
God seems to always test us in our faith and our willingness to trust Him. Like I said in my last post, trusting God has been the theme of my life and it seems to only continue on...I guess for the Christian that is the theme of their life because being a disciple of the King means you are willing to go anywhere, at anytime, and do anything for Him and that takes trust! What I always find somewhat humorous though, is that whenever I get to a place of where I thought I had finally overcome this issue with trust in my life, like I had arrived or something (haha yeah right), or I finally figured out what God was doing, God will throw something in the mix almost as He is saying, "Do you really trust me Vanessa? Prove it!". Although everytime it seems to get easier and my responses seem to change and reflect more of a willing heart, there still is the need to focus on TRUTH and what I know of who God is.
With that said, I recently have been reading through the Old Testament and my view of God has only increased. I don't think I can even begin to grasp the majesty of our God and King and the measure of His holiness, His sovereignty, and His love for us, yet it doesn't stop me from trying. As I read the stories in the Old Testament like that of Joseph and Noah or of the Exodus or even of the ceremonial Laws, there is something that has consistently been popping out at me...specifics; our God is a very SPECIFIC God. In other words, He has everything in control and under control and He knows exactly what He is doing and exactly how He wants things done and nothing and nobody can change that. NOTHING! And that same God that raised Joseph up that His glory might be shown, and the same God who spared Noah from the destruction of the earth, and that same God who parted the red Sea and delivered the Israelites, is the same God who is working in YOU and me! It is the same God that is guiding you and leading you and that God has SPECIFIC things that He has planned for you! I love knowing that God is the sovereign author of all and that I have nothing to fear or worry about! I love knowing that as I seek Him FIRST and trust in His providence that He will lead me and guide my footsteps where I will be used for His glory. Oh the joy of knowing that our good and gracious Father has saved us for a purpose and a specific plan. Ephesians 2:10 has been everpresent on my heart for the past few months, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them". Just like salvation, a believer's good works are ordained before time began! Think about that for a moment. That just blows my mind. If the fact that my salvation was ordained before the earth was even created doesn't boggle my mind enough, He throws in the truth that even the SPECIFICs of my life were ordained beforehand...wow!
So what are some SPECIFIC ways that I can THINK TRUTH (as I like to say) when I need to trust God (which is everyday as we are always fully dependent)?
Remember His Past Faithfulness PAST-
If you have ever read the OT you will notice that the nation of Israel seemed to forget the goodness and faithfulness of God quite often! In fact we might even look at their infamous sin cylce and wonder how on earth and why on earth they would do something like that. In fact God even would have them make tangible reminders to remember. So whenever I am back in a place of having to trust the Lord, which for each of us is everyday whether we realize it or not (we are fully dependent), I always will try and think back on His faithfulness throughout all of history. Search the OT for the word remember and you find it everywhere! We need to look to the faithfulness of God throughout the past, Old and New testaments and SEE it and believe it!
And then there is the faithfulness that He has proven throughout YOUR life! Look back on from where He saved you from, look back and see how He has worked things together for His glory and your good (romans 8:28). Think back and remember!
Remember His Faithfulness PRESENT-
Do you realize that if God wanted to, He at this very moment could destroy the earth? Do you understand that the only reason He hasn't done that is because of His love and that is manifested in patience for sinners to repent? God is faithful right now, today in the present whether you see it in your life or not. He is working through the nations, through the government, through the evil...through it all to accomplish His plan. Look around and you will begin to see His faithfulness. The fact that He promised to provide for you? Check. The fact that He promised to never leave you or forsake you? Check. The fact that He promised to give you peace unexplainable? Check. The fact that He promised to allow you to not be tempted past what you can bare? Check. And I could go on. We need to think truth by looking around and seeing His faithfulness all around us TODAY!
Remember His Faithfulness FUTURE-
Oh how exciting this truly is! To read throughout Scripture the Truth of what is to come and to look forward to it with hopeful expectancy! We must realize that our best day here is nothing compared to the glories of what is to come and that our worst day here is the worst it will ever get. His faithfulness transcends understanding and we will get to grasp the full measure of it one day in heaven when we meet Him face to face. Just thinking about His second-coming and all that will take place should motivate us to trust!
May we always remember that our God is a SPECIFIC God who has it all under control and in that may we trust Him wholly by thinking truth daily!
"For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to Me, and I wil listen to you. You will seek me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart'". -Jeremiah 29:11-13
With that said, I recently have been reading through the Old Testament and my view of God has only increased. I don't think I can even begin to grasp the majesty of our God and King and the measure of His holiness, His sovereignty, and His love for us, yet it doesn't stop me from trying. As I read the stories in the Old Testament like that of Joseph and Noah or of the Exodus or even of the ceremonial Laws, there is something that has consistently been popping out at me...specifics; our God is a very SPECIFIC God. In other words, He has everything in control and under control and He knows exactly what He is doing and exactly how He wants things done and nothing and nobody can change that. NOTHING! And that same God that raised Joseph up that His glory might be shown, and the same God who spared Noah from the destruction of the earth, and that same God who parted the red Sea and delivered the Israelites, is the same God who is working in YOU and me! It is the same God that is guiding you and leading you and that God has SPECIFIC things that He has planned for you! I love knowing that God is the sovereign author of all and that I have nothing to fear or worry about! I love knowing that as I seek Him FIRST and trust in His providence that He will lead me and guide my footsteps where I will be used for His glory. Oh the joy of knowing that our good and gracious Father has saved us for a purpose and a specific plan. Ephesians 2:10 has been everpresent on my heart for the past few months, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them". Just like salvation, a believer's good works are ordained before time began! Think about that for a moment. That just blows my mind. If the fact that my salvation was ordained before the earth was even created doesn't boggle my mind enough, He throws in the truth that even the SPECIFICs of my life were ordained beforehand...wow!
So what are some SPECIFIC ways that I can THINK TRUTH (as I like to say) when I need to trust God (which is everyday as we are always fully dependent)?
Remember His Past Faithfulness PAST-
If you have ever read the OT you will notice that the nation of Israel seemed to forget the goodness and faithfulness of God quite often! In fact we might even look at their infamous sin cylce and wonder how on earth and why on earth they would do something like that. In fact God even would have them make tangible reminders to remember. So whenever I am back in a place of having to trust the Lord, which for each of us is everyday whether we realize it or not (we are fully dependent), I always will try and think back on His faithfulness throughout all of history. Search the OT for the word remember and you find it everywhere! We need to look to the faithfulness of God throughout the past, Old and New testaments and SEE it and believe it!
And then there is the faithfulness that He has proven throughout YOUR life! Look back on from where He saved you from, look back and see how He has worked things together for His glory and your good (romans 8:28). Think back and remember!
Remember His Faithfulness PRESENT-
Do you realize that if God wanted to, He at this very moment could destroy the earth? Do you understand that the only reason He hasn't done that is because of His love and that is manifested in patience for sinners to repent? God is faithful right now, today in the present whether you see it in your life or not. He is working through the nations, through the government, through the evil...through it all to accomplish His plan. Look around and you will begin to see His faithfulness. The fact that He promised to provide for you? Check. The fact that He promised to never leave you or forsake you? Check. The fact that He promised to give you peace unexplainable? Check. The fact that He promised to allow you to not be tempted past what you can bare? Check. And I could go on. We need to think truth by looking around and seeing His faithfulness all around us TODAY!
Remember His Faithfulness FUTURE-
Oh how exciting this truly is! To read throughout Scripture the Truth of what is to come and to look forward to it with hopeful expectancy! We must realize that our best day here is nothing compared to the glories of what is to come and that our worst day here is the worst it will ever get. His faithfulness transcends understanding and we will get to grasp the full measure of it one day in heaven when we meet Him face to face. Just thinking about His second-coming and all that will take place should motivate us to trust!
May we always remember that our God is a SPECIFIC God who has it all under control and in that may we trust Him wholly by thinking truth daily!
"For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to Me, and I wil listen to you. You will seek me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart'". -Jeremiah 29:11-13
Monday, June 01, 2009
A Season of Harvest
I typically don't write blogs specifically about myself, although I guess everything I write in some way or another does pertain to something God is either teaching me or working in me, but this one is different, other than my testimony this one is probably the most personal and revealing blog that I have ever written yet it is something that I feel so compelled to share in prayer that it will encourage YOU! I must say that this is honest, straight-forward and about as to the point as I can be yet it is going to take a bit to explain so bare with me...
The past five months for me have been what I like to call my "season of waiting". I don't know where I got the name for that, why I even starting referring to my time right now as that but I think I said it once and it sort of just stuck with me. Let me explain, I looked at where I was (just graduated from college, single and having no idea about what God wanted next) and pretty much realized that I was no where near where I had planned, expected or maybe even wanted to be but I had a deep set peace within my heart that I was where I was supposed to be...according to the Master plan-maker aka GOD! There had been other times in my life in which I felt like I was having to be patient and wait but this one felt different and I couldn't quite grasp why. I wondered if maybe I was where I was because of the consequences of past sin and poor choices I had made, but even in knowing that those things happened I was reminded of Romans 8:28 over and over again and that quote by Jerry Bridges that says, "We do have a responsibility to make wise decisions or to discover the will of God, whichever term we may prefer to use. But God’s plan for us is not contingent upon our decisions. God’s plan is not contingent at all. God’s plan is sovereign. It includes our foolish decisions as well as our wise ones." Isn't that the truth...well for me it sure was, I had made a handful of decisions in the past four years that I was not proud of and yet somehow God continued to guide, direct and lead and BLESS me beyond comprehension; to say I was humbled is an understatement.
So when I first entered this "season of waiting" I was confused to be honest with you all. Although I may have had a smile on my face because of the deep set truth I knew there was definitely a confusion in my heart and mind as to why God had brought me where He had and as to what on earth HE was going to do with me. It was back in February that God began cultivating new and refreshed desires within me, ones that I couldn't explain yet ones that I would get so excited about, and still am today! The more I seemed to relinquish control, the more freedom I found. I soon realized that freedom was found in surrender at the foot of the cross; not that I hadn't known that or experienced that before, but I was experiencing it in a whole new way and I was amazed. I was so encouraged to see how God was working in me and I couldn't help but anticipate all that He had in store. Yet during that realization, God opened my eyes to something else, the fact that I wasn't in a season of waiting at all, but rather in a season of harvest. I was exactly where God wanted me to be and even when we aren't sure why we are where we are He has a plan in that season or place. Ephesians 2:10 then became an everpresent prayer on my heart. I knew that I was God's workmanship and that He had planned SPECIFIC things He wanted me to accomplish for His glory. And part of those things were right here, right now, in this season whether I thought it was where I was supposed to be or not. I began seeing opportunities everywhere and I couldn't even contain the joy I found in serving Him right where He had me...in being faithful to His placement.
For those of you who know me or have read my blogs a common theme of my life is trust and trusting God. I don't know why some of us seem to struggle with this more than others but this struggle has been one that I have battled from the moment I was saved. In my heart and in my head I KNOW that God is trustworthy, I mean come'on right?! But it is much easier said than acted out...what I mean is that knowing that we are to and can trust God is the simple step, but the actual trusting when you don't know where He is leading or why He is doing it is much tougher. There are many examples all throughout Scripture we have of men and women who were called to trust God and many who like me, struggled with it. Why is it so hard? I seem to always ask myself that question because I know in my head it logically makes sense to trust God, just for who He is. Yet in our own sinfulness we don't, it doesn't come naturally at all.
So back to this whole season and me trusting, so I know that for the past five months God has been teaching me two specific things that I KNOW I have struggled with continually in my walk with Him that I believe He truly is refining me in and I am so excited. One being the whole trust issue. For the first time in my life I truly believe that God has enabled me to surrender all of my hopes, all of my dreams and funnelled all of them into one as the song says "pure and holy passion"---To know and follow hard after Him! Matthew 6:33 has now become my verse for this time in my life, teaching us to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". Although I know that my passion has been that I have had many struggles and hindrances that have obstructed my perspective so to speak. The second thing God has really been teaching me is patience, funny how the two seem to fit with one another so well. I have tended to make many hasty decisions in my life and not only that but I have always been given everything I need and have really never had to exhibit patience in many areas; that has been something that has caused me to look at things as me deserving as opposed to God blessing. God has reminded me continually over the past sin in my life and over the last 5 months that patience is a part of my character that had neglected to be developed, and although I know it is no where near being perfected, that area of my life has been stretched immensely.
Now to the honest part of all of this as if that wasn't enough...the season of waiting I believed also included what many, including myself like to refer to as the season of singleness. That time in your life when God makes you wait for that right person to come along? Or at least that is the mindset I seemed to always possess. Being at Christian schools really didn't help me out in this area because you are constantly bombarded with terms like "ring by spring" or the "MRS" degree or maybe the fact that when you graduate college you better have not only a diploma but a fiance as well?! Although I might have laughed at all of this, I have to be honest in admitting that I bought into it and betted much of my heart on it as well...what I mean is I EXPECTED it for my life as I had seen it in lives around me. Yet when that reality didn't unfold in my own life I have to admit I was saddened and more so confused. I didn't understand why God had allowed me to get in the relationships I got into and why he didn't bless them or more why God hadn't just shut my eyes of until He brought about the right guy and that had better of been before I finished school! Although those words may never have come out of my mouth that was the attitude deep rooted within my heart and it was both selfish and sinful. I had again tried to claim the rule in my own life in this area and had failed to trust in the perfect plan of my good and loving Father in heaven...how foolish!
Over the past five months God has revamped my perspective on singlness, dating and marriage so much so that I for the first time ever feel as though I have freedom from the chains that were entangling me. Marriage had been an idol for me, as much as I didn't want to admit it, it was. A selfish and wicked heart had overtaken much of my interaction with guys in my life and manipulation, control and impatience overwhelmed my actions. I got involved in relationships and even pre-relationships that if I had only exhibited patience and selflessness in may have never begun, may have never encouraged sin and may have enabled God to receive glory rather than to have been spat upon. As much as I desired the Lord to return my desire to be a wife and a mom was on almost a level playing field. I justified my desire reminding myself that God gives us desires and good ones and marriage is a great and wonderful thing and that I couldn't just wish or pray it away. And truth be told I was willing to compromise just to get what I wanted. it is funny how the very things that we often think are best for us are often the things that are the worst for us...relationships for me were that. I idolized marriage and therefore idolized relationships when I was in them...they captivated more of my mind's thought, attention and action then the Lord did and in hindsight I see how utterly tainted my own perception of them was. I had taken much control into my own hands in the past and that control turned into allowing satan's lies to fester in my mind and heart. "God doesn't have anyone better". "Your standards are just too high God can't bring a man like that". "You aren't worth it". "God needs your help". "Go for it". "You can change him." Whatever the thought might be it was there and it was ringing loud and clear. Lies that led me to choose to either be like the nation of Israel in Exodus and keep marriage as an idol in my life, which I did until about 5 months ago, or lies that could motivate me to repentance at the cross.
Over the past 4-5 months I have fought those thoughts harder I think than I ever have had to and God has enabled me, through the TRUTH of His Word to battle them and to find my feet on solid ground that only gets harder; trusting Him and His perfect plan and praying MARANATHA Lord Come today! The thoughts have come less often as God has enabled me to say no to sin in that area, idolizing that is. Although my desires for a Godly man and a family have not faded they are no longer the forefront of my thoughts or my heart's desire because they are temporal and my goal is eternal. My pure and holy passion to know and follow hard after Jesus Christ consumes me from the inside out and captivates all of my heart's attention and my life's pursuit. I am in such a place of peace I can't even tell you.
God is working that is something I am sure of, He is working in me and I am so eagerly expectant of all He has in store. I long for His return more than I long for my own next breath! I cannot wait to see His face and be welcomed into perfect fellowship at His presence. But until then, I must focus on what He has entrusted to me now. I am not in a season of waiting but rather a season of harvest in which I must be faithful. He has put me where He has me for these very purposes...to make His glory known as I Spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Wherever He leads I will go, whatever the cost, whatever the task and no matter what it means...for He is my good and gracious Father, trusting all the while in His perfect plan.
The past five months for me have been what I like to call my "season of waiting". I don't know where I got the name for that, why I even starting referring to my time right now as that but I think I said it once and it sort of just stuck with me. Let me explain, I looked at where I was (just graduated from college, single and having no idea about what God wanted next) and pretty much realized that I was no where near where I had planned, expected or maybe even wanted to be but I had a deep set peace within my heart that I was where I was supposed to be...according to the Master plan-maker aka GOD! There had been other times in my life in which I felt like I was having to be patient and wait but this one felt different and I couldn't quite grasp why. I wondered if maybe I was where I was because of the consequences of past sin and poor choices I had made, but even in knowing that those things happened I was reminded of Romans 8:28 over and over again and that quote by Jerry Bridges that says, "We do have a responsibility to make wise decisions or to discover the will of God, whichever term we may prefer to use. But God’s plan for us is not contingent upon our decisions. God’s plan is not contingent at all. God’s plan is sovereign. It includes our foolish decisions as well as our wise ones." Isn't that the truth...well for me it sure was, I had made a handful of decisions in the past four years that I was not proud of and yet somehow God continued to guide, direct and lead and BLESS me beyond comprehension; to say I was humbled is an understatement.
So when I first entered this "season of waiting" I was confused to be honest with you all. Although I may have had a smile on my face because of the deep set truth I knew there was definitely a confusion in my heart and mind as to why God had brought me where He had and as to what on earth HE was going to do with me. It was back in February that God began cultivating new and refreshed desires within me, ones that I couldn't explain yet ones that I would get so excited about, and still am today! The more I seemed to relinquish control, the more freedom I found. I soon realized that freedom was found in surrender at the foot of the cross; not that I hadn't known that or experienced that before, but I was experiencing it in a whole new way and I was amazed. I was so encouraged to see how God was working in me and I couldn't help but anticipate all that He had in store. Yet during that realization, God opened my eyes to something else, the fact that I wasn't in a season of waiting at all, but rather in a season of harvest. I was exactly where God wanted me to be and even when we aren't sure why we are where we are He has a plan in that season or place. Ephesians 2:10 then became an everpresent prayer on my heart. I knew that I was God's workmanship and that He had planned SPECIFIC things He wanted me to accomplish for His glory. And part of those things were right here, right now, in this season whether I thought it was where I was supposed to be or not. I began seeing opportunities everywhere and I couldn't even contain the joy I found in serving Him right where He had me...in being faithful to His placement.
For those of you who know me or have read my blogs a common theme of my life is trust and trusting God. I don't know why some of us seem to struggle with this more than others but this struggle has been one that I have battled from the moment I was saved. In my heart and in my head I KNOW that God is trustworthy, I mean come'on right?! But it is much easier said than acted out...what I mean is that knowing that we are to and can trust God is the simple step, but the actual trusting when you don't know where He is leading or why He is doing it is much tougher. There are many examples all throughout Scripture we have of men and women who were called to trust God and many who like me, struggled with it. Why is it so hard? I seem to always ask myself that question because I know in my head it logically makes sense to trust God, just for who He is. Yet in our own sinfulness we don't, it doesn't come naturally at all.
So back to this whole season and me trusting, so I know that for the past five months God has been teaching me two specific things that I KNOW I have struggled with continually in my walk with Him that I believe He truly is refining me in and I am so excited. One being the whole trust issue. For the first time in my life I truly believe that God has enabled me to surrender all of my hopes, all of my dreams and funnelled all of them into one as the song says "pure and holy passion"---To know and follow hard after Him! Matthew 6:33 has now become my verse for this time in my life, teaching us to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". Although I know that my passion has been that I have had many struggles and hindrances that have obstructed my perspective so to speak. The second thing God has really been teaching me is patience, funny how the two seem to fit with one another so well. I have tended to make many hasty decisions in my life and not only that but I have always been given everything I need and have really never had to exhibit patience in many areas; that has been something that has caused me to look at things as me deserving as opposed to God blessing. God has reminded me continually over the past sin in my life and over the last 5 months that patience is a part of my character that had neglected to be developed, and although I know it is no where near being perfected, that area of my life has been stretched immensely.
Now to the honest part of all of this as if that wasn't enough...the season of waiting I believed also included what many, including myself like to refer to as the season of singleness. That time in your life when God makes you wait for that right person to come along? Or at least that is the mindset I seemed to always possess. Being at Christian schools really didn't help me out in this area because you are constantly bombarded with terms like "ring by spring" or the "MRS" degree or maybe the fact that when you graduate college you better have not only a diploma but a fiance as well?! Although I might have laughed at all of this, I have to be honest in admitting that I bought into it and betted much of my heart on it as well...what I mean is I EXPECTED it for my life as I had seen it in lives around me. Yet when that reality didn't unfold in my own life I have to admit I was saddened and more so confused. I didn't understand why God had allowed me to get in the relationships I got into and why he didn't bless them or more why God hadn't just shut my eyes of until He brought about the right guy and that had better of been before I finished school! Although those words may never have come out of my mouth that was the attitude deep rooted within my heart and it was both selfish and sinful. I had again tried to claim the rule in my own life in this area and had failed to trust in the perfect plan of my good and loving Father in heaven...how foolish!
Over the past five months God has revamped my perspective on singlness, dating and marriage so much so that I for the first time ever feel as though I have freedom from the chains that were entangling me. Marriage had been an idol for me, as much as I didn't want to admit it, it was. A selfish and wicked heart had overtaken much of my interaction with guys in my life and manipulation, control and impatience overwhelmed my actions. I got involved in relationships and even pre-relationships that if I had only exhibited patience and selflessness in may have never begun, may have never encouraged sin and may have enabled God to receive glory rather than to have been spat upon. As much as I desired the Lord to return my desire to be a wife and a mom was on almost a level playing field. I justified my desire reminding myself that God gives us desires and good ones and marriage is a great and wonderful thing and that I couldn't just wish or pray it away. And truth be told I was willing to compromise just to get what I wanted. it is funny how the very things that we often think are best for us are often the things that are the worst for us...relationships for me were that. I idolized marriage and therefore idolized relationships when I was in them...they captivated more of my mind's thought, attention and action then the Lord did and in hindsight I see how utterly tainted my own perception of them was. I had taken much control into my own hands in the past and that control turned into allowing satan's lies to fester in my mind and heart. "God doesn't have anyone better". "Your standards are just too high God can't bring a man like that". "You aren't worth it". "God needs your help". "Go for it". "You can change him." Whatever the thought might be it was there and it was ringing loud and clear. Lies that led me to choose to either be like the nation of Israel in Exodus and keep marriage as an idol in my life, which I did until about 5 months ago, or lies that could motivate me to repentance at the cross.
Over the past 4-5 months I have fought those thoughts harder I think than I ever have had to and God has enabled me, through the TRUTH of His Word to battle them and to find my feet on solid ground that only gets harder; trusting Him and His perfect plan and praying MARANATHA Lord Come today! The thoughts have come less often as God has enabled me to say no to sin in that area, idolizing that is. Although my desires for a Godly man and a family have not faded they are no longer the forefront of my thoughts or my heart's desire because they are temporal and my goal is eternal. My pure and holy passion to know and follow hard after Jesus Christ consumes me from the inside out and captivates all of my heart's attention and my life's pursuit. I am in such a place of peace I can't even tell you.
God is working that is something I am sure of, He is working in me and I am so eagerly expectant of all He has in store. I long for His return more than I long for my own next breath! I cannot wait to see His face and be welcomed into perfect fellowship at His presence. But until then, I must focus on what He has entrusted to me now. I am not in a season of waiting but rather a season of harvest in which I must be faithful. He has put me where He has me for these very purposes...to make His glory known as I Spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Wherever He leads I will go, whatever the cost, whatever the task and no matter what it means...for He is my good and gracious Father, trusting all the while in His perfect plan.
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