Tag: answers

Intersection of Too Much and Not Enough

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Psalm 139 exerts—-

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭1‬-‭6‬, ‭11‬-‭12‬, ‭14‬-‭17‬, ‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Man has great potential both for great good and for evil; God deemed us worth the risk!! (Even knowing in His Sovereignty which each of us would choose.)

“Adonai is my portion and my cup. You cast my lot. My boundary lines fall in pleasant places —surely my heritage is beautiful.”
‭‭” I will bless Adonai, who counsels me. Even at night my heart instructs me. I have set Adonai always before me. Since He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. So my heart is glad and my soul rejoices. My body also rests secure.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭5-9‬ ‭TLV‬‬

His Word promises His people a beautiful Inheritance; but it also warns us, “ In this world you will have trouble’s.” It doesn’t mince words, we will have trials, tests.hardships, and troubles.

Isaiah foretold Jesus coming and purpose with these Words:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers. But you will be called the Lord’s priests; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will eat the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their riches. In place of your shame, you will have a double portion; in place of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share. So they will possess double in their land, and eternal joy will be theirs. For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and injustice; I will faithfully reward my people and make a permanent covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their posterity among the peoples. All who see them will recognize that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

For all of us who have ever experienced feeling as though we could never measure up to someone or something, whether it was a major goal, others expectations, or something else; and also for those who often find themselves feeling like we are just too much for others to handle: It is my hope these words will you pause and peace!

From one drought weary soul to another; May His Grace bring you peace and comfort and a thirst for more of Him!!

The Power of Praying God’s Word

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“For the Word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 Amplified Bible

Prayer is a powerful tool in the arsenal of a believer but sometimes we forget just how mighty it can be. In fact, at times when life is going along just fine we can neglect our prayer life, and when the heat turns up then, we are quick to realize that we have a source to Whom we can turn. Hopefully, that’s not true in our case, but it sometimes happens when our life is rocking along pretty well.

God’s Word is chocked full of sound advice, effective principals for life, and great promises. We just have to be open to searching them out. You just might be surprised at how relevant it can be to life even in the 21st century. Now I have prayed the Word for some years, but recently I am realizing that even so, I am underutilizing it in my prayer life. For example, I was praying for a friend this morning who is seeking the Lord about some decisions. I ran across a scripture that I found to be very helpful. I know when I am asking the Lord for something; sometimes I find it hard to know the difference between Him answering, my thoughts and other thoughts and ideas that ‘pop’ into my head. I ran across this scripture this morning and felt prompted to pray it over my friend.

““I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [the protector and provider]. The doorkeeper opens [the gate] for this man, and the sheep hear his voice and pay attention to it. And [knowing that they listen] he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [to pasture]. When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”” ‭JOHN‬ ‭10:1-5‬ ‭AMP‬‬

““The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.” ‭JOHN‬ ‭10:27-28‬ ‭AMP‬‬

The focus scripture was My sheep, (my followers) hear My voice and they follow me. The voice of a stranger, they will not follow. Based on these words, I felt compelled to petition the Father that this is His child I am praying for and that they are diligently seeking His wisdom. So my prayer went something like this: Lord, I pray (their name) will clearly hear Your answers for he/she is Your child and Your children (sheep) hear your voice and Your Word says that the voice of a stranger they will not follow. I pray that Your voice will be clear to (name) and that all others will be silenced so that he/she clearly hears what You alone have to say to them. From there, I went on to look up appropriate scriptures to pray over my friend’s current needs. What is an excellent way to pray for others or yourself!

You might ask why? Why is praying the Word of God relevant? Isaiah 55 tells us in verse 11, “My word, which comes from my mouth, is like the rain and snow. It will not return to me without results. It will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.” Now that sounds like another promise we can count on; we just have to remember it says that it accomplishes what He wants and achieves what He sends it to do. That means we must pray the promise within the context it is written and with the right motives.

“What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. 

                                                  You do not have because you do not ask.

     You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.” James 4:1-3

As you can see, as we seek to pray our motives are important. Proverbs 21:2 tells us that “Every way of a man is right in is own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (English Standard Version) Because of this, we need to search our own heart as we make request and petition for ourselves or others. Another good example is Galatians 1:10 Paul asks: “for am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? OR AM I TRYING TO PLEASE MAN? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ?” 1 Thessalonians 2:4, “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” ESV And lastly, 1 Timothy 1:5: ‘The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” ESV. So let’s make sure to examine our hearts and motives and “Let us, therefore, come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need”! Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ grant you grace and peace!

Struggles…

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This morning as I begin my day, I looked to see what my s.o.a.p chapter for the day would be. (Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer).  It would be Deuteronomy 34, the last chapter and one of my favorite stories of the Old Testament. Next, I opened You Version, an electronic app for Bible. Up on the screen popped their verse of the day. My thought was alright I will read this real quick and move on to my s.o.a.p, reading. I was stunned by what I read next:

Proverbs 3:7,8 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all! Run to God! Run from evil!  Your body will glow with health, your very

bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own;

give Him the first and the best.

I am just going to be completely transparent as I begin. I have been wrestling with somethings for a while. this last week it intensified and it has consumed larger chunks of my days. After trying to reason things out and get answers mostly on my own, I finally wised up and sought council with the Only One that could actually give me both insight and wisdom on the matter. I can’t say that my prayers got a quick and fix all answer, but gently and lovingly over the last few days God has been guiding me in His Word and leading me to answers. I will share a bit of that today in hope that it might help someone else who is struggling…

To get back on track, I was stunned by this verse because first of all in the struggles I had been pondering two or three directly affected me (one was health related) and the rest affected some of my loved ones and this verse quickly and concisely addressed what I had been doing…trying to figure out things on my own. Oh yes, I had prayed about them on the surface but until Wednesday, I had not truly prayed over them asking and seeking real answers and furthermore never left them at the feet of Jesus. Instead, even though I should know better, I would pick them right back up in a few minutes or a few hours. Now I have to admit I had a mixed response at first: “Oh wow, this verse popped up just for me”; then, “no, they have a verse everyday, it is a coincidence it speaks to me on these specific issues in my life”; lastly, ” no, not a coincidence, it is too personal to what is going on in my life,  it addresses both my trying to figure things out, seeking God out instead of reasoning  that these both lead to health which in my case is suffering a little right now.” Yes, I was reasoning and over-thinking again already! As I told myself, stop; I felt a nudge to go and read the full chapter. Amazing… would you believe it was just what I needed to hear?

Do I have all the answers to the questions that I have been struggling with? No, some are more clear and others, not so clear.  There was not instantaneous answer to everything, but there was aclear-cut mandate: God has this, “don’t loose a grip on Love and Loyalty”, trust Him from the bottom of your heart and DO NOT try to figure this out on your own, seek Him!! Listen for His voice in everything you do and where ever you go. These will bring health and a viberant life. Seek wisdom and insight for these are the tree of life to those who embrace them, holding onto them bring blessing! Clear thinking and common sense are where we need to live; worry, wondering, speculating on what may or may not be are not helpful and do not add but detract from our lives.

My take away today is to recommit myself to these principles, quit trying to figure out things on my own and seek God for wisdom and for understanding on these things, lay them down and trust in Him to bring the right answers, direction and guidance. When we wait on God and His timing, He will answer.  I fully believe that God was able to speak to David through Nathan; Balaam through his donkey; to the people of Israel through the prophets; and to us today  by any means He chooses. After all, the Word of God says He is the same yesterday, today and forever!! Our job is to trust, believe, hope in Him; read His Word; seek Him and His guidance; and listen and act on what He says as long as it agrees with His Word.

As for Deuteronomy 34, I made it there but that is a story for another time!  Be Blessed!!