Change is A Comin'!

I really sense that God is rapidly about to or is changing the seasons in many people's lives. It's literally the next few days or months. Things we've faced for years, decades - are being drastically altered - & quickly.

You have fasted, you have prayed - you have laid it down. And now God is saying I'm taking it and going to show you MY best. His timing arranged this event to happen in this season of your life because He knew you could handle it now.

What have you been asking God for? Are you ready for what you've been asking for? How are you preparing yourself TODAY for that relationship, that job, that ministry? Has the hope in you died even to see it come to pass? As the song says, hold on, change is a comin'!


For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

Self Sabotage

"I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate." (Romans 7:15,NLT) Isn't this so true? Especially when it comes to caring for ourselves. So many excuses get in the way of why I put my health on the back burner, but ultimately the answer is clear: Self Sabotage. When I begin to dig deep on why I've gained weight over the years, I'm coming down to this "layer" of apathy. It's extremely resilient too. I can pick myself up and try to get going again, but it's deep set in my thought life. It's one of those issues where only God can root it out of me.

It makes me think of the character, Eustace, from the Narnia series. In his selfishness, he abandons his friends and finds a dragon's lair, where gold and jewels abound and greed consumes him. After a short nap, he awakens to find HIMSELF turned into a dragon. By the time he encounters Aslan (a Christ-like character), he has done everything he can do to change himself. Every time he tries to peel off a layer, another "skin" emerges - another layer of the dragon, the beast that he has become. Aslan tells him that He will have to take it off for him. The first tear Eustace describes as going almost to his very heart - it was painful and relieving all at once. Once Aslan was done, Eustace became his true self - better than the original and very much changed.

We have layers in us; deep-seated ways of thinking and patterns have told us who we are and what our future will be. Left untamed, these thoughts can cause our lives to implode.

Self-sabotage manifests in a very sly way. "You deserve it", "We're spending time together so it won't hurt", "I can work it off later", "One won't hurt". These questions weren't even in the picture in the beginning of my journey, but now have slyly crept in.

The first thing I need to do is surrender to God and continually. His plans for me are for good and not for evil. (Jeremiah 29:11). He has my very best in mind. Though it may hurt when He begins His work within, it will be for my eventual good. He might call me to a higher standard of thinking or require more of me in my actions to better myself. If I am willing and obedient, I will eat of the good of the land and be blessed (Isaiah 1:19).

The second is to do what I know to do in the natural. To watch what I eat - not just talk about what is good to eat, but to actually eat correctly for my body type. I know personally that sour cream and cheese is a bad combination and pizza isn't my friend anymore. So I have to STOP EATING THEM! Even with friends, even when somebody makes us a meal, because I have to love myself and stop sabotaging the process of health in my life. I have to get up off the couch and MOVE! I have to move for at least 45 minutes every day - if not more. I know that personally my body will gain weight if I don't.

I must do what I know to do and let God do the rest. Though it may be a continual process, I am not in it alone. Though the world, my flesh and the enemy all want their own way in my life, I REFUSE to give up. My very life depends on it. The person who emerges from beneath these layers will be one that has been refined as silver and becomes the woman she was created and purposed to be.

Satisfaction

Webster's defines satisfaction as "Fulfillment of a need or want". With so many demands our time and resources, often we are left with a gut-wrenching feeling of dissatisfaction with life. A feeling of "there must be more" but not knowing exactly where to go for this "more" type of living, many are left floundering. Sure, there's the obvious vices - alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. But what about the subtle things - those things that leave us "happy" for a few minutes, maybe even more, but we are still left with an gnawing emptiness in our spirits. We can satisfy a portion for a time, but we are always left wanting more.

We are hungry. We desire something greater than what's in front of us. We long to be satisfied. Not with something temporary but a lasting, refreshing sense of purpose and direction.

We are, after all, vessels - containers, if you will. We all need something in us. The Bible says we are "jars of clay". We are capable of holding the most valuable treasures or we can fill ourselves with filth - and whatever is in us will eventually spill out onto others.

In my life, I have noticed something amazing: the source of satisfaction. You see, I can find myself at a party, dancing & laughing. I can be working on a project and see it to its completion. Or I could be wrapped in the arms of those I love and be totally happy but there's still more. While these things are all "good", there is MORE! It's when I find myself in the presence of God that my heart is filled. There is a God-shaped hole inside of me that screams for a need to be filled. Work, friends, lovers - they won't fill it. Even though they may give us rest for a time in our souls, we are still discontent until we reach for God and say "I need You!" It's then that we become so full that we spill out HIS goodness, HIS love for mankind into our world and people see Him in us.

He invites you today to romance with Him - He invites you to take a chance and invite Him in. If you desire a satisfaction that no thing or person can give you, He stands ready to fill you today.

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55)

Slow Leaks

Tire problems - I hate them. With a passion! It seems like they always happen when I'm by myself. One of these days, I'm going to have to learn how to change a tire & not feel so helpless. :)

My most recent tire issue came last night - a slow leak. I didn't even notice it yesterday when I came home from work, but by the end of the evening, it was clear I needed to fill it. But since I don't carry change, I couldn't. So when my husband got out of work, he took care of it. This morning, one look out the window showed me that we were not out of the woods yet. It was a slow leak.

"I have things to do today!", I inwardly scream. Grrr! Oh well, a call to a friend for a ride to work & wake up the hubby to take care of it and all will be well again.

Often, slow leaks occur for unknown reasons - a rock, a piece of glass, or a damaged rim. Whether an inward or an outward source, something got to it, and now it is leaking precious air.

Maybe in me, that "air" represents my passion for life, family, ministry - those things seemingly most precious to me that I've let my zeal for wane. Outward sources have vied for my attention and won, leaving my "drive" for what is most important nil.

How many times does my life have a "slow leak" in areas of integrity and character? Can I pinpoint a specific time where it all started to dissolve and I stopped letting Christ be the center of that issue, or did it just fade? Sure, I can patch it - do an easy-fix, but in the end, I know I must get a new tire - a new way of moving forward. There's no way around it.

"Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being CONTINUALLY built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:7) How do we CONTINUALLY be built up in Him? We, moment-by-moment, need to have a relationship with God that doesn't waver when life hits, friend's hurt, or pain grips our lives. Do we question? Sure - even Jesus did before the cross - but He chose God's way and will for a greater purpose - for you and me to live!

It's my desire that I walk in a place - not a "perfect" place - but a place none-the-less, where the Holy Spirit can show me where I am slowly leaking character or zeal in my life. That place happens when I am completely surrendered to Him. When I do this, my future will definitely be one sweet ride!

Trust

Does trust happen in the good times? Not really. It happens when you're up on the edge with no other place to go but to trust Daddy, that he'll catch you and won't let you fall. "Will he drop me?", "What will happen if I fall?" - these questions ravage our minds and cause our hearts to grow anxious within us. Trust is developed in the everyday, in the hard times. It is something that is built and developed. Did you know that trust is not just a noun (a state of being) but a verb (an action)? It is! It is to totally rely on, belive in, and have confidence in. I believe Job said it best when he said "...though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust Him ...." Job 13:15. Even if the world crashes around us: our health, kids, marriages, jobs - He's asking you "Do you trust me?".


Psalm 37 (Amplified Bible)


3Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.



*** What does it mean to "feed on His faithfulness"? It means that you HAVE to lie back and say God I have nothing without You - I have no source but You alone. If I choose to "eat" what the world gives me as "security", it will fail me. God's food of faithfulness will never let me down.


4Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.



*** When you are delighting yourself in Him, your desires become His.


5Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.



*** Roll your load upon Him, Be confident that He will take care of you.


7Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.



*** This verse always helps me with the "But it's not fair!" argument - If I'm truly leaning myself on God, there is no question He will sustain me and bring me out of any circumstance.


23The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].
24Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.



*** God busies Himself with YOUR steps! He cares about the direction your life is taking. He cares if you fall down (Because It says we WILL fall), but HIS OWN HAND lifts us up!


25I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.


*** His Word is His bond. When I have had nothing to give my family, I declared to the Lord this verse and He provided for us. (Numbers 23:19“God is not a man, that He should lie,Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?.


39But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.
40And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.


You know, you might be reading this and say "Rose, I know these things, I believe them, but my circumstances are speaking so loud to me right now." I understand this. God knows this as well. After his town was plundered and set on fire and all the families taken hostage AKA the worst day of his life. 1 Samuel 30:6 says "David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God." Psalm 42: 5 - "Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God." - As a good friend of mine says "Say to your soul "SOUL! Get happy!"



Know this: the circumstances will always yell loud, like a whining child refusing any comfort or quick fix. You have to fight back with God's Word. You have to encourage yourself in the Lord. Other people can say nice things and pray for you, but it's you who lives with you. When there's too many bills and not enough money and the kids are sick, it is there where the rubber meets the road. Lisa Bevere, in her tape series "Out of Control and Loving It" says she walked in her living room and it was bare. They had little to no money at the time - just getting by. She was sick of looking in that room and tired of sitting on boxes for a dining room table. She got up on day and screamed in her house: "I will have a blue couch here, I will have a table there with 4 chairs!" etc. And she eventually did! When I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, I have to stand up and sing (or shout) and say to God - "You are my salvation - to whom else can I turn?"



Are there things in life that cause us pain to the core of us? Yes. Are there situations that have been deemed "terminal" and given no hope? Yes, by every natural standard.



Let God put His super on your natural. Trust - lean on, rely on, be confident in God - and He will bring it to pass.

Overwhelmed

Today I am overwhelmed.

I'm overwhelmed at the task set before me. At the call to help bring people into healing and wholeness.I know for sure that it is God alone who does the work, but He also calls me to partner with Him in this.

I'm also overwhelmed at God's goodness to me. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Jesus and what He has been in my life. He is my hope my future my everything.

I open my heart Lord, fill it with nothing but you
I open my life Let it be pleasing in Your sight
Pure and unconformed to the patterns of this world
Molded by Your Will into a vessel You can use
Lord cleanse me with Your Holy Fire until all that's remains is the earnest desire
To open my heart and be filled with nothing but You. (m. alessi)

Father I trust You, I need You desperatley

Today is My "Someday"

Today becomes Someday. Today I choose to step out and make changes in my life. Today I choose to be the woman I dream about being. It's time to step out and do what God has put on your heart to do. Forgetting limitations, ignoring insults, and dropping the excuses - start! Begin! "But I started before and it only ended in failure". Get back up! Proverbs 24:16 'For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again," Where does it say in the Bible that we will never fall or that there will never be setbacks?