Isn't it funny how God communicates with you!! Sometimes you can pray and you feel like nothing was "said" back...but then all of a sudden, you are doing your devotionals and BOOM His voice is all over it! It was exactly what you were either worried about, concerned about, questioning about, etc... Well, all I can say is God has been speaking to me constantly. He spoke to me at our Women's Church Retreat and especially today. First, I am going to talk about today.
You know that things are thrown at us constantly. It could be sickness, worry, stress, bad day, bad things said about you, death in the family, an argument, etc. I know just like everyone else that it isn't fun and we just want to stand up and scream "THIS SUCKS!"...am I right ?!?! No one is perfect. Yes these things are thrown at us...not for the enjoyment of watching us suffer, cry, or basically throw a big hissy fit. They are thrown at us for a reason and most of all Jesus' purpose for us. When we are thrown these situations, God is begging us to let Him help us through the day and the situation. The challenges that we face on a day to day basis, whether they are caused by temptation or by someone else, are far too great for us to handle alone. We know at that moment we are helpless in the scheme of the events and problems that jump right in front of us everyday. However, his awareness opens up a choice for us. We can either go at it alone or walk with Christ in humble steps of dependence. This decision happens to cross our paths several times a day and sometimes we really don't realize it but difficulties tend to highlight the decision-making process. We are to consider it all joy when we are enveloped in various trials because these trials are actually gifts from our Lord just to remind us to rely on Him alone. "Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience." James 1:2-3
We all have things thrown at us. I know I do. Most of the time it if from an outside source. And I feel sorry for that because Satan is using them as ammunition to try to break my faith and myself down. Is it fair to them...heck no! Do I feel like they realize it...no. Satan is, in all honesty, a deceiving, loser, creep, liar, oh my gosh...I could go on and on. People know my situation and ask me all the time..."How do you do it? How can you keep so positive?" Well quite simple. I am not doing the work. My Lord is. Does it hurt my feelings of what is said...yeah sometimes...but not anymore. I have refused to let it get to me because in all reality, it isn't them doing it, it is Satan using them as a vessel to bring me down. Nothing on this earth, nothing, no person, no animal, and especially not Satan can come between my Lord and me. He is constant not only in my heart but in my life. People can think otherwise, however, my Lord, myself, my family, and my true friends know how important my walk is with Him. So, to answer the other question of "How can I keep so positive?" Quite simple. I look at it like my own quote lol...When it rains it pours, yes, however we need to look at it like it is just Christ watering us, His personal garden, so our faith in Him will grow over abundantly. Like the verse says, we are to consider it great joy when we have these things thrown at us. Why, Christ loves us and all he wants us to do is rely on Him and give it to Him. We do nothing at all but pray. And prayer, my friends, is the strongest ammunition against Satan and evil ever! We are Christ's warriors on earth. We are to continually fight for Him and to spread the Word...all with the same goal...TO DEFEAT SATAN!
Now--onto the amazing retreat. It was amazing! It all was just breathtaking from the music, to the teachings, to the Minute to Win it Games (which by the way I won one :) hopefully it doesn't end up on YouTube lol). We were taught by one of the most motivating and inspiring God serving family I have ever met. The Maxwells! If you were there, you know exactly what I mean. The Retreat was titled Palette of a Woman's Life. The main subjects were Perseverance, A life of purpose, , Passion, and Pressing On.
Perseverance:
Persevering is the continued effort to achieve things no matter what is thrown at you.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4.
""Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3-5
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:6-11
In this discussion, Melody gave us the three points...cleverly with all starting with the same letter : R
1. Relate--surround yourself with others who you relate to and that they relate to you as well. Sometimes this is hard to do. There are times you don't know if you actually can relate to anyone or if anyone can relate to you. Yes we are all different and unique, however, God has blessed us with several people that we can talk to and go to for either just friendship, motherhood advice, socializing, etc. There are people all over the world struggling with things like substance abuse, physical abuse, lost, etc...but there are groups out there for them. There are groups out there for us. We are not meant to be alone. We just have to find someone or a group that will support us and that we can return the favor and support them as well. Having others in your life helps you to persevere in anything.
2. Relent--to be more forgiving. I know it was the "f" word right lol. Sometimes it is hard to forgive. But you can't persevere if you don't forgive others because you are stuck holding onto that grudge and resentment. You also can't persevere if you do not forgive yourself because you will then view yourself and unworthy of anything. Unforgiveness is a POISON! You have to forgive or the other party will control your heart, your thoughts, and your actions. So holding on to grudges and not forgiving, in all reality doesn't hurt anyone else but yourself. But when you do forgive, you are allowing Christ to transform you! That is all that matters. Yes, you may have been hurt by someone...by why hold onto it. Does the fact that the other part hurt you hurt them...no. It continues to hurt you because you won't forgive the deed that was done and move on to better things that Christ has for you. Getting into deeper discussion on forgiveness is key to understanding it.
Forgiveness is not denial or pretending it is okay. Forgiveness is not burying the hurt that was caused by sin. Forgiveness is not letting the offender off the hook. Forgiveness is not about forgetting or being a doormat. Yes we are taught to forgive and forget. Yes we need to forgive and forget the wrong doing. But don't forget how that wrong doing affected you. You remember how it hurts people and to do your best not do the same thing the other party did to you. We must see and realize the hurt that was caused to us and grieve. Because we must grieve before we can forgive.
Forgiveness is giving our offender back to God and choosing not to hold the consequences of his/her sing against us any longer. Forgiveness is taking them off of our hook and putting them on God's hook. Forgiveness is the only way to be free!
"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13
"He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Proverbs 17:9
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8
"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." Psalm 86:5
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32
Jesus told us that we would experience pain through people and circumstances. The pain will come; it is inevitable. It is when we start answering the "why?" question that suffering begins. The suffering is optional. So in a nut shell...pain is inevitable, suffering is optional!
3. Rejoice--"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Philippians 4:7-11
Comparison leads to evil and especially leads to envy and bitterness. I don't know about you, but I have never met a happy and joyful envious bitter person. It seems too oxymoron-ish to me. We all tend to compare ourselves to others. Something as simple as "look at that girl on that cover of that magazine...she is so pretty. I wish I had her body type. I wish I had her hair"...etc However, we leave envious and bitter because we just compared ourselves to an image of a "super star" on a magazine. We then hate ourselves and our insecurities grow! However there is a cure to comparison. The cure is gratitude. Everything we have is by the grace of God! It isn't because we "deserve" it. It is because God loves us!
Okay onto Living a Life of Purpose.
Also we were given 3 points all beginning with the same letter :) In this discussion, the letter was A.
1. Acknowledge
God is supremely sovereign! We know that right! He created everything including you and me.
God is our purpose giver. "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." Colossians 1:16
Every person (including you and me) were created for a purpose. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
We were made by God for His purpose. We have our purpose and it is to serve Him. Followers of Christ have good works laid out for them to accomplish to bring glory to Himself.
2. Accept
It can be difficult to discover one's purpose. Because of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life, he gives us a great model to go by. It is called the Shape model.
Spiritual gifts--what has Christ gifted us with.
Heart--what thrills us and what is our passion
Abilities--what has God placed in us as a natural talent
Personality--this effects how and where we use our gifts
Experiences
The world tells us time and time again what we should strive for. It could be that big promotion, more money, to change careers, etc. Sometimes we set forth on "our" plan but then sometimes His plan looks different. Every purpose is important. "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
If you have time a great read is 1 Corinthians 12.
3. Activate--This is where we show God that we trust Him. God doesn't always show us the end result.
"Your word is a lamp to my feed and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105. Lamps don't shed light on an entire path, but just enough for one step at a time. God is our light. He isn't going to lead us into danger. He wants you to walk the path of your purpose and then let you turn around to see, with his brightest light lighting up everything that you went through, and show you all that you went through and every step of the way He was there holding your hand! When God reveals His purpose, He promises His Presence.
Also when you get a chance...look up on YouTube Josh Wilson's video of "I Refuse". I swear. You will get the picture!!
Now onto Passion:
We have to know who we are. Are we an owner or a renter of ourselves? We DO belong, we ARE accepted, and we ARE worthy! "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Romans 15:7
Personally--I am a slave in bondage due to my insecurities. I constantly battle with my insecurities daily! Satan knows that and preys on it and attacks me! I am always asking myself how can I change this feeling. I have tried numerous times and it seems I am in constant failure. I am constantly worrying if I am accepted by others or rejected. There are times that I feel so alone and it is crazy because I am surrounded by so many! It isn't my purpose or His purpose for me to feel this way. I realized that I can't have the passion of Christ being stuck in this slavery. By going on this retreat, I was able to break the bondage of my insecurities and I found my way to gain freedom. And let me tell you, I am full of relief! My heart and Spirit feel soooo much lighter! Christ is awesome! And I know several people that suffer from bondage of one thing or another. But let me tell you, I will be praying for y'all! No doubt about it; prayer is being sent for each and every one of you!
Now onto Pressing On:
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. PRAISE GOD!
Like some of the other subjects, this one also had points that started with the same letter. This one was L.
1. Leave it Behind--"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19
We need to be no longer influenced by past problems, past things, past tribulations, and past thoughts. We need to forget about them and break the power over them.
2. Lay it Down--"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
We need to lay down the sin and issues that weigh us down:
**weight of guilt and condemnation--"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1-2. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
**weight of regrets--"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
**weight of fear--"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7. "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'" Romans 8:31-36
**weight of selfishness--"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.'" Matthew 16:24-25
**weight of pride--"Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."
1 Peter 5:5-6
**weight of bitterness--You have to forgive. See above talk about forgiveness!
**weight of insecurities--"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13. "for we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10. *******"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10******** WOW LOVE THAT VERSE!!
Sin is like duct tape people! It clings to us and we have to strip it away. We need to confess our sins and repent!! "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16
3. Lean Forward--"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:6-8
The Christian life is an exiting, fulfilling life. Jesus said that He came to give abundant life and the only reason we would have to feel dull or bored is that we are not participating in the life that God has for us. "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:7-11
Christ is calling us to come closer and closer to know Him better and love Him more!
So How do we press on? By the power of God and the power of His very Spirit living in us!
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." Romans 8:9
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16
"in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:4
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8:26
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16
So Why Press On? The prize is that we will be like Jesus!!!! And it is so worth it!! The prize of an abundant life filled with joy, peace, and satisfaction sounds great to me!!! How about you? :)
I LOVED this retreat! I cannot wait for next year! It was such a blessing and not to mention a big eye opening event to me! I was able to give the Lord so many things that were bothering me. I handed it all over to Him, and guess what...He is dealing with it. I am just sitting back, growing a relationship with Him, and being happy. Misery loves company. We can see that in several people. Who said you had to be their company? I don't know about you...but I love being in the company of the Lord, because I have yet to see misery...all I see is happiness, joy, and LOVE!
And to close, all I have to say is: "All is well with my soul" Thank You Lord!
Til Fingers Meet Keyboard,
Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment