One day after work I was feeling a little down and dejected. I had just been notified that I didn't get a promotion that I interviewed for. I decided to go for a walk around my old elementary school to enjoy the beautiful fall colors. Perhaps it would cheer me up and get my mind off my disappointment, I thought. I put on my IPOD shuffle, and started walking. I prayed that God would speak to me.
The song, "Forever Love" by Francesca Battistelli came on as I rounded to the back side of the school. One verse says, "from the bottom of my heart I'll sing to you. From the depths of who I am I love you. With everything inside I'll run to you 'cause all that I've become I owe to you...
Right as I heard "I'll run to you," I looked up and saw a dad raking a huge pile of leaves in his front yard. His daughter (who looked to be about 6 or so) was running full speed and joyously diving into the pile. I turned around and started bawling. Just seeing a father and daughter, the little girl's trust and her joy, the way the father prepared the pile and waited for her. It was just precious. In that moment, I heard a message from God about his love for me.
So there I was, walking, and crying. The next song on the shuffle was Bethany Dillon's "All I Need". Although I'd asked a friend if she could join me, as well as my husband (who didn't feel good), it ended up being just me and God on the walk. You know what? That was enough!
Here are just some of the words of Bethany's song:
You are all I need when I'm surrounded
You are all I need if I'm by myself
You fill me when I'm empty
There is nothing else
You're all I need...
...I hear You whisper loud
You're still the God that opens seas
Every flower, even me
You're all I need
When I started my walk, I felt down and dejected, but God lifted me up by showing me love in a simple pile of leaves.
Directions? What should I do? Where should I go? What should I say? What should I think? In the Bible study that I'm currently doing, Experiencing God, by Henry & Richard Blackaby, we are looking at the concept of how God gives directions. In the Old Testament, God uniquely spoke to His people. They knew it was God. They understood what He said. When God spoke, that was an encounter with Him.
Okay, so how do I have that kind of encounter? When God speaks to me (not audibly, but in my heart), I don't always know that it's Him. Sometimes it's just lil' ole me trying to figure things out myself. Sometimes it's my codependent people-pleasing personality trying to fix everything and everyone around me. Heck, sometimes it's just indigestion.
I'll be honest, it's not always easy for me to hear from God. Especially if I'm so busy talking (whining) that I'm not open to receive from Him. There are also times when my heart is hurting too much. I'm just too shut down. Sometimes I wish that God would come and talk to me in a burning bush like he did Moses. Or perhaps he could send an angel to sit and have some Starbucks with me face-to-face? But alas, that doesn't seem to be his plan.
Isaiah 55:8 says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord." Yep, that's the truth. My thoughts are selfish. My thoughts are usually about getting my way, or feeding my flesh. But God's thoughts are so much higher than that!
This study is reminding me that God talks to me (and gives me directions) all the time, and in many different ways: through the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and through prayer. He also uses songs, sermons, and best of all, Godly friends. If I want directions, all I need to do is ask. And then shut up and listen.
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." Amen (Psalm 143:8)
cov·et (k v t)
v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets
1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy.
2. To wish for longingly.
The Bible is clear. God says we are not to covet. The green-eyed monster of envy is our enemy. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's..."(Exodus 20:17)
Some things are easy to pass up. I doubt many of us have lately coveted anyone's maidservants, donkeys or oxen. However, we do covet each others' homes, jewelry, cars, clothes, furnishings, electronics, vacations, skinny waists, spouses, well-behaved kids, and everything else under the sun. The minute we see a commercial, we want it! It's what keeps our economy going. Advertisers bank on it.
Is there really that much harm in desiring other people's possessions or apparent health, or relationships? Actually, yes, there is. Basically envy, jealousy (coveting) is flat out saying to God: "Hey, I don't like what you've given me! I want what they have." When my kids were younger, we had one cereal bowl that had a small chip on the side. Every day that bowl would end up on the table, and sure enough, the kids would fight over who got the broken bowl. Why? Because the one who didn't have it thought they wanted it. The one who got it flaunted it. It was the stupidest thing ever. Finally, I had to throw it away.
When I see myself start to covet, I think. "Do I sound like my silly kids? Am I really that unhappy with what I have?"
I have to be especially careful of things that make my covet-hungering worse. Like HGTV, for example. When I start watching house-hunters, or even worse, house-hungers international, I start to resent the fact that some people get to buy gigantic, beautiful homes - sometimes in exotic places. It's not fair! Why do they get a 6000 square foot house in the Virgin Islands? Meanwhile, I'm still just stumbling along in my 1700 square foot fixer upper.
The green-eyed monster doesn't stop at houses either. I covet other people's figures, tight butts, lack of wrinkles, etc. I covet other people's relationships all the time. The other day I was actually momentarily envious when I found out a good friend is going to become a grandma. Everyone I know is a grandma. When's my turn? I want the broken bowl...I want...I want...I want...
Today I will turn my coveting into praise. Lord, I am thankful for what I have. I will turn my heart towards you and be thankful for the abundance of things you've given me. Even if I don't have the broken bowl.
Psalm 138:7-8 (New Living Translation)
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
The LORD will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
This verse speaks oceans to me today. I got an email from someone yesterday who is greed and evil incarnate. The fact that he is a family member is irrelevant. What matters is that having contact with him makes me physically, emotionally and spiritually ill. Therefore, I choose not to have him in my life any longer. Today I’m setting a boundary. I’ve responded by telling him I no longer wish to have contact. He is waging an ugly legal battle to try and gain more of his share of our recently deceased mother’s money. That’s his choice. But I am not his ally.
God, on the other hand, is high above the Earth. He is full of might and power, and He is able to protect me from my enemies. The verse, "you reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me," makes me think of the days when cars didn’t have seat belts. If someone slammed on their breaks, Fathers and Mother’s would instinctively reach out their arm in front of their child to create a safety barrier.
I like to think that God is stretching out his arm right now, even in the midst of this trouble, and he is creating a safety barrier for me. The enemy can’t touch me when God’s arm is surrounding me. Thank you, Father, for you love and protection.
"The tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire..." (James 3:6)
I got an email from Amazon today. I put in an order weeks ago and hadn't gotten it. The message read: "A shipment from your order has been returned to our fulfillment center as undeliverable..."
Some dribble about problems with my mailing address. I have no idea what the issue could be; after all, I order books regularly from Amazon and have NEVER had any trouble. I almost hit the reply button and started to type:
Dear Idiots! What the h....is your problem? You have my money! Give me my books, NOW!!! I know, I know. That would have been rude. Luckily I didn't type it, or send it. Especially given the fact that the order consisted of:
ESV Compact Bible (TruTone, Wild Rose, Floral Design)
Devotions for a Sacred Marriage: A Year of Weekly Devotions for Couples.
Sheesh, that would have been just great, huh? Jesus said, if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. How about cutting off your fingers so you can't type? What we write, type, or say with our tongue. It's all the same. They can ALL be a fire burning out of control.
Lord, help me to control my tongue - as well as what I type. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight. Amen (Psalm 19:14)
Family is, well, complicated to say the least. Why? Because the people we LOVE the most have the power to hurt us the deepest. Family members can push our buttons like no one else can. And with day-to-day annoyances, misunderstandings, hurts and frustration going on while living in close proximity to each other, let's face it, some days it's hard to love our families. Especially the way Jesus wants us to.
"My command is this," he says, "love each other in the same way I have loved you." (John 15:12-13)
That's so tough to do! Especially when some of our family members are teens or young adults, and they are walking all over our boundaries. Do you ever get tempted to take scripture out of context and twist it to suit your own emotions? I know I do. How about Luke 14:26? "If anyone comes to me and does NOT hate his father and mother, his wife and CHILDREN, his brothers and sisters...he cannot be my disciple..." There you go. If we take Christ's words out of context, we can justify hating those annoying little buggers. (Though that wasn't really what he meant; he was talking in a broader sense about being wiling to leave everything - and everyone behind - to follow him). But back to feeling hate. Hate's easy. It just pops up and rears it's ugly head as soon as we let our guard down.
Love, on the other hand, that takes a lot of work!
In The Necessary Enemy, Katherine Anne Porter points out that "Love must be learned, and learned again and again; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction, but waits only to be provoked."
So how can we practice love? Here's the famous recipe according to 1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Well, that's it I guess. Love never gives up, especially on family...(even though they are a pain in our butts!) Lord, your word promises that all things are possible in your strength. Please help me to not only love my family, but to be loving towards them in my thoughts, words and actions as well. Amen
2 Corinthians 3:18 ~ "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"
Many people believe that the more time we spend with someone, the more we start looking and acting like them. Can it be true? Do married people really begin to look like their spouses as the years go by?
An even more hilarious idea is the notion that some people begin to look like their dogs!
Although the above photos make me chuckle, I like this idea even better: the more I spend time with God, the more I am transformed into HIS likeness. Now there's something to aspire to. God's characteristics are amazing. For starters, he is perpetually loving. Add to that patient, good, and merciful. He is also gentle, righteous, just, faithful, perfect and holy...the list is as endless as he is.
If only I could possess some of those qualities!
Lord, please continue to help me look like you! May you transform me into your likeness with ever-increasing glory. Amen
