A word from the Almighty...

Well, I have been praying more lately and begging God to help me get back into his word. I don't know why it is so easy for me to procrastinate this because I know how much I enjoy it and benefit from it. So, mainly my prayers are about what God wants me to be doing and then for help with being the person I want to be. He doesn't always answer, and he definitely doesn't always answer clearly, but this time I think he did. Here is what I got:

First I picked up my Beth Moore Praying God's Word Day by Day. Jan. 27 says, "Sometimes God may prioritize performing a miracle on our hearts and minds over a miracle concerning our circumstances." She goes on to say he "can take (us) to heights far exceeding the depths (we) have known." I knew at this minute that I had been focusing on the wrong thing, but it wasn’t too late. Don’t get me wrong. I often fixate on my internal turmoils, but I look for external solutions. Could God have spoken louder?

Then I opened up good old Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest and went to Jan. 27th. Well, Jan. 26th is on the same page, so I read it first. The passage for Jan 26th is entitled "Look Again and Consecrate." I’m listening. The quote is "If God so clothe the grass of the field...shall he not much more clothe you?" Matt 6:30 Oswald says, "A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple...By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple." I realized I am not simple. I have received the spirit, and I do recognize his authority, but relying and obeying are not my strong points. He stresses "if you keep your relationship right with Him.” My relationship is not right with him. What was I going to do about this? “We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the ‘much more’ of our Heavenly Father." Now, hold on for this one...it is a biggie. "Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things...If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations." So, I know...how in the world do we know when we are where He put us and what exactly is meant about the life God has given us? So, we move to the next day...

Open January 27th..."Look Again and Think"…OC (and I don’t mean Orange County) says in the very first line, "A warning which needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, will choke all that God puts in...If it does not come on the line of clothes and food, it will come on the line of money or lack of money; of friends or lack of friends; or on the line of difficult circumstances...'Be careful about one thing only,' says our Lord, 'your relationship to Me.' Whenever there is competition, be sure that you put your relationship to God first." Somewhere (I think Philllipians) Jesus says "Be anxious for nothing." All I do is be anxious. The point is oneness with Him and not a "self-willed determination to be godly."

Do you even need more after all that? This was in two nights. And who says God speaks in a small little voice?

So the cherry on the top again came from our good friend Beth. I had started Living Beyond Yourself last year some time, but only got 5 weeks in. Well, I have been wanting to pick it or something like it back up. This seemed like the perfect time. Again, right out of the gate, we are swinging for the fences. Day 1, first paragraph, "The enemy will do everything he can to discourage you from allowing God into the deepest places of your heart." This day speaks a lot about going through hardships because it is based on Paul's journeys particularly in Galatia. Day 2, quote of the day, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal. 1:10) She goes on to talk about why God went to all the trouble to save us - because it was his will to rescue us for his pleasure out of love so we could be brought into relationship with him. It pleased God to save us. She follows this with, "One of the clearest proofs of God's power is the evidence of a transformed life." I don't feel very transformed or like I am much of a visible proof of God's power. She makes the point that "God did not save Paul from poverty but from prosperity." That makes the whole prosperity gospel look pretty foolish, huh?

Pretty powerful few days, and I am just getting started. It has been tool long since I felt exhilarated like this. How would I prevent this from being like other times when I would move on to just get distracted again and not take ownership of the gems I had discovered?

I have made a "to-do" list:
1. learn to trust God and what this means
2. learn to rely and obey God and what this entails
3. focus on RELATIONSHIP - the right one (and this doesn't have to be as hard as it sounds - I don't think God is as picky as we think in this arena and he is very patient – after all, he has all the time in the world)
4. stop seeking the approval of others PERIOD

I have already started working on my relationship with God through daily reading and reflection. I have set my first goal to discover a fear of the Lord. Proverbs and Psalms both say this is the beginning of wisdom. Keep me in your prayers. I am learning how powerful they can be.