Words

Think of how many people we converse with each and every day. Whether it's saying have a good day to our loved ones as they embark on their day, a casual conversation with that sweet old lady at the supermarket, or the constant conversation we have with ourselves in our head. There are constant voices going on. Have you ever really stopped to think about what you're saying? Does your mood dictate how you respond to others? I know for me, my mood can definitely be an influence. However, since I work with people all day long, there are times when I have been forced to put a smile on my face and try to be as cordial as possible, even if I'm having a bad day. Sometimes that mood will spill over into home. As my husband reminds me, leave it at work. Don't be someone I dread coming home to. 

Out of curiosity, I Googled "Bible Verses about Speaking". I found one site that listed 45 of them (http://dailyverses.net/speaking)!! If there is that many (and probably countless more that I could find) then it must be a pretty important topic in the bible! The only thing they DON'T tell you is how to make sure that everything we say to everyone is encouraging and uplifting. There are days I'd like to just tell some people to take a flying leap. My point is that once something comes out of your mouth, you can't take it back. Remember when we were kids and we'd say "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"? How untrue that is. Words are some of the most powerful things we have, so take a moment before you say something. Think about it. 

Here's a verse to reflect on: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14, ESV)

Here is a powerful song that tells of the power of the words we speak. It is "Words" by Hawk Nelson.

 


 

Fear & Faith

"You call me out upon the waters,
The great unknown where feet may fail.
And there I find You in the mystery,
In oceans deep,
My faith will stand."

~~Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

Hillsong United 

There comes a time in everyone's life when we are afraid of something. I'm not talking about things like being afraid of spiders, or thunderstorms, or anything like that. I'm talking about fear that keeps you up at night, the fear that consumes your every thought. It is Satan whispering in your ear all the negatives. It is our weakest moments that Satan rejoices, for then he can come in a wreak havoc with our thoughts.

For most of us, that fear comes in the form of fear of the unknown. Fear of the future and all the things that COULD happen, or MIGHT happen. It's the little things that, over time, will roll into one big thing. We've all been there. Some of us, like myself, are there right now. And it's an awful place to be. It is a place of darkness. Of feeling hopeless. Feeling like God has abandoned you.

Some people will tell you that if you have that kind of fear, then you are not placing your trust in Jesus Christ. That you're not fully following Christ and trusting in Him. Or that perhaps you have done something to deserve this. We see this example in the book of Job. Job doesn't understand why all these bad things have happened to him. His friends are of no help, suggesting that Job must have done SOMETHING to deserve this.

 

"Yet if you devote your heart to him
    and stretch out your hands to him,
 if you put away the sin that is in your hand
    and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;
    you will stand firm and without fear."

(Job 11:1-15)

I know that I have scratched my head at times and wondered what did I do to deserve this? Did I not confess all my sins to God and ask for forgiveness? Is there some aspect of my life that God sees as unfavorable? Maybe it's just me, that I'm not worthy of God's good grace and mercy. There's Satan, once again poking his nose in where it don't belong. Trying to convince me that I am unworthy of God's love.

I keep thinking of Peter when Jesus called out for him to step out of the boat and walk to Him. Here's this boat, in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of a storm and Jesus is asking Peter to get out of the boat. If that had been me, I would have been like "Are you crazy!?!?" That's where faith takes over. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on the water to where Jesus was. But the moment Peter averted his eyes and looked down, he began to sink. Jesus, being the awesome soul that He is, plucked Peter out of the water. 

That's what our faith does. It takes us to places that we fear, sticks us in the middle of a maelstrom where we wait patiently for Jesus to come save us. Jesus wants us to learn to rely solely on Him. When we are drowning don't we look up for help? We are raising our hand up yelling to God to save us. 

Sometimes, though, we feel like we just can't hear God. We feel as though He's forgotten us. I began reading Job on my own because I feel so much like him. Here's this man who is minding his own business. He has a good life. When all of a sudden he loses it all. And there he stands.

"What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded has happened to me.
 I have no peace, no quietness;
    I have no rest, but only turmoil.” 

(Job 3:25-26)

What are we to do when our lives fall apart? How many times have we wondered why God would allow these bad things to happen? We may never find out why. It's at those times, however, that we truly need God. It is at those times that our faith is tested, just like Job. Like Job, our faith waivers. We go back and forth between blaming God and thanking God for His many blessings. When all is said and done, our faith steps in and keeps us from feeling afraid. We are reminded that, yes, God is listening and He hears all of our prayers. 

"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, 

and I will listen to you."

Jeremiah 29:12

 Remember, the times when you are most afraid, when the future seems out of control, THAT is when you need to leave God in control. Just as Jesus pulled Peter out of the water, He will pull you out of the water. You need to take a leap of faith and trust in God's perfect timing. 

 

In The Silent Stillness of a Saturday Morning

Good Morning Lovelies! Today it almost feels like summer, complete with sun, breeze and a ton of humidity. All winter long I longed for the warmth of spring and summer. Well I have it. Ugh. I can really do without the humidity. 

I sit here in the recliner with my dog draped over my legs, a cup of coffee by my side and I reflect upon the week I've had. Saturday's are MY day. I work all week and my husband tries to leave Saturday's as my day to do what I want. I try to wrap up any household chores on Friday night after dinner. It doesn't always happen that way. And some times we have commitments on Saturdays. But today is all quiet. My daughter and her best friend are on their way to welcome home a friend from Afghanistan. There's nothing that can't wait to be done. Hubby is watching "This Old House" on PBS in between dozing off.

I have been browsing Facebook and the many good pages it has for Christians. They are there if you look for them. I also googled the term "Christian Wives" to see where it would lead me. I found some interesting sites and blogs. 

You see, I have set about to "clean up my act" so to speak. It's time to put me aside in favor of putting Jesus and my husband at the top of my list. I believe that Jesus is calling me to a higher purpose. I have been working with my pastor on a sermon series on the Book of Job. I began reading Job on my own because I really identified with him. I feel like Job's female counterpart. He had all these trials heaped upon him for no good reason. How many times have I wondered why God is letting me struggle as hard as I am. I try to be good. I go to church. I pray. I study the bible. I am trying to be a godly woman. So why am I struggling? What have I done that I have not repented for? 

Those are the same queries that Job's friends asked of him. Surely you must have done SOMETHING to deserve this. If you just fess up and ask for God's forgiveness life will go back to being good. But Job hadn't done anything. He obeyed all of God's laws. It even says in Job 1:1 that Job was an upright, God-fearing man. He shunned evil. So what happened?!

That's the same thing I keep asking myself over and over. Lord, what have I done? Sometimes God lets us go through the bad times for a reason. How else can we learn to appreciate the good times in life? Job also waffled back and forth between blaming God and thanking God. I've done that too. I've had times I didn't want to hear anything about God. He's doing this to me. I am suffering. 

My pastor posed this question to me "Who is really suffering?" Gee, thanks Andy. Make my tiny little brain work overtime! lol But isn't that the reason we study the bible? To learn. To grow. To find the answers we seek? To see that there were others who have come before us who had suffered much greater hardships and God saw them through all of it. 

I've went through crises in my life that I would not have been able to withstand without my faith in God. There is a line in a song by Casting Crowns that says "I wasn't holding on to you, but you were holding on to me" (Praise You In This Storm). How true. Jesus wasn't willing to let me fall. He took that fall for me. What a gift. Who am I to complain when He withstood crucifixion? He, too, did nothing wrong. But He suffered anyway. So maybe it's not me. It's just life. 

We live in a world that doesn't want us talking about God or faith. No wonder it's so hard to just keep going. Satan is alive and well in our world. He is why it's so hard. He keeps throwing bombs at us and tries to break us. It's up to us to not let him win. We are children of the Lord! We need to fight against the earthly world and live as Jesus commanded. "As I have loved you, so must you love one another." (John 15:12) When Jesus hung on the cross He prayed to His Father "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

I have been praying, a lot. And I have been getting my answer. In scripture verses, in daily devotionals, in faith-based posts. He keeps telling me to not worry. That He has my back. He isn't making me suffer. He is holding on to me THROUGH my suffering. My faith is once again being tested. How much will it take to separate me from Jesus? Satan really wants to get that foothold on me. The enemy strikes when we are at our weakest. 

When you feel at the end of your rope, keep holding on. Jesus will see you through it. You may not think so. You may feel like you're fighting a losing battle. You may want to give up. DON'T!! That's what Satan wants. Fight him off by praying. Fight him off by holding on to Jesus. Cry out to our Father. He's right there. He's not going to let you fall into the hands of the enemy. Let your trials strengthen you. Let your trials deepen your faith. Let your trials pull you closer to Jesus. Take everything one step at a time. One day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. And you will emerge from it all stronger, wiser, and better for having gone through it.