Even in the Quietest Moments

 

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.  Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.  Matthew 6:6

It's hard sometimes to find quiet moments to spend alone with God.  This past weekend was a challenge as we were visiting our son at college for parent's weekend and of course the usual grind of the work day leaves very little time.  

One of the characteristics of Jesus is that He would often go off to be alone to pray, especially after performing miracles or teaching a group of disciples.  He was onto something and we all should make the time to spend quiet moments alone with God.

God's voice is often hard to hear and discern through all of the noise and distractions of this world.  We must give Him our time, focus, and undivided attention, just as Jesus did.

Fly Like An Eagle

 

Those who wait for the Lord…shall change and renew their strength…they shall lift their wings and mount up close to God as eagles…they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.  Isaiah 40:31

The Bible makes several references to eagles, the most powerful winged creatures on earth, and there are many lessons we can learn from them as well.  Unlike other birds, eagles do not run from a storm-they simply allow the powerful winds to lift them above it.  When attacked, an eagle will not battle another bird, they simply mount up higher, soaring above their enemy.

Just like an eagle, we too must learn to fly.  We must seek God, know Him, and ultimately trust Him, so that we can rise above the storms or attacks that happen during our lifetime.  When we walk with the Lord, we can soar like an eagle, without growing weary or tired!  Praise be to God!

Outside and Inside

 

Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.  Romans 8:37

Some people go to great lengths to try to live their lives 'problem free.'  There are many who mistakenly think that the only way to victory is to somehow avoid problems all together.

True victory for a Believer comes from having peace while in the midst of a raging storm.  We have to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus and not our circumstances and our key to victory is understanding that peace can only come from "Him who loved us."

We must trust God and allow Him to strengthen us from the inside-out.  When we are strong in Christ we can defeat anything that comes against us and march on to victory!

Ask

 

To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…be glory.  Ephesians 3:20-21

Both of our boys are growing up way too fast and once they both got their drivers license, it accelerates into warp speed. Our oldest is off at college, but our youngest just got his license last month and we have hardly seen him since. The struggles now are always around curfew as we don't want him on the road after 11 PM.  We are also encouraging our youngest to find a job but being met with great resistance.  We know it will be the best for him to have structure especially during the offseason of lacrosse, plus this can be a way for him to earn gas money and money to take his girlfriend out on dates. The more I think about it, we treat God pretty much the same with what we ask of Him too...especially if we do not get our way.

We forget what Paul mentioned in his letter to the Ephesians, that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”  In the most simple of terms, we cannot possibly begin to ask for all that God desires to give us.  We cannot fathom all that He has to give us and I’d like to think that I have a pretty vivid imagination.

How awesome is it to think that we cannot even begin to imagine all that is contained in God’s endless and abundant riches?! Praise be to God!

'40'

 

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.  He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.  Psalm 40:2

The other night, I was feeling worn down and very anxious after looking at the calendar.  It has been busy few weeks at between work and other personal obligations and it's only just begun as this time of the year is pretty crazy with peak season (open enrollments) kicking into high gear at work. With football season underway, it makes me really miss my mother, as I could always pick up the phone and call her to discuss our beloved Auburn Tigers, no matter how good or bad they have been playing.  And the last few months have been painful, especially for my church family as we have lost two staff members/friends.

I found myself reaching out to pray to Jesus, but just didn't have many words to say. Despite everything going on in my life, the good still far outweighs the bad and I know that God has been by my side and will continue to remain by my side through it all.  

In times of difficulty, we must remember that God is always with each of us. God promises to carry us through whatever we face and He will always give us firm footing on the other side.  God never leaves our side and He will continue to walk with us as we wade through the aftermath-no matter what we are facing.

When faced with hard times, is God the first one you look to for help?

Just Between You and Me

 

The earnest heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available dynamic in its working.  James 5:16

Pondering how quickly time seems to be flying by these days, I reflected back on a tough decision that I had to make earlier this year that, at the time, seemed to be so daunting that it loomed over me for several weeks.  I admit that I was even afraid as I am prone to being resistant to change.  Looking back, it really was not a big deal, but I sure made it out to be one.

God wants us to pray about everything and wants us to fear nothing.  I had to face my fears, but all God wanted me to do was to put my faith in Him to resolve the situation.  Just as He always does, He came through and delivered in His perfect timing.

What a blessing it is to know that God cares about every situation we face-the big and the small, the good and the bad.  Our part is to pray and God will provide us with the strength and power to meet our needs.

Love and Regret

 

 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change.

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is nothing we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.