INSPIRATIONAL – Page 17 – B Is for Blessed!

Open Your Eyes!

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
Mark 10:51 NKJV

I was standing in faith for God’s provision but couldn’t see how He would solve a particular problem. If there was to be a solution, God would have to provide it.

During this time, a piece of mail sat on my kitchen counter. God finally drew me to it because I have a huge stack sitting there. I half heartedly opened it and in the envelope was my answer.

Often what we need and prayed for is right before us if only we would see what God has done!

Our blessings can’t bless us if we don’t “see” them. To see them, we must open our eyes and minds. Our assumptions cloud our vision!

We must train ourselves to see God’s presence and provision in the midst of our trials!

My “answer” looked like junk mail! How many times do we overlook answers to our problems simply because they don’t appear the way we expect them to?

God often directs people to us, but we can easily look past them because they don’t look or act the way we do. Wisdom, friendship, understanding, and comfort we lose because we are blind to what is really there.

I read an interesting statement recently. “We are so busy trying to work up to God that we fail to see He has already reached down to us.” ***

The posturing, rituals, and habits we propose to worship Him sometime get in the way of truly communing with God. When we look for God all around us, we can abide with Him right where we are.

Open your eyes and open your mind to something different. Different people. Different places. Different possibilities.

You just may find the blessing you’ve been searching for has been in front of you all along.

Open your eyes and see…

***If you are the author of these words I can not get out of my mind please let me know so I can link back to your original post!

Storm Watch!

“And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:37 KJV

Trials and tribulations come with life, that’s just part of living. Various circumstances, disappointments and downright disasters can move in on us when we least expect it. Like a weather front that quickly blows in, life’s surprises can knock us off-balance.

We find the strength to get up and get through when we have faith in Who lies beyond our grey skies.

Our Son can dry up the rains. Our Son can displace the fog. He breaks through our clouds and illuminates the dark.

When it looks like our trials are never-ending, our Son is ever-present!

And just as our God is always there, our storms won’t always remain. Storm systems move. They can not last for very long. Even those that loom on the horizon aren’t always what they seem.

Predicted rain may fail to fall. Potential storms become false alarms. Inclement weather may fizzle without warning.

When we trust in Him, dark clouds don’t steal our peace and joy.

With God, we can not only weather our storms but grow because of them.

Weed Control!

Weeds come in endless varieties and thrive in the most extreme conditions. How is it that weeds grow with little effort when what I actually plant takes forever to grow?

Jesus illustrated a great parable in chapter thirteen in the book of Matthew. This story is about a farmer whose enemy sowed tares (weeds) among his wheat. The servants came to him and asked if they should pull up the weeds. Instead of the master saying “yes” to the servant’s request, the master says, “No, let them stay where they are.”

The servants were instructed not to gather up the weeds lest the wheat seed be uprooted with the tares. The master allowed wheat and weeds to grow together until the time of the harvest, at which time the good wheat would be separated from the weeds.

We often derail our ability to produce a good harvest because we give far too much attention to our weeds.

How many times do we uproot or abandon potential harvests because we give “weeds” our attention leaving what we “planted” to fend for itself?

Our personal weeds are often distractions. We should follow Christ’s example and put our emphasis on what we are trying to grow instead of what we are trying to kill.

Often when you strive to reach a goal that will bear good fruit, you come up against obstacles that appear out of nowhere. Have you ever had to defer your own betterment because of sudden demands of family members? Have you allowed the desire for new employment or education to die because “situations” come up?

The closer you are to reaping a harvest, the more tares you will find in your “garden.” As the potential harvest grows, so do the weeds. We must be wise and recognize when we should leave certain distractions alone! Sometimes, we just have to learn to work around them.

This may be a different approach to tending your “garden” but this may also give you a different result!

Your weeds may be irritating, but they don’t have to be deadly. Don’t allow a few weeds to kill your dreams!

Soar!

Unlike this butterfly struggling against the breeze, I spotted a hawk soaring high on those same winds. Hawks trust the breezes to lift them higher. No GPS or google maps, they just stretch their wings and go!

The higher we want to go, the more we must trust God to take us there.

Small things we can do in our small power. Larger missions, accomplishments and dreams of any real substance are all acquired with God.

Few people reach their full potential without that absolute trust. There are those who do reach certain heights in themselves, but eventually the burden of their pseudo-success becomes too much for them to bear. Most “self-made” people often collapse under the strain of relying on themselves for everything.

We must grow larger spiritually and mentally into a wider wing span, stretching ourselves, daring to go higher than we ever thought possible if we are to soar as God intended us to do.

Likewise, we must have a keen eye just like a hawk. These birds aren’t flying blind. We shouldn’t either. Large fowl can spot the smallest of opportunities/food from their great heights. God gives us this same vision and discernment when we ask Him, trust Him and have faith enough to actually follow where He leads.

Now, I’m not keen on going anywhere and not know where I’m going. Yet, this same reluctance can cause us to miss out on some of our largest blessings. Admittedly, I’ve gone a few places in life with my eyes wide open (or so I thought) and that didn’t turn out well at all!

So…I’d rather go blindly with God than move forward eyes wide open, but aimless and with no direction!

Besides, my tiny little wings can only take me so far. But with God…

Technically, bumble bees can’t fly. Their bodies and short wing spans defy the laws of physics. But God creates those “laws” and breaks them as He deems fit. Man will never understand all of God. We see only a glimpse of His Majesty. That’s why we must trust!

All things are possible to him who believes!

“Jesus, said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth,” Mark 9:23 KJV

Will my hopes and dreams come to fruition? Only God knows. But knowing that they are indeed possible is enough for me to spread my wings and try to fly just a little bit higher.

What about you?

What Do You See?

Sometimes it is not a failure to let go of the past that prevents us from moving forward. Instead, a lack of vision for our future prevents the preparation necessary to manifest our innermost dreams.

Dare to prepare for opportunities that lie ahead. Your greatest victories await if you have faith for what God can do ~~for~~ with you!

“Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.” Proverbs 29:18 NKJV

“Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer,” Proverbs 30:25 NIV

“But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.” And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” Isaiah 58:13-14 NKJV

How Do You View It?

perspective a) a specific point of view in understanding things or events b) the ability to see things in a true relationship, Webster’s Dictionary

The majority of the frustration and anxiety we face is not necessarily due to an “enemy attack.” The mental chaos we sometimes experience stems from failing to view things in the proper perspective.

Psalms teach us to “Magnify the Lord.” However, many Believers who magnify the Lord at church services obsess about and magnify their problems when challenges arise.

We sometimes fail to appreciate just how great our God is and His omnipotent power. Instead, we may talk (repeatedly) of our problems, struggles and daily aggravations.

If we would put the same effort into acknowledging the greatness of our God as we do reiterating our circumstances, we would realize how inconsequential most of our “problems” are in comparison to Him.

God is larger than your “situation” or whatever you are dealing with. You must have faith that what you can’t do, God can do for you!

When we continually moan, gripe and complain the only thing we do is enlarge our “thing” in our mind’s eye. Our negative words distort our vision. We can find faults where there are none and create major issues out of minor annoyances.

The wrong perspective is akin to viewing life in a carnival house of mirrors. What we see is distorted and warped, not at all reality.

The right perspective guides us away from poor decisions. The right perspective eliminates stress and allows us to live blessed.

P is for perspective. Changing how you view it might just get you through it!

Getting Through to Get To…

Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea before they were free from Egypt. Joshua led the same people through the wilderness before they saw the Promised Land. Jesus endured the crucifixion before He would then take His seat at the right hand of God the Father. Life requires that we go through to get to!

Everyone has trials and tribulations, each of us our own cross to bear. Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed that our issues loom larger in our minds than they should. This skewed perspective often diminishes our hope for the future. To maintain faith, patience and perseverance we must realize the journey is just as important as the destination.

Enduring the miles builds strength and stamina for the runner. It is the burn of the muscles and the strain on the lungs that makes the body stronger than before.

We so often focus on obtaining our goals that we dismiss the necessity of the journey required to meet them. We are increasingly persuaded by today’s media to expect what we want when we want it.

God’s best just doesn’t happen that way.

The bigger the blessing, the more it is going to take to realize it. You must gain more training, experience and knowledge in preparation for God’s best for you. Surely God can give us our blessings immediately without all our effort, but very few of us are mature enough to properly receive and appreciate them without first going through what is necessary to bring them to pass.

Patience perfects us. Trials mature us. We get stronger when we go through the fire. Only by enduring the fires of life can God burn out the impurities that lie within us.

Sometimes the heat is overwhelming, and we feel we can’t go on but God’s faithfulness lifts our fatigue. His hand heals when life beats us down. Our hope for tomorrow comes when we seek His face. True success comes when we dare to keep going not in our own ability but through faith in His.

Trials will surely come and we may stumble, fall, and even find ourselves crawling on hands and knees. Just keep moving.

Whatever you are facing is only temporary. God’s love for you is forever.

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls,” Hebrews 12: 2-3 NKJV

Look for Your Cloud!

Like many people, I’ve a few areas in my life that are a bit…dry. One in particular is quite crispy. Crisss-pee!

My “situation” soured and then died years ago, yet for one reason or another the last nail was never placed in its coffin.

I was illegally “wronged,” tried to muddle through, then eventually gave “it” to God. This set me back financially and took years (yes, years) before I could finally forgive and move on.

The last thing I prayed concerning the matter was that “it would bless me.” This was over three years ago. And it was hardly a sweet declaration of optimism.

I stood in my bathroom crying. I screamed that “it” would no longer hold me (and my sanity) hostage. I figured I learned a hard lesson and at the least I would be wiser. This was only one thing in a season of drought that appeared endless.

Sometimes we do what is right and are still wronged. We wonder where is God? I believed God’s view was “I didn’t tell you to do that,” so I suffered the consequences.

Today, I was at an appointment and learned my desert may not be so dry after all. What I finally buried and put behind me, God may resurrect for my good!

God may be the reason that final nail never went into the coffin. My loss may have been a “strategic delay.” The most prominent cactus in my years long drought may actually bloom!

I’d given up on this “cactus.” It had drawn enough blood out of me. I didn’t want to touch it! However, when all was silent, could it be God allowed matters to fall as they would and bless me?

This blessing may or may not manifest but its potential has stirred my faith and expectancy. Sometimes when we wander in the desert, we forget that cooling rains can come. God will answer. Just in His time.

As my husband and I ate lunch outdoors, out of nowhere the skies opened up with a tremendous downpour. We had to scurry for cover. Less than an hour after I caught a glimpse of my “cloud.”

I realized today that in this particular area, I’d stopped looking for my cloud. I’d sadly let the heat of my drought sap me of spiritual strength and expectancy. God has been so faithful, why did I doubt Him in this one area?

Keep your eyes open for your cloud. Elijah sent his servant out seven times looking for a sign of rain. Finally, the servant came back with a report. It wasn’t rain but it was the potential for rain.

Don’t lose your hope in what God can do. Dare to look beyond the obvious and have faith for the miraculous.

I think I can finally smell the rain.

“Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.” James 5:7 NIV

“Go and look toward the sea.” He told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there.” He said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” I Kings 18: 43-44 NIV

Peace and Joy

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” John 14:27 NKJV

Jesus came so that we may have peace while here on this earth. It is amazing how quickly we are willing to give it up!

Circumstances, people and our day-to-day lives will rob us of both peace and joy if we allow it. Peace and joy are two of the most valuable things we can posses, yet so carelessly we often allow people, obligations and our own shortcomings to overshadow what Christ has already done for us.

The key to keeping peace and joy (longer than the fifteen minutes after church service) lies in the ability to tune out distractions. Our society is so plugged in that there is little quiet time allocated to be still and reflect. You have to fight for the time to spend with yourself and with God that allows you to truly have “a peace that passes understanding.” (ref. Philippians 4:7)

We spend so much time working to obtain things that don’t really matter in the long haul that if only we put those efforts into keeping what has already been freely given to us, we could truly enjoy the fullness of God’s love for us.

Happiness is based on circumstances and our reaction to the environment or other people. We often work, configure and cajole others into doing those things that make us happy and feel good. Happiness requires that whatever is going on around us is pleasing. Happiness is transient and dependent on other people who have the same failings and weaknesses as ourselves.

Joy comes from God and flows out from within. Joy allows for true contentment no matter what is going on around us. Joy is not dictated by other people. As such, other people can’t rob us of joy. We may sadly give it away, but they can’t take it!

Happiness is fleeting. True joy is not as easily shaken!

Allow your spirit to rejoice in the Lord, overriding what you see and feel because you are, instead, moved by what you know…. God is good and He loves you, everything else is secondary!

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning,“ Psalm 30:5. No matter what you may be facing, it is possible to receive God’s joy. Christ was able to endure the crucifixion for the joy that lay beyond the experience. God does no less for us!

Peace and joy are available if we receive them.

As with any gift, they must be accepted to be enjoyed. The price has already been paid. There is nothing you could ever purchase or acquire that can bring such contentment. All you have to do is believe and receive the enduring love, peace, and joy God makes available to you!

We readily believe in the power of our God to save us, yet often don’t place ourselves in the correct state mentally, spiritually and even physically to receive the fullness of His love daily.

God’s love and the peace and joy that flows from Him fuels us and allows us to share our true selves with others. In doing this, we not only multiply the love we receive, we also magnify our Father and offer ourselves as vessels through which He can work. Now, how cool is that?

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore,” Psalm 16:11 NKJV

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:10-11 NKJV

Pruning!

“I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit,” John 15:1-2 NKJV

Jesus’ teaching about the vine and the branches is one of the most readily quoted. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15: 5 NKJV

Without Him we can do nothing. However, the scripture prior to that, John 15:2 is often skimmed over. It is easy to realize how dependent we are on Christ, yet most of us are remiss and become ill at the notion that to become fruitful we must be pruned.

Without pruning, even the best specimens in any garden will eventually lose the ability to bear fruit. At the very least, the output will greatly diminish. The limbs will become weak and unable to support what little fruit that is produced. Comparatively, the same tree that has been pruned will be shorter but stronger.

Trees and shrubs that have been freshly pruned usually look awful. Where I live Crepe Myrtles trees are blooming now. However, for them to bloom to the fullest, dead limbs are cut away in winter. The trees look so bad after their winter pruning the process is jokingly called “Crepe Murder.”

We often look bad and feel bad when our Father takes to pruning us as well. Sometimes it may be a stray branch here or there that is removed. But then there are times in our lives when we may feel like we’ve been taken all the way down to the roots!

Pruning is painful.

We may even feel like we’re dying all the while God is preparing us to produce more! We don’t often see it at the time or understand. We can feel bad and look worse. Yet, Jesus promises that every branch that does bear fruit God prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Sometimes the removal of things in our lives, though devastating at the moment, eventually make us stronger. Sometimes there is a reason so-called “friends” leave. It may be a job. Or even a relationship.

God cuts off what is not good for us. God often removes those things or people we would in no way leave on our own.

We can have faith knowing that He is our life source and through Him we will be fine no matter how deep the cut. Our progression in life requires some pruning. Thankfully, the potential fruit is well worth the temporary pain.

The next time you experience a hardship, disappointment or painful experience; don’t assume it is an attack from the enemy. It might be time for God’s hand on you.

It may just be time for you to produce more fruit than you thought possible!

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8 NKJV