hope – Page 2 – B Is for Blessed!

Isaiah 58:11

“The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah, 58:11 NKJV

Inner Peace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

If you check out my sidebar, you’ll see I’ve been nominated for a few awards in the last several weeks. I’m going to accept these a bit differently than most so bear with me. You have been forewarned, there are acceptance speeches forthcoming!

Eric who blogs at Hunt for Truth nominated me for the Award for Love and Kindness this week. He also nominated me a while back for the Inner Peace Award. I’m not going to admit when, you’ll have to check out his site to find out. Let’s just say that one kind of slipped by me.

It is ironic that I was nominated for the Inner Peace Award because I hadn’t really felt inner peace for a long time until I began a number of writing projects last year including this blog. I was inspired to develop this site as a way to encourage others and in doing so I surprisingly encouraged myself.

I’ve always loved to write. Yet due to life, I wasn’t really in a position to pursue this passion. Last year, I decided to stop trying to control my life and surrender it instead. I made a conscious decision to be at peace with my present and not drive myself crazy trying to orchestrate my future.

Guess what? I’m much better for it. I’m not nearly as anxious, frustrated or disappointed.

Previously, I hadn’t met some personal goals due to other obligations. That left me dissatisfied, angry and bitter. Sad, I know. I was confident about my salvation but I needed to get a few things straight here on earth!

When I began to write again, I allowed God to take it over and me over. I began this blog as an act of faith. I knew zero about blogging.

This blog began slowly. Very…very… slowly. I’m an introvert. The very idea of commenting on someone’s site terrified me. Technology and I are not friends. WordPress widgets still drive me bonkers!

However, the bloggers I’ve met and responses received about faith and other experiences have been such a blessing to me. Blogging and sharing with others actually helped me derive a sense of purpose I was missing. I definitely serve a purpose in other aspects of my life but this one is satisfying to me.

I think we are all restless until we discover the purpose God has planted in our hearts. Unless we explore the talents we have been given, I don’t think we can be at peace. I believe so many people are frustrated and miserable because they are not doing the things they were created to do!

If you feel like you’re missing something, why not search it out? My dream was deferred twenty years. Yet now, I know God is allowing me walk out my purpose in His timing.

I have inner peace first and foremost because I have God. Knowing Him means I don’t have to be anxious for anything. I have finally realized that I don’t have to control my life because… I can’t control it!

I can respond appropriately to the events in my life. I can pray for guidance and discernment in decisions I make. I can hear and obey to save myself a lot of headache.

I am not alone in anything I am forced to face in this life. God is with me. And with God, anything is possible.

And I find peace in that.

**And if you think I forgot, my nominees for the Inner Peace Award will appear in the next post!

Believe!

“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things [are] possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23 NKJV”

When Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb, His friends and family were devastated. It looked like His ministry was over. Jesus spoke to His disciples of the very events that would take place. However, His disciples didn’t “hear” Him. His friends and family couldn’t see His death in its proper context. They only saw an ending. They had no vision for a new beginning.

How often are we guilty of that very same thing?

We often face situations in life that appear dead. Joy may be gone. There may be no light shining on a particular situation. Even though God has spoken a dream into you, you can’t see any imaginable way it can come to pass.

Abraham and Sara didn’t see how they were ever going to physically produce a child in their advanced age. They didn’t see it but, they believed.

Noah couldn’t imagine just exactly what a flood was but he obeyed and built that ark anyway.

Joseph was sold into slavery and later thrown into prison. He couldn’t from his lowest point imagine his brothers bowing down to him. Yet, Joseph held fast to his faith and his dream become reality.

There are so many more examples in God’s Word of dead situations that looked hopeless but God wasn’t done. God had a plan. God has plans for us as well!

The above photograph is of an Oak Leaf Hydrangea. I planted it years ago in remembrance of my father. It has grown beautifully over the years but now it is crisp, dry and lifeless. Or is it?

If you merely glanced over this plant you wouldn’t see the small buds of life breaking forth. I think one of the reasons I actually favor this plant is because it is resurrected year after year. In fact the more “dead” branches on the tree, the greater the potential for blooms.

Now if God will do that for a plant, how much more will He do for us!

Believe that God cares for YOU! Believe that your life does matter! Don’t give in to fear over faith!

Resurrection is available for us!

Dare to believe because…He’s… NOT… dead!

Break Through!

“For now I will break off his yoke from you, And burst your bonds apart.” Nahum 1:13 NKJV

‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ Says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them.’ Jeremiah 30:8 NKJV

I spent a few days this week inspecting my yard and playing with my camera. Doing so, I came across my hostas! Hostas come in many varieties and return faithfully year after year. However, for this to happen, the hostas must first break through my very hard Georgia clay.

Like hostas, we have to push through some hard things as well. These things are as unique as each of us, yet if persevere, pray and stay with God; we can also find the warmth of the Son/sun and enter a season of growth and renewal. Not only does the hosta have to break through the cold hard ground to thrive in the spring, it must also shed some of its old dry and useless self. Hostas push away the old “bones” left over from last year making room for more life-sustaining leaves. There is a lesson in this for all of us.

The scriptures above speak of God’s promise to His people. Both prophets testify about how God will free His people. God’s Word speaks of delivering His people from enemies both physical and spiritual. God doesn’t want us to be in bondage to other people or sin.

For some of us to live our lives as God intended we need to

Break some bad habits

Break new ground…learn something new, meet new people, broaden our thinking, vision and aspirations

Break off the shackles that bind…fear, depression, doubt, regret, guilt or whatever holds you hostage

Dare to deviate from what is not working. What has God promised you? Have you asked Him for direction, discernment, revelation? Have you done the things He’s told you to? If you are waiting on God, He is probably waiting on YOU!

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For [it is] time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12 NKJV

Fallow in the above verse refers to land that is allowed to lie idle during the growing season. Many of us are waiting for a break through but do nothing during the growing season. How can we expect to reap a harvest if we don’t sow good seed? Our break through requires work on our part!

Reap in mercy. To reap mercy you have to sow it. If some of us were a bit more merciful and less judgmental it would allow more time to improving ourselves!

It is time to seek the Lord! Many of us continually look for the next best thing, big idea or solution to a problem; yet, if we would only seek Him we would find the answers we desire. Our God is more than able. He is more than willing.

For those of you waiting on the perfect time to take that leap of faith, obey God’s prodding or even courage to take that first step, do it anyway. Do it afraid.

You don’t have to be fearless. God rewards our faith in Him, not perfection.

Finally, I never know when my hostas are going to appear. Some years I find them in February. Other years not until May. I never know when they will break through. We don’t know when our big break will come either. Yet, I am always expecting them to appear. I dare you to expect God to do the miraculous with you and through you.

Break out of what was and step into what can be.

Life is waiting. Time will not.

“A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;” Ecclesiastes 3:3 NKJV

Beauty for Ashes!

“To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified,” Isaiah 61:3 NKJV

Isaiah 61 is probably one of the most comforting chapters in the Bible. The very first verse begins with good news preaching “good tidings to the poor,” speaks of “heal the broken-hearted,” and proclaims “liberty to the captives.”

We have all at one time or another been in need of good tidings, healing or freedom from bondage. This chapter provides hope of change or rather an exchange of what we have for what our God is willing to give us instead.

God’s love for us allows us the opportunity to give Him those things that are painful and receive from Him beauty, joy and relief from oppression. These things He gives to us not only for our good, but that He may be glorified in the process.

We all suffer wounds along our way. We have losses and people we mourn. There are things we’ve held dear that have been reduced to nothing. We’ve all felt overcome by fear, doubts, and even the duties of daily life. But we don’t have to stay bound by any of this!

The cherry tree pictured below has been wounded. The gouge in the trunk was not created by nature. So great a wound could have killed it. Some of the things we experience can kill us too.
But God! This damaged tree yet blooms! And we can too!

We can rise up and above our losses, regrets and missteps! God enables us through the anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus died for us that we may be freed from the pain and suffering sin brings. When we choose Him, He exchanges what we have for what can be.

Choosing God allows us to be planted and restored as His people; strong, beautiful and useful. We have a purpose to serve!

If you are feeling wounded, don’t give up! Instead, give yourself over to God. He can take what is left for dead and give new life! He restores us! He can even equip us to restore others! God can take our pitiful selves and through us to do the miraculous!

God’s blessings aren’t always “in your face.” His blessings often start small and grow. Like a seed, God’s blessings can evolve into more than we can even imagine. What is at first naked to the eye can develop into something so large there is no doubt God has caused it to thrive and prosper.

Isaiah preached of what was to come.

The God Isaiah spoke of is available to us now. Accessible. Ever present. Healer. Redeemer.

The key to receiving the beauty of God is having faith in not only what He has done but in what He can do for us. Now.

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalms 90:17 NKJV

Endure!

Ivy is one of my favorite plants for many reasons. However, the trait that I find most appealing is its tendency to endure. This particular plant has endured both drought and record rains. It has also survived scorching temperatures as well as the record lows of just last week. It is not the fastest growing plant I have but it is the hardiest. It has even managed to turn colors in its fight for survival yet it still lives!

In fact, most ivy is hard to kill. You pull it up by the roots and you think it’s gone. But look around in that same area a few months later…and it’s there once more! Its roots dig deep. Its grasp is tenacious. How much better could we be if only we would do the same?

Jesus teaches in Mark 4 about the Word of God and how it is liken to a seed sown on different ground. Sometimes our human failings occur not because we aren’t receptive to the Word of God; it is instead our failure to endure.

“These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.” Mark 4:16-17

Notice, that particular verse does not say if tribulation or persecution arises but when.

We will all experience adversity or trials that come against us. That’s just life. Whatever change you think you need to solve a current problem, that change will most likely have another set of “problems” attached to it. Our goal in life should not be to have a “problem-free” existence.

Instead, it should be to gain maturity in Christ and weather our droughts, storms or whatever we are facing relying on God with faith and having enough hope to stay the course God has for us. It is when we are able to continue through our trials with the proper attitude and finish our race that we are victorious.

My ivy grows slowly, but it continues to grow.

Some things you may be hoping for or working toward may progress slowly but don’t give up on the dreams God has placed within you. If He has given them to you, He has also provided the means to accomplish them.

If you endure.

Joseph endured to see his dream fulfilled. Christ endured that we may live life abundantly. God is with us as well when we trust Him and endure.

“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end [intended by] the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” James 5:11

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us], and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 NKJV

It’s a New Year…so get over it!

This isn’t at all what I had planned to write about. My intention was to end the year in 2013 thanking the many people who have supported me and this blog especially so in the latter part of the year. You are hardly forgotten! Alas, my plans were for naught. Christmas was wonderful!

Ringing in the New Year…not so much.

I slept through the beginning of 2014 as best I could huddled down in my covers and fighting off a very nasty bug. I thought I had been oh so careful, washing my hands at least twenty times a day (I am not exaggerating), Lysol, Sani-wipes, trying not to inhale other people’s germs, taking vitamins and getting plenty of rest. Yet, it came down to taking my own advice. “You aren’t going to do much of anything until you get over it.” I have said these very words to patients at least a hundred times.

Yes, I took all the proper OTC remedies, was seen by a nurse practitioner and given a good antibiotic to knock out my trifecta of bronchitis, sinusitis and possibly strep. Even with all of that, the body said NO! Not moving, doing or going a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e!

I had “plans” to hit the New Year’s Day sale of my favorite department store. Didn’t happen. So, as I lay in bed reminding myself that I was NOT dying, it only felt like it; I was praying and thinking how everything happens for my good. Maybe I spent enough money this holiday season and I didn’t need to go to the mall. Okay God, I’m stuck at home for my own good. I get it.

The next day, I’m still sick, actually sicker. I’m thinking to myself I’m doing everything I can to get better. I know what to do! “You are going to have to get over it before you do anything,” I hear God in my spirit.

But HE is not talking about my illness. God does work out all things for our good and He most definitely can use anything to get our attention.

You see, on Sunday the television preacher was preaching “get over it.” I listened to that sermon and thought it was good and very relevant. Only days prior to that, I was speaking with my oldest son about making good choices and telling him not to make the same mistakes I had. In his teenage wisdom, this kid told me to “get over it.”

First of all, if one of my kids tells me to “get over it,” there is a huge problem. My first instinct was to look behind me and see exactly who he was talking to!

Cam said it so quickly and distinctly and then resumed his normal conversation I was left speechless. I knew it was God talking to me through my child. It was hardly the first time God has done that.

I heard the same exact words in less than a week and knew them to be true yet still a little something in me hesitated. I had no problem “getting over it,” but there have been times when I have circled back and found my “it.” Or, I worse, I allowed “it” to find me.

It may be a reference to something else, a subtle reminder or just being tired and annoyed as we all can be that allows my “it” to rear its ugly head. I have gotten over many more significant things in my life, matters of life and death but this one thing, somehow finds a way to grab my attention and my thoughts.

Unfortunately my thoughts can then morph into regret which then can become resentment and consequently eat away into the forgiveness I thought I had given.

I did pray for revelation while I was sick. And boy did I get it!

I post this because God basically told me the things I want to do, places I want to go and dreams I want to see realized ain’t happening (and yes I do mean ain’t) until I get over “it” for good!

I suspect that most of us have some “it” that may be holding us back from God’s very best in our lives.

When Abraham’s nephew Lot took the best of the land that was divided between them Abraham got over it. Abraham knew that whatever he had with God was so much more than anything Lot could ever take from him.

We would all do well to remember this same thing as we begin 2014. Whatever we may have lost, whatever regrets we have, or mistakes we have made are insignificant compared to the power of our God. In our weakness, He is strong.

Leave your past exactly where it belongs and concentrate on what God can do now. God has plans for all of us if only we would trust Him and truly “get over” the things, thoughts, regrets and mistakes that can hold us hostage and keep us from achieving our very best this year.

Have a Very Blessed 2014!

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Philippians 3:13-15 NKJV

A is for Abundance

“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance,” Isaiah 55:2 NKJV

Most of us are always in the pursuit of abundance. We are often looking for ways to have an abundance of something or another. For many people it is money or opportunities to earn money. Some people may be in pursuit of peace. And for others it may be joy. It may even be a combination of things, yet most of us at some point have pursued abundance in every way but God’s way.

The preceding verse reflects our society as it stands today. Apparently, not that much has changed since Biblical times. They were spending money on things that failed to satisfy them as well.

Our society spends billions of dollars yearly seeking “abundance” yet still those dollars don’t satisfy. A new toy or gadget may be entertaining for the short-term, but it only takes the next electronic device or innovation to leave many longing for a “feeling” that quickly fades. Unfortunately, many are unaware what they truly crave can’t be purchased.

Many of the most affluent nations also suffer from the highest rates of depression. People are working themselves to death. Many have an abundance of “stuff” but fail to delight themselves in Who really provides peace, joy, and contentment. There is often a continual search for some “thing”, experience, feeling, or promise that guarantees joy, happiness, success, or status. When one “thing” fails to provide the “high” people are looking for they are on to the next, placing more faith in false advertisements and sales pitches than in the very Words that offer an abundant life.

A lot of us have not enjoyed God’s abundance as we could because we failed to listen to God. We believe we have it figured out, know what is best for ourselves and want to control our own destiny. That approach has left most people still searching, hungry and frustrated by their own failed efforts.

When we listen to God as instructed above, we can eat that which is good and delight ourselves in God’s promises. To listen requires that we hear and obey.

Some of us are struggling in distinct areas in our lives due to our own disobedience. We even know what God says about certain strongholds or areas yet we continue to suffer or lack because we refuse to yield those areas over to Him. We often know what to do but fail to do it for an array of reasons. Pride, fear, and the opinions of others are just a few reasons that leave people still searching for what only God can offer.

“Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart,” Psalms 37:4. NKJV

We are instructed to delight ourselves in the Lord, not the latest gadget, fashion, music, career opportunity or whatever else people are often hustling to obtain. The things people delight themselves in often fail to satisfy for any real length of time. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He then gives us what we really want.

Sadly, many people don’t even know what they want. The concepts of peace, joy, and true love are foreign concepts to many. Money can’t buy happiness but millions continue to try time and time again.

“But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace,” Psalms 37:11. NKJV

That restless feeling many people suffer from is actually due to a lack of peace. People pursue money trying to buy the “things” they think will provide peace and joy. A lot of people go into debt trying to buy happiness and love and are instead left restless and distraught in their attempts to buy “a good life.” Their costly pursuits often have devastating consequences that people spend years trying to dig themselves out from under.

The “good life,” is actually free for all of us. Jesus paid the price so that we could have a good life, one that involves a relationship with Him!

“…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly,” John 10:10. NKJV

Jesus did not die for us that we may accumulate more “stuff.” That was hardly the abundance He had in mind. Jesus Christ died that we would have peace, joy, and a relationship with Him to fill our voids and satisfy our thirst. That is what we truly desire whether we realize it or not.

Have you been looking for love, hope, truth, grace or whatever you are yearning for…in all the wrong places?

“For You, Lord [are] good and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You,” Psalms 86:5 NKJV

“But You, O Lord, [are] a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth,” Psalms 86:15 NKJV

“Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3

Flourishing Finish

As I look out at what is left of my summer garden, it is more than evident that this year is quickly coming to an end. Yet, the pictured summer plant is still standing and going strong, having withstood storms, drought and even my neglect while everything around it quickly fades away.

Unlike the plant, I am guilty of faltering when forced to endure my own storms, droughts and neglect. My coleus ran its designated course and continues to thrive. I refuse to be outdone by a plant!

It is my declaration to run my course and finish 2013 well. I commit to no longer allow imperfect conditions to deter me. I have concluded that when I choose to climb higher, strive for better, and act better, the larger the obstacles I am forced to overcome. Sometimes impediments are beyond my control. However, my largest obstacle is often…me.

Temporary disappointments can linger far longer in our minds well after a problem is gone. It can be hard to reprogram our thinking even after we overcome a hardship. It is human nature to look back on old hurts and offensives focusing on what we’ve endured instead of looking ahead to the promise of a better tomorrow. To the inability to “get over” a setback often thwarts the best intentions to move forward and into God’s promises.

“But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,”
Philippians 3:13-14. NKJV

I challenge you to push forward toward your prize! We all have a God-given purpose, goals to meet, and blessings to give not just receive…the work God has imparted each of us to do while we are here on this earth.

Recommit yourself to finish well. If necessary, begin those things God placed in you. God is infinite in His ability to restore and accelerate. Timing is not a concern for Him; His timing can put you years ahead when you were once decades behind.

Trust God. Have faith in what He can do in you and through you! Ignite your hope! Cast aside your fears! Don’t focus on how you started or even where your race began. God is with you every step of the way. Allow God to finish the good work He began in you!

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God,” Acts 20:24 NKJV

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,” Jeremiah 29:11

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ,” Philippians 1:6 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