Maybe you’ve heard the saying, Bloom where you’re planted…but if you really think about it, 99% of whether we’re happy and satisfied with things depends on our attitude rather than the physical environment around us. If you’re doing your job unto the Lord, regardless if you’re the President of a great corporation, or the night janitor, you can be happy in your work and be fulfilled. As it says in Deuteronomy 12:7, ” You shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.”
Author: kezha1
A Christian mother, grandmother, and retired nurse living in Illinois. Called into a ministry of encouraging others to find their ultimate plan and purpose in life through Christ.
Deuteronomy 16: 15 ” For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.”
The garden in mid-September is starting to look a little tired. This afternoon as I was out there bringing in the last of the broccoli, the Lord started comparing Harvest-time with our lives. The plants come Fall know Winter is just around the corner, so they’re expending as much energy as they can to fulfill their destiny…they may look kind of bedraggled, but their mission is not done yet, so they persevere. If you are like me…in the “Fall” of your life…look at the Harvest-time coming, don’t allow your energy to falter…you have much to accomplish yet.
Romans 8:26-27 ” In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”
When the situation is so dire that you don’t have any idea how to pray…allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for you. When no words can come through the tears and pain, the Holy Spirit knows what to say. His prayers on our behalf are always timely, always on target, always perfect…for He only prays according to God’s will.
Genesis 11:4 “Then they said, ‘ Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’ ”
Man’s pride was reaching towards the sky, but it was in direct contradiction to what God had told them to do. Rather than segregating themselves together, He had commanded them to, “Be fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth.” In response to their rebellion, God confused them by changing their one language into many, and dispersing them across the landscape.
John 6:35 ” Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thristy.’ “
There is only one thing that can totally satisfy the spiritual hunger of our soul…there is only one spring of living water welling up to completely quench our thirst for the truth…His name is Jesus…the Way – the Truth – the Life.
Joel 2:13 ” Rend your heart, and not your garment.”
In Biblical times a very public expression of grief or repentance was to tear your robe. But the Lord doesn’t desire showy theatrics if our hearts aren’t in it. He would rather have a sincere inward commitment than a dramatic outward production anytime.
Hebrews 10: 36 ” You need to perservere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a patient person…I’m a mover, so if I have to stop to wait for something, I get anxious. My mind goes into warp-drive, thinking of all the things I could be doing, besides just waiting. But it’s usually then that the Lord will cause me to take the focus off myself and onto something or someone around me. What would be the good pleasure of God at this moment? Thanking Him for the beauty surrounding me…speaking encouragement into the person nearby…praying for my family…all are things that change my attitude from that of impatience to calm endurance. As James said, “Blessed are they that persevere.”
Romans 8: 6 “…But the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
Many years ago during the very darkest point in my life, I was in counseling with a very kind and wise Christian pastor. After months of struggling with the trauma caused by someone else, and their resistance to take responsibility for the pain inflicted…I felt overwhelmed and lost. This wise pastor said one simple thing that has stayed with me for decades. He said, ” You can be responsible to someone, but not for them.” We can’t be accountable for the actions of others…and if they are on a self-destructive path, there’s a limit to what we can do. The Lord wants us to live in peace, and sometimes that means giving that person to the Lord, and letting them remain there at the Cross as we back away.
II Corinthians 6:1-2 ” As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For He says, ‘In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Paul was quoting Isaiah 49:8 to the Church in Corinth, but putting a new spin on it. He was telling them, “Stop thinking that “someday” you’ll receive all the blessings of God. Rather the time is now, and the place is here…so receive.” And so, I speak this into your life today…NOW is the time of God’s kindness towards you…Now is the time of Him bestowing all His Blessings on you…so receive.
I Kings 19:21 ” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and become his attendant.”
God had directed Elijah to call Elisha to succeed him as Prophet. Rather than vacillate on whether he had truly been called, Elisha boldly made sure he couldn’t fall back to his comfortable old life. So many times when God calls us, we want to hedge our bets, giving ourselves a way back to what is easy and familiar if what God calls us to do becomes too difficult. When we hang onto the past and what’s safe and predictable, God can’t use us to our fullest capabilities.
Safetypinlove 