This is a copy of the devo I gave in the dorm on Saturday night. It's kinda long and one of the stories is a repeat from an earlier post but if you can read through it all, I hope it can help someone.
The blessing in the burdens
Everyone is always telling us to look on the bright side of things. Sometimes that is hard to do when you are struggling under the load of a burden. But there are some blessings wrapped up inside those burdens.
I. The first blessing is that God always has a purpose in bringing trials upon our lives.
A. Tea cup story- A couple in England passed a china shop that had a lovely teacup displayed in the window. When they went inside to see it more closely, the teacup suddenly spoke. "You don’t understand. I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time when I was a lump of red clay. My master took me, rolled me, and patted me again and again. I screamed for him to stop, to leave me alone. But, he continued to mold me, answering, ‘Not yet.’"
"Then, I was placed on a wheel and spun around and around. It made me dizzy, spinning on and on like that. But the master didn’t stop when I begged him to take me off the wheel. He continued to shape and to mold me."
"Then, he put me in the oven. I had never felt such intense heat! I wondered if he wanted me to burn up. I screamed and beat on the door to get out. I could see the master through the opening. I read his lips, as he said, ‘Not yet.’"
"Finally, the door did open. The master picked me up and put me on a shelf. I began to cool. That felt better. Suddenly, he brushed me and painted me all over. The fumes were terrible! I thought I would surely choke to death. I was gasping for air and hurting inside from the heat and choking on the fumes."
"Soon, he put me in another oven that was twice as hot as the first one. I knew for sure this time I would surely suffocate. I begged my master to stop. All the time I could see him shaking his head and saying, ‘Not yet.’"
"I felt there was no help. I knew I could never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then, the door opened. The master took me out and I could see that he was pleased with his work. He handed me a mirror and told me to look at myself. I did and said, ‘That’s not me! It couldn't be! I’m so shiny and beautiful!’"
The master said to me: "I want you to know I had to roll you and pat you to give you shape. If I had left you alone, you would have dried up. I know the wheel made you dizzy and sick, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and was hot and unpleasant in the baking oven, but if I had not put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed you and painted you all over. But, you see, if I had not done that, you would never have hardened. If I had not put you in the second oven, you would not have survived for very long, for you would have been brittle and would have soon broken. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with a lump of clay." ~Anonymous~
B. Romans 8:28 tells us that God is working all things together for His good purpose. That good purpose is to make us more like Christ. He makes us more like Christ by bringing trials into our lives sometimes. These trials serve one of two purposes:
1. To teach us a lesson. Sometimes we get prideful and need to be humbled in order to be more like Christ. Sometimes we stray from Him and He has to use difficult circumstances to bring us back to Him. Sometimes He has to use difficult circumstances to soften our hearts so that he can mold us and shape us.
2. To make us stronger in Him. It is during our hard times that we find ourselves singing "I need thee every hour". If there were never any problems then we wouldn't know that He could solve them. We would go about thinking that we could handle it ourselves. We learn to depend on Him through our hard times.
So, the first blessing in our burden is to know that God always has a reason. He always has our best in mind. He is trying to mold us and make us beautiful and useful for Him.
II. The second blessing in our burdens is that we don't have to bear them alone.
A. Psalm 55:22, I Peter 5:7
B. There once was a family that consisted of a husband and wife and their little girl. One day, the wife was killed in a terrible car accident. The night of the funeral, after all the family had gone home, the man took his little girl home for the first time with no one else around and they were very lonely. The man tucked his daughter into bed and flipped the light switch. She gasped as he did and cried "Daddy, I'm scared. I can't see you. Can I come sleep in your room?" "Sure, honey" the father said. They climbed into bed and the daddy kissed the little girl goodnight. He reached over and turned the bedside lamp off and the little girl started crying again. "Daddy, it's dark in here, and I can't see you. Are you still here?" "Yes, sweetie I'm still here" the dad reassured her. "Well are you facing me right now?" she enquired in a concerned voice. "Yes, I'm facing you." "Okay, then I think I can fall asleep now." And within a few minutes she was fast asleep.
In the dark of the midnight, the father lay awake. He missed his wife terribly. He was so unsure about the future and how he was going to raise their little girl. His heart was broken. Finally, he slipped out of bed and onto his knees. He prayed "Father, It's dark. I can't see you right now… are you still here." He felt the Lord say "Yes, child, I'm still here." "God, I'm scared… are you facing me right now." "Yes, Child, My face is always turned toward you." "Okay, then I think I can go to sleep now." The man crawled back into bed and fell fast asleep with the peace of God in his heart.
C. Whatever burden we are carrying, the Lord tells us not to fear. He is right there beside us. He promises that we don't have to bear these burdens alone. The only stipulation is that he wants us to cast them on him. This requires action on our part.
1. I work at a daycare and there are times when a child, somehow, gets their hands on something that is dangerous for them to have, like a pair of scissors. I immediately go over and take it from them. But there are some times when a child has something that I simply don't want them to have at that moment. It could be a toy or someone else's sippy cup etc… In this case, I go over and say to the child "You need to give that to me. It's not for you to have." I stick out my hand and I expect that child to give the item to me. I am bigger than him, so I could take it by force. But how much better is it for that child to learn to willingly give it over to the one who has authority over them.
2. God may take things from us that are harmful to us without asking for it. But he tells us to GIVE Him our burdens. We have to be willing to lay it in the hands of the one who has authority in our lives. We have to trust that he knows what's best. When we learn to give it to him, we show trust and respect.
Conclusion- When you find yourself shouldering burdens that are too heavy for you, remember that there are a couple blessings we can see in them. 1. God always has a reason. We may not know it right now, but in time he will reveal it to us. He is trying to make us beautiful and useful for Him. 2. We don't have to bear them alone. God is ready to take our burdens. We just have to be willing to give them to Him. Lay them at His feet and don't pick them up again.
My mom gave me the story of the teacup and Bro. Claud Slate, my youth pastor when I was in high school, gave me the one about the little girl. :)
Monday, March 2, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
It's His choice
There was a man preaching Sunday school about a month ago in Bro. Gaddis' place while he was out preaching and he preached on the story of Jesus healing the blind man. The pharisees got so angry and were asking the man and his parents about it and the man just told them "All I know is that I was blind but now I see". At the beginning of the story the disciples ask Jesus why the man was born blind. Jesus answers- "...that the works of God might be made manifest in Him". Something that the preacher mentioned almost in passing stuck with me... We do not get to decide how God manifests His glory through us. The man was blind from birth for no other reason but that God might get the glory for healing him. It seems as though it would not be worth it to that man. But how great it must be to know that God chose to show himself mighty through your circumstances. How awesome must it have been for that man to finally have a reason for his sufferings and to know that the reason was that God's glory might be made manifest through him.
We cannot say "I want God to manifest His glory through me" and then expect that he do it through our preaching or teaching or singing ability etc... We must accept that sometimes God chooses to show himself through us through our hard times and difficult circumstances. He does show himself through some people's preaching and teaching and singing but some he chooses to work through their trials. If you are going through a hard time or have difficult circumstances in your life, remember, God may have put you there or allowed that to happen because he has chosen to manifest His glory through your life...He just chose to do it through your trials. Are you going to make it easy for Him to show himself through your trials by peacefully accepting it and learning from it so that you can share it with others or are you going to lose your testimony by complaining and becoming bitter? He is God, is he not? He gets to decide how He shows himself mighty. Trust Him.
"If I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that He could solve them."
We cannot say "I want God to manifest His glory through me" and then expect that he do it through our preaching or teaching or singing ability etc... We must accept that sometimes God chooses to show himself through us through our hard times and difficult circumstances. He does show himself through some people's preaching and teaching and singing but some he chooses to work through their trials. If you are going through a hard time or have difficult circumstances in your life, remember, God may have put you there or allowed that to happen because he has chosen to manifest His glory through your life...He just chose to do it through your trials. Are you going to make it easy for Him to show himself through your trials by peacefully accepting it and learning from it so that you can share it with others or are you going to lose your testimony by complaining and becoming bitter? He is God, is he not? He gets to decide how He shows himself mighty. Trust Him.
"If I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that He could solve them."
Monday, February 9, 2009
Conforming in a good way
I was reading in Philippians this morning. 3:10 was what caught my attention today. In the preceding verses, Paul was talking about how if anyone was justifyed in having confidence in the flesh, it would have been him. He was elite. But then Paul goes on to express that it didn't matter who he was or what he had. Everything he was and had hindered him from serving Christ the way he should. He was knew that it wasn't about how good HE was, but about having God's rigteousness and KNOWING HIM. We focus on that part of the verse a lot and rightfully so because it is a great thought... to be able to KNOW Christ Almighty. But I've really been trying to do more than just read lately. I've been trying to dig a little deeper and write down what I find in a journal. I think it helps me to apply it to everyday life, to remember it, and to think about it on a deeper level when I write down what I read in my own words and write down what I can take from it.
Well, I noticed that not many people preach about the end of that verse that says, "being made conformable unto His death". I thought about what that means for a bit and what I thought about was... "Why would we want to be conformamble to His death and not His life?" So I asked myself..."What was it about Christ's death that I would need to apply to my life? The more I KNOW Him, the more I know of His death, right? So what do I know of Christ's death?
I know He was forgiving. I need to be conforming to that trait. But what else is there about His death? What kind of death was it that I need to be conforming to?
It was a death of Sacrifice. I need to learn what it means to show devotion by sacrifice. Have I ever really given up anything of real importance for God? Convicting question.
It was a death of Surrender. This goes along the same lines but I think more of surrender of self-will. Jesus said "Not my will but Thine be done." I need to have this attitude in my life. I need to let go of what I want to do and just trust my Father and what He has for me.
It was a death that showed great love for others. This is something that I need to work on. Showing others that I really care for them and love them.
Lord, teach me to love people like you love them.
This is the kind of death we are to be conformable to. It makes sense now, doesn't it. I probably didn't reveal anything new to anyone but I had never personally thought about what it meant to be conformable to His death.
Just some thoughts from my Bible reading. Hope it made sense.
Well, I noticed that not many people preach about the end of that verse that says, "being made conformable unto His death". I thought about what that means for a bit and what I thought about was... "Why would we want to be conformamble to His death and not His life?" So I asked myself..."What was it about Christ's death that I would need to apply to my life? The more I KNOW Him, the more I know of His death, right? So what do I know of Christ's death?
I know He was forgiving. I need to be conforming to that trait. But what else is there about His death? What kind of death was it that I need to be conforming to?
It was a death of Sacrifice. I need to learn what it means to show devotion by sacrifice. Have I ever really given up anything of real importance for God? Convicting question.
It was a death of Surrender. This goes along the same lines but I think more of surrender of self-will. Jesus said "Not my will but Thine be done." I need to have this attitude in my life. I need to let go of what I want to do and just trust my Father and what He has for me.
It was a death that showed great love for others. This is something that I need to work on. Showing others that I really care for them and love them.
Lord, teach me to love people like you love them.
This is the kind of death we are to be conformable to. It makes sense now, doesn't it. I probably didn't reveal anything new to anyone but I had never personally thought about what it meant to be conformable to His death.
Just some thoughts from my Bible reading. Hope it made sense.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Learning to keep my mouth shut
I've decided to do a study on the mouth. I have discovered that I have serious issues holding my tongue. I always say things at the wrong time or, more often, say things too harshly because I don't think before I speak...I just say what I feel without stopping to think if that was appropriate or necessary to say. I hate knowing, as well, that some incident could have been taken care of if I would have carefully chosen a different tone of voice and watched how I said it. I also like to argue. Well I hate arguing but I do it because I want to be right. Again, it's a pride issue. But the Lord is really trying to teach me something about it because lately I have been in situations where, as much as I want to argue my case and make a point and make someone else feel as bad as they just made me feel or give my opinion, I have got to learn to keep my mouth shut. So I decided to go through my concordance and write down all the relevant references on the mouth. I'm going to, along with the rest of my Bible reading, go over a verse or two each morning and try to memorize it and do my best to apply it through out the day. It's only been a couple days but I have already been able to apply it. I will tell you this, it takes some humbling. You have to swallow your pride in order to keep your mouth shut. But I feel closer to the Lord already. It's really cool to be close enough to the Lord right now to be able to say a silent prayer in my mind whenever I talk to someone and ask Him to guard my mouth and give me wisdom in what I say and how I say it. And He Does!! And so many fights and bad moods are avoided and I feel good cuz I know I'm doing the right thing.
If this is not an area you struggle with, I encourage you to find some area in your life that could use some work and just do a study on it and memorize scripture about it and ask the Lord to help you specifically in each situation where you are faced with it. It could be in the area of worrying, gossiping, lusting, thinking bad or mean thoughts about someone, pride etc.... God promises to take a step toward us if we first take a step toward Him: "Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you." (side note- I don't have my Bible in front of me or one handy so I don't know for sure if that's quoted exactly right or where the reference is).
"Lord, make my words as sweet as honey, for tomorrow I may have to eat them!" --Anonymous
"Help me guard my lips, O Saviour, Keep me sweet when sorely tried, Answers soft to others giving, Meekly swallowing my pride." --Basch
"Among my most prized possessions are words that I have never spoken." --Orson Scott Card
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -- 'tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." --Mark Twain
If this is not an area you struggle with, I encourage you to find some area in your life that could use some work and just do a study on it and memorize scripture about it and ask the Lord to help you specifically in each situation where you are faced with it. It could be in the area of worrying, gossiping, lusting, thinking bad or mean thoughts about someone, pride etc.... God promises to take a step toward us if we first take a step toward Him: "Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you." (side note- I don't have my Bible in front of me or one handy so I don't know for sure if that's quoted exactly right or where the reference is).
"Lord, make my words as sweet as honey, for tomorrow I may have to eat them!" --Anonymous
"Help me guard my lips, O Saviour, Keep me sweet when sorely tried, Answers soft to others giving, Meekly swallowing my pride." --Basch
"Among my most prized possessions are words that I have never spoken." --Orson Scott Card
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -- 'tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." --Mark Twain
Friday, January 30, 2009
Perfect Psalm 37
So... I have problems with caring too much what other people think. I hate it when people think bad of me, especially for something I didn't even do. It's never enough for me to just know that I'm doing right... I want others to know that too. It's dumb... I know... It's actually a pride thing. And I also have problems with wanting other's to do things right. It bothers me when other people don't have the same standards as me or when they don't care about the rules or when they don't have the right attitude (even though I am like that sometimes myself). It gets me all frustrated and mad when other people won't do the right thing when I'm trying to.
So I read Psalms 37 today and it was so perfect. It just talks about how we need to not worry what the wicked are doing... just keep doing right. God will take care of them in His own time. He promises so. It was so amazing because not only did this chapter address that issue but also my other one. Later in the chapter it says not to worry when others judge you wrongfully. Who cares what they think. Then it says :"The Lord...will not condemn him when he is judged." What I took from that was, don't worry about what others think. Know that you are right with God and that He is okay with who you are and don't worry about how others judge you. Yes, be careful of being a stumbling block but if you know you are right with the Lord (and always take time to consider if you are) then DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! I'm really trying to focus on that. I have some more to post about so I'm gonna try to make it to the library tomorrow. Check back with me. :)
So I read Psalms 37 today and it was so perfect. It just talks about how we need to not worry what the wicked are doing... just keep doing right. God will take care of them in His own time. He promises so. It was so amazing because not only did this chapter address that issue but also my other one. Later in the chapter it says not to worry when others judge you wrongfully. Who cares what they think. Then it says :"The Lord...will not condemn him when he is judged." What I took from that was, don't worry about what others think. Know that you are right with God and that He is okay with who you are and don't worry about how others judge you. Yes, be careful of being a stumbling block but if you know you are right with the Lord (and always take time to consider if you are) then DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! I'm really trying to focus on that. I have some more to post about so I'm gonna try to make it to the library tomorrow. Check back with me. :)
Friday, January 23, 2009
It's all good!
Psalms 34:9-10---"O Fear the LORD, ye His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."
When I first read this verse, I must have been having a dense moment cuz I was thinking..."they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing... why would they want bad things?"
lol Then I realized that "want" in this verse means to lack. They that seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Have you ever known that something was right to do but did not really want to do it because you were worried about how it might turn out? Like you knew the Lord wanted you to give your money to a missionary who came to speak or that He wanted you to give your time to the bus ministry or some other area but you were worried about finances and losing too much personal time. Maybe you knew it was right for you to talk to a certain person and befriend them but you were afraid of what others would think of you. Maybe you knew it was the right thing to do to say stand up and say something when all your friends or co-workers were talking bad about someone or using the wrong kind of language but you didn't want them to think you were too much of a weird, goody-goody. Have you ever known it was the right thing to do to talk to a friend about some choices they were making but were too afraid of them getting mad at you? That has all been me at some point in time, some even recently.
God says in these verses that we should be more concerned with pleasing Him than what others think. We should fear God enough to know that He holds our very lives in His hand and He is all powerful and mighty. This realization should push any fears of not having money or friends or personal time out of the way. Our fear of the Lord should outweigh any other fear we may have.
God says that if we do fear Him the way we should so that it motivates us to live for Him no matter what, He will take care of us. It's a promise! We will have no "want" or "lack". When we are seeking the Lord and are concerned with what He wants for us, He will always make provision. He will make sure that we have friends (even if He is the only friend we have, He is enough, right?), provision, protection, and even some rest time. He promises. Is He trustworthy or not?
I think it's interesting that he says you shall not want any GOOD thing. This reassures me that He only wants my best. If I ever do lack something, then that probably means it wouldn't be good for me, at least at that time. For instance... right now, I lack a man! lol.... But obviously it wouldn't be good for me to have one right now because He said I would not lack any GOOD thing. He knows what He is doing. I love how he is constantly reminding me of that.
When I first read this verse, I must have been having a dense moment cuz I was thinking..."they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing... why would they want bad things?"
lol Then I realized that "want" in this verse means to lack. They that seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Have you ever known that something was right to do but did not really want to do it because you were worried about how it might turn out? Like you knew the Lord wanted you to give your money to a missionary who came to speak or that He wanted you to give your time to the bus ministry or some other area but you were worried about finances and losing too much personal time. Maybe you knew it was right for you to talk to a certain person and befriend them but you were afraid of what others would think of you. Maybe you knew it was the right thing to do to say stand up and say something when all your friends or co-workers were talking bad about someone or using the wrong kind of language but you didn't want them to think you were too much of a weird, goody-goody. Have you ever known it was the right thing to do to talk to a friend about some choices they were making but were too afraid of them getting mad at you? That has all been me at some point in time, some even recently.
God says in these verses that we should be more concerned with pleasing Him than what others think. We should fear God enough to know that He holds our very lives in His hand and He is all powerful and mighty. This realization should push any fears of not having money or friends or personal time out of the way. Our fear of the Lord should outweigh any other fear we may have.
God says that if we do fear Him the way we should so that it motivates us to live for Him no matter what, He will take care of us. It's a promise! We will have no "want" or "lack". When we are seeking the Lord and are concerned with what He wants for us, He will always make provision. He will make sure that we have friends (even if He is the only friend we have, He is enough, right?), provision, protection, and even some rest time. He promises. Is He trustworthy or not?
I think it's interesting that he says you shall not want any GOOD thing. This reassures me that He only wants my best. If I ever do lack something, then that probably means it wouldn't be good for me, at least at that time. For instance... right now, I lack a man! lol.... But obviously it wouldn't be good for me to have one right now because He said I would not lack any GOOD thing. He knows what He is doing. I love how he is constantly reminding me of that.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A new theme
Every semester the Lord seems to give me a new theme. Some verse in the Bible or some character trait or some truth of Himself to meditate and work on throughout that semester. My freshman year it seemed that He wanted me to know that He was the best friend that I could ever have and that he could provide. This was probably because I knew no one when I first came and I was always broke. Sophomore year, He taught me that His love and His strength were always enough. It was during this time that I lost many friends, including one guy that I was considering for marriage. God proved to me that it didn't matter if every single one of them left, He was always enough. He also taught me a lot last year about surrendering my will for His perfect plan.
Last semester, It seemed that every message and devo had to do with love. Loving others the way Christ loved them and doing so without dissimulation or hypocrisy.
This semester, Many messages have zeroed in on a specific topic that God has shown me in my personal Bible reading as well. Focusing and living a more godly life. I love Psalm 27 and Galatians 5 and 6. That is where I was in my Bible reading but I haven't really moved any further since I found them a couple of weeks ago. I just keep reading them again every morning. Psalm 27 is teaching me 3 things...
There is a verse in there that says "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple." This verse says to me: "FOCUS!" What one thing have I desired of the Lord? In my heart of hearts, I want to marry a godly guy and serve with him in the ministry and someday be a godly mother. That is the one thing in life that I pray he will let me do. If I could keep this desire in the front of my mind at all times, it would probably change the way I live. It would change who I hang out with, and who I give my heart to, and what kind of music I listen to, and what I fill my mind with through movies, and what comes out of my mouth, and how I handle difficult situations and people... It would affect a lot if before I make any decision at all I would remember.... I want to marry a godly guy and be in the ministry.... think about that. What do you want most from the Lord? For all of us, it should be to hear "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That desire would change a lot too!
Later in the chapter, it says "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." How often do I really, whole heartedly seek the Lord? Not nearly as often as I should. Seeking the Lord must be about more than just saying a quick prayer in the morning or before bed. I want to try this semester to truly know what it means to SEEK the Lord.
The last verse in the chapter says "Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; Wait I say on the Lord." Wow, what a hard thing to do! I have posted about this several times so I won't go into much right now but this is something that I need to learn to do better. I need to patiently wait for the Lord to provide... provide finances, a husband, the next step in my life... everything. I just have to wait and be of good courage. I have every reason to face this waiting with courage... God is in control and He knows and only wants what is best for me. Plus! He promises that if I do wait patiently and with courage (trust) then he will strengthen my heart. I'm not gonna die!
Galatians 5 and 6 simply talk about walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and also the fruit of the spirit. I'm trying to take time to focus on each one... so far I haven't gotten past love... it seems I need a lot of work in this area.
Well, I will get back to the "Walls" at a later time. In the meantime, hope this was a help to someone. This is just what I feel the Lord is working on me about this semester. I will keep you posted!
Last semester, It seemed that every message and devo had to do with love. Loving others the way Christ loved them and doing so without dissimulation or hypocrisy.
This semester, Many messages have zeroed in on a specific topic that God has shown me in my personal Bible reading as well. Focusing and living a more godly life. I love Psalm 27 and Galatians 5 and 6. That is where I was in my Bible reading but I haven't really moved any further since I found them a couple of weeks ago. I just keep reading them again every morning. Psalm 27 is teaching me 3 things...
There is a verse in there that says "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple." This verse says to me: "FOCUS!" What one thing have I desired of the Lord? In my heart of hearts, I want to marry a godly guy and serve with him in the ministry and someday be a godly mother. That is the one thing in life that I pray he will let me do. If I could keep this desire in the front of my mind at all times, it would probably change the way I live. It would change who I hang out with, and who I give my heart to, and what kind of music I listen to, and what I fill my mind with through movies, and what comes out of my mouth, and how I handle difficult situations and people... It would affect a lot if before I make any decision at all I would remember.... I want to marry a godly guy and be in the ministry.... think about that. What do you want most from the Lord? For all of us, it should be to hear "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That desire would change a lot too!
Later in the chapter, it says "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." How often do I really, whole heartedly seek the Lord? Not nearly as often as I should. Seeking the Lord must be about more than just saying a quick prayer in the morning or before bed. I want to try this semester to truly know what it means to SEEK the Lord.
The last verse in the chapter says "Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; Wait I say on the Lord." Wow, what a hard thing to do! I have posted about this several times so I won't go into much right now but this is something that I need to learn to do better. I need to patiently wait for the Lord to provide... provide finances, a husband, the next step in my life... everything. I just have to wait and be of good courage. I have every reason to face this waiting with courage... God is in control and He knows and only wants what is best for me. Plus! He promises that if I do wait patiently and with courage (trust) then he will strengthen my heart. I'm not gonna die!
Galatians 5 and 6 simply talk about walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and also the fruit of the spirit. I'm trying to take time to focus on each one... so far I haven't gotten past love... it seems I need a lot of work in this area.
Well, I will get back to the "Walls" at a later time. In the meantime, hope this was a help to someone. This is just what I feel the Lord is working on me about this semester. I will keep you posted!
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