Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Before Paul writes this benediction at the end of his letter to the church in
It is after making all of these requests that Paul reminds his readers that their God is the one who can do "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think."
It is a great reminder of how small our faith is at times and that we need to exercise our faith in accordance with God's will for us as we put our FULL trust in Him, because He is able to do FAR more abundantly than what we could ask or think.
"God, is this the way You treat someone who is faithful to You?"
The young voice yelled out loud as the person looked out to the big and distant ocean where no one but God could hear them.
"I have waited and waited and now this! I hate this and I have had enough!"
Those were the heated words conveyed to God on a day that an unidentified person wrestled with news of an event that devastated them to the core, and brought them to the point where they broke down weeping, but there were no tears that would flow freely.
As time went on they just set there in the warmth of the sand watching the waves come in and go out on the shore line; while the ever present sunrise illuminated a beaming glow.
You couldn't help but notice the contemplative look of what else they might be longing to say to God, they seemed…
Speechless.
Angry.
Confused.
Maybe even wondering if He even existed; and if He did, feeling like He really didn't honor their faith and obedience, and just sat for hours wrestling internally with their feelings.
Finally, without warning they got up and turned to leave. However, at that moment, they looked up as if something had summed them. And perhaps it was the Holy Spirit saying to them, "Today, you are broken; and this brokenness is needed and in time it will become clear to you, but for now just trust Me."
No doubt such words would bring on a mountain frustration.
Though, as time passes, struggles have a tendency to change and even become nonexistence. But all the while, God continues to work His ways to bring them to utter brokenness before Him, in order that He is able to shape them into His likeness and prepare them for all that He has in store.
As we read this we can all, at some point or another, relate to such circumstances. However, through such times it is our hope that we begin to have more revelations in all areas of our lives and learn from them how to live and not just live from day to day, but truly live in freedom and thrive, as God begins to replace the pain, fear, hurt, and disappointment with an inner joy that only His grace can provide.
Have you ever wrestled with the events of life, feeling that God has deserted you?
Be honest with God as He is the kind of Father who is willing to have those difficult conversations with us, as long as we come to Him and are open and honest before Him. He won't always change things, but His purposes will be accomplished and peace will come if we trust—trust Him this day with those things that are most difficult.
There's a great deal of trust in the love of God, and a great deal of love in the trust of God. He is of such a kind that what He reveals will always be in part awesome, in part threatening, in part winsome, in part tender, in part severe, and we will find ourselves pulled in many directions as we try to get our heart around Him. And then we cannot begin to stretch that far without breaking, yet trusting still. -John Piper
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
Jude 20
There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God's nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and out Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restriant to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling on self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but it disastrous in a man or woman-an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness nedds to be trained into intuition through discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he " followed Him at a distance" on dry land (Mark14:54) We do not need the grace of God to withstand crisis- human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours or every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes. -Oswald Chambers.
Hope Now
By:
If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I'm Yours
(Pre-chorus)
I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life
(Chorus)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm
(Pre-chorus)
I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life
(Chorus)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
(Chorus 2)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You've become my hearts desire
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Psalm 37:23-24
The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, "This is what the Lord says: 'Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord'."
1 Kings 20:28
Whenever we stand on the mountain, we are able to see clearly and it is the best vantage point to see what lies ahead.
Wouldn't it be great to live on the mountain all the time in order to anticipate what is ahead?
God allows us to experience the mountaintop at times.
Joseph's first mountaintop experience was as a young man. He had the favor of his father, Jacob. He was given a fine coat and even had a dream about his future. As a young man, Joseph had a sense of destiny about his life. God often gives us a picture of our future so that we will remember this picture when we are being tested to trust Him in the valley. This picture usually does not reveal how God intends to bring about the visions for our life.
However, none of us really derive the character qualities God desires for our lives while we are on the mountain. It is in the valley where the fruit is planted and harvested. It cannot grow on the mountain; it must grow in the valley. God is a God of the mountain, but he is even more a God of the valley.
In the valley, it is more difficult to see ahead; the clouds often cover the valley and limit our sight. We see this in the lives of many throughout the Bible, but two men that come to mind are:
If we are faithful in the valley, we will enter a new dimension with God that we never thought possible. There is a harvest of wisdom and virtue that can only be grown in the valley.
Has God brought you into the valley?
Know that the valley is a place of fruitfulness; it is a place of testing. It is where God brings what you know in your head into your heart. The only value of knowledge is when it becomes part of your heart.
Look for God in the valley today.
Brokenness is empty-handedness before God.
It has no demands; it makes no requests.
It is falling into the embrace of our loving Father and finding Him to be enough.
It is not just saying, "God, I need You," but "God, You are all I need."
Brokenness is saying "no" to the clamoring voice of our flesh and it is saying "no" to the pride and self-confidence that has made us restless and unhappy for so long.
Brokenness is saying "yes" to the longing for God that He has planted deep within the soul of each of us.
As we know, before a horse can be useful to its owner, it has to be broken. An unbroken stallion is proud and strong. It will paw and snort and let no one ride it. But then a bit goes in its mouth, a saddle goes on its back, and someone climbs up and hangs on. The stallion immediately starts to buck, because it doesn't want to be broken. But eventually it stops fighting and surrenders to the will of its master.
Sometimes we have that same stubborn, rebellious, I-can-do-it spirit within us. God has to break those attitudes because they keep us from experiencing true intimacy with Him. You say, "What exactly is going to be broken?" Here are some of the big ones:
1. Stubbornness – "I am going to do this my way." If we are one of God's children, that attitude is on its way out. We can fight with Him for a long time if we want, but our stubbornness will eventually be broken.
2. Pride – "I know better." God hates pride in the hearts of His children. People who have been greatly used by God have come to grips with the fact that they have to let go of all pride.
3. Willfulness – "You can't make me. You can't tell me. When I am good and ready, I will." If we are one of God's children, He is going to use whatever He has to use to get that out of our heart and life.
4.
Only true brokenness draws us closer to the feet of God and as we lay down the areas that we hold so tightly to, we will begin to see what it means to have an intimate relationship with God; and will know what it is like to be broken vessels poured out for God's glory.
All of the above attitudes keep us from experiencing true intimacy with God. That is why He will do whatever it takes to break us. We say, "Well how does God break us?" God takes what He has meant for good in our lives—the things which we have allowed to become in a sense idols—and will break us in those areas. As we realize and let go of these areas in our lives we become broken before God. We are finally pouring out our all to God and asking Him to fill us up with Him. Besides attitudes here are a few main areas we need to let go of in order to become broken before God:
Some people are like, "I thought God was supposed to be loving? If I was God, I would never allow this or that to take place."
Well, you're not God!
God's love is not a pampering love; it's a perfecting love. God is trying to produce something in us—the likeness of His Son—and He is going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. That means bringing us to the end of self... being completely broken before Him. Hebrews 12:6 says, "For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."
It is a very simple question, but one that is not taken seriously—brokenness.
We will never experience true intimacy with God until we are able to come before Him in genuine humility, utterly desperate for Him. We need to be broken and once we are we become vessels in which God is able to use for His kingdom.
Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached
Acts 8:40
Many times men or women limit there availability to be used by God in their lives, because what it seems that He is leading them in does not match up to what they themselves had set out to do. God has called each of us to be good stewards of our time and our resources. And it is just as important to learn how to say yes as it is to say no to what we (the flesh) is wanting, opposed to what the Holy Spirit is leading us in. It seems that believers justify a lack of obedience under the guise of stewardship.
Take a minute to look at Philip's life and how he responded to the Holy Spirit's leading, even though he must have question (the flesh) if he was hearing right and probably wrestled with staying right where he was, where it seemed he should be and was being greatly used by God.
Philip was apart of the first to be given a commission to preach the gospel. At one point in his life, he was in the city of
So often we think that if we can focus on this skill or talent that God has blessed us with, or if we could find the right job, or if we could just hurry up and move forward in different areas of our lives, that then and only then we will be ready for God to use us and that our lives will go according to our plans.
However, sometimes God wants to use us right where we are or transport us to the place that He has just for us, to do that which only we can do for Him. We see God redeemed the time for Philip by supernaturally transporting him to the next place he was to be.
Sometimes we go through life wishing away our time instead of redeeming the time that has been given to us. We have to learn to live in the day that has been given to us, instead of looking to what the future holds. God will use and redeem our time as we look to Him to lead us, even when we feel that the things in which we are doing are not that which we had hoped for.
We have to remember that God sees the overall big picture and that some times we get tunnel vision and are not able to accomplish what He has in store for us, especially if we become consumed with fulfilling what we want instead of what He has for us. Do not fall into the trap of believing that God cannot redeem the time as we walk in obedience—the key here is being obedient. If He calls us to go beyond our earthly limits of what we know, be assured He will be there to see us through it to the end and will meet our needs like He only can.
God desires that we respond as Philip did in order for Him to have His way in our lives and so that we can be used by Him in the life of another person. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit so that you can go and speak when He says go and speak. Do not fear the consequences of what that might mean if it requires leaving your home, work, or the many monetary pleasures and interests for a time. God will make a way and redeem your time both now and in the future as you follow His lead on your life and not your own. God always takes care of those who are obedient and He is more concerned about obedience than the bottom line.
Commit your all—life, family, relationships, job, finances, hopes, dreams, and goals—to Him who knows you best and wants to redeem the time to bless you for His glory!
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said....
1 Samuel 13:13
The prophet Samuel had anointed Saul the first king of
The pressure began to build as the Philistines gathered around Micmash preparing for battle and Saul, along with the people of
..."You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, He would have established your kingdom over
Saul believed he needed to take control of the situation.
Whenever we try to take control of a situation out of God's will, we demonstrate that we are led by fear. Many times in our lives we are driven by fear and attempt to take matters into our hands in order to be in control.
These are all symptoms of a Saul-control spirit.
Ask God to strengthen you to walk in the freedom of trusting in Him and those around you.
Jeremiah 29:11
Plans, we all have plans for our lives, but are they really the plans that God has for us. We read here in Jeremiah that God DECLARES the plans for our lives, but so many times we declare our own plans for our lives and ignore what plans He has predetermined for us.
When we seek to establish our own plans apart from God and what the indwelling Holy Spirit is leading us in, we will always have a sense of uncertainty and not be fully content where we are in life. Solomon is a prime example of this; he had nothing withheld from his appetite and seemed to always be moving forward in a plan of some manner. He was a great builder, a great businessman, and a great lover of women—every imaginable pleasure was his.
Nevertheless, he was to discover that these things alone could not satisfy the human soul. As we make plans for our lives ultimately we are looking to satisfy some need or longing that we FEEL needs met in our time and in our way, unless we are fully surrendered to God and are walking by the leading of the Holy Spirit on our lives. As we walk according to what the Holy Spirit is leading us in, then and only then, will our plans be plans that are what God has for us—plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
As we keep our focus on God and allow Him to continue to fashion us into Christ-likeness we will begin to understand the plans He has for us and we will find that His plans are the BEST nothing more and nothing less. We deceive ourselves if we believe that our plans are by far better than God's plans and are walking according to the flesh instead of the Spirit. We see that Paul always sought God in his plans and lived by the Spirits leading, knowing that this is the only way in which we can fully see God's plans transpire: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Galatians 6:7
The supreme deceiver is Satan, who, "whenever he speaks a lie,… speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies" (See John 8:44). Though Satan has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead, his chief purpose still remains—to deceive and destroy.
However, besides Satan being the great deceiver that he is, we see in this verse that we as believers tend to deceive ourselves. As far back as the Old Testament we see where Jeremiah warns, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick" (Jeremiah 17:9). So being warned both in the Old and New Testament should be enough to show us how easily we can be deceived. Just because we are believers, we are not immune from being deceived or self deceived.
And Paul is not the only one to warn us about being deceived or self deceived here in the New Testament, James makes it clear that it is vital that we not only know God's Word, but that we must obey it, "Prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves" (James 1:22). The fact that James calls us as believers to be "doers," rather than simply to do, emphasize that our ENTIRE personality is to be characterized in that manner.
If we are to live in the light and not be deceived by Satan or by ourselves, then we must purpose to walk by the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit within us. We need to be sensitive to what God's Word and the Holy Spirit reveals and convicts us of in our own lives; as we do we will not be easily deceived by Satan or ourselves.
Are there areas in your life that you are being self deceived?
