Monday's Blessing
Romans 8:37
"Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain surpassing victory through Him who loved us."
Ever feel like you're watching reruns of your life? That same scene keeps popping up over and over, just when you think you're done?
Well, maybe God is pushing you into an up close view to deal with these underlying issues like layers of onion throughout your life.
Are you a conqueror? Then you must confront and learn to deal with ALL adversities in your life. You just can't run from them. You can't avoid or escape these situations. Anytime we run from a situation you can almost be sure we will have to go back and face it, or something very similar, at some point later in our lives.
Think about Moses. He ran from Egypt and spent forty years in the desert, where God prepared him to be great leader. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He basically said: "Now I want you to go back to Egypt" (Exodus 3:2-10). Yes, God sent Moses right back to the place he tried to escape!
The Bible is full of similar stories - enough for us to take note that running doesn't do any good. You can't run from adversity. You have to hit it head on. I used to have a hard time speaking in public. I know it was part of my job as an educator, but staring down on hundreds of people sent me into a tailspin. I often tried to avoid it. One day I was asked to speak in front of a church. I brought up my careful prepared notes and got through a 15 minute speech in eight minutes. My dearest friend on the other hand, brought up her notes, pushed them aside and began orating, " I had prepared notes, but these don't speak from my heart, so I'm just going to push onward and let God use me as a vessel." And that He did! She spoke with the grace and confidence of a great leader. The audience was with her throughout and hung onto ever word.
Instead of using this as a teachable moment, I simply thought, "Why can't I do that?" Well, God didn't give up on me. He presented me with more and more opportunities. They just wouldn't dissipate and go away! One day I thought back to that speech my friend gave and remembered her words, "God use me as a vessel". For some reason, that eluded me that day. I bowed my head before I went up to give a presentation and prayed, "God take away all the anxiety I'm facing right now and instead give me the voice to reach these people's hearts."
Did I still have anxiety? Sure! But just a bit. Instead, my new focus was on touching that audience's lives. And I did! I expanded on points that I normally would not have. I could see and feel the intensity of the situation I was in. I was moving onward! I had conquered! And to this day, I utter that same prayer before going on.
God will put you in situations where you will have to deal with your fears from the past. He is trying to get you to grow and become stronger. We never tire of learning. That is how God programmed us. He wants us to be strong Christians and learn. We often ask God to deliver us from the wrong things. We want to be delivered from our trials, but we need to ask Him to deliver us from the things in our hearts that hinder His purpose in our lives.
This Week's Meditation:
Teach me to "face my fears."
Pray:
Help me to realize that giving up is not the answer.
Teach me to trust to keep pushing onward even when I feel defeat.
Remind me that everything will fall into place.
Meditate on this for several minutes a day. Allow various thoughts to come into your mind. And realize God has you in his arms always
Romans 8:37
"Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain surpassing victory through Him who loved us."
Ever feel like you're watching reruns of your life? That same scene keeps popping up over and over, just when you think you're done?
Well, maybe God is pushing you into an up close view to deal with these underlying issues like layers of onion throughout your life.
Are you a conqueror? Then you must confront and learn to deal with ALL adversities in your life. You just can't run from them. You can't avoid or escape these situations. Anytime we run from a situation you can almost be sure we will have to go back and face it, or something very similar, at some point later in our lives.
Think about Moses. He ran from Egypt and spent forty years in the desert, where God prepared him to be great leader. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He basically said: "Now I want you to go back to Egypt" (Exodus 3:2-10). Yes, God sent Moses right back to the place he tried to escape!
The Bible is full of similar stories - enough for us to take note that running doesn't do any good. You can't run from adversity. You have to hit it head on. I used to have a hard time speaking in public. I know it was part of my job as an educator, but staring down on hundreds of people sent me into a tailspin. I often tried to avoid it. One day I was asked to speak in front of a church. I brought up my careful prepared notes and got through a 15 minute speech in eight minutes. My dearest friend on the other hand, brought up her notes, pushed them aside and began orating, " I had prepared notes, but these don't speak from my heart, so I'm just going to push onward and let God use me as a vessel." And that He did! She spoke with the grace and confidence of a great leader. The audience was with her throughout and hung onto ever word.
Instead of using this as a teachable moment, I simply thought, "Why can't I do that?" Well, God didn't give up on me. He presented me with more and more opportunities. They just wouldn't dissipate and go away! One day I thought back to that speech my friend gave and remembered her words, "God use me as a vessel". For some reason, that eluded me that day. I bowed my head before I went up to give a presentation and prayed, "God take away all the anxiety I'm facing right now and instead give me the voice to reach these people's hearts."
Did I still have anxiety? Sure! But just a bit. Instead, my new focus was on touching that audience's lives. And I did! I expanded on points that I normally would not have. I could see and feel the intensity of the situation I was in. I was moving onward! I had conquered! And to this day, I utter that same prayer before going on.
God will put you in situations where you will have to deal with your fears from the past. He is trying to get you to grow and become stronger. We never tire of learning. That is how God programmed us. He wants us to be strong Christians and learn. We often ask God to deliver us from the wrong things. We want to be delivered from our trials, but we need to ask Him to deliver us from the things in our hearts that hinder His purpose in our lives.
This Week's Meditation:
Teach me to "face my fears."
Pray:
Help me to realize that giving up is not the answer.
Teach me to trust to keep pushing onward even when I feel defeat.
Remind me that everything will fall into place.
Meditate on this for several minutes a day. Allow various thoughts to come into your mind. And realize God has you in his arms always
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