Embrace the fire

I began working as a human resource associate for a large company, and the calls we receive are from our fellow coworkers.

Image by Oldiefan from Pixabay

We provide assistance on a variety of issues, and nearly all our calls are very pleasant.

A coworker went to my manager and said she just had the worst call ever. He immediately sprung into action.

He went back to her cubicle, listened to the recorded call and made steps to ask for the callers’ resignation.

It must have been bad.

He then gave her some time off to have coffee, go for a walk or whatever she needed to be able to come back to work.

It must have been really bad.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

This verse above is a very popular one, and I am sure we have sung this in the church at one time.

Notice it says when you pass, not that you might pass or you will never pass through the waters or fire, but when. While the above experience was just a moment and quickly taken care of, there are other moments in life that feel like we are drowning and can go on for years.

My advice when these drownings and these seasons of fire come, embrace it.

We may want it over with quickly, but we don´t want to rush God’s plan, molding and shaping in our lives.

While it could be hard to believe at the time, these seasons are for our benefit, even when we are not at fault.

God is doing a work in us. We may not know what He is purifying, removing and adding, but I do know this. When we finish and come out of it, we will find that we have not drowned nor have we burned.

We come back stronger and wiser.

I would rather be all the wiser as the years go by, and embrace my difficult circumstances and learn from them. If not, I stay stuck.

It took me a while to learn this, so now when difficult times or moments come my way, I ask. ¨God, what can I learn from this?¨

Ask yourself what you have learned from your trying times, you may be surprised what you come up with.

How to be bold and courageous

Have you ever been in a place where everything around you was in complete disarray, and all you wanted to do was escape to some tropical beach?

I have many times.   During those difficult moments, besides wanting to run away the words would escape me to explain or confront said situation.  All I could do during my prayer times was God, please remove so and so.  God, please get me out of this situation.  God, I need a miracle.

Being shy and insecure during those time did not help much either.

 

I really did not want to face what was in front me.  Obtaining a tan was my best option.

I  found out this is the wrong approach. God was teaching me life lessons on growth, maturity and even speech.  Be ready in season and out of season came to mind.  We will face situations that we are uncomfortable in, and running away will not help, nor will we mature and learn from it.

I have learned to ask for boldness,  (not hesitating)  courage, (being able to face difficulty) and eloquence of speech when needing to confront or deal with something I am highly uncomfortable with.

In Acts Chapter 4, Peter and John were facing prison and beatings because in the previous chapter they prayed for a lame man since birth, and he was instantly healed.   Everyone knew this man and he was over 40 years of age. This tells me he was a permanent fixture at the entrance of the Gate Beautiful.

Now that he was healed, Peter and John found themselves in a dilemma.

Peter and John prayed for boldness, and the council had no choice but to let them go.

I found out the words I do not say can become a prison to those that need to hear the truth.

As Peter and John prayed for boldness, I now do the same, whether there is a difficult situation or not.  It´s best to be prepared for when it does come upon me, I will find myself to be ready.

Instead of asking God to take everything away, I pray for strength,  courage, wisdom, boldness, stamina, and grace to continue.

After a prayer like this, I find myself energized and I know God is with me.

Can you imagine if:

• Jesus did not face the cross
• Moses did not go up Mount Sinai
• Noah did not build the ark
• Saul/Paul did not accept the call to follow the Lord

There are many more examples, but you get the picture.

During difficult moments in life, it´s who you become in the process that counts.

Don´t give up, keep asking God to gird you and He will not fail in His promise to keep you and give you wisdom.

 

 

Why obedience is important to you and God.

In sharing the Christmas message at church, our pastor focused on Joseph, the husband of Mary and his obedience to the Lord.

I don’t recall hearing many sermons about Joseph during the Christmas season.  It is usually about Christ and His sacrifice, and mostly about Mary and her response to the Angel –  Behold, the maidservant of the Lord.  Let it be to me according to your word.  Luke 1:38

In hearing about Joseph, our pastor pointed out key truths.  He was a son of Abraham,  a just man, wanting to please God, obedient and operated in faith.

Imagine for a moment.  Joseph is engaged to Mary, and the scripture says before they came together or were married, Mary was found to be pregnant. Joseph did not want to disgrace her, and he made plans to break off the engagement silently.

How do you think Joseph felt at hearing this news?  His betrothed was pregnant, and not by him.

As Joseph was thinking about how to end his relationship, it was during this time an Angel came to him in a dream and informed him Mary was pregnant of the Holy Spirit.

Would you believe a story like that?  Joseph did, and his obedience to the Lord is recorded.  Not only here, but also when he was warned of yet in another dream to escape Egypt to save Jesus´  life.

I have been meditating on this sermon all week, and I ask myself, where have I been disobedient to the Lord in my daily life?  It´s so easy to read this story many times over, but never stop to think about Joseph´s obedience in all of this, and how vital it was.

This type of obedience took courage and faith.

If we read of all the accounts in the Bible where the Lord calls someone to operate in obedience, many times it goes against logic.

• Moses parting the red sea
• Moses striking a rock and have water gushing out of it
• Noah building an Ark
• Gideon choosing only 300 men  to defeat the Midianites
• Sauls conversion on the road to Damascus

Of course, there are many more examples of obedience in the Bible.  If we strive to be obedient in the smallest of things in life, imagine how the Lord will trust us with the bigger things that come our way.

The bigger things may result in blessings, greater gifting and anointing upon our lives and satisfaction that you are in God´s will.

Operating in obedience to the Lord demonstrates our love for Him.

John 14:15  “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

My prayer for 2018, When I hear the voice of the Lord leading me in a direction that may seem unlogical, may I be obedient.

7 ways to grow your faith

We live in a very busy world. Everywhere we go, people and things are vying for our attention. It could be the latest cell phone, tablet, or book to read, the choices today are endless. Our families complain because we don’t spend time with them, our boss wants more of us, and we go to bed tired.

Our time is valuable.

If we are not careful, neglect can set it. We need to be intentional about what is important to us,  how to prioritize and learn to say no to what is not beneficial in our lives.

One of the relationships we should never neglect is our relationship with God. We should not allow our spiritual growth to languish.  This should be on the top of our list.

But where do we begin? How do we grow our relationship and faith with the Lord?

Here are a few tips. It is up to you how long you would like to spend in each section.  Doing just a few of these a few days of the week and consistently, you will notice a change begin to happen inside of you.

Here they are:

Read your Bible. Yes, a very common one, but one that is often overlooked. Reading or hearing the word has become very easy. There are excellent Bible apps and even audio versions of the Bible.

Resist the sins of the flesh. The world is full of advertisements, and the world portrays evil as good. Sexual sin, pornography, addictions are strongholds. It’s best to avoid them then fall into their trap.

Help where you can in your church. Our pastors and leaders need us. Helping, even in the most minimum of way brings gratitude to your heart. If you see a void, fill it. If unsure, ask and it will be given to you.

Learn to surrender. We love to hold onto things, to be in control of our lives, family, and circumstances. But there is One who holds our future in His hands, and He really does know best. In a struggle, surrender to God and peace will fill your heart.

Practice gratitude. Thanking and giving thanks with a sincere heart causes the enemy to flee seven ways. Even when things are not going well, I am sure you can make a list of many things to be grateful for. Go ahead, say them out loud, and experience the gratefulness that fills your heart

Practice love. Learn to love like Jesus did. Avoid strife, gossip, and contention, and learn to walk away from arguments.

Learn to hear God´s voice. Yes, you can hear God´s voice and receive peace and guidance. There are many excellent books and teaching if you are unsure where to begin. I would like to recommend Mark Virkler Book, 4 Keys to Hearing God´s voice.

I hope these are useful for you. If you know of other tips, please share them in the comments, I would love to hear from you.

 

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Getting to the root of the problem

I don´t  always  have the opportunity  of doing yard work, but when I do I thoroughly enjoy it.

For some time I had my eye on a wild vine growing out of control in our yard. My mind was fixed  to chop it down. (Remember, I live in the foothills of a cloud forest, and plants tend to grow quite rapidly.)

With machete in hand, I began chopping away. What surprised me were the many roots this vine had, embedded into the soil.  I could not seem to find the main stem of this vine.  It was a real mess.

I started at the base, but the roots were many, so I began chopping away at the end of the vine.  Some time later, progress was visible.

I was cutting away removing the leaves when I finally arrived at the base of the vine.

Spiritually speaking, we desire to eliminate a problem, but the roots are so many we cannot find out where this ¨thing¨ that is hindering us was birthed.

To get to the root of the problem, many times we need to peel the layers to get to where it started growing.

It would be easier  if we could just hack it away with one swipe, but many times God does not work that way. He deals with us carefully.

If we allow Him to work, He will begin very gingerly removing external influences that hinder our calling and relationship with Him  upon our life. He wants us to trust, mature and grow in Him.

With  trust, maturity begins to flourish.

It can be painful to our pride, but it is well worth it.

We may find ourselves in a situation  we did not know how we ended up in.

If that is you, a time of reflection is needed and here are a few helpful questions you could ask yourself.

• When did the problem start?
• When did my spouse and I begin having this problem?
• How did I end up with such a bad attitude?
• When did everything begin going crazy at home, at work, in my relationship?

You don´t know the answers to these questions, but the Lord does.  If you ask, He will tell you.

Once we get to the root of our problem, a number of things may need to happen to ensure that it does not sprout up again.

First, we need to be honest with ourselves.   God can and will work with that.

Was it sin, rebellion, an attitude problem?  Perhaps  your heart was not right.   Confess it and quickly, and forgive yourself for the sin.

You may need to forgive someone, and do so.  It is not for their benefit, but for yours. Forgiveness removes the bondage you have towards the other person and allows God to work in your heart and on the other´s person life.

Allow God to do a deep work inside of  you.

When you allow your heavenly Father to remove things that are causing you trouble, He will also do  a healing work in your heart.

Your emotions begin to heal and line up and soon you will find yourself walking in a new level of freedom.

Living in joy, freedom and growing closer to the Father should be the goal.  With those hindrances removed, you are set to walk out in your gifts and calling, where there is true happiness.

 

The benefits of delayed gratification

I recently read an article regarding delayed gratification. While this term is not new to me, I never really paid much attention to it, much less meditate on the phrase.

As I continued reading the article, this person delayed signing a book contract until he felt he could get a better offer.

It worked.

What is delayed gratification?

It  refers to the ability to put off something mildly fun or pleasurable now, in order to gain something that is more fun, pleasurable, or rewarding later.

I have six brothers and sisters.  My father worked the night shift at a factory, and my mother stayed home raising us kids.  I am sure  by reading this  you could guess  we did not have  extras. We had the basics, and we all turned out just fine.

I remember the trips to the grocery store in  the station wagon. As soon as the groceries were  out of the car and in the kitchen, we would begin eating our ¨extras.¨  We could never save a twinkie for tomorrow, as it would be gone.

I carried this habit into my adult life.  I felt  I needed to have things right away, or else they would be gone, for good.

I associated delayed gratification with poverty and going without, when in reality it is a way for you to receive the best.

Not having and waiting to have the better for your life are two very different things.

I  realized what I believed was a misconception.

Now that I have  a full understanding of this phrase, what are the benefits?

Delayed gratification produces:

• Patience
• Causes maturity
• You will not be impulsive

Moreover,

• You will  choose to invest  in yourself, and forgo the extras that come your way.
• You can do without the goodies  that are purchased at the grocery store or the mall.
• You can  say no to a phone call in order to listen to a webinar, read a book, or study the Bible more.
• Your goal will be achieved quicker.
• You will receive the better.

The best part  is  who you become in the process that is worth gold.

I am very blessed as I have an advantage. My husband supports me in my full-time ministry and in my studies, and I am very grateful to him and to God.

I trust one day  make him and my family proud, and to receive the better at the end.