I've always had a great respect and appreciation for anyone that is really gifted or talented at what they do! Today when we hear a really good singer, we might say, "They've got the X-factor!" or of a child, say that he or she is a child prodigy. A prodigy is someone that's recognized to have extreme talent.
Recently, online, I saw a video of a young 13 year old girl, Carly Rose Soneclar, who blew everyone away on X-factor with her "old soul"! Carly's audition video views, quickly, rose to the millions over night. Last week Carly awed her mentors and was called "possessed"! "She's like a little caterpillar and you think she's going to turn into a butterfly? DRAGON, burning and scorching up the town!" "Possessed"??? What are they saying? They are saying that Carly Rose Soneclar really wants this; she is pouring her heart, mind and soul into winning ~ she is giving it her all! She's focused! She knows what she wants and she's going for it! Carly is undistracted, unwavering!
What possesses you? We've all desired to be good at something, but "possessed"? Have you ever wanted something with your whole heart? Put your entire being into it? Maybe, at one time you did have those kind of deep convictions about something, but you lost hope ~ lost your focus ~ stopped believing!
God created us and has called us all to be "possessed" ~ He calls us to love HIM with all our "heart, mind, soul and strength". He's designed us all to be "possessed" with Him. He designed us with a void that was meant to be filled with Him. When we miss the importance of filling that void with Him alone and try to fill it with other things (our kids, husband, alcohol, food, sex, drugs, etc.) then we come up short, feeling empty. He longs for us to desire Him, to seek for that intimacy, that personal relationship; to search for Him with our whole heart. This is what I want! I want my intimacy with the Almighty to be my one obsession! It's what I want to long for, what I desire to pour my heart into ~ yet, I can, so easily, lose my focus and get distracted!
Satan doesn't have that problem! His focus is just fine! (unwavering) And yes, he is "possessed" with tripping me up ~ desiring my focus to be anything, but having a real and personal relationship with the Almighty God, my Creator. Why? Because he knows the power that that relationship will bring into my life and he'll do anything to stop it!
Recently, I've been overwhelmed, I've grown distracted by life's problems; I've allowed the pressures of this life to weary me. I've been focusing on the waves, instead of the One who has the power to calm them! How easily my convictions turn to mush! We can spend time with Him, but still focus and rehearse our fears; the fears, the fretting break that intimacy. We can come to fellowship, but not feel the intimacy and walk away still feeling empty. Without faith we cannot please God.
God just used a little 13 year old girl, with an extreme talent, a prodigy, to remind me of the importance of focus! It's so easy to talk about and so difficult to maintain! How's your focus? What's distracted you? What "possesses"you? I've been "possessed" with fear! Satan's been taking ground!
Choosing to put God as that one focus, that one obsession, will bring all else into focus and allow those extreme gifts and abilities that He's given to each one of us, those gifts that are hidden in Him to come to the forefront and to shine! Extreme begins with a mind that is focused on putting God first! Focus! Focus! Focus! Set that focus to unwavering and then God's power dials us up to EXTREME! He puts His "umph" behind our gifts and abilities! I want the X-factor when it comes to God! I want to major in EXTREME! How about you? I'm praying for you!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Vessels Of His Glory!
Waiting on God isn't easy ~ though, He meant for it to be! To wait, to rest in Him, should be effortless, but in our anxiousness, for things to happen in our time frame, instead of waiting on His, we often do anything but rest! We weary ourselves, with worry, impatience and reasoning ~ trying to solve problems or wonder about outcomes, when He's simply asking us to, "Be still. Wait on me."
Not waiting, when God says, "Wait." is really saying, "I have a better way." It's pride! We are really saying, "I know more than the Creator."We are trying to be our own god, seeking to take control, instead of trusting and waiting on His perfect plan. If you're like me, sometimes I'm still and trust and other times, I'm struggling against Him.
Sometimes, I feel like the Israelites ~ spiritual amnesia sets in. I can forget, so quickly, what He's just done! I can have seen His hand move in huge ways, on my behalf, and then find myself worrying and fretting ~ forgetting His faithfulness and provision.
How silly it seems to read about all God did in delivering the Israelites from Egypt and Pharoah's heavy hand; how He provided their every need, His Presence in a cloud over them and the manna from heaven and water from rocks ~ Don't you just wonder how they could be so forgetful and ungrateful? To see the detail with which He showed them His amazing love and provision and then see their self centeredness and bitterness when things didn't go their way. How easy it is to celebrate and praise Him in the blessings and how easy to grow angry and impatient in the trials!
How I long to be unwavering ~ to trust Him, completely; to learn to be content, in every situation like Paul, but I haven't arrived yet. I'm still a work in progress! I grow impatient! Don't you ever wish God would just send you a telegram or an email or speak with an audible voice? I'm my own worse enemy!
Fretting and worry cause a break in fellowship with the Almighty, because sin breaks that communion. I remember a professor telling our class: "When you don't know what to do, wait on God. Wait and pray!" But we don't like to wait, do we? We are the "now generation" and we like answers! An unwillingness to be still is a form of rebellion.
Moses and the Israelites grew very impatient with God's plan in showing Pharoah His signs and wonders. They were impatient to move out from under Pharoah's oppression, especially, as Pharoah grew angry and told his men to increase their labor. The Israelites were concerned about their comfort, God's focus was on His Glory being seen by the Israelites and the Egyptians.
I think about Joseph being sold into slavery and all he lost: family, position, dignity, power, freedom, etc. Yet God was refining him and showing him favor. God had a plan. Don't you think Joseph had to experience the sense of grief and loss; anger at his brothers, depression and discouragement. And later, being thrown in prison on false accusations, how do you think he felt?
Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold into slavery and 30 years old when Pharoah raised him up only second to him in position, in the kingdom. God, in His timing, raised Joseph up from the rubble and restored to him all that he'd lost and more. What do you think it felt like waiting all those years? Would you have grown angry at God?
Joseph's life challenges me! His response to hardships inspires me to choose praise, to be thankful, to be obedient in the toughest of storms! To choose, to strive to accept the difficult times with not only humility, but gratitude! I just wish I did it as well as Joseph did.
Because we are the child of The King, even in the most difficult of times, God is showing us favor! We are His image bearers ~ created to give Him glory! When we respond to the fieriest of trials with trust, obedience, patience and gratitude ~ we are being shown favor ~ because we are Vessels Of His Glory!
Oh, to be like Him!
When brought low, in God's perfect timing, He will raise us up again!
Psalm 71:19-24 says,
"Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
20 Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion."
To God be the Glory!
Not waiting, when God says, "Wait." is really saying, "I have a better way." It's pride! We are really saying, "I know more than the Creator."We are trying to be our own god, seeking to take control, instead of trusting and waiting on His perfect plan. If you're like me, sometimes I'm still and trust and other times, I'm struggling against Him.
Sometimes, I feel like the Israelites ~ spiritual amnesia sets in. I can forget, so quickly, what He's just done! I can have seen His hand move in huge ways, on my behalf, and then find myself worrying and fretting ~ forgetting His faithfulness and provision.
How silly it seems to read about all God did in delivering the Israelites from Egypt and Pharoah's heavy hand; how He provided their every need, His Presence in a cloud over them and the manna from heaven and water from rocks ~ Don't you just wonder how they could be so forgetful and ungrateful? To see the detail with which He showed them His amazing love and provision and then see their self centeredness and bitterness when things didn't go their way. How easy it is to celebrate and praise Him in the blessings and how easy to grow angry and impatient in the trials!
How I long to be unwavering ~ to trust Him, completely; to learn to be content, in every situation like Paul, but I haven't arrived yet. I'm still a work in progress! I grow impatient! Don't you ever wish God would just send you a telegram or an email or speak with an audible voice? I'm my own worse enemy!
Fretting and worry cause a break in fellowship with the Almighty, because sin breaks that communion. I remember a professor telling our class: "When you don't know what to do, wait on God. Wait and pray!" But we don't like to wait, do we? We are the "now generation" and we like answers! An unwillingness to be still is a form of rebellion.
Moses and the Israelites grew very impatient with God's plan in showing Pharoah His signs and wonders. They were impatient to move out from under Pharoah's oppression, especially, as Pharoah grew angry and told his men to increase their labor. The Israelites were concerned about their comfort, God's focus was on His Glory being seen by the Israelites and the Egyptians.
I think about Joseph being sold into slavery and all he lost: family, position, dignity, power, freedom, etc. Yet God was refining him and showing him favor. God had a plan. Don't you think Joseph had to experience the sense of grief and loss; anger at his brothers, depression and discouragement. And later, being thrown in prison on false accusations, how do you think he felt?
Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold into slavery and 30 years old when Pharoah raised him up only second to him in position, in the kingdom. God, in His timing, raised Joseph up from the rubble and restored to him all that he'd lost and more. What do you think it felt like waiting all those years? Would you have grown angry at God?
Joseph's life challenges me! His response to hardships inspires me to choose praise, to be thankful, to be obedient in the toughest of storms! To choose, to strive to accept the difficult times with not only humility, but gratitude! I just wish I did it as well as Joseph did.
Because we are the child of The King, even in the most difficult of times, God is showing us favor! We are His image bearers ~ created to give Him glory! When we respond to the fieriest of trials with trust, obedience, patience and gratitude ~ we are being shown favor ~ because we are Vessels Of His Glory!
Oh, to be like Him!
When brought low, in God's perfect timing, He will raise us up again!
Psalm 71:19-24 says,
"Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
20 Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion."
To God be the Glory!
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