One of my friends emailed me "The Christmas holiday can be like a magnifying glass...if you are happy, you are gleeful this time of year, and if you are sad you are especially sad." I was thinking about this scripture the night before she emailed me.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3.
Being a widow, I love those commercials on television for Kay’s Jewelers with the happy couple or the ones about giving each other Lexus cars. Even when my daughter and I were walking into Macy’s at the mall, I noticed their ad for scarves where it looks like a couple kissing.
God’s word (the Bible) does not make sense. It does not make sense, because it’s not in the sense realm. God’s word is in the realm of faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Satan is the ruler of the sense realm. What is the sense realm? The five physical senses are what we see, taste, feel, touch and hear.
We walk (live) by faith not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Satan can dictate to us in the feeling or sight realm (our soul and body) at any time and will pull our ball and chain. God is a spirit (John 4:24) and he moves in the realm of faith, love and hope. (And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor. 13:13). God moves through his Holy Spirit inside our spirit. When we are spirit lead and spirit controlled, than it affects our body and our soul. Our soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; Romans 8:6
Scientists have a hard time finding God because they are looking at the natural world trying to find him. They are looking at the realm of experience, experimentation and physical evidence.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14
You can see and feel the effects of love and faith and hope, but how do you measure love? Love is measured by the spirit.
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesian 3:18-19
One thing that does not make “sense” about God’s word is to thank him when things are bad in your life. The below scripture says it’s the will of God to give thanks in everything.
In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:18
I have learned through spiritual lessons in life, not to let bad circumstances run me off from doing something for the Lord. We are to get our orders from the Commander and Chief what God wants us to do. If you talk to people on why they don't attend church it is usually based on something someone said or did. I don’t hear many people say, “God told me to quit going to church.”
I get "tested" on giving thanks in all things many times. I missed an exit driving Sunday when I was trying to eat out with singles and I have this tendency to say, "Oh crap." I asked the Lord to forgive me, and then I thanked the Lord for missing my exit. I tend to get inpatient with drivers in front of me so I've been saying. "God bless that driver." I find that thanking God and blessing others that annoy me releases a positive energy/positive flow in my life rather than a negative flow. The below scripture talks about rejoicing in negative circumstances:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17
About a month ago, I drove to the southside to encourage a single friend, and a rock the size of a baseball hit my windshield from a truck in front of me. Someone told me "maybe that was a sign." Yeah it was a sign that I should not be serving God. I came back from a Bible study, and a drunk driver hit the back of my car. It’s a sign I should not go to Bible studies. It did not damage my car. Her car hit the back ball of my car when I was stopped waiting at a red light off the exit ramp. She damaged her radiator. When she found out I was not hurt, the woman took off before the police got there. Both of these car incidents, made me feel insecure about driving by myself and being alone. The attacks made me believe I’m out of the will of God by helping people and going to a single's Bible study. The widow that Elijah stayed with believed she was going to die. God sent Elijah to multiply the oil and the wine. Elijah told her, “Don’t be afraid.”
As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it--and die." Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'" 1 Kings 17:12-14).
David said "I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalms 34:1) and Paul said to rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. (Philippians 4:4) There have been times I've gone to church and sang with tears flowing down my face in missing my husband sitting next to me in church after over 15 years of us serving God together, but I made a commitment to follow Jesus no matter what. I used to sing this song when I was a teenager as a Christian:
"I have decided to follow Jesus, (3x) no turning back, no turning back. The world behind me, the cross before me; (3x) No turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow;(3x) No turning back, no turning back."
Satan would not be a good general if he did not play on our insecurities and fears. It’s the same thing that happened to me when I was 20 years old, and I received an obscene phone call the exact time I wanted my fiancé to wake me up at 5:00 a.m. when I got my new phone installed that day. It was the fear of being alone in a new apartment. My fiance overslept, but I woke up right before the phone call so I did not need an obscene phone call to wake me up. Other singles told me they have similar attacks, i.e. being alone at events, being around couples at Bible studies, church and social events. I know a single mother who sat behind a woman at church whose teenage son was very affectionate and her son was putting his head on her shoulder, and it tormented her that her own son is estranged. When the stage colapsed at the State Fair Grounds and several people were killed from a gust of wind, a branch fell off a tree while I was driving and hit my windshield. I was fortunate that I did not wreck my car. It was an attack across Indy at the same time, and as soon as I heard the news of the stage that fell and people were hurt, I prayed for those people while I was still driving home in my car.
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor. 2:11
How do you know when something is from God? It’s positive and the Lord will convict you to do it. God does not beat us over the head with a 2x4 board to quit attending a social or Bible study. He does not need a person's jealousy or someone mean to you to run you off from attending a single’s group or church group. God does not motivate us through insecurities and fear to get us to do His will.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows James 1:17
Circumstances tell me not to help others and serve God. Paul said that “he would have come to them but Satan hindered/stopped him.” There are times that Satan can hinder or stop us.
For we wanted to come to you--certainly I, Paul, did, again and again--but Satan stopped us. 1 Thess 2:8
If I was looking at my circumstances and experiences they tell me to roll over and play dead like a possum. If Paul looked at his circumstances, it would tell him not to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people quit coming to a single’s Bible study because they broke up with someone in a relationship and the emotional hurt in seeing that person. That is why some churches don’t support single ministries, because of too much drama in those dating within a single’s group.
I recently heard the testimony of someone who had a dangerous brain tumor who is doing well now. He thanked God that if God wanted him dead that God was in control. It goes back to what Job said "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Job 13:15. It drives the enemy bonkers when we thank God in the midst of difficult circumstances. Satan gets glory when we are down/defeated/depressed. Thanking and praising God in the difficult circumstances gets our minds off the trial and onto God. We quit focusing on the ex that hurt us, self-pity, and the breakup of a relationship, or that we are left alone on this earth as widows and our focus becomes on Jesus who is taking us to the promise land. We don’t want to get stuck in the wilderness of complaining.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
I believe it is interesting that Jesus "counted" how many lepers he healed. Only one returned to say thanks.(Luke 17:11-19). My joke is those lepers were all single (as far as returning to say thanks). Apparently, thanking Jesus is important. I find it runs the devil off (resists the devil) since he is the one that runs us down in depression/gloom and despair. Submitting ourselves to God is obeying his word to thank him in everything. "Thank you God this is another opportunity for you to show yourself strong in my life even though right now I may be miserable, depressed and lonely!" That is why the devil will flee, it’s resisting him because he hates us to praise God.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
God dwells in the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3). The enemy dwells in the doom/gloom of people. He is the downer. God is the encourager. It says to serve God with gladness, come before his presence with singing (joy) Psalm 100:2.
So we have a choice to make are we going to give in to the insecurities and fears? Moses wanted Aaron to go with him into Egypt because of his insecurity in public speaking (Exodus 4:16). Jonathon had his armor bearer and he asked for a sign to go up and take a hill. (1 Samuel 14:12-14). Gideon asked for four fleeces because of his insecurity (Judges 6:33-40). Elijah although he killed several prophets of Baal and outran a chariot, ended up despairing for his life and the Lord told him there were 7K that had not bowed the knee to Baal. (1 Kings 19:17-18) These are all people in the Bible like us with insecurities/fears. The “good news” is that we can be overcomers and more than conquerors.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35-37
The enemy was trying to get me to quit hosting single socials and helping singles, because of attacks on my circumstances in life. The word Satan was trying to steal out of my life is when I went to a single’s social and two widows came with me and were blessed, in my spirit I heard the scripture, “it’s more blessed to give than receive” (Acts 20:35). I made a decision not to live a selfish life as a widow of self-preservation back four years ago after that social. I saw a similar attack when my daughter hosted single friends at her home in Los Angeles at Thanksgiving is that her apartment landlord was angry and complained about the noise when her friends yelled once watching a football game. The word from God was under attack in my life to discourage me from ministering to others.
Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Cor. 4:1
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 2 Thess 3:13
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
There may be times that people don't receive the message that God lays on our heart and those are the times we "shake the dust off our feet."
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. Matthew 10:14
No comments:
Post a Comment