Yes, here I sit with a 2nd cup of coffee this morning, enjoying the quiet of the morning here in this room. I started reading in Isaiah this morning. Can you even imagine having a vision in which you see the Lord, high and lifted up? And you also see your sinfulness, and you immediately go "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips!" Yes, I did ponder that chapter this morning and I allowed myself to just 'be' this morning and reflect upon the goodness of God. He is, and has been, so good to me! In my eyes I am a failure in so many things, but God tells me I am His, and that wipes away my failures because in Him I am cleansed of all that. In fact, God and I have had several conversations this morning and I am at peace with myself.
So what did I learn today in Called? I learned that we all need to continuously seek wisdom; it is not only for those who have a 'higher calling', but each one of us.
Proverbs 9:11-12 (NKJV): Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
Isn't that truth encouraging?? It's more than adding years to your life, but it is increasing your effectiveness each and every day. It means that you will get more out of each day with wisdom, than one who does not have God's wisdom. Does that make sense?
Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NKJV): If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success."
That scripture brings to mind the story about the old lumberjack and the young one doing a challenge on who could cut down the most trees with an ax within a certain amount of time. If I recall correctly, the young man made such fun of the old lumberjack that he took him up on the challenge. The young man took off, swinging his axe and cutting down the trees. The old lumberjack took time to sharpen his blade, did some trees, and paused again to sharpen the blade, doing this many times throughout the challenge. He won the challenge without having to put forth a lot of effort; the young man was exhausted from constantly using a dull blade. The moral of that story could be we need to be sure our 'blade' is sharpened daily.
What do I mean by that? By going to God's Word each day and reading, studying, and meditating upon His Word, we become wise. Our 'blade' gets sharpened. And the Lord knows that with all the distractions and conflicts thrown at us every single day, we need His wisdom to make the wise choices. Amen?
The book I started reading the other day, Courage to be Healed, wasn't what I thought it would be. I was disappointed in that respect. I'm not sure I can put in to words what I expected. But the book was more of a counseling type for people who had unforgiveness in their hearts from things that had happened to them in the past and how that carried on into their adult life. A lot of it was conversations between the counselor and the individual - and how it ended up in marriages, in life, in relationships. I did finish reading it by 'skim reading'. Some of you know what I mean by that. I did go to every page and read through it, but it was more like 'speed reading' to see if I could find something that I could relate to. And some I could, don't get me wrong. I've written before about my childhood, about the time I was single, and the things that not only happened to me, but I did. I have forgiven those who hurt me. I'm past that; I don't need to live there. So I didn't get what I wanted from the book, but I'm sure it is a good read for those who still have unforgiveness of something that happened to them and the counseling part can help them work through it.
So, I put it back on the bookshelf and grabbed a couple other books. One is Prayer by Richard Foster. I have another one of his books - Celebration of Discipline that taught me so much about the disciplines of spiritual growth. I imagine I have forgotten and neglected many of those disciplines over the years.... and I have it out to read again to refresh and renew my mind and my spirit. The other book I brought out was The Prayer Saturated Church by Cheryl Sacks. I've had this book for awhile, but have not read it. What has prompted me to pick it up off the shelf? I got an email from Bridgebuilders, where Cheryl Sacks is, and she is doing a webinar over a few weeks about it. It's for prayer leaders at the church or anyone who wants to attend. I debated, but I have not signed up. It is all virtual, but I still have hesitated. Yes, I get the prayer requests from church, but, I can't explain it.... I'm not connecting and I can't figure out why. Perhaps it is because I have only met the prayer coordinator a couple times and then she went to Colorado for the summer? I get the email links with the prayer requests every week, and pray over those, but I don't know these people and, well, it feels harder to pray for them when I do not know them. Hubby wants us to volunteer to pray at the end of the services with people, but I'm hesitant to do so. Which is weird, because I love to pray and talk with God. The more I think of it, I am going to 'convince' hubby that we should not do it, unless they just have no one to fill that spot. Why? Because the band is still playing at the end of the service and the prayer people stand right in front of the band. I feel I would have difficulty hearing the request - and I know that hubby would! I'm open to praying with people; I have no problem with that. But I want to hear what their request is, and have time to process what God would want me to pray.
You know how it is, people do things that get them into predicaments and then they want God to bail them out - time and again - without changing what they are doing. So how do you pray for something like that? My thoughts are that one would pray that they would have wisdom to process what they have done and how to make that situation stop. Does that make sense? For example, they spend beyond their means and then they can't pay their bills. So what do they do? They run to people to pray that God will bless them and take away what they owe so that they won't have that stress. Right? What is wrong with that picture? I've been there. I know what it is like to be in debt to where one is living from pay check to pay check with no help in sight. I've been there when I've been the only one working and I have no idea how to make ends meet. Which reminds me....
One morning in my desperation of financial woes, I fell upon my knees, crying out to God to help me know what to do. I literally was crying, wanting His intervention to enlighten me, show me what to do. I had a couple different translations of the Bible laying on the futon on which I did my quiet time, and I just reached out and grabbed one, and started flipping through the pages, seeking what God could show me. And this is what He showed me.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Instead of highlighting the entire scripture, I have highlighted the words that stood out to me that morning. I have never forgotten that moment. I read that scripture, which had not been highlighted or underscored as I had not started reading that translation at that time. But those very words - Don't worry. Pray. Tell God. Thank Him. Experience God's peace. Those words spoke to my heart and mind that morning, and I arose from my knees, knowing the peace of God that passeth all understanding.
And that can happen for you as well. Are you troubled this morning? Do you need peace about a situation or problem? Fall on your knees and cry out to God and pray, tell Him what you need. Thank God for His provisions, whatever they are. And then rest in the peace that only God can give.
And I leave you with that story, for the peace of God, knowing you are so loved, that He hears us when we cry out to Him, and that He cares for us, every single little thing that troubles us.... and we are His. May your Sunday be a blessed day.
Blessings!
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