Here's hoping.

Even in the book of Lamentations, a book whose very title is indicative of human struggles, there is hope. In the darkest thoughts of God rejecting us, before we were saved by Jesus Christ, there is still hope.

Lamentations 3:19-24
"The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison; I think of it constantly and my spirit is depressed. Yet hope remains when I remember this one thing: The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so I put my hope in Him."

This reminds me that I have to remember where Hope is, that once I have lost sight of it, it is not unrecoverable.

It might look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by You. This is how I fight my battles.

Introduced to me this past weekend, the song Surrounded (Fight my battles) by Elyssa Smith has been playing on repeat in my head and heart ever since.

I have been singing it like a war cry at church, I've been humming it around work, whispering it softly as I'm commuting. There is something empowering about declaring that our worship is how we fight our battles. How praise is not only a way to honour God and find comfort without getting comfortable, but a weapon in the warfare of living by following Jesus.

 I have also been reminded the worship isn't solely limited by musical worship, but by the utilizing of the gifting that God has imparted in us, by outpouring it especially into the secular world, is showing worship and obedience to God. So many of us choose to ignore or fail to accommodate those passions which spark joy and fulfillment because we feel stagnant and unworthy or even a little bit rebellious to our own nature. These passions give us the sense of fulfillment because we are fulfilling our purpose through that gift for that time. And when we see purpose we are renewed in our hope.

This week I pray that we  have hope more tangible than the stars, because even when it is cloudy or the lights of this world are too bright to see them, we never forget that the are present.

Have an awesome day, and remember how God can lift your head if you remember to praise Him.


Surrounded (Fight my Battles) https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/7098758

Keeping Promises

A couple of weeks ago in church, one of our number was prompted by the Holy Spirit, to hand out chocolate coins, one to each person in the church and they had to hand it out themselves.

Thursday just passed was my turn for devotional sharing at band rehearsal and as I was returning home from work I realised I hadn't prepared when the chocolate coin dropped into my mind. I hadn't eaten the coin until the previous day ( Wednesday) and up until then I had kept it in my coat pocket.

The reason I chose to eat this coin is because it was representative of God's promises for me. I had been holding on to this coin, I had been keeping it safe. Not eating it because God's promises are special. But it got me wondering. The purpose of the chocolate coin, before it had been handed to me, before it had been bought and brought to church, was to be eaten. The chocolate's purpose couldn't be fulfilled because I was holding on to it.

What if we are holding on to God's promises for us that we are not allowing blessings to be fulfilled? What if I have been so focused holding on to God's promise, I'm not using the blessing?

The outworking of God's promises rarely meet our ideas of what we think they would be.

If I am so determined to hold onto that promise, am I withholding that which needs to be returned to God? His promises never return void, but they do need to be returned. Am I missing living in my blessings because I am waiting for a promise that has been already been given? What blessings has God placed for purpose already to enable the Kingdom that I have missed because I have the plan for the future blessings in my head of what I think it will look like. Why was I  waiting for the right time to eat my chocolate coin, when God gives his promises in blessing that is when they need to be used. Look around you and watch out for what procrastination by way of timing has been stopping you fulfilling God's plans for His Kingdom. Even the most humble and hard-working of servants can misinterpret meanings.

Matthew 25:14-30 demonstrates perfectly about holding onto a promise from fear whether of  losing it or displeasing God,  missing out on blessing. 

Isaiah 28:24 Talks about how when the preparation is laid, when the tools are ready to be used and the way ahead prepared, to move forward, to change, to advance ( hey pastor, guess who was listening ;) ) 

Ecclesiastes 11:4 shows that if you are waiting for the perfect moment you will do nothing. Its not the right time to move forward...its not the right time. God has lined things up and it is always in His time, and as He is Perfection, why are YOU waiting for the right time, it is now. If you are at constant battle holding onto God's promise and waiting for the right time then you will go round in circles, ploughing the same field, doing the same repetitive thing over and over getting no nearer harvest time. 

It is not when you feel you are ready, it is when He has handed you the chocolate, use the blessings lined up around you and move into your new season under Jesus. 

Thanks for reading :)

Lost is transition

I love it when God answers a prayer in a tangible way, it assures us that he is listening.

Especially in desperate seasons and we see how he has come through and we know he is listening. I've been finding myself get so grateful for the urgent answers, God's immediate solutions to our problems that I have forgotten some of the plans I was promised before I needed to pray into my tough season.

I almost get so wrapped up in making the most of this current blessing that I forget to look forward. I get stuck in the transition. I forget that God gives provisions to move forward not to settle in.

We should be striving for forward movement, what is coming next, actively perusing God's will, challenging ourselves to do more. We can wait on God's word, but once it has been spoken, we need to run with it. If we settle in the transition of this is where we are now, we will inevitably disobey God and leave ourselves feeling frustrated by being boxed into a place, waiting for the time to start, instead of being ready to start when it's time.

Think of it as being in training. If you wait to start training or practicing until your job or purpose is ready to start, then we will never achieve our purpose as God gives it in his time, when he decides we are ready. And to be ready we have to prepare.

I watched to great sermons recently, Stephen Furtick's put passion in its place and, Craig Groschel's overcomer part 1. Both of these have reinforced in me that we cannot wait for other people to tell us when God's wanting start something. We start it when God first touches our heart with it, and only when we have enough practice or training will God open the doors that lead us forward.

Have an awesome week.