Say What????

I am participating in an Online Bible Study through Proverbs 31 Ministries...studying Lysa TerKeurst's book What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. (GREAT BOOK!)

One of the things we are looking at this week is Radical Obedience.  You know what I mean. It is fairly easy to obey when God calls you to do "normal" things.. Like that prompting to not sleep in, but to get up and go to church... that sudden need to call a friend and encourage her... even something like taking a meal to someone. Those aren't so outside the box.. they don't stretch your faith.. so they are, for the most part, easy to say Yes to. But then there are those other callings...the ones where you want to look at God and say "Surely you are NOT talking to me!?"  Or as we are saying this week in our study "Say What!? God!"

I have had plenty of "Say What" Moments in my life.  Some have been huge... like when God called my husband to leave his job... his secure paycheck every month with benefits job... and go... well that was the big catch.. God told him to resign, but didn't say what was coming next. And do you know the man obeyed!  And when I wanted to explain to him why this was not a good idea, the Lord sent another "Say What" moment.. He told me to Be Quiet... to Submit to my husband's authority and to trust Him.  Can you imagine!?

The amazing thing is I did just that.  Although I definitely unloaded my feelings to the Lord about it!  And here is the wild thing... God did have it under control.  Within 2 days my husband had been offered another job.. out of the blue. Now this would seem a fairy tale ending if I could say it is the perfect job with twice the pay. But again.. God had a "Say What" moment for us. He sent a job, but the pay was less. "Say WHAT!?" And on top to that the man, again, obeyed the Lord and took the job. Once again, God had me be quiet.

And while it has not been easy at times financially, it has been one of the best decisions ever made for our family.. our marriage.. and for my husband.

Other "Say What" moments are not so huge, but can still be a stretch.  Many years ago I was in the grocery store. I was an at-home mom with 2 small children. My husband was self-employed. And money was tighter than tight.  (That is a reoccurring theme in our lives) I was in the grocery store and I saw a woman.  Cannot say why she caught my attention, but it was obvious that she was distressed. She had maybe 2 things in her cart and looked lost as she wandered the aisles. Then I over heard her talking with another lady.  It was quickly evident that the young woman was destitute.  I thought how sad and moved on. Got to the check out with my own little bit of shopping and heard clearly the Lord say "Go back and give her $10" "Say What!" $10 might not seem much, but at that time we really didn't have it to spare.  Plus I thought it would be so awkward.. embarrassing even. Nope, I knew I had misheard. So I proceeded to swipe my debit card and check out. It didn't go through.. tried again.. nope.. all the while I kept hearing "$10".. so the third time I hit cash back and got $10.  Debit card worked like a charm.  Once I was finished paying and bagging groceries, I went back and found the woman. Walked up to her and said "God told me to give this to you" as I handed her the money. She fell to pieces sobbing and grabbed hold of me right in the middle of Kroger. And guess what.. I didn't care what folks thought. I hugged her back and spoke blessings over her.  Now I have no idea if she bought food or something else with that money. What I do know is I had obeyed and I could feel it!

I encourage you to follow through even in the "Say What" moments.. no matter how large or small. With Obedience comes blessing (Deut. 28).. and a faith that is strengthened and nurtured... and a deeper walk with the Lord.

Romans 12:2

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, 

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- 

His good, perfect and pleasing will."  Romans 12:2 NIV84

NIV84: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world

ESV Do not be conformed to this world

NLT Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world

MSG Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking

PH  Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould

HCSB Do not be conformed to this age

NASB And do not be conformed to this world

AMP Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs

conform = conform to, fashion self according to

No matter what translation I choose, the bottom line is I am not to be like the World and it is MY choice to do so or not.  I fashion myself.. I choose the pattern I will follow.. the pattern I will copy.  Will it be the world's pattern or God's? God's = Jesus

I need only live to conform to the world.. it gladly displays its pattern in brilliant color full screen 24 /7 in your face. It is the easy way. It really requires nothing of me.  I will fit right in.. blend.

BUT God's pattern is a bit different. I have to put forth some effort.  I have to surrender me to Him.. be in the Word to see the pattern and then walk it out in this foreign place where I won't blend in but instead will stick out. It won't be comfortable but it will be beneficial to me and those who see me.  And this pattern, unlike the pattern of the World, is eternal!

Heavy...

"... the Hebrew word used throughout Scripture to describe God's glory, kabood, is derived from the root word meaning 'heaviness'... The whole earth is full of His glory... sky, land and sea, 

heavy and saturated with God."

--Ann Voskamp from one thousand gifts

Weary?

It is so easy to  become tired and weary in life. I'm not just talking about physical weariness, but emotional weariness.. the weariness from standing firm.. doing the right thing.. walking the walk when it really would (it seems) be easier to just go with the flow.. afterall, what you are or are not doing isn't really making a difference is it?

The thing is God never says "Stand Firm".... "Be set apart"... "Turn the other cheek".. "Love your enemies"... "Stay Married"... "Give Thanks in all circumstances"... "Count it all joy".. BUT only if you can see that doing this makes a difference in the world. If not, forget it and do what you want. Nope.. that last bit if found no where in Scripture. We are to obey and leave the results up to Him.  And often the difference can't be seen by us and may not be in the world around us. This obedience is one of the main ways God molds us into the imagine of His perfect son.

So here is the promise....

Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time 

we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Gal. 6:9

There WILL be a harvest.. but it is conditional.. IF we do not give up.

And when you feel like giving up.. and you will.. Remember what Christ endured for you.

Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, 

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb. 12:3

God Knows!

Last night we did a neat thing in Refresh (our midweek service) Can't say it was something all that original.. but still neat. Our pastor had a white board with 24 or so verse references written on it. He had folks choose a verse and then read it and then we talked about what the promise was in the verse.. Like Jer. 33:3.. Call on me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know.. promise? We call .. he answers.  Heb. 13:5  never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.. promise? ALWAYS with you!  They we had a time of intentional intercession.. prayed over some folks who had needs.. prayed for others who were not there, but we knew of needs. It was a sweet time. AND it reminded me that I did something similar in Lifegroups last year. My teacher called me one Sunday at last minute to teach. I had not looked at the lesson, so had to wing it. God had been speaking to me about his promises and how we are to stand on them. So we read promises and talked about what they meant and how we could apply them to our lives. As a result, I started am index card ring binder for God's Promises. I would write a verse or verses in it when I saw a promise and then it was something I had to just flip through when I needed encouragement... didn't know what to pray etc.  As if often the case, I did great for a bit and then let it fall to the wayside. SO I pulled it out and started again today.. I decided to just flip it open and whatever verse I landed on would be a promise I could stand on today.. so here is what I read..

The Mighty One, God, the Lord!  The Mighty One, God, the Lord!  God Knows! 

 Joshua 22:22  

Not one you hear often, is it? But I really love the truth.. the promise in this verse.  How often do we not know.. I don't know how we are going to pay for a new roof.. I don't know how we will make it with a decrease in salary... I don't know how she will survive this illness.. I don't know how this marriage can be saved.. and on and on. But see the thing is we don't have to know!  God Knows!  That is all we need.. we can turn to Him and say "I don't know (whatever) but You do! And Lord I am trusting in You.. the Mighty One.. God.. the Lord!"  

That.. for me.. is a great promise to stand on!

Abide Today....

Recently Amazon offered a devotional by Cynthia Heald called Becoming a Woman Who Walks with God as a freebie for Kindle!  It is a 30 day devotional on Abiding and so I decided to get it to use at some point.  Well today is that some point.. I decided to use it in April.

The focus today was on John 15:4... I love the ESV because it uses the Word Abide.. just love that word!  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I decided to do a bit of word study, so pulled up Strong's App and looked at Abide.. I know what the word means but saw two things today I really don't think I ever saw before..

"To stay in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy"... expectancy!  God keeps putting that word before my eyes.  It also means to "Be Present."

So I am to abide with expectancy... or in expectancy.. expectancy of what.. of God and His promises... expecting Him to bring to completion that which He has begun in me (Phil 1:6)... to work things out for good (Rom 8:28)... expecting Him to never leave me or forsake me (Heb 13:5) and soo much more!  Isn't that the coolest thing!  I mean we know that.. know that His promises are true and will be fulfilled, but I love that He included it in that abiding.

And then Be Present.. that one really hit me.  NIV says Remain in Me and I will remain in you. So be present in Christ and Christ will be present in you.  Not yesterday.. not tomorrow.. today.. present.. now!  This, for me, is all about that daily surrender. Today I choose to be present in Christ.. to die to self .. take up the cross He has for me.. and expect Him to be Who He says He is and do what He says He will do!

Romans 12:12

NIV -- Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

ESV -- Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer

HCSB -- Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer

NET -- Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer

NASB -- Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer

AMP -- Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer

MSG -- Cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times, pray all the harder.

KJV -- Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant prayer

Let's look at these 3 exhortations..

First.. Be joyful in hope

Rejoice .. being joyful.. cheerfully.. expectant in HOPE

The Greek word used here means rejoice, joy, joyfully, be glad, hail

Hope -- faith, hope BUT from a root word that mean to anticipate (usually with pleasure).. expectation, confidence

So I am to be full of joyful anticipation and confidence in my faith and hope which is Jesus Christ!

Next... Be patient in affliction

Patient in.. enduring... persevering... steadfast .. in affliction, suffering , tribulation

hupomeno (Greek) -- to stay under, remain, bear, have fortitude, endure, abide, take patiently.

Tribulation -- from root which means pressure, affliction, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble

So I am to be patient.. endure.. stay under.. bear.. remain in.. have fortitude in.. abide while I an in tribulation, trouble, affliction, anguish, burdened or pressured.

Abide.. I don't think we are to abide IN the suffering or tribulation but to abide while going through it.

John 15 is all about abiding.. remaining.. in HIM.. Only way we bear fruit is to abide in Him and we are called to bear fruit no matter the circumstances.

So our hope is in Him.. our abiding in Him...

and lastly... Be faithful in prayer

Continuing instant.. be faithful.. constant.. persistent.. devoted in prayer

"continue instant" is a phrase foreign to me.. even though I was reared with the King James Version of the Bible.  It means to be earnest towards, to persevere, be constantly diligent, to adhere closely, attend continually, wait on.

So I am to be earnest toward, persevere in, be constantly diligent, adhere closely to, attend continually to, wait in prayer... and again,  we find Jesus.. for our prayers are to be asked in His name!

These verses go hand in hand with 1 Thess 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I love that the underlying current which allows me to do these things.. to rejoice.. be patient.. be faithful.. is JESUS.. my hope in Him.. sharing in His affliction.. staying connected to Him with prayer. It is all about Jesus and our relationship with Him!