Just a Hang Ten Kind of Day
Sometimes you just need a hang ten kind of day. There is nothing like the fun of kicking back with friends and taking a leisurely, where the mood may take us outing…just for fun. Just for friendship. Just because you can. Today, I had the...
Three Simple Ways to Listen to God
Yesterday I had the honor of speaking at a PWOC retreat for the wives at Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay. Let me tell you, it was such a sacrifice to travel to Hawaii for this event. Just kidding–what joy to have an opportunity to come to Hawaii, run my mouth for Jesus, enjoy some friend time, and meet a whole new crop of amazing military wives. Blessed beyond measure for sure!
While things are fresh on my mind, I want to share a few highlights from the retreat content, My God Ears are On: The Quiet Time Guide.
I can’t hear you…I think I have a marshmallow in my ear!
Learning to listen to a God that we cannot meet with face to face can be a confusing thing.
Ever feel like there are marshmallows clogging your ears when it comes to hearing God?
We long to hear from God, but sometimes lack confidence that God will speak personally to us.
Ever been in that place of feeling like you are somehow missing something when it comes to hearing God?
Hebrews 1:1 speaks to this very question that can plague our souls.
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son….”
This passage goes on to say that Jesus sustains everything by “the word of His power.”
Bottom Line:
God speaks through Jesus and the sustaining power of His Word.
Expect to Hear from God
Learning to listen to God comes easier when we come with the faith and expectation that He will speak to us through His Word. For me, the essence of having my God ears on has everything to do with how I listen and what I do with what I hear.
It is so tempting to approach having a devotional time with God (Quiet Time) as one more good thing to be crammed into an over-loaded day. Ever catch yourself with the Wheaties mentality…”It’s supposed to be good for you…”, but your heart is chasing after other things?
Activity or Relationship?
When we begin to approach spending time with God as an activity rather than a relationship, we are missing the point. Hearing God through the Scriptures is about relationship. Too often, we are more focused on information and performance (doing what good Christians are supposed to do). The most important thing about having a Quiet Time is what God has to say, not how long I spent, or how many facts I can collect. It is a matter of the heart longing to grow deeper in relationship with the living, loving, ever-present God who specializes in grace.
Invited to enter in just as you are.
Listen to the heart of God for relationship in this verse that I have rephrased in first person: “Approach Me with confidence so that you may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of your need.”–Hebrews 4:16 rephrased.
This come-as-you-are invitation relieves us of the feeling that we must somehow get ourselves clean and polished before coming to God. God’s heart is wide open for relationship, and learning to recognize His voice breaks through the barrier of our misunderstanding and skewed expectations.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#hearingGod”]Begin to read the Bible as a conversation with the God who loves you more than you could ever understand.[/tweetthis]
3 Simple Ways to Listen to God:
Ask God to give you understanding, to speak to your heart. Begin reading a short passage of Scripture. As you read, consider these three questions
What does it say?
What does it mean?
What will I do about it?
As you read Scripture and listen, the Holy Spirit will speak, using your mind to direct attention and give insight, or sight into, what He wants to say to you today. As you listen, follow the train of Spirit-led thought.
“But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.”–John 16:13
Want to hear from God? Open that Bible and put your God Ears on.
What are you waiting for?
6 Keys to Perseverance: A Series Summary
When the going gets tough, perseverance is God’s gift for bringing us through.
Here we are, closing out quite a series on Persverance. Being slick like I am, I have snuck in an opportunity to apply perseverance, all the while we are grappling with a difficult subject. Why else would I write a series with so many installments? We’ve had to persevere…in a GOOD way…to get to the bottom of it! That said, we’ve barely scratched the surface of this difficult blessing we call perseverance. In reality, perseverance, developing the grit to stick things out, is a life-time thing. When we can persevere, faith hangs in there and we can keep an attitude of worship through the trials.
Because I like to wrap things up nice and tidy, here are the highlights from the perseverance series. Each summary is linked to the original post. Download a free printable of the summary, 6 Keys to Perseverance Printable. Print this list and use it for your quiet times. It will be time well spent!
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6 Keys to Perseverance
Keep On: The Perseverance of Faithfulness
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much… Luke 16:10
▪ Stay faithful to persevere in the daily challenges.
▪ When you struggle to have hope, cling to Him anyway.
▪ When your plan isn’t working, trust Him anyway.
▪ When you are weary, rest in Him anyway.
Pray On: The Perseverance of Prayer
“… she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ ”—Luke 18:3
▪ Persistent faith keeps asking, keeps coming, despite prolonged difficulty.
▪ Persistent faith does not give in or give up.
▪ Keep on praying, believing that God will answer.
▪ Persistence is a choice.
Hold On: The Perseverance of Process
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary...”Galatians 6:9
▪ Discouragement can distort our vision and derail our purpose.
▪ The cost of discouragement is more than we can afford.
▪ God is in control of the results.
▪ He also provides set, appointed opportunities for us to accomplish His work.
▪ Don’t confuse not now with not ever.
Press On: What to do When You’re not There Yet
“ I press on toward the goal…”—Philippians 3:14a
▪ Have a realistic view of self—someone who is in process.
▪ Pray for a THIS ONE THING I DO attitude. Effort is required.
▪ Don’t get sidetracked or even road blocked by things that should be left behind.
▪ Past failure is past. No longer relevant.
▪ Don’t run backwards. Focus on forward motion.
▪ Things in the past need to take a backseat to the challenges ahead.
▪ Keep going. Refuse to give up!
Run On: 4 Keys to Staying on Track
“and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” —Hebrews 12:1b
▪ Throw off hindrances and sin—an active and decisive action.
▪ Hindrances slow us down, make running more difficult.
▪ Are we running the course, the path that God has marked out for us?
▪ Focus on Christ rather than on the situation.
▪ When we focus on the problem, it is easy to veer off course.
▪ Unfocused faith erodes hope.
▪ Discouragement takes root when we become fixated on our problems.
Count On: The Joy of Perseverance
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…”—James 1:2a
▪ Counting joy in the hard things of life releases strength and faith.
▪ Look beyond the trial.
▪ Embrace the wholeness that settles in with after-effects of endurance.
▪ Lacking in nothing–this is the joy of perseverance.
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Count On: The Joy of Perseverance
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.–James 1:2-4 ESV
Count it all joy…really?
To be honest with you, these verses that kick off the book of James don’t sit easy with me. How about you?
When my-take-the-easy-route way of thinking dominates, the last thing I want to do is be happy about some kind of teeth-gritting test of faith. There is an uneasy tension between understanding the value of perseverance and the reality of pushing it into practice.
Counting joy is much more fun when we tally up blessings.
It is a sheer challenge of faith to count up joy when difficulties are all we can see. However, I don’t think James is minimizing or trivializing the staggering weight of challenges. Not at all.
Counting joy in the hard things of life releases strength and faith.
God and I have had many conversations on perseverance during my quiet times over the years. He prods us deeper into the heart of God with these words. Look beyond the trial and embrace the wholeness that settles in with the after-effects of endurance.
Perfect (whole) and complete, lacking in nothing–this is the joy of perseverance.
The difficulty isn’t the joy, but what God produces in us through tests creates the cumulative joy of wholeness over time.
None of us can be complete or whole in faith, character, skill, or experience without the challenge of trials. So often, I catch myself resenting trials, dwelling on what I think God is taking away. My worshipful spirit defaults to worry and complaint. In reality, somehow God is adding, completing, strengthening through the trials that call for perseverance. This kind of math is much harder than Calculus any day.
In testing our faith, God give us opportunities to keep on, pray on, hold on, run on, press on, and count on…and He produces something magical in the process. Something powerful. Something worshipful.
Perseverance.
Endurance.
Patience.
Steadfastness.
Will we LET steadfastness have its full effect? That may be the biggest challenge of all.
What has God built in you through the power of perseverance?
Run On: 4 Keys to Staying on Track
What is wrong with this picture?
Some things are just too heavy to carry.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith….Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”–Hebrews 12:1-3
My husband is a Marine. (Actually, he just retired, but that is another story.) In the early days of his training, there was a lot of running and marching. In the wee hours of the morning, with a long course ahead, they would set out. The pace was fast and the gear was heavy. For the young Marines, running in full gear built strength and sweat-filled grit.
For the rest of us…running for the finish line goes much easier when we aren’t carrying excess weight. When I am running, last thing I want on my back is a heavy weight slowing me down.
And yet, how many times in life do I allow unnecessary hindrances to make life more difficult? How often do I let my burdens keep me from worshipping God?
4 Keys to Staying on Track:
1. Look for mentors and encouragers.
Pay attention to those who are strong in faith that have gone before you. In this passage, Paul refers to biblical heroes, but the concept can also be applied to faithful people in your life that inspire you to keep running the race, to keep building in your life. Who are the people who cheer you to keep on, pray on, hold on, press on, and run on?
2. Decide to get rid of hindrances.
Sometimes I have allowed things that hinder to hang on. What’s holding you back? The trouble with hindrances and sin is they slow you down, make running more difficult, and sometimes can trip you up. On a personal note, I am amazed at how long I will hang onto things that hold me back. It can be a challenge to lighten our load, especially on the emotional front.
3. Run the right course.
Run with perseverance… any place you choose? It doesn’t say that does it? Where we run is important. Are we running the course, the path that God has marked out for us? Are we flying by the seat of our pants, making decisions and choices based on convenience, reaction, or exhaustion? Here again, being a student of the hard way of doing things, I have covered some fruitless terrain in my running days.
4. Focus on the right goal.
What are you focused on? What are you looking at? Runners are focused on the goal line, visualizing it long before they reach it. According to this passage, the best goal of all is Christ. Focus on Christ, the Initiator and Completer of our faith. It’s breathtakingly easy be overly consumed with our situation, problems, or challenges. When our focus is our problems or on other distractions, we can veer off course. Before we know it, we are running in places God never intended for us to run—and sometimes fighting battles God never intended us to fight.
A couple of questions to ponder:
Are there things in your life that are hindering your ability to persevere?
Are you running the course that God has marked out for you?
Is your attention focused on Christ?
Press On: What to do When You’re Not There Yet
Press on toward the finish line.
Sometimes we poke our head out of the crazy rush of life and realize this: I’m not where I want to be.
We all have goals. Even the most unmotivated of folks have things they want to accomplish. Most of us–the imperfect types–have a list of areas ripe for growth and improvement. In essence, we don’t want to stay where we are…like we are.
Today, I am starting with a goal of refocusing on healthy habits and losing weight. To be honest, I am sick of where I am with clothes that have become too tight. So today, I am beginning (again) the process of recalibrating habits gone lazy. This is a trip that is going to call for perseverance. I am sure of it.
I have worked on losing weight many times. Ever since I had my crazy thyroid knocked out (10 years ago) with a radiation cocktail, weight gain is easy; weight loss has seemed impossible.
Too often, I sabotage my run for the goal:
- I wallow in my failures, circling an endless cycle of shame, fear, and guilt. Stay in this danger zone too long and I give up, defeated before I am even half way.
- I reach a level of contentment or complacency, thinking, “This is good enough….” This is no good either. Going partway is a default way of giving in. End result? I still don’t reach the goal.
What do you do when you’re not there yet?
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.–Philippians 3:12-14
Practical Steps for Pressing On
Perfect words of perseverance for today. Although this passage is talking about being fully with Jesus, spiritual growth process complete and journey finished, we can discover some practical tips for persevering. Here’s my list of tips for myself:
- Have a realistic view of myself—someone who is in process. I am on my way, but not there yet.
- Pray for a THIS ONE THING I DO—attitude. Effort is required. Be willing to work at it.
- Stay on the course. Don’t get sidetracked or even road blocked by things that should be left behind. Past failure is past. No longer relevant.
- Don’t run backwards. Focus on forward motion. Ever tried to run forward while looking backwards?
- Good or bad, things in the past need to take a backseat to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
- Keep going. Refuse to give up.
This is what it looks like to PRESS ON.
I need lists like this. Maybe you do too. Let’s encourage one another to press on.
What are you reaching for? How can I pray for you as you persevere? Leave a comment or hit the share on Facebook button (right below) and we can all cheer each other on!
Still More? You Gotta be Kidding!
Keep On: The Perseverance of Faithfulness
The Challenge of One Anothering
Pray On: The Perseverance of Prayer
Hold On: The Perseverance of Process
Days in Jerusalem: Pictures of the Wailing Wall and the Garden Tomb
If you are like me, you are busy getting ready for Easter. So in the interest of much to do, I am just going to post a few more pictures from my trip to Israel. Today our stops will be the Wailing Wall and the Garden Tomb. Prayers in the wall....
Pictures of Days in Jerusalem–a Recent Trip
A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the privilege to travel to Israel with a group from our church. The trip was a gift and celebration of my man’s upcoming retirement from the Marine Corps. I can’t think of anything he would have enjoyed more. This trip marked the beginning of a major life transition from 24 years of active duty service to our nation.
As it is Easter weekend, I want to share a few photos from our trip that pertain to Holy Week. It was a joy to take pictures as an act of worship that I will enjoy sharing. Today we will take a quick visit to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.
Gethsemane was a place that Jesus often visited with His disciples. It was here that He agonized in prayer the night He was betrayed by Judas.
Money to be made.
Hold On: The Perseverance of Process
”Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” Galatians 6:9-10
There are days I feel like a poster child for a syndrome we often label discouragement.
I often wonder if I have unique DNA wiring that renders me overly susceptible to the discomfort of this emotion. In many ways, discouragement is a strength zapper to perseverance.
This verse from Galatians seems to be gift-wrapped with our name on it. God speaks encouragement to all who will read these words and embrace them. Many times I have felt the weight of discouragement bogging me down. Perceived failure and weariness can seep through my bones like the chill of a dreary, winter morning.
To lose heart, is that hopeless sense of weariness; it is work that seems fruitless, long, hard effort with no end or result in sight. Weariness is a word devoid of energy to keep going, to look on the bright side. Too discouraged to wait another day, we give into the temptation to declare that we have failed and God has let us down.
When discouragement presses down hard, success no longer seems worth the effort. In these moments, fears and condemnations circle with the tenacity of vultures diving for their prey.
Do we ever consider the cost of discouragement?
Recently the Lord branded this question in that sensitive spot right between my eyes. Weariness depletes our vitality to sustain work and attitude with the energy of faith. Discouragement tends to make our problems loom larger and our God shrink small.
Losing heart erodes faith and can provoke a downward spiral of emotion. We land in a heap of doubt, discontent, plagued by questions.
- What went wrong?
- What else could I have done?
- Where is God?
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#overcomediscouragement”]If we let it, discouragement can distort our vision and derail our purpose.[/tweetthis]
The cost of discouragement is more than we can afford.
Have you ever wondered what due time is? Like the birth of a long-awaited baby, due time is an appointed time. And just like the arrival of a baby, we are more than ready for the day labor begins and the baby is born. It is Kairos time, set by the sovereign hands of God.
Kairos time cannot be rushed.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#waitingonGod”]There are no shortcuts to reach the destination of God’s appointed time.[/tweetthis]
I often find myself pushing against the constraints of waiting on God.
In due time we WILL reap…IF we do not grow weary. This conditional statement requires my effort. If I quit, I cannot reap, for reaping requires sowing.
The work must be done, the ground prepared, seeds planted and watered for plants to grow and bear fruit. Harvest is dependent on participation, and every harvest takes time. This is the perseverance of process.
The work that is dearest to my heart is often the most vulnerable to discouragement.
Is it that way for you?
So then, while we have opportunity… sometimes in our discouragement we don’t appreciate the opportunities God gives us. The word opportunity is also translated as Kairos.
God is in control not only of the results, but He also provides set, appointed opportunities for us to accomplish His work…if we do not give up. Hold on to the perseverance of process.
God’s Spirit whispers to our hearts,
“do not confuse not yet with not ever.”
