The Grace in Struggle

When you see someone in a place in life that they shouldn’t be, do you automatically cringe and think “Wow, that’s not good!”? Say they’re sleeping around, say they’re partying, say they’re running from their marriage…Do you stop to think that where they are is exactly where they need to be?

I don’t believe that any of these circumstances are good, or that God would desire anyone to sleep around or party or run from their marriage. But sometimes doing these things is what it takes for us to be turned into a passionate, devoted and enthusiastic follower of Christ.

What if we viewed these circumstances in our loved ones, or even in strangers around us, as grace filled opportunity for the individuals and their families to see God work miracles?

I have experienced first hand how quickly people give up on others when they turn away from their Christian walk and behavior. To be completely honest, it’s disgusting how quickly we give up on people that are struggling. If they don’t turn their lives around in our timetable or in the way that makes sense to us, we move on and encourage others to move on. It’s completely unbiblical. If only we would have the courage to wait on God’s timing and to remember that there is a plan and purpose for absolutely every single thing, even hurt and pain and detestable actions…if only we would present our requests to God, if only we would fight for those who are struggling, if only we would remember that Satan is already conquered, if only we wouldn’t give up so quickly!

I also know first hand the power of prayer and the completeness of the Grace of God. God’s love covers all sins, brings his people out of the impossibility of their situations and transforms hearts and lives to a point of disbelief. Prayer works! I felt prayer as I was running away from the Lord. I knew when people were praying for me and it made me mad.

Yes, I was living in a horrible lifestyle. My actions were disgusting, my life was very far from where a Christian girl should have been…but I was still exactly where I was meant to be because it was part of God’s plan. I don’t believe that I would have ever been as passionate as I am about God if I hadn’t gone through this rebellious period. I don’t think I would have believed God’s power if I hadn’t seen and felt it first hand.

I wonder what would happen if we refused to give up on those around us that are struggling. If we refused to stop praying for them. If we refused to stop waiting for them to come back to the Lord. If we refused to believe that our prayers are going unanswered.

What would happen if, next time you saw a friend that wasn’t living out their Christian walk, you praised God. Praised God that he is bringing them through this trial in order to show them a miracle. Praised God that he is turning one of his creations into a person that will live passionately for him. Praised God that he is chasing after them. Praised God that he isn’t giving up on them. Praised God that he has the grace to lead them down this ugly path in order to show them how beautiful and powerful he really is.

If we understood how powerful our prayers were, we would never get off of our knees.

-Unknown

Love God Without Conditions

What if we loved God as though he had already given us everything we wanted?

Sometimes, maybe most of the time, I think we are worshiping and praying because of what we want God to give us and not just because God is God. Do you think you do this? I’d ashamed to admit that I know I do this…

I pray, there are answers, and I praise God. I pray and hear nothing, and I start to pout. Does this sound familiar? I hope I’m not the only one.

God asks us to follow him, to pursue relationship with him, he says that once we do this he will give us the desires of our hearts but he doesn’t say that this should be the point of our pursuit. Actually, I think that we will be surprised at how our hearts desires change once we start chasing after God.

What would happen if we continually humbled ourselves, recognizing that we actually deserve nothing from him, and praised and worshiped him just because he is the Creator, the Beginning and the End, the God over every single thing. Let’s just take a moment to remember who it is we are praying to. Maybe that’s our issue.

Maybe we have gotten so caught up in what God can give us and what he promises us that we have forgotten who it actually is that we are praying to. We live in a world that continually preaches at us about what we deserve, what we are entitled to, how amazing we are. But really, we don’t deserve anything, we aren’t entitled to a thing and we’re really just pieces of dust that are here today and gone tomorrow.

There’s been times where I have been crying, mad and frustrated, and praying “God, I’m doing what you’ve asked me to do!! I don’t know what else I can do, why aren’t things going my way? Why isn’t this happening? Why aren’t you answering?”. That prayer, broken down, shows just how arrogant I really am. Who am I to tell God that I’m “doing all I can do”? Didn’t he sacrifice his Son for me? And I’m complaining about having to…wait for my passport for to long?? Or that my knee isn’t healing fast enough?? Or…or…or…Who am I to ask why things aren’t going my way? Hasn’t he promised to take care of me, to bring me through trials, to provide what I need? And why am I complaining that he isn’t answering me when he has already told me that he will, in his time?

Who am I to demand anything from God?

Who am I to question him?

He loves me, yes. He desires a relationship with me, yes. But all the rest is a bonus. What I need to do is chase after him, work on my relationship with him, worship him, praise him…and expect nothing in return. The point of my life is to glorify him with everything I have, in everything I do, and not to do it expecting a treat in return.

If God, the creator of the stars, the universe, the oceans and the trees, the creator of human anatomy and all it’s complexities, the God that controls the weather with just the sound of his voice…if that God loves me and wants to spend time with me, that should be good enough. Everything else should be viewed as a perk, not a requirement.

This way of thinking is a continual rebalancing. A lifetime work in progress. It’s impossible to think this way for long without slipping back into the attitude of entitlement, whether we mean to or not. We’re human, since the fall of man we have been wired to be selfish. But if we keep being intentional about bringing our thought patterns and prayer lives back to this way of thinking, I believe we will see an amazing change in our relationship with God.

And because of the change we will see in our relationship with God, we will also see changes in ourselves. We still start changing from the inside out. I believe that if we continually make an attempt to worship God selflessly, we will see God move even more mightily around us. I believe that we will feel him near and hear his voice and we will be able to watch him move. On top of this, when we make God himself a priority and not what he can do for us, I believe that people will be attracted to us and we will be able to, and desire to, share our relationship with him with those around us.

Fasting No. 2

Fasting is similar to our relationship with God: It’s so simple it seems complicated. It involves a lot of trust, to just simply give up an item and trust that God is working. It’s so simple that I started thinking there had to be more to it, but there’s not. God simply asks us to give something up and he will do the rest.

Every single time I fast, it’s different. Sometimes the days speed past, sometimes they go slowly, sometimes I have amazing time with God, other times this is more of an effort, sometimes I feel like I could go days without eating a meal, and other times the line “bigger fish to fry” makes me drool…Every time is different, but I believe that’s because every spiritual battle is different. There are times where I see answers to prayer immediately, and others when I don’t see the result of that fast until months later.

Whatever happens: It IS doing something!

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

 

God’s word does not return void! When he says to pray and fast, there is a reason. If you are feeling prompted to fast, take it seriously. There is a reason your spirit is putting this on your heart, there is a purpose!

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

 

It’s important to make specific time to spend with God while you are fasting. If you are going through something big, or have something that is heavy on your heart, spend this time praying intentionally for these things. Find verses that apply to what you are going through, verses that fill you with hope and ones that remind God of his promises. Even after the time you set aside for God each day, remember to pray for your case while you go about your day. You are doing battle, so be persistent and fight!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

 

When I ‘come down’ after a fast, I usually feel tired, discouraged, weak. I’m trying to get better at reminding myself that these feelings are normal for this period of time, but that is a work in progress. Satan will try to attack you when you complete a fast. He will lie to you, tell you that it was meaningless, and remind you of how impossible your situation is. You just tell him to go back where he came from! Even after you’ve completed a fast, the spiritual battle is still happening.

Many articles that I have read about Christian fasting have said that spiritual movement and answers to prayer will typically show themselves in the first three days after you break your fast and this is exactly what I have found. Even though I have seen this happen over and over again, I’m still surprised when it does. God is so faithful, he wants to bless us and he is ready and eager to hear our prayers! God is working in absolutely every part of your life in order to bring you closer to him and bring blessings to you. Keep talking to him and he will keep talking to you!

I have been amazed at the answers to prayer I have seen from fasting! Sometimes it happens the day I break my fast, but more often than not it’s within three days. Once it was months later that I had news of a huge event happening while I had been fasting. However you hear of things happening because of your fast, remember, it doesn’t matter! I know it’s easier said than done, especially when hunger (do you get the ‘hangries’ too??) is involved, but we are fasting to be obedient to God and not to see a result. There will be a result, fasting is powerful and effective, but that is God’s business and not ours. Our business is to be obedient regardless of the outcome.

If fasting has been on your heart, pray about it, research it, and do what you can. If you’re wanting to do spiritual battle, fasting is an incredible way to take it a step further. Just remember that you don’t need to do it a certain way because that is how you’ve heard of other Christians doing it. This process is between you and God and as long as you are health conscious, it doesn’t matter how other people have done it. Doing it one way or another is not going to make you closer or further away from God.

 

Fasting No. 1

Fasting. It seems like this is something that is surrounded by questions. How does it work??

Put simply, fasting is humbling yourself before God and opening spiritual doors. It is showing God that you are willing to sacrifice in order to see him work. And through fasting, you will see him work! Fasting is powerful, even if it isn’t fully understood.

There are many types of this sacrifice; many people choose to fast select items, others choose to give up all food and do a juice or water fast, both usually for a predetermined amount of time.

I had never thought of fasting until a couple years ago. It was something I had heard bits of information about, but I wasn’t interested. I thought that it was just something the weirdo’s did. I didn’t want to go all crazy with this Christian Faith stuff, I just wanted to be a Christian.

But when God came and flipped my world inside out, things changed. He put it on my heart to fast for three days before a big event, just like Esther, and so I decided to fast all food for these three days. I went out and bought organic fruit and vegetable juices so I would be prepared and I researched the art of fasting, both from a spiritual and health standpoint.

The three days went more smoothly than I had thought they would. Although I felt hungry, I didn’t feel deprived. I wasn’t drained and barely walking, like I had imagined I might be. When I did start eating again there were two sensations I noticed right away 1) I almost felt guilty for breaking my fast and 2) My stomach couldn’t hold as much food as I wished it could.

Since my first fast, I have done many others. Sometimes I’ve fasted for longer, sometimes I’ve only fasted particular items or types of food (Popcorn. if you know me you’ll understand that giving up popcorn is a big one for me…seriously…). I only fast when I feel like God is asking me to and I make sure that when I do fast, my mind is in the right place. There have been times where I’ve thought of fasting in order to lose weight and this is when I don’t fast. Fasting, at this time in my life, is not about weight and when my mind goes there I know that I need to protect myself from an unhealthy thought process. Fasting is spiritual. When I am not focused on doing this for God and God alone, I don’t even let my mind think about it.

So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

Ezra 8:23

The Bible talks about ‘fasting and praying’ many times. Queen Esther told her people to do a three day fast before she presented herself to her King and husband and Daniel also fasted for three weeks.

There is a level of spirituality that is released when you fast. It is a way to do spiritual battle on top of your prayer life. Not only is fasting powerful in the sense that it is a way to do spiritual battle, but it also allows you to rely more fully on God. I believe that this reliance leads to a more intimate relationship with our Savior. Not only because, yes, you are more dependent on him, but also because you are showing trust in him working in your life. Because of this trust and surrendering, you will see him work. Actually seeing God work and answer prayer will build on your relational foundation with him. There is nothing more satisfying or humbling than seeing answered prayer.

From what I’ve seen, fasting is not something that is frequently discussed in the Christian circles and from what I’ve seen, the power I have seen released because of my fasting, I believe it needs to be. Fasting should be a regular occurrence in a Christian’s walk with the Lord. The bible mentions fasting together with prayer often and so it makes me wonder why we have taken the white-out to that part of our faith.

Fasting is spiritual battle and Satan will sense it. He will try to push back, to tempt you and discourage you. But the more you feel this, the more you can have faith that you are doing the right thing. Satan pushes when he feels a threat, and ladies, let’s show this guy that he has something to be afraid about! Our God has power and strength and is already standing in victory, let’s do whatever we can in order to win these battles and stand beside our God!

 

“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

 

I’m working my way through Exodus. It’s been a couple months in this book and I’m on Chapter 5. Go me. I’m not a slow reader, but I have so many books on the go that it’s hard to finish one reading project before I start another…there’s just so many great books out there and so little time!!

The other night I was laying in bed, starting my reading for the evening, and I decided that Exodus would be the chosen book. It wasn’t quite what I was thinking I needed that night, but I felt like I should.

Ever heard that saying “never should on yourself”? I love that saying, so true. But this time it was a good thing that I should on myself.

Chapter 5. Moses has been told by God to go to Pharaoh and tell him to release the Israelites. Aaron goes with him and between verses 1-21 they present this idea to the king of Egypt.

God was pretty clear, he said he would release his people if Moses went to the king and asked him to release them. So when Moses did this, when Moses was obedient to God and Pharaoh didn’t release them…he, instead, made their lives so much worse…the people turned on Moses saying “May the Lord look upon you and judge you!” (vs. 21).

Imagine, this strong, confidant man who has seen a flaming bush in the desert, who has clear and obvious instruction from God. Who has seen his stick turn into a snake, who has witnessed water turning into blood. This man goes before the king of all of Egypt, a king he can see, he can hear and who rules and punishes before his eyes. He can physically touch this king. And he takes this bizarre idea to this king, this idea that everyone would have thought was crazy, and truly believes that Pharaoh will release an entire nation of people because of it. But Pharaoh doesn’t. Matter of fact, he does the opposite. He punishes the people. He makes their lives impossible. He sets expectations that can’t be accomplished and then he beats them when they aren’t completed.

And Moses is confused, hurt even. Why would God do this to him? Why wouldn’t God do what he said he was going to do?

We all know the end result of this story, Moses presents this idea to Pharaoh several times and finally, after it seems like it just couldn’t get any worse, the king releases the nation of Israel.

God didn’t give Moses a timeline. He gave him instructions and a promise. Moses knew what he had seen, he knew he wasn’t crazy, he knew that God existed and had spoken to him. He knew what he knew what he knew. God had told him he would release the Isralites and so he kept going forward in faith, knowing that God would complete his promise.

God doesn’t promise that life will be easy in our obedience. He doesn’t promise that there won’t be suffering. He doesn’t promise that it will happen in the timing we expect. But what he does promise is that he will complete what he has started. He promises that he will be with us every step of the way and he promises that he will show himself when we need it most. All he asks of us is that we continue to do what he has asked of us, even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when there is an entire nation shouting insults at us, asking us to leave them alone…we answer to God. Not to the people around us.

Did you wonder why I put that line in there “He can physically touch this king“? Because sometimes, when we look around and see the disobedience of those around us or lack of movement, we see what is happening in the physical world, we forget that what we can see with our eyes has nothing to do with the work God is doing in the spiritual realm. You can see what is around you, you can’t see God, and some times, most of the time, it’s easier to trust what you can see rather than trust what an invisible God has told you.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1

God asks us to walk in faith, to trust him and to not pay attention to what we can see with our physical eyes.

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Romans 8:24-25

God works in and with the impossibilities. He works beyond what we can see with our eyes. And he wants all the glory. He wants to bring us to a place where all we can do is give credit to him. Where there is no other way that we succeeded other than by his hand.

God will do what he has said he will do. It won’t be in our timing. It won’t be how we expect. But he will move mountains, he will set the captives free, he will bring us to the land he has promised and he will show us miracles along the way.

Our God is good. Our God is loving. All we need to do is be obedient, put one foot in front of the other, listen, breathe, walk with him and watch him work. He has never promised that it will be easy, but he has promised to carry us through.