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Posts Tagged ‘Be still’

Day 7: My Reflection

Posted in In The Silence: A Devotional Series, tagged , , , , on June 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

There are so many times when I run around like a crazy person, trying to figure out everything on my own. I try to control everything and I have a need to know all the answers and the outcome for every scenario. God doesn’t work like that. He knows that to much information could overwhelm us and send us running. He gives us what we need, when we need it and expects us to BE STILL and HAVE FAITH. I have learned through this devotional to:

  1. BE STILL and REMEMBER WHO GOD IS – I have to take the time every day to sit in the silence and remember that God is all powerful, has ALL resources at His finger tips, is compassionate, is just, and the list goes on.
  2. STAND FIRM – When I coming up against a person or situation that I feel helpless to fight on my own, I need to remember to have the courage to stand firm in my faith. I need to be still and trust that God will fight for me. I do not need to live in fear. I do not need to feel helpless. God will fight for me. ALWAYS!
  3. DO NOT FRET – God gives us a blueprint for dealing with difficult people: Be still, wait patiently, do not fret and refrain from anger. I have had to deal with many difficult people. That is simply the way life is. I will now know how to deal with difficult people in the future. God will guide us in dealing with the difficult people in our lives that will glorify His name. We simply need to follow His blueprint.
  4. REST and HOPE – I need to take time every day to find rest in God. I need to be intentional about being hopeful, knowing that God has a plan and a purpose for me. When I allow Satan to steal my hope, he wins and I NEVER want Satan to win!
  5. BE STRONG and TAKE HEART – While I am waiting for God to work in a situation, I need to be strong in my faith and I need to take heart that everything will work out the way it is supposed to according to God’s will. I need to remember to continue to grow in my relationship with God and in my faith during the waiting seasons of life.
  6. WAITING PATIENTLY – This is the hard one. God expects us to wait PATIENTLY and not whine about our situation. I have learned how to wait (mostly with patience) while God works in my situation. I am a single mom of 5 after all! You would think I would have an advantage in the patience department! I am a work in progress and may never fully arrive. I am waiting somewhat patiently!

 

Resting in God and waiting on God are not things that I have ever been good at. I have a need to control everything in my life. God works on my own heart issues as I write these devotional series. I hope that you have been encouraged if you are waiting on God or are dealing with a difficult situation/person. I challenge you to apply what you have learned to your situation and trust God in the wait. Never give up hope that God can and will work in your life as you learn to Be Still and trust in Him.

 

 

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Day 3: Do Not Fret

Posted in In The Silence: A Devotional Series, tagged , , , , on February 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

Psalm 37:7-9

7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

I have had jobs where another woman or two were bent on making my life a living Hell. From the day I started those jobs, these women were mean and hateful towards me. I never understood why. I had no prior relationship with them. They did not know me or the kind of person I am, but they set out to cause me as much pain as they possibly could. It is hard for me to understand why we attack each other the way we do. We are set on causing other people heartache and frustration. It hurts. If you have been the victim of hateful actions or words from another person, God gives us a blueprint for handling these situations:

  1. Be Still – God tells us to BE STILL. We are to sit and wait…
  2. Wait Patiently – We are to sit and wait PATIENTLY for God. The definition of patience is the capacity to accept delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. This is the hard part. It is normal to get upset and angry when someone is harassing you and causing you pain. God tells us to wait without getting upset or angry. He tells us to wait patiently for Him.
  3. Do Not Fret – To fret means to be constantly or visibly worried or anxious. I am guilty of this! I fret over little things and I fret over big things! I am a work in progress, but this one command is so important that it is mentioned TWICE! Verse 7 tells us DO NOT FRET when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Verse 8 says, “DO NOT FRET – it leads only to evil” When we worry constantly or live in our anxiety it leads us to evil.
  4. Refrain From Anger – God tells us to refrain from anger and turn from wrath. It is normal to feel anger, but dwelling on our anger or the wrong being done to us will lead us to sin against another person and against God. We can scream in our pillow, write out our feelings of anger in a journal or talk to someone safe, but we must NEVER allow those feelings of anger to lead us to doing something that will hurt someone else or separate us from God.

 

God gives us a promise. He tells us that if we can sit and accept our trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. If we can keep from worrying constantly or sitting in our anxiety then:

Those who are evil will be destroyed – God has your back! If you obey His commands, He WILL fight for you! He will bring to justice those who are out to get you!

Those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land – Those who find their hope in God will find their joy in heaven. But what about here on earth? The blessings of God will follow those whose hope is in Him all the days of their lives.

If someone is tormenting you and causing your life to be a living hell, take it to God. Follow the commands above and trust that God will deal with those who are evil. If you need someone to pray with you, I am always here. Let me know how I can pray for you.

 

 

 

 

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Day 2: Stand Firm

Posted in In The Silence: A Devotional Series, tagged , , , , on January 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

Exodus 14:13-14

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The Israelites were terrified. They couldn’t understand why Moses had led them out into the wilderness, only to die at the hands of the Egyptians. At that point they were wishing they had stayed in Egypt, where they served the Egyptians as slaves, but at least they were alive. They cried out to God in their distress and God heard them.

Moses gives them three commands:

Do not be afraid – Moses trusted God to protect them. He knew that God would not call them out of Egypt only to let them die at the hands of the Egyptians in the wilderness. Moses wanted the Israelites to trust God. He spoke to calm their fear and build their faith.

Stand firm – Moses had faith that God would deliver them from the Egyptians. He encouraged the Israelites to stand firm in their faith, trusting that God would deliver them from the oppression and slavery that they had lived with in Egypt.

Be still – Moses knew that God was already at work defeating the Egyptians. He encouraged the Israelites to be still, un-moving, to see how God would fight for them.

THE PROMISE:

You will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. 

The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you.

 

There have been times in my life when someone in my life lived to make my life miserable. I dreaded having to deal with these people. Like the Israelites, I too, cried out in fear and despair. I have felt helpless. I have wondered why God would allow this oppression and attitude of hate toward me when I did nothing to deserve this treatment.

There are times in life when we may not have control over someone else’s behavior. There may not be an immediate way out. As painful as it is to feel helpless, we will have to trust that God WILL deliver us from the situation. It may not be immediate. God may leave us in our struggle to bring about a bigger miracle, but never lose faith.

Do not be afraid of those who may keep you under the thumb of oppression. God is in control and He will defeat your enemy just as He defeated the Egyptians.

Stand firm in your faith. Never doubt that God is at work in your situation. There are times when it may not feel like it, but He really does have everything under control.

Be still and allow God to fight for you. You do not have to worry about defending yourself. God will protect you. God will defeat your enemies.

 

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and I will see the deliverance the Lord will bring me today. _____________________ I see today I will never see again. The Lord will fight for me; I need only to be still.

Fill in the blank to make this verse personal to you. Who or what do you need deliverance from? Hang on to this promise of God. The Lord WILL fight for you! The Lord WILL deliver you! I know how hard it is to be still, but please take heart! God has your back and HE WILL NEVER BREAK A PROMISE!

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 1: Be Still

Posted in In The Silence: A Devotional Series, tagged , , , , , on January 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

Psalm 46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

God tells us to “Be still.” He also tells us to “know that He is God.”

Be Still

Not moving or making a sound; deep silence and calm

Know

Be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information.

Have developed a relationship with (someone) through meeting and spending time with them; be familiar or friendly with.

So, we need to “not move or make a sound” and be aware of God through what we have observed in spending time with Him and developing a relationship with Him.

I have talked about my anxiety and fear in previous posts. I have talked about my frustration at not “finding my purpose.” I have also shared my struggles as a single mom raising five children in poverty and struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. Psalm 46:10 has been a life verse for me. It has been a reminder that I need to sit back in silence and remember WHO GOD IS in my life and in the universe.

We need to make time to sit in that deep silence and be aware of the presence of God and who He is. The question is: who IS God?

God is Faithful

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

God is Light

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

God is Love

1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

God is our Refuge

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

God is our Provider

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Challenge:

There are many more verses that tell us who God is and I challenge you to do your own search. Go through the Bible with a notebook or journal and write down the verses on God’s character. When you have finished, sit in that deep silence and reflect on the person of God. Let the essence of who God is sink into the depths of your heart and spirit.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD! 

 

 

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Learning To Wait

Posted in My Daily Life, tagged , , , , on April 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

waiting for the Lord

 

Exodus 14:13-14

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Psalms 46:10

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,  I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 37:7

7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

I have always had this tendency to head for the hills as soon as life gets tough. I have always had a hard time with staying put and trusting God to work things out. I have always had a hard time trusting that God would fight for me. I try to control my own destiny when I think things aren’t going the way I think they should. Needless to say, my attempts to control my destiny usually end in disaster. It would be so much easier if I would just listen to God and obey His will for my life. Life gets messy. Sometimes we are surrounded by chaos and despair. Sometimes we are oppressed by our circumstances. That is life in a fallen world. How do we fight that urge to run when life gets tough?

  1. Pray– Pray that God will reveal what it is He wants you to do in your situation. Pray for patience and courage. Pray for deliverance. Prayer keeps us connected to God’s heart, which is essential when we are dealing with a difficult situation. Pour out your heart to God on a daily basis. Our heavenly Father is listening and He cares about what you are going through.
  2. Serve– Find a way to serve in your community while you wait for God to act. Serving in any capacity is a way to minister to someone else who may be dealing with their own difficulties. Instead of wallowing in our troubles, helping to alleviate the stress in someone else’s life will often bring us hope in our own lives.
  3. Community– Build a support system. Find other people who are going through a similar situation. Often times, simply knowing that we aren’t alone in our circumstances gives us comfort.
  4. Grow– Many times, God keeps us in the fire to teach us something we need to learn in order to move on in His will. Take this time to figure out what it is that God wants you to learn. Make the choice to grow despite the trials of life.

I know first hand how hard it is to sit and wait for God to act. We want things done NOW! Waiting for God can be painful. Trusting Him can be hard. Surrendering my life to Him has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I still struggle to control circumstances in my life. I still find myself looking for greener pastures. I am learning to grow in my own messy circumstances. I am learning to serve from my own chaos. I am learning to find community in the midst of my despair. I am learning to pray and trust God to work in my life as He sees fit. I am learning to be still and let God fight for me. As I grow from my circumstances, I will keep you updated here. Through my mess, I am determined to become a willing vessel that God can use, right where I am.

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