What Have You Been Called?

Judges 6:12 " Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." (HCS Study Bible)

Today's blog post came about as a result of my having had opportunity, this past week, to spend some time in prayer, study and observation of the life of our friend Gideon.
The particular portion of scripture that touched and spoke most to my heart is today's scripture reference...Judges 6:12....
I have had occasion to speak with many precious sisters about the ways in which God is working in their lives and have found that with each of them, as well as myself, there seems to be one key similarity in all of us...we tend to struggle with doubt as it relates to God being able to accomplish His work/plan through us....
Hence why, God's word to Gideon leapt off the page and ministered greatly to my weary, misguided heart!!! I pray when you're finished reading this today that your heart will have been greatly ministered to as well....
Many of us struggle with poor self-esteem...some imposed by the careless words of others; while some is self-imposed due to the lies we've chosen to believe about ourselves...it seems when you read this portion of scripture, that Gideon suffered from the very same malady....God comes to him and refers to him in a way which clearly tells much about who he WAS in God's eyes and yet, Gideon's response tells us that he in no way viewed himself the same way....worse yet, his response even clearly tells us that he carried doubts about Who God is as well.... "Gideon said to Him, "Please Sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, Hasn't the Lord brought us out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian." (vs. 13 HCS Study Bible). As soon as Gideon spoke those words, God went on, in verse 14, to interject and attempt to reassure him of the promise of His power and presence that were with Gideon, but yet again, we see Gideon respond with doubt..."He said to Him, Please Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house." (vs. 15 HCS Study Bible). Immediately, God goes on to attempt to reassure him again in verse 16, by restating that He would most assuredly be with Gideon if he would just go out in obedience to Him....and Gideon, so human and just like us, turned right around and asked God for a sign to prove what He had spoken... (vs.17)
Doubt, doubt and more doubt....did you hear it in Gideon, Precious Friends? Perhaps the better question to ask is.... Do you hear it in yourselves? I know I sure have heard it within myself.....but, here's our hope.... and please be sure NOT to miss it...."God called Gideon a "mighty warrior" not because of his experience, but because of his POTENTIAL- and, undoubtedly, because of what God planned to accomplish through him..." (1)
Did ya catch it, Friends...did ya see yourself in that last bit of truth???? I so, so, hope that you did!!!!
I'm not certain of what your experiences have been, what others have called you, or even what you may call yourselves...but, the exciting, hope and promise we have lies in what God CALLS us!!!! You see, just like He had a plan for Gideon's life; He also has one for ours...and just like He called Gideon a "mighty warrior" because of what He intended to accomplish in and through him, God is calling you by the name He has established in His plans for you as well!!! The beauty and blessing are.... that just like in Gideon's life....it's already done, My Friends....God's plan, from His perspective, is already accomplished in our lives...now, we simply only need to be obedient to Him and walk it out!!!!
I wonder if you've begun to hear it??? I wonder if while reading this you've begun to feel the stirrings of what God is calling you, and better yet, what planned work He is calling you to do for the cause of furthering His Kingdom in the earth.... That's my prayer for you today, Sweet Friends...that you'd settle yourself and begin to listen for His voice...I promise you, in His way and time, He'll be just as willing and faithful to reveal and call you by the name He has prepared for you as well......


1. Excerpted from: The Holman Christian Standard Apologetics Study Bible; 2007 by Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville Tennessee.

A Call To Remembrance

"Remember these things, Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I formed you, you are My servant; Israel, you will never be forgotten by Me." Isaiah 44: 21 (HCSB)

Don't you  love those seasons in life where God's presence is easily felt, His voice is easily discerned, and His plan unfolds before us with ease? Just this past week, I vividly recall telling a very close friend of mine.... "My life is golden...right now!"

Now, don't misunderstand me...every day of life is a gift and blessing...period!! But each day is not always an easy one....would you agree?

You see, I presently find myself in a season of life which I've often heard many refer to as "the mountaintop!!!" Life is definitely good!!!!

Oh, I've experienced "the valley" as well and after having experienced the valley; I've learned to do one important thing while on the mountaintop.....keep a prayer journal of all of God's amazing confirmation toward and interaction with me!!!

Why?... Well, because I know that some day; and maybe soon; God will lead me down from the mountaintop and I'll more than most likely find myself traversing the valley once again; and in the valleys of life, it always helps and sustains us to call to remembrance the awesome things God has done that proved His faithfulness "before" we entered the valley!!!

In her book "Jesus in Blue Jeans" Laurie Beth Jones gives a great example of this:  "Whenever it seemed that the Israelites were poised at the gates of change, God sent someone to bring them into remembrance of all of the times He had helped them in the past."  (1)

David gives us another great example of this in 1 Samuel 17 when he recounts how God proved faithful in helping him slay a bear and lion while he was tending his father's sheep...he used the memory of those separate incidences to bolster and encourage his certainty that God would do the very same in helping him defeat Goliath, the enemy of the Israelite army... "Then David said, The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:37 (HCSB)

In my own life, there have been many times where God has demonstrated His faithfulness, but there was a particularly sweet season just months before my parents died, in which, God orchestrated the most precious series of miracles that have now become for me "the premiere set" of remembrances which I love to revisit when I find myself journeying through life's difficulties....as a matter of fact, it was in that valley of grief after my parents died, that I first began to understand the practice of using my various prayer journals to "call" God's past faithfulness back to memory....quite simply.... doing so; helped me to hold ever more tightly to my faith! I truly knew if God had proven Himself trustworthy in my life once before; I had no reason to doubt, even in the midst of deep pain, that He would not fail to do it again....

So, what about you, My Friend? How has God proven His faithfulness to you? What miracles has He worked on your behalf? How; and what; has He delivered you from? I encourage you to meditate on the answers to these questions today or better yet, to write them out and then keep them someplace where you can return to them whenever you need a fresh reminder of Who God is and how He works on behalf of those He loves...

Answer those few questions ESPECIALLY if you find yourself in a deep valley; longing to understand the steps God is taking....I can tell you that although the answers to your questions may not change the circumstance you find yourself in; they can help you walk that circumstance out with the confidence and assurance of knowing that the very same God who proved mighty enough to save you from hardship once before; is the very same God who will see you safely through it once again......

1. "Jesus In Blue Jeans: A Practical Guide to Every day Spirituality" Laurie Beth Jones 1997 Hyperion Publishing 

Set Your Sights...Focus on what's Right

Acts 7:55-56 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look" he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (NIV)

This past week, I found myself struggling with what I'll call a "lapse in focus...." I forgot Who my sights were to be set on and for a few days, I felt as though I were in a complete tailspin and brainstorm....gratefully though, I have many in my life; who love me enough to "check" me when I stand in need....this past week I was absolutely in need....
I'm not quite sure how it all began...how do these things ever start? Perhaps it was something I heard that I received as a slight rather than constructive crticism....perhaps it was something that was done which I perceived to be an insult...whatever the case....I wound up all out of whack...with my focus off as well, and apparently, this is something I've practiced for quite a while now!!!
My husband is a man of few words...perhaps some of you can relate with that.... but whenever he does speak; what he says is usually filled with quite a bit of Godly wisdom and counsel; so, I'll often go to him and share my struggles with him just for that reason.... I must admit, that although he often puts a different "spin" on things; I also often don't have the good sense to appreciate that...even though I know he is most often "spot on" in what he says and in the solutions he offers....
Well on this particular day, I went to him and shared that I was feeling weary and misunderstood....not in the general sense, but as it related to a new area of ministry which God has called me to....to my chagrin, he responded immediately....with the kind of words I needed to hear, but did not necessarily those I WANTED to hear...he said... "You know, Babe...I listen to the way you speak and the things you say, and I gotta tell ya....you're good at "mentioning" the  blessings God has brought into your life, but you're great at "fixating" on the negatives and what's wrong in your life....Maybe you should focus more on God and the blessings He's brought to you???..."
Can anyone say "OUCH!!!???" That phrase...."good at mentioning and great at fixating" stuck out at me like a very,very sore thumb!!! There was something very wrong about the order in which he had used "mention and fixate" in that sentence and his grammar was not where the problem lay..... I had to take a long, hard look in the proverbial mirror....I found myself walking away from him feeling a little "stung" but also seriously having to admit to myself...that he was correct in his assessment...
Then I began asking myself...."Could the solution really be that simple???" "Is what I'm feeling truly that wrapped up in what I'm fixating/focusing on???"
The next morning, God gave me the answers to my questions....I picked up and started leafing through our September issue of "In Touch Magazine" and I came upon an article written about Stephen, the church's first deacon, who was martyred for his faith in Christ. The article was based on how we as believer's in Christ can learn to excercise forgiveness by following Stephen's example. Not only was there a reminder for me in the article on the importance of forgiveness, but there was also a lesson for me in noticing where Stephen had kept his sights set during the terrible act that brought about his death....scripture tells us that as Stephen was being stoned to death, he gazed intently into heaven!!! Acts 7:55 says "Being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." (NIV)
Even as his enemies were putting him to death, Stephen knew where to fixate/focus his attention...he knew where to keep his gaze riveted....I asked myself how differently this account would have read had he focused on his enemies instead of God and Jesus...as I did, I heard my husband's words once again....later that same morning, I ran across a blog posting which had one of my favorite scripture references as it's basis..."Finally Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworty-think about such things..." Phil. 4:8 (NIV)  and in the instant that I read those words again for what seemed like the millionth time; confirmation came along with them anew; that also proved my focus had moved away from all of those things, but most importantly; that it had moved away from God; and as I pondered this fact, my precious hubby's words came back at me again...but this time...I heard them the way I want him to be able to say them to me should they ever come up again...."You know, Babe...you 're good at "mentioning" the negatives and what's wrong in your life, but you do a great job at "fixating" on God and the blessings He's brought into your life...."
Yes my friends, unlike Stephen, I had shifted my focus away from God and Jesus and allowed my sights to be set on other, very unwlecome, companions...like weariness and misunderstanding....this doesn't mean that I had somehow imagined my feelings....no, they were very real...rather, it simply means that we each have a choice about what things we'll focus on and what things we'll only mention in passing....How about you??? Who and what are at the bullseye of your sights??? Do you find yourself struggling with something today that perhaps a shift in your focus might solve??? If so, I leave you with these parting words... "Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..." Heb. 12: 2 A (NIV)