Faith.

I tried to think of a catchy title for this blog (I couldn't think of one, hence the one word title), and I have started it over so many times, but I believe God was trying to get me out of thinking about what other people would think to an honest place, so now that I'm there, I can begin.

This morning, I woke up a little heavy. A little broken. A little distressed. I'm sure you've been there too. I usually spend time with God in the mornings, but you know sometimes it's hard to get to that place. So I decided I would do a "warm-up" to get me to the feet of Jesus. So I started watching a sermon from Pastor Steven Furtick (Elevation Church). The new series is called "Surround." I woke up this morning wanting God to deal with something & He just decided to deal with something else that I didn't even know was an issue. My faith. I've read scriptures many, many times that talk about faith. I've heard preachers talk about increasing your faith, and DREAM BIGGER. But this Pastor's testimony concerning his church and how God has moved just stirred up something in me.

God has done a lot for me. And to say a lot is probably an understatement. Actually it is. Sometimes I need to be reminded of what God has done. But today, I realized that my faith is too small. My thinking is too small. God has placed some HUGE dreams & desires in my heart, and I'm sure you have them also. I am reminded of the scripture, Isaiah 48:12-13 "Israel, my chosen people, listen to me. I alone am the LORD, the first and the last. With my own hand I created the earth and stretched out the sky. They obey my every command." Like, what?! Who creates something as BIG as the earth with their HAND?? Our God did. And that was nothing to Him. That was like batting an eye.

God has shared with me some things, and has used other people to prophesy into my life, and considering the place I am now in my life, those things seem completely impossible. This morning, God asked me a question. He said, "What if you saw me for who I really am?" Wow. What if we stopped putting limits on God? What if we started believing the impossible? What if we believed that what we are believing God for is already done? What if we believed God to save our families, to heal broken relationships, to deliver us from addictions, to set free? God is FAITHFUL. Time and time again, He has come through for us, and He has never failed us. I'm in tears just thinking about the times I felt like I was at the end, but just in time, God came through. I think about my own church - how my Pastor has CRAZY faith - how she gives and gives and gives not knowing how God is going to do it, but believing that He will. And guess what? He ALWAYS comes through - even bigger than we could imagine.

My life changed today. God placed in me a deeper faith in Him that will never be shaken. Yes, I believe the promises of God even though I don't see them yet. That's what faith is. I don't see it, but I believe it. And God is not going to fulfill His promises because we are so great, but because HE is so great. I have realized that I am not living this life for me. My life is not about me. It's about Jesus, and bringing glory to His name. There are so many people who need to be healed, who need delivering, and they need to be surrounded by some crazy faith. Surrounded by people who don't care what they look like stepping out on faith. People who don't care if they are talked about for believing what God has said.

I'll be the first to be crazy. I'll be the first to be talked about. I'll be the first to obey God when it doesn't make sense. Why? Because I know my God will NEVER EVER fail me. I know He is going to use what I'm doing to bless someone else. Because of your faith, He is going to use what you're doing to bless someone else. This dying world needs some true faith-walkers. I'm so excited about what God is going to do through us and in us! He's already doing it. I'm crazy enough to believe every word He says, and to obey every word He commands. It's time to ignite your faith. Because our God is up to something bigger than we could ever imagine. And I want to be apart of it.

Oh wow. Remember when I couldn't figure out a title for this blog? There it is without me even realizing it. I got to the end and there it is. Ignite Your Faith.

When God just isn't enough...

God. The infinite Master. Alpha and Omega. The Beginning & The End. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Needless to say, we serve an AWESOME God. A BEYOND awesome God. And I am still amazed that He calls us His children, and that He loves us so much that He would send His only begotten Son, Jesus to die for us while we were yet in our sins. But sometimes we forget this. Sometimes we just praise God for what He is capable of giving us, or what He has given us instead of Who He is. Sometimes the amount of praise we give God is dependent on the amount of blessings He gives us. But there should be NO conditions on our praise. He is enough all by Himself. It should be that we give God praise & want to spend time with Him no matter what.

One of my favorite worship songs is called, "Indescribable." Some of the lyrics are: "Indescribable, uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky, and You know them by name. You are amazing God. All powerful, untameable, awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim: You are amazing God!" Whew. For lack of better words, our God is totally indescribable!! He is the Creator, the Author, and the Finisher.

But sometimes in this life, we tend to question God. We tend to question His ways. And sadly, sometimes we even doubt Him, and think our plans or ways are better than His. We say, "God, I pray, I read Your Word, & I try to live the best way I can, but I'm still coming up short." Maybe your finances are not where you want them to be, maybe you're struggling with being single and waiting on God, maybe you've been hurt deep, or maybe you're just plain sad and can't find God in any of your situations. But I want to encourage you that He is there, and He is enough. 1 Samuel 12:22 says, "For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own." See? He LOVES you! He MADE you! So, regardless of what you think you should have, you already have everything you need! And that's God. We ALL have a God-sized void in our hearts, and no one else can fill it, BUT God. So we don't have to search for love, acceptance, peace, or joy somewhere else, because He is all of those things. He is everything, and in Him, we will never lack.

I know that this type of thinking is not culturally accepted, because this world teaches that we need "stuff" to make us feel better about ourselves, or if we don't have a man/woman then we're doomed. But God teaches us contentment and gratefulness. 1 Thessalonians says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." So regardless of our pain or hardships, we have to realize that we have SO much to rejoice over! 

I am truly enjoying the new series "Crash the Chatterbox" by Pastor Steven Furtick (Elevation Church). He talks about silencing those voices in your head that tells you what you aren't, what you don't have, and how inadequate you are, when God is everything, has everything, and is never inadequate. Those voices will tell us that God just isn't enough. Yeah, He created absolutely everything, He made you and me, He sent His Son to die for us, but He just doesn't understand how I'm feeling right now. He doesn't understand the pain I'm going through. He doesn't understand how hard it is to trust Him when I can't see my way out. He doesn't understand how hard I'm trying to serve Him. But, He DOES understand. He knows your deepest pains, and He knows how to meet you right where you are. He even knows how many hairs are on your head! (read Luke 12) We have to stop fighting Him, and just surrender to His perfect will for our lives.

I know sometimes praising God just for who He is is not something we always want to hear, especially when it seems like everyone else is getting what they prayed for and our prayers are unanswered. But think about this. Let's say you are in a relationship with someone, and you shower them with gifts often. Then for awhile, you stop giving them gifts and taking them out, and just ask them to spend time with you without all of the flashy stuff. Then they leave you. How would you feel? Hurt? Sad? Worthless? Probably. Because you would then realize that that person didn't love you for you, but for what you gave them. The same is with our relationship with Christ. He doesn't want us to serve Him just for His blessings, but also because He is GOD. An incredible God deserves incredible praise, regardless of our circumstances. He is and will forever be ENOUGH.

  

The Dreaded 2/14.

Two days from now, it will be February 14th, Valentine's Day. Some people despise the day, because either they're single, broken up, divorced, etc. But why do we allow ONE day to mess up our whole entire week? We spend endless hours on social media being secretly jealous of people who are receiving gifts on Valentine's Day, and then get mad at God because our love life isn't quite what we wanted it to be. But the feelings of loneliness, despair, heartache, and bitterness ends here. Psalms 118:24 says, "This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." EVERYDAY is made by God and is a blessing. So if you are dreading this day, change your perspective. Here are a few ways to get you started.

Spend CRAZY time with Jesus.

We should always spend time with God, but during this entire week, I have found myself seeking Him more. The devil will attack you where you are the most vulnerable. Just because you are a Christian & want to please God, does not mean you are exempt from feeling lonely, sad, or bitter. Actually, you are more prone to those emotions. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." WE ARE IN A WAR. There is a spiritual warfare going on in our minds constantly, and if we don't have the Word of God in us and prayer on our lips, we will fall, because we don't have anything to fight with. So, we have to be in the Word, ALWAYS. 

Remember when you first got saved, and ALL you wanted to do was get to know Jesus more? Well, it should be the same way now. Jesus is our FIRST love. Spend time with Him. Get to truly know Him. Have date nights with Him. Talk to Him. He wants your attention. And it is a JOY to be in love with Jesus. Everything you need, everything you could ever dream of is in Him. Let Him be your Valentine, everyday. 


Give gifts.

The misconception is that if a girl doesn't receive anything on Valentine's Day, then there MUST be something wrong with her. But that is soooooooo far from the truth. If you don't get anything, that's okay, and there is NOTHING wrong with you. One way to overcome sad feelings that come from not receiving a gift is to give a gift! Acts 20:35 says, "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’" So GIVE! :) I'm not saying go out and buy your ex-boy/girlfriend something in hopes that they will take you back, when you know God broke that relationship off for a reason. You can't buy someone's love. But we all have friends and family members who mean so much to us, and who would love if we showed love to them. Valentine's Day is not just about showering spouses with flowers, candy, and cards, but showing love to EVERYONE. 

Be patient.

Oh, the dreaded "P" word. I know. Being patient and waiting on God to bring your spouse is difficult. But the fact that you are waiting on Him shows that you have standards and are not just going with every wind that blows. There is a season for everything. So being bitter, hating everyone who is dating or married, etc., is not going to make God move in your life. Have joy & peace about waiting. Paul says in Philippians 4:11 that, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." So contentment and being patient is not something that comes easy or fast. It is a process. But it can be done. When you are truly content, you will know it. You won't go down your newsfeed with bitterness but with pure joy from Jesus. And you won't say, "I don't need a man, I'm independent," while masking your feelings of loneliness and longing for a relationship, but you will instead say that you are waiting on God and are content with where He has you. 


Guard your heart.


This is sooooo important. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." During this time of the year, movies about love and relationships crowd the television channels. So if we are constantly watching these type of movies, of course we are going to feel sad! So find something else to watch or turn the t.v. off and find something else to do. A gallon of ice-cream and The Notebook is not going to make you feel better. It's going to make you feel worse. And if you don't think you can't handle seeing all of the Valentine's Day posts, then take a break from social networks for a few days. The devil will use ANY avenue he can to get you off track, so we have to be on guard in every aspect of our lives.



Know that God loves you! And His plan for your life isn't for you to be lonely and miserable forever, but for you to be joyful and closer to Him. I pray that your Valentine's Day is full of love with or without a significant other. The Dreaded 2/14 doesn't have to be dreaded this year! :)