Help for Growing Your Faith

"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." Hebrews 12:1

As women of faith, the Word of God is as essential as air. You would agree that without it, everything is uncertain and up for debate. Thank God that guesswork need not be our work in any matter pertaining to life and godliness.

Why is it, then, that we doubt? Why do our lips profess a belief in what He says but our eyebrows furrow and our hands wring and our sleep shies away as if they did not get the memo? If our heart truly believes, why is it not flooded with peace without the bloody streams of anxiety that contaminate that clear flood?

  I had to tell the Lord I was sorry this morning. He revealed the very inconsistency I described above. It's almost as though worry has season tickets reserved in this heart of mine! I want to have so much joy in the season of not-yet that when faith becomes sight, there's hardly a noticeable shift in my demeanor. This is my prayer for myself and for you too, My Friend.

How do we work toward that? I am finding one particular exercise helpful: reading biographies of believers who trusted God and saw Him come through. These real-life stories seem to set my faith ablaze, burning off the dross of unbelief and kindling a holy jealousy to see God move in my life the same way.

The Bible is full of such stories; you can use Hebrews 11 as a reference point and look up their stories using a cross-reference tool. Autobiographies are another wonderful resource. My favorites are George Mueller, Brother Andrew, Lottie Moon, and Bruce Olson. How about you?

Here's to growing a fuller faith that goes beyond just our words and reaches your heart, hands, wee-hours, and whole demeanor. Are you with me?

Where Your Eyes At, Girl?

"We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." 2 Chronicles 20:12

If ever your feet are going to travel the road God mapped for you, you must keep your eyes on Him. Put them on your circumstances and you'll get a jankety view of God. Circumstances judge all of Who God is by only what's happening in the moment. Not good.

Put your eyes on your fears and they paint high-definition, ghoulish pictures of all the bad that might happen. Fears make you want to stay where you are and never move forward or pack it all up and go back from where you came. We ain't goin' there!

Put your eyes on other people and you'll get confused because everybody's got an opinion about what you should do and why. Trouble is, they may be speaking to your life based on who they are and where they've been and sometimes on what's in it for them. Even well-intentioned loved ones can only go so far in directing you. Only God should have ultimate say because He is the only one with the original blueprint for your life.

So where are your eyes today? A good indicator is your emotional state. If you are experiencing anything other than peace, your eyes are not where they need to be. Resist the temptation to look everywhere but where the answers are. Fix your eyes on the One Who will counsel you with His eyes on you, for you are the apple of His eye. I suggest you get your eyes in His Word and on the back of your eyelids in prayer, My Friend. That's where the answers are when you don't know what to do.

Nobody Like Him!

" To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One." Isaiah 40:25

There's nobody like Him! To whom are you gonna compare Him? Anything you line up next to Him is ridiculous. He's in a class all. by. Himself.

He makes claims nobody else can, and He backs up every one of them. EVERY one! No one else can claim to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 11:25b) and then have the omnipresence to keep that promise. (Psalm 139:7-10)

All others say "Work your way up to me, appease me."

Our wonderful God says, " You don't have what it takes to make it to Me.  How about I come to you instead? You don't have enough good in inventory to appease Me. Let me provide that too. Let me grant the very righteousness I require so we can be together."  (Romans 8:3-4) Who does that!? Our merciful God, that's Who! Nobody like Him!

Then He has the glorious nerve to provide this to everyone. No special license, background, education, pedigree, skin color, or credit check required. Whosoever will may come. ( Romans 10:13) Nobody like Him!

Then there's the love. He's more than a God Who's bigger than you, requiring whatever tribute the King of the Universe has every right to demand. He is relational, personal, compassionate, and intimately acquainted with all your ways...not a dry, mute statue to bring incense to, but a living, concerned, and conversational God. (1John 3:1; Psalm 145:8; Exodus 34:6; Psalm 138:3) Nobody like Him.

I wouldn't dare leave out the resurrection. Nobody else has the patent on that but our God. Death was a snarling, ferocious, and carnivorous beast whose dungeon was the grave. Our Mighty God defeated that beast and turned that very dark dungeon into a doorway to Heaven.

Can anyone be silent about such a God as He? Let the idols of the earth be satisfied with incense and fearful appeasement. A God as mighty and unique as ours deserves so much better. Reserve your worship, best love, and service for Him precisely because there is nobody like Him. (Romans 12:1)

When You Feel Like Quitting

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. "Galatians 6:9

Don't!

You know quitting is not cool, but when you're discouraged you don't care, do you? You start to wonder what in the world you were thinking when you started all of this. You try to convince yourself that you're ok with throwing away all the hard work you've done so far, but deep down you know you're not.

I've been there.

Halfway through the classes to get my degree, I hit a wall. This was all harder than I thought it would be, and my enthusiasm ran out of gas. I had applied for a scholarship and didn't get it, which meant I would have to keep working that part-time job after my full-time one. I was exhausted and wanted to quit, and I did.

 My I'm-throwing-in-the-towel announcement met with strong opposition. That's when I realized people had been watching me and  were secretly cheering me on and counting on me to finish. I was surprised that what I was doing mattered to them. Those were humbling moments. This wasn't just about me.  If I finished, it meant they could too. I called and got my old job back and got back on course. I wanted to be a source of encouragement to the onlookers in my life, not a quitter.

God used that experience to teach me that
my actions have nerve endings connected to the tender places in other people. This is true for you too. Working to bless others gets better mileage than just doing it for yourself.

Who's counting on you not to give up? Think of them and be encouraged. Let their faith in you recharge you to keep going when you feel like giving up. Persevere, My Friend. Your journey matters more than you think!

Don't Even Think About It

"but I beat my body and bring it into submcission...." 2 Corinthians 9:27

This is something you have to put into practice if you are ever to accomplish your Big Thing, My Friend. There were days, many of them, when I had to get moving before I talked myself out of it. A resistance is always there to do everything else to avoid doing what you need to do.

Have you felt it?

Sometimes it's fear, but oftentimes it's laziness,  or you've simply allowed your Big Thing to cause you to feel overwhelmed. That's what happens when you spend too much time staring at the mountain instead of climbing it.

Don't let the enemy paralyze you like that! Don't let your flesh be the dictator of what you will or will not do. Paul said he beat his body and brought it into subjection. That means he had to tell his body who's boss. You do too. You've already decided in your heart that your Big Thing must get done. Now it's time to do it already.

I recall many hours after work, dragging that laptop out to work on my dissertation even if I was so tired my skull hurt. I knew if I went home, distractions would push my finish line back farther. I realized my Big Thing wasn't going to do itself.

The road to DONE is paved with DOING, not thinking about doing. Don't even think about it, just get doing it, and your mind will catch up later.

Please share: What ways have you allowed your mind to talk you out of moving forward toward your Big Thing? How would it look in your life  to overcome this?

How to Do Big Things

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

I am still waiting for the official notice to arrive in the mail, but for all intents and purposes, I have earned my PhD! This massive project has taught me valuable lessons on how to accomplish a huge project. Come sit next to me on my patio swing and let me encourage you with what I've learned:

Are you facing something big that leaves you overwhelmed before you even start? I have learned you can tame that feeling and not let it paralyze you. Know your feelings are not facts and determine to move forward! 

How? 

First, remind yourself you are not alone. You may be tackling your mountain by yourself, but you're not doing it alone because the Lord is with you. Let Him strengthen you and cheer you on daily. This happens when you read His Word so He can speak to you, and you speak back to Him through prayer. Your Bible reading may be a one-time meeting in your day, but your conversations with Him can last the whole day. Isn't it wonderful? 

Next, write down what part of your Big Thing you want to accomplish today. Don't underestimate how powerful this can be! Make it realistic or you may get discouraged. Small steps are still steps, so don't beat yourself up or compare to what others are doing or where you fell short the last time you tried.This is a brand new day and God made it for moving forward, not looking back. I put a chart up in my bathroom vanity to chart my progress. It kept me motivated as I celebrated every step, no matter how small. 

I would love to hear what Big Thing you are striving to accomplish. Please share! AllOw me to sing in the background as Jesus rejoices over you with singing! 

Telling God No?

It sounds like a bodacious thing to do, standing before the Almighty and telling Him what you're not going to do. Maybe your "no" feels more like an impersonal text, less defiant, but a "no" all the same, right?

I understand.

Just recently, I was presented with an opportunity, and I skipped praying about it, pole-vaulted over even considering anything but what I wanted, and landed squarely on "No way!" (and with great feeling at that!) A wise person in my life approached me with three words that pierced right to the heart of where I was:

 "You're just scared."

I was stunned, but I realized they were right. Oftentimes when we say "no"to God, it's because we're scared that what He is telling us to do will cost something we don't want to give up. We fear that letting go of what we have or hope to have means we will get shorted somehow. That's a trust issue, My Friend. It may not be that we doubt God's goodness; maybe we are afraid of how long it will take before we receive what He has promised. We are tempted to settle for a substitute to curb the discomfort of waiting. Problem is, the substitute always overstays its welcome, and it grows roots that make its removal painful and nearly impossible. Please don't go there.

Saying "no"to God is saying "yes" to less than His best., My Friend. There is no sting like the one that comes when you see what you've missed out on because you were impatient or fearful or defiant. Haven't you had enough of that? Nobody ever said, "I sure am glad I said no to God, I'm so much better off since I did!"

It may not be easy, but it's always simple. Change your "no" to what it must be. Not maybe, not wait, not once I  _______. It begins in the heart and the rest follows. What is your answer to Him today?