Feeling Fabulous Friday: Making a Difference

Today, I am happy to be able to post a Feeling Fabulous Friday post when I am truly feeling fabulous. I must say that this past week has been such a good week. It has been the first time in a while that I have felt very positive about the future.

You may have noticed that I haven't been very active on the blog lately. Well, to be quite honest, I have really been struggling with finding God's direction for my life right now. Life has not been easy for us over the past several months, and we have just been crying out for God to show us what he wants us to do with our life. We have been unsure if we have really been making a difference in our current ministries. We have faced a lot of criticism and have had to bring it before the Lord and ask Him what He has been trying to teach us.

This has been our prayer for a while now:

PSALM 5: 1-8

¹ O LORD, hear me as I pray;
      pay attention to my groaning.
 ² Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
      for I pray to no one but you.
 ³ Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.
      Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

 ⁴ O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
      you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
 ⁵ Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
      for you hate all who do evil.
 ⁶ You will destroy those who tell lies.
      The LORD detests murderers and deceivers.

 ⁷ Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
      I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
 ⁸ Lead me in the right path, O LORD,
      or my enemies will conquer me.
   Make your way plain for me to follow.

Are we where God wants us to be? Are we walking in the right path? Are we approaching ministry the way we should? Are we really making a difference where we are? Should we be doing something different? Do we have a future where we are ministering now, or is it time to move on? These are all questions we have been asking the Lord recently, but over the past couple of weeks we have felt sure of the answer that the Lord has been speaking to us...

PERSEVERE!!

per·se·vere/ˌpərsəˈvi(ə)r/

Verb:

Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success.

per·se·vere

   [pur-suh-veer] 

1.to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose inspite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

"...but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

                                                                                                          Romans 5: 3-5 (NASB)


In the past couple of weeks, God has showed us in so many ways that we really are making a difference. He as showed us that we are where He wants us to be right now and that our perseverance is paying off. He has told us to hold on...He has spoken to our hearts, telling us that just because we have been facing difficulty doesn't mean that we are not pleasing Him. We have cried out for His vision and He has given it to us! We have kept on going and He has sustained us!!

 What have we learned through this?

We have learned that nothing makes you feel more fabulous than making a difference in the lives of others. It can be as simple as just being there to listen to someone. Sometimes that makes all the difference! We have learned that no matter what happens, we will love the people that God has put in our path, and we will continue reaching out to them. We will surrender our circumstances to the Lord. We will not worry; we will just keep working for the Kingdom, enjoying all of God's blessings on us and not looking at what we lack.

What a fabulous way to live!

God Laughs

I'm sure you have probably heard this Yiddish Proverb, 

Man plans. God laughs.

I was reminded of this familiar saying as I was reading in the book of Psalms today. 


Read and ponder upon these words from Psalm 2 (NLT) :

 ¹ Why are the nations so angry? 
      Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 
 ² The kings of the earth prepare for battle; 
      the rulers plot together 
   against the LORD 
      and against his anointed one. 
 ³ “Let us break their chains,” they cry, 
      “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

 ⁴ But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
      The Lord scoffs at them. 
 ⁵ Then in anger he rebukes them,
      terrifying them with his fierce fury.
 ⁶ For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne 
      in Jerusalem,^[a] on my holy mountain.”

 ⁷ The king proclaims the LORD’s decree:
   “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son.^[b]
      Today I have become your Father.^[c]
 8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
      the whole earth as your possession.
 ⁹ You will break^[d] them with an iron rod
      and smash them like clay pots.’”

 ¹⁰ Now then, you kings, act wisely!
      Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
 ¹¹ Serve the LORD with reverent fear,
      and rejoice with trembling.
 ¹² Submit to God’s royal son,^[e] or he will become angry,
      and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—
   for his anger flares up in an instant. 
      But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

Wow! What a strong passage of scripture! This Psalm clearly puts us in our place. How many times have we attempted to "free ourselves from slavery to God." This may not be something we do intentionally, but we do it nonetheless. We make our own plans for our lives. We try so hard to create some security for ourselves, to set ourselves up to live a life of success and prosperity. We don't pray about our decisions. We don't search the scriptures to see if our plans line up with God's plans. We simply live our lives our own way with no regard for God or anyone else. Even those of us who have believed and accepted Christ as our Savior have found ourselves in this position, blind to the sovereignty of God over our lives.

Dictionary.com defines sovereign as:

adjective

5.

belonging to or characteristic of a sovereign or sovereignty; royal.

6.

having supreme rank, power, or authority.

7.

supreme; preeminent; indisputable: a sovereign right.

8.

greatest in degree; utmost or extreme.

9.

being above all others in character, importance, excellence,etc.

So when the Bible tells us that God is sovereign, it means that He has supreme authority over all things...that He is indisputable. In short, God is in control! That is why He laughs when we make plans!


Study this photo:

 When the developers and landscapers planned out this park, they planned for trees to line the sides of the creek, and at first, this tree stood tall and firm on the embankment as they had planned. However, repeated storms came and eroded the the bank under the tree. High winds came that caused the tree to tilt, and finally other foliage grew up around it keeping the sun's rays from effectively reaching it in it's fallen state. However, God in His infinite wisdom allowed the sun to shine through on the other side of the creek, and the tree began to grow in that direction, stretching out it's branches to receive more and more of the sunlight from the opposite side of the creek.


How similar is this illustration to our lives! We start out with our own plans, but God laughs because He knows that He has better plans and He is the one in control. So He causes storms of difficulty to come up in our lives in order to bring us to a place where we realize that we must conform to His plans to thrive! All the while, he shapes us into the unique creations that He planned for us to be all along, and like that tree, we become beautiful examples of a life changed by God.


Listen to how the Amplified Bible puts the last line of Psalm 2:

...O blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him!

Now read Psalm 3 from the Amplified Bible:

A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.

 ¹LORD, HOW they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

    ²Many are saying of me, There is no help for him in God. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

    ³But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

    ⁴With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

    ⁵I lay down and slept; I wakened again, for the Lord sustains me.

    ⁶I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

    ⁷Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

    ⁸Salvation belongs to the Lord; May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

 What happens when we stop making plans for ourselves and start trusting the Lord??

He SUSTAINS us! 

I don't know about you, but I could use some sustaining!!