He never left you

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”


John 16:33
 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”


Lets be honest we've all had rough patches, valley seasons, or a bad time. Whatever you call it you were at a low point in life. Maybe you were ill or may circumstances just kept going bad or maybe you were stuck in a rut or maybe all of the above. The truth is when we are in this low point we forget God's promise to us. He has overcome the entire world so why is it when we are stuck in the bad place in our lives something in our brain deletes that very important information?

My favorite stories are when people choose to see those valley seasons as God refining us. He is using you and your circumstances good or bad to bring Him glory only sometimes we don't see it that way. That's okay, my intention is not to make anyone feel bad I'm just as guilty as the next person for allowing myself to forget that out of my yucky unfortunate circumstances God will redeem it all and it will bring Him glory in the end.

So how do we train ourselves to look for the ways God is refining or growing us through less than fantastic circumstances?

First we need to be content where we are. No I did not say stay there, but be content remind yourself who is in control and that your story isn't over. Stop giving all the power to your circumstances your giving the power to the wrong guy! God is your provider so be happy with what you have. Which leads me to point number two.

I do not mean this in a negative way, but look at those with less or those in worse circumstances than you. Do you still feel the need to grumble? When you appreciate what you have you have all you need! 
 
Give it up to God as much as we'd like to think we are alone down in the dumps you aren't! "NEVER WILL I LEAVE YO U; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU" He knows your struggling tell him thank you for the struggles and thank you for the easy times too. God's got this he's going to take care of you.

 

Child like FAITH

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                          

Think of the young Children in your life they have faith unlike our own. They believe without seeing they trust and they have unwavering hope. Children are resilient they recover much faster than adults, because they will themselves to do so. They fall and the try again. I absolutely love being around children, because I pray their FAITH will rub off on me.

I have seen children at young ages diagnosed with life altering diseases and they do not quit fighting. I have seen little kids fall in love with horses, cheerleading, ballet, or baseball and they never gave up those dreams they pursued their passion to its highest potential. I have seen children without support at home push themselves through grade school and college in order to beat the odds. Kids are amazing they just BELIEVE!

Why can't adults do that? Why is it that when circumstances arise we freak out and wonder how it will all work out instead of having FAITH that God will take care of us? Why is it that when things don't go our way our FAITH becomes shaken? Why can't we just follow the children's lead and walk on into the great unknown trusting that God will always have our back?

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Matthew 18: 1-5

 

 

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Jeremiah 29: 10-14 


In February I had the opportunity to be a leader for a weekend retreat for teens at New Hope also known as REVIVE. I love this weekend because these kids are so on fire for God and their faith is so pure it absolutely rubs off! When they worship it is pure and raw emotions unlike anything I've ever experienced. The kids encourage each other and help one another grow in their FAITH! Next week I will be a leader for High School Camp and I can not wait to worship the King with these kids! They are so joyful and full of life it is infectious! They are forever a part of your life and you a part of theirs!

Storyteller

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4: 8-9


Recently I heard someone ask the question At the end of your life what story will your life tell?
I absolutely love this question! Will you be a bystander? Will you pioneer? Will you be a hero? Will you be a destroyer? Will you be a follower of Christ? Will you be conformed by the world?

My prayer is that we will all be honorable brothers and sisters of God. What better story to tell with your life than that of a Christ follower who wasn't afraid to stand up for their beliefs and wasn't afraid to stand up for their fellow man?

If you ask the Lord to give you opportunities to spread His light, He will open knew doors. If you offer the Lord your life for Him to be the Author of your story he can do extraordinary things. If you choose the life of being a child of God it is not a free pass to happy town, it might be the opposite at times. Because you have chosen to be a child of the King the enemy is constantly seeking to destroy what God has built, and the enemy comes disguised as everything you ever wanted. The good news is you have the King of King's writing your story, now go live it and make your Father proud!

Praying for God's will

Have you ever begged and pleaded with God about a prayer request you had? I know I have! But sometimes our requests can be selfish sometimes we pray for our will to be done and not God's. Don't get me wrong sometimes God's will and our will line up and we reap the benefits, but we get upset when God's will and ours don't line up. The truth is we should be praying for God's will no matter what the impact it may have on your life.

For example you can be praying for a promotion, but God's will is that you leave your current job and try something new where He will grow you and you will make a huge impact. Or maybe your praying for a significant other, but God really needs you to focus on work or school right now because He is growing both you and your significant other.

What if every time God didn't answer our prayers exactly as we asked Him to answer them we took a minute to think that maybe He's got something bigger planned for us. God's will for our life is so much more than we could ever dream for ourselves.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your way and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55: 8-9 

Deeper than my feet could ever wander

In January of 2014 I lost one of the most important people  in my life., my Gram.  The ground I thought I was standing on had been ripped away. I was lost and heartbroken. But God is a God of redemption and bringing beauty from ashes and he turned my story upside right!

At the time  I was working temporarily for New Hope Church and I worked hard and with a love for Christ in my heart. I got my hands in as many different areas as I could because I wanted to learn a little bit of everything.  I had worked very closely with Missions and grew to love it. A dream developed in my heart that I wanted to be a full time employee of New Hope and work in their missions ministry. Oh but I tell you I was making my plans and God was having a laugh. I was able to stay on full time at New Hope as the receptionist and learned many areas of ministry.

If you know me I am not a touchy, feely, squishy kinda girl! It's just not me but I will be the first to hold your hand when you are crying the first to offer advice the first to hug you if you had a bad day. I'm not heartless I just don't have the lovey squishy genes running through my veins. That being said last summer I went on a mission trip to the Los Angeles Dream Center and my heart was on fire for the missions ministry. Our team did daily devotionals and each person had to choose one and read theirs out loud in the car on our way somewhere during that week. When I tell you I was dreading it I mean I would have gone a month with no coffee rather than read that devotional out loud. I loved the devotional I had chosen, but something about sharing it made me nervous beyond belief. The same with praying out loud with people we had countless opportunities to pray out loud with people and I honestly prayed that God would never leave me in a situation where I was the only one stuck praying with someone. It freaked me out! Like high blood pressure freaked me out.

When I got back home and to work God was changing my heart he put me in situations where I was the only one around to pray with people. He put me at the other end of the phone with people who desperately need to be  loved on. I still had no idea what God was doing at this time my heart was still set on a career in missions. Then our Pastoral Care ministry at New Hope became short staffed so I stepped up like I would have had it been any other ministry. I helped with their events and became more involved in Pastoral Care, yet I was still clueless as to what God was doing. After about a month or so of this I was approached about becoming the Pastoral Care Assistant, knowing that praying out loud with people freaked me out I said of  course as long as it was an Administrative position. Once again I'm sure God got a big kick out of my plans.

Before I knew what happened I was praying with people, helping coordinate funerals, and much more than I ever dreamed I would do. God had moved me so far past my comfort zone it was a little scary.  I am a 21 year old wide eyed Bambi in this ministry and I'm often seen as such, but I know God had a plan for all of this and I trust him with every aspect of my life. The truth  is my age doesn't matter, but God does because he can do great things through me. I have already seen it. I have had the opportunity (yes I say it like that on purpose now because it's not a burden it is a blessing)  to pray with many coworkers I look up to as spiritual mentors. I have had the opportunity to pray for my New Hope Team. I have had the opportunity to be there in family's hard moments after the loss of a loved one. God didn't look at me and say oh you're too young maybe we can try when you're older. Nope he moved my heart at a young age and I love what I get to do each and every day I get to be a blessing.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

I will look ahead with my God at my side knowing full well that he has had my back this whole time he equipped me, he molded me, he made me brave. He will keep walking this journey with me. When I hear those hurtful words about my age and what I have been chosen to do I will look up to the heavens and smile, because they don't know I was hand picked by God for this .

Speak life

I am not a squishy, mushy, feelings kinda girl, but I'd like to think that each day I have the ability to be a blessing to someone else.

What we as people need to understand is that it is not always about us. Yes! I said it, its not always about you or me! We need to put aside our selfishness and speak the truth in love according to what others need to hear. We all have junk we carry around we don't always have perfect days and as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ we need to humble ourselves and speak life into them according to their needs not ours or what we think needs to be said. If we all went around saying the things we felt and thought I think the world would be a little dimmer. The truth is God gave us our fellow man to do life with to encourage each other to be there for one another to love one another.


1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.