I had the AMAZING opportunity to minister to a beautiful, godly lifelong friend of mine today. She has always been a great encouragement to me for many years (especially through college), so I so enjoyed returning the favor. I thought I would share with you what I did with her...with some more personal parts deleted, of course:

I guess there are two parts that I feel like God wants me to share with you: faith and knowing and doing His will. If there is ONE thing God has taught me this year, it has been faith--true faith. Not just the use of meaningless words or glorified thoughts--but truly learning to abandon all else to follow Him wherever.

At the beginning of this year, I made a HUGE HUGE HUGE leap of faith into an unknown world. I left my comfortable job because I felt (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that God was calling me to leave. And I didn't know why or how...but I earnestly sought Him in Scripture and through prayer and He revealed His will for that day.

He hadn't directed me as to where I was to go the next week...and quite honestly, the people at my job thought I was crazy for going out on a limb with nowhere to go. But regardless of their opinions, I stepped out on faith (something I had NEVER truly done before) not knowing where I was going to go from there.

I can't tell you how that one step of faith changed my life. It all began with surrender in college. I don't know if you remember me telling you that I prayed that God would do with my life whatever, whenever, and however He wanted to do it, but I did...and I can now look back and see an amazing transformation and journey He's brought me on.

First, I had to learn complete surrender with no reservations. Then I had to learn to step out on faith and that happened almost three years after I surrendered, so it took a while. But when I did, He began to open doors I never thought possible. And now God is teaching me things I never thought I could comprehend or understand.

All that to say...there are so many people in the Bible that we can learn from--so many lives that were changed and people of great faith that have left a legacy behind for us to follow. Hebrews 11 talks about heroes of faith:

* "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God..." (v 3)
* "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did" (v 4)
* "By faith, Noah, after being warned about what was not yet seen, in reverence built an ark to deliver his family" (v 7)

And so on...but, the one that I am most fascinated with is Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was going."

By faith Abraham went out having no clue where he was going, but knowing that God had called him to seek the Promised Land. I think as believers, it's hard for us to separate common sense from faith. Common sense is so much more comfortable and while it is good to have, we oftentimes lose sight of what real faith is in the midst of it.

When Abraham was called to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, there was no other way God could purify his faith than to break him out of his comfort zone and push him to do something that wasn't what he wanted. But because Abraham obeyed, God blessed him.

The greatest lesson I've learned from Abraham's faith in God is that he was prepared to do anything for the Lord no matter what he wanted to do or believed to be "right." I think it's important for us to always be willing to come to the point of giving up our own convictions, traditional beliefs, comfortable lifestyles, understanding and reason to move forward in what He has called us to do.

One other thing I've learned (and then I'll close), is that a life of faith isn't always glorious mountaintops. You already know this since you've been walking with the Lord for many years, but it's always good to hear someone else verbalize it. True faith is constantly tried, tested, and built up, so that eventually the believer is no longer spoiled by common sense, fear of stepping out, and comfort zones, but instead he or she is accustomed to SEEKING, KNOWING, and DOING the will of God by faith without hesitation.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
--Psalm 37:7

God is really working on me right now. I met with a fabulously godly lady today, with whom I work, and had coffee. She was such an inspiration to me and gave me great words of wisdom and encouragement.

I've been frustrated for a while now as to why I can't seem to stay satisfied in the Lord--it's a constant battle between my selfish desires and what He wants for me. I guess I knew it all along, but it helped for someone else to verbalize it.

Tricky Satan has been trying to weasel his way into my thoughts and mind for a very long time...and even more so here lately. And just when I surrender to the Lord and get on my face before Him, I let my guard down and Satan clouds my focus on God.

I am coming to the place in my life where, more and more, I only want to say, "In all the world, there is no one else but You, dear God, there is no one else but You." If I am single for the rest of my life, if I never make tons of money or live in a fancy house or drive the best car or wear the most expensive clothes, or if I am never a supermodel look alike, then it's all OK...as long as I am in the center of God's will and I am completely and totally surrendered to Him.

You know what? Revelation...I think I'm falling in love with Him again...and Satan's trying desperately to prevent that from happening. For so long, I've let Satan convince me that I'm not worthy of God's love, that I don't deserve a relationship with my Lord, and that I'll never be a "good" Christian, but isn't that his job? The Bible makes it perfectly clear that he roams the earth seeking those he can destroy.

I am involved in this spiritual battle whether I want to be or not. And I must daily fight by humbling myself, staying in His Word, praying, and getting one-on-one with Him, so that nothing else will ever take His place. I'm finally convinced that there needs to be no other distractions in my life right now. I simply want to enjoy the intimacy of a growing relationship with My Savior.

As a side note to Krista's recent post...I totally agree, sister!

I am tired of jingling around nickels and dimes in my pocket when God has a 20 dollar bill out there He's just waiting to give me. I'm finished with the nickels...I'm ready to pocket a crisp, green 20 dollar bill.

You know...I'm convinced that God was trying to teach both of us a lesson that day we found the 20 dollar bill out in the middle of the parking lot. It's going to be exactly like that for us...it'll happen when we least expect it and it will be a total blessing.

But wait...there's more...

Quotes

Here are a couple of quotes that really moved me today:

"Were there any place better for you than the one in which you find yourself, Divine Love would have placed you there. ... If this is, in fact, the best place for me, I want to seize and celebrate it, and not miss whatever purpose God might have in placing me here."
—Leigh McLeroy

"As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God's interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness."
—Oswald Chambers

obedience

When I was little and crossed the major road that carried lots of traffic close to our house without asking permission, what happened? I was spanked.

When I told a lie, what happened? I was punished.

When I acted out of rebellion and defied my parents authority, what happened? I was grounded or seriously disciplined.

There's never been a time in my life when I've NOT struggled with the issue of obedience. I truly believe that when I came out of the womb I yearned to be independent and make my own decisions from that point forward. Bless the hearts of my parents who tried their best to raise a free spirit to be a self-controlled, poised, and godly young lady. They did a great job, but my heart has always been a little rebellious.

Isn't everyone's though?

I'm realizing that when I've questioned God's call for me to do something specific in the past, my hesitation has come from me putting other things in competition with His reign and rule over my mind, body, and spirit. I often get so worked up about the minor things in life (trying to work them out on my own), that I refuse to see God's big picture. The answer has always been simple...simply obey Him in EVERYTHING I do...even the trivial things.

If I obey Him in everything...both the seemingly major and minor things in life...I will prove to be a witness to others of my obedience and faithfulness to the Lord, and more than that...He will be pleased with me. When I can't pay a bill, when I'm having a bad hair day, when I'm feeling overwhelmed, when I've gained a few pounds, when someone has hurt me, or so on...I need to come face-to-face with Him.

My relationship with God could certainly be compared to the discipline my parents gave me when I disobeyed as a child. I can look back over my life and see that when I was walking hand in hand with Him and I tried to veer off the path, He gently guided me back to the straight and narrow.

But when my rebellious, sinful nature kicked in and I took off running full force from Him, He had to grab me by the arm, scold me, and execute serious discipline as a result of my straying. (Maybe I should have been harnessed to Him like some kids are to their parents.) But then I can see that after I was punished He forgave my disobedience, comforted me with love, scooped me up in His arms, let me cry out my shame and regret on His shoulder, and carried me for a while.

As an adult now, I am grateful for God's discipline because, as I mature in Him, my obedience grows and His blessings increase.

I don't want to just post Oswald Chamber's devotionals on here every day, but during this time in my life...I feel like I can share what's going on through my daily devotionals:

"Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own..." (1 Corinthians 6:19).

"We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.

"The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our care for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why should we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son.

"Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God's purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, 'Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.' If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?"

There are many things I want in my life...marriage, a family, a new house, paid-in-full bills, weight loss, etc....but, more than any other thing I want to be in the very center of God's will. I don't know how I survived on my own before Him--or even when I strayed away from Him. I was truly lost.

I am so thankful for my salvation and for God's gentle nudge when I start to wander off. Matthew 10:37-39 says, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

I used to think this passage of Scripture was cruel. But now I understand completely. I can't tell you...but, God is teaching me more now in my life through personal experiences than through anything I ever learned from the books or professors in college or seminary. I am grateful for my education, but I can't explain what He's doing right now. It's phenomenal. I am humbled every day by His goodness and grace.

I am learning to put aside every emotion and fickle feeling in order to KNOW that God is faithful to complete in my life all His purposes. I'm not worthy to be called His child, but His grace is sufficient and I will continue to die to myself daily and pick up my cross and follow Him at all costs.