We know that God has purpose for each and every one of us as believers, we seek God for direction and he provides us with insight on what he desires for our lives to accomplish. Great! Thank you Lord for sharing your heart with your children. The dilemma often comes after we know what God desires and actually have to get to work (this portion may consist of head scratching, doubt, fear, anxiety, feelings that no one else understand what you're going through, etc...does this sound familiar?). I went through this a great deal recently but God spent some significant time building me up, firmly planting my feet, confirming His love and His involvement (Kris, I got your back girl, don't you know how much I love you?!!). One of my favorite things about God is His "Realness"! He doesn't forbid us from feeling these things, in fact, he feels them with us. He hurts when we hurt and cries when we cry (what an amazing Father). God allows for us to cry out to Him with full expression (Check out Hannah's story in 1 Sam. 1-2, and Paul in 2 Corinthians, David in Psalms and Sooooo many other biblical accounts) and he even values our cries! He loves it when we run to him with our cares (1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all of your cares upon Him because He cares for you) and he is faithful and just to lift up our heads.
One thing that has aided me tremendously in God's working with my perspective and outlook is "taking the word of God as truth". I know that sounds like a given but if you really ponder this thought you'd realize that in some areas you haven't quite taken His word as truth. Consider James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let Him as of the Father who gives to all liberally and without reproach." Do you take that seriously or is it just a cute little verse in the bible? Do you actually ask God for wisdom and expect for Him to provide the needed wisdom?
I know what God has called me to but I started to feel overwhelmed which made me stagnant. My thoughts were, "I know what you want me to do but I don't know if I can do it, I want to do it but I don't know how, I don't even know the FIRST thing about accomplishing what you've called me to" or "It's not adding up, what you've called me to just isn't possible right now. I need to be in a different position first". God spoke to me and presented me with a very clear message:
"Kristin, first of all don't ever be confused...I have called you to do MY work, you didn't just dream this up on your own. I know that you don't know how to do it. You see, that is a part of my divine design. If you could accomplish it on your own then you would get the glory that is due to ME. Not only that, you would snatch your hands out of mine and lean to your own understanding. I am a jealous God daughter. I want your dependence on me, I want you to cry out to me, I want you to look up to me ALL of the time, I want to do a work through you that will leave you telling people, 'I don't know...all I know is God is REAL and His word is TRUE'. Guess what, you know that little book that I left for you to read, the bible, it is full of testimonies of people who I called to do my work and they didn't have a clue how to accomplish it without my instruction. Do you think that Noah knew how to build a boat secure enough to float for a year while I wiped out the earth?! I hope you answered no to that! Kristin, I am the Lord your God, I run this earth, at my thought I put this whole 'earth story' together from beginning to end, I am seamless, there are no glitches in me, trust My love. Talk to people, do some research, get in front of the computer screen on a blank page, write the vision and make it plain, Hold my hand and watch me work."
How silly was my thinking before. I am so thankful for God's grace and long-suffering nature towards His children. The message is simple, "Look up all of the time and keep moving your feet. Cast your cares on God and he is strong enough to handle them AND lift up your head".
What is it that God is calling you to accomplish? What has he put on your heart that may feel overwhelming? What are you saddened about? May I encourage you to look to God and allow for Him to take control of the situation. He is speaking the same message in 2013 that He was speaking in biblical times. Find joy in knowing that He is on your team and you can trust His love wholeheartedly.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for speaking to your children. Thank you that your love is secure. Thank you that you allow for us to feel and that you are interested in bearing our burdens. Thank you that you don't get tired of us coming to you and that you are interested in holding our hands all of the time. Continue to strengthen us and protect our hearts and minds from feeding into things that are of you. Help us to always think on You and Your word (Col. 2:16) and rebuke any thoughts or feelings that are anti-You. Thank you that you allow for us to feel but instead of dwelling in negative emotions or feelings you desire and are capable of lifting up our heads. You are such an amazing Father and our hearts are desperate for you. We are after Your heart...for our hearts to look like yours! We don't only want to be beneficiaries of your love but also givers of that love. Continue to perfect us and mold us into the image of Christ. We love you to from the bottom to the top! Amen.
With Love,
Kristin Sarai
