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The Love Project

May15

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This is a scripture we all know at least a little bit. We recognize it when we hear it, we read it at weddings, and we think it’s lovely. We would be right.

Lately I have been feeling God emphasize to me the importance of this passage. God is love. He IS love. We were created in love. We were saved in love. We live under the umbrella of love. We are guided by love. God. Is. Love. As the bride of Christ, we are called to walk this out. We are called to love on a level so unconditional and far removed from what the world says, that it can only from God. To truly be God’s vessels here on Earth, we need to take the above passage deep into our hearts and live it. God’s  been really telling me what a superficial grasp of this passage we have. We don’t think about it nearly often enough. But if we were to take a hard look at our lives and compare them to the above passage, we would probably fall short. We aren’t all of these things at once, not all the time. But really, we should be. My blogs frequently mention being vessels of Christ’s love. But God is emphasizing to me lately on a much deeper level.

So, enter the Love Project. I feel God is calling me into a time of deeper prayer and maybe even fasting, to bring my walk even closer to Him. I’ll be looking at each attribute in this scripture, and comparing it to my life. Ultimately, I want my life to be in submission, obedience, and concordance with what love really is. And what is it? The above passage tells us.

I invite you to do the same with me, to look at your lives and yourselves and spend time with God on it, to see if there are areas of your life where your actions are anything less than the love described above. I certainly have my moments. We all do. Are there any life changes or changes in perspective that need to happen? Maybe. God will provide the answers; we just have to spend the time. Write to me at being.rebekah.a@gmail.com and let me know what He tells you!

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Unexpected Healing

May1

Mark 11:23-26 “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

As I looked for scriptures for my intended topic this scripture appeared. I knew that God wanted this connection but for anyone who’s been keeping up, you need to bear with me because I’m going to rehash some things for new readers.  

Back in December, my ex and I were on a “break” and I had been fasting for almost two weeks when in the middle of Sunday night service my faith welled within me and I said “mountain, be thou removed” with everything within me. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but the very next day around noon my ex changed his status on facebook to “single.”  The journey since then has been interesting and people who meet me in person often are surprised when they find out that I was almost engaged less than half a year ago and the way I found out my ex was done with me was via facebook (no text, email, call or anything… just one day saw that he was apparently now single without ever informing me that I was no longer in a relationship with a guy who supposedly had picked the ring out). In my heart I knew that God MUST be in it for never in my life did I feel such faith when saying that and I didn’t even specifically say WHAT mountain.. just commanded it and KNEW that it was gone.

Last night at Ladies’ Prayer, we gathered at the front and were asked to pray for healing for each other because there was great need.  As I began to pray, I had EVERY intention to pray for all the unknown needs when God’s love, forgiveness, and healing came flooding through.  The tears poured forth and I knew that I was healed.  Do I know all of the healing? No. But I know that God has healed me from my past relationship with my ex.  I’m ready now to start a new relationship with the right guy.  Tonight as I spoke with my roommate I was even able to talk about good memories about my ex but recognized that the man I THOUGHT I was dating was truly just a broken boy who needs to grow more in God before he’ll ever be ready to take on a wife.  God, however, isn’t going to allow me to be hurt repeatedly so He removed me from the situation for my own safety and sanity.

After my cousin committed suicide, my heart was so broken and hurt.  How could I know and love the God of this universe and yet my own cousin was in such despair that he jumped off a building? For months I lived in anguish- random things causing me to break down and cry. When I finally began to have true healing, I started being able to think on him and remember the good times like the last time I saw him- he, his little brother, and I played card games late into the night laughing and catching up.

I know I’m healed because although I don’t want to chase back after my ex, I know don’t even want to actively run away should that ever be an option.  I’ve given up on caring either way.  I’m leaving EVERY option up to God for who knows how He works?  I choose to allow God to be the Master of my now blank canvas to write whatever story He wants.  I am healed, unexpectedly, mercifully, wonderfully healed.

Jesus, 

I thank You that You healed me even when I wasn’t seeking it.  I thank You that You said wait until April not for dating… but for me to finally be READY to date… by healing my heart completely on the last day of April! Lord, I am excited about the future You have in store for me. You know one of my desires in this world is to work side by side with a man as his wife and together- our prayers will shake the foundations because we know, love, and trust You.  Together, we will work in Your kingdom, planting the seeds You provide. Together we will build where You tell us, break down what You instruct us to, and LIVE for YOU.  I love You Jesus with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. 

Rebekah M. 

Spiritual Enema

Apr27

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. ~ Psalm 51:10

I find it interesting that one of the leading causes of abdominal pain in children is constipation.  They’ll hold it in for one reason or another until it becomes impacted. Then they have to get their system cleaned out and taught healthier habits to try to prevent this in the future.  One of the parts of this treatment is enemas.  Although I have never had to have one before, it does NOT sound like a fun experience although it is incredibly important to do so in children with impacted fecal matter in their intestines. For those who don’t know, essentially liquid is injected into the rectum and colon and it causes contractions of the intestines and makes the patient have a bowel movement very shortly thereafter.

Lately, I’ve been feeling God call me back to another “spiritual enema.”  I feel like my time of prolonged fasting (9 weeks total with about a week off in the middle) was one of the major ones that I’ve had before and when I emerged from it things were SO different.  To this day there are still shows that I can no longer watch on Hulu because the content disgusts me in a way that it never had before.  Things that I dismissed as “normal” I could no longer allow my spirit to come in contact with because God spoke to my heart on an intimate level and He did not want to share the privilege of my attention with things of such nature- adultery, lying, backstabbing, fornication, witchcraft and more.

I have fallen away from praying 3 times a day and I feel Him calling me back to it.  I need to make Him first so that I can stay consistent in Him even when He brings the things into my life that He knows I want most. There are so many dreams in my heart and even after I gave them to Him, some things He gave back with an even stronger desire.  However, for now, He is calling me to re-clean out myself. To in essence do another spiritual enema in which fasting, prayer, and reading His Word purge me of the excrement of the world that I’m holding within me- things watched on hulu, bitterness, anger, maybe even a hint of hatred for things of my past.

Whether or not I’m ready to date again… it can wait for me and God to get back to the footing we were on before… if not even further.

Jesus,

I know that some of what I’ve written seems disgusting because of the analogy I’ve used but I feel like this is truly how You view some of the things we allow into our hearts and minds.  I’m sorry for some of the things I’ve been watching and listening to on hulu. I’m sorry for anything that I’ve been doing that has taken my heart away from You.  Help me Lord as I purge myself of the things of this world yet once again.  Show me how You want me to do this and when I should do what.  I praise You and I worship You for being my God and Savior.  I love You Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. 

Rebekah M. 

Fun fact: this is post 101 :)

Prayer Monday: All About Jesus

Mar26

I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. ~Revelation 22:13

Jesus, 

I ask that You help me to keep YOU the main focus of my life. May You be the first thing I thing in my morning and my last thought at night. I ask that we find in You all that we need: strength for our day, hope for our lives, joy in the midst of storms, and a love that no one could ever outdo.  I pray that we learn to lay aside the pain, suffering, disappointments, and baggage from our past and just look to You as we run this race.  I pray that we don’t take on any fears, insecurities, and worries for the future as we run to You.  Help us to point the way to You when others around us don’t know how. Show us how to make everything we do be about You. 

I thank You that You’ve brought some pretty amazing guys into my life lately.  It amazes me that barely half a year ago I was waiting for THE ring from a guy who said he was getting it and after he ripped my heart to shreds, You took the shattered pieces and with Your love created a new heart.   

I ask You Lord, to help me.  I feel myself slipping a little. I’m not praying as much- many days lately I’ve felt like I only barely get in a whisper of a prayer here and there.  I fast my weekly fast day but not with as much purpose and determination as before.  I read Your Word but I’m not devouring it like when I could barely survive the day without You because of the pain.  I’m grateful for the healed heart and the promise of a bright and wonderful future, but I need You more than ever so that I don’t lose what we have due to contentedness with where I am.  

Lord Jesus, let every breath I breathe and every beat of my heart be for You.  I love You Jesus with all my heart. 

Rebekah M. 

Wanting It More

Mar17

You know how sometimes things come up that you love to hate? Maybe we had a bad day and are talking about it, and get into ‘poor me’ mode. After awhile, we start to thrive on how bad we have it. Nothing can cheer us up, and often we don’t even WANT to be cheered up because we’re thriving on the attention and sympathy. On some level, we’d rather have a problem to complain about than a solution. Or maybe it has to do with people – in choosing who to make plans with or who to date, there are often multiple options. God can easily guide our steps here, but how often do we fail to ask Him, preferring to agonize about it and analyze it ourselves. We prefer the attention and the fantasy to the reality that these problems have solutions and you can get wisdom on them in seconds if you just ask God. It can be surprising how many areas we have like this, and how quickly we can slip into playing the martyr rather than ask God for guidance in that moment.

However, God brings unconditional love, and He brings peace. There’s no drama in His presence. We bring the drama we get from the world, we give it to Him and He takes care of it. He empties it from us, and fills the void with Himself. We have an easy time submitting bad things. But for some reason, we harbor these ‘martyr’ situations. We harbor the dilemmas that bring us extra attention. It doesnt even always cross our minds to submit those things. But to he used fully by Him, we have to give it ALL. We can’t be concerned about the attention our daily problems give us, or the credit we get when everybody knows how difficult it was to accomplish something. Our identity is in God, and we don’t have to fight for His attention. He sees everything anyway.

We have talked about fasting, and how when fasting gets tough we ask ourselves do we want this food, or do we want God more? We choose God, Nd fasting becomes bearable. We want Him more than anything else, and in that mindset, we will do anything to seek Him.

It is time to get into that mindset with our hearts. It’s time to ask ourselves, “Do I want God and God’s plan, do I want to thrive on my savior, or do I want to thrive on this problem that doesn’t even need to be here?” God vs problem…it’s a no-brainer. We’d choose God every time.

I’ve heard it said that living with Jesus is expensive, and that love will cost you. I think that’s a heart issue and we should count the cost here – it’s way more expensive to thrive on drama than on peace. It’s more expensive to hold on to our flesh than to let our Savior show us how to live. So spend time with Him today, and ask Him to show you your ‘martyr’ areas – things that are bogging you down when they don’t really need to be, or things that you haven’t given God full control over yet. Go through the problems and questions in your life and ask yourself “Do I want this dilemma or do I want God’s plan?” If you reach the no-brainer answer, as I did, it’s time to finally say “God, take this from me and guide my steps”. He will, and you will wonder what you were ever holding on so tightly for.

And as always, if you want extra prayer or support, or just to chat, i want to hear from you! So write to me at being.rebekah.a@gmail.com. God bless!

~Rebekah A

Don’t Miss Your Miracle

Mar4

And his daughter in law, Phinehas‘ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken. ~ I Samuel 4:19-22

One of my favorite sermons taught about this scripture passage and was entitled “Recognizing Your Miracle When It Happens.” As I opened my Bible for inspiration on a blog it fell right on these verses and I knew that someone needs to read this.  

When things happen in our life we sometimes become overwhelmed by the details.  Phinehas’ wife heard that all the men in her life were dead and fell into labor because back then, no men = no security. Sometimes bad things strike into our lives, but in the midst of trial God can bring us miracles. Recognizing that miracle, however, can sometimes be the hardest part.  

My ex dumping me was probably the greatest gift he ever gave me. So often during our relationship I felt as if he was trying to buy my love- coach purse, expensive dinners, etc. I told him I was happy to just go to subway and sit and chat but he never did. I love carnations but he said they were cheap flowers and he wouldn’t get them.  When things started going south I begged and pleaded with God “Lord, let this cup pass from me. Be my God of second chances.”  One night during a powerful service, after almost 2 weeks of silence from the man who had claimed I was the only girl he ever loved, I prayed with ALL my heart “mountain, be thou removed!” I had no clue what the mountain was, but I knew that it was gone.  The very next day, my ex changed his relationship status on Facebook to “single” without ever breathing a word to me. I was devastated. Guys reading this blog who are dating- if you are a true man of God and feel you have to break up with someone- pray about it and if you must break up, meet with her! It can be at a coffee house or over skype if distance is an issue, but see her FACE-TO-FACE and look her in the eye and tell her that God is telling you “no.”  That is what a real man of God would do. Don’t cop out with the excuse “we met when we talked about taking a break,” because taking a break and breaking up are not the same. I had believed he would have done what a real man of God would do but clearly, he did the furthest thing possible.  

It ripped my heart up in shreds and yet, there was a nagging feeling that “you prayed about that mountain last night and then this… this must be of God!” Although it took much fasting and prayer, I eventually came to see that indeed, his breaking up with me was a miracle.  I loved what I THOUGHT he was more than even Jesus- what a horrible place I had been in! Never in my life have I placed any person or thing so far above God as I did my ex.  He was my everything. I practically lived to see or hear from him again.  Even when he yelled at me because I didn’t go to the gym and made me wonder if he even found me attractive at all, I still came back for more.  If we had married, who I am would have been destroyed and I would have been a shell of the light I am now.

I never imagined that God would so quickly show me that He has a new future for me and I honestly wish I knew who God wants me with because there are multiple guys right now and I am legitimately interested in them all. God has put me in a place of just trusting Him to sort it all out because I do NOT want to hurt anyone and so I just have to believe that if I keep focusing on Him, Jesus will help limit anyone having pain when it’s time to choose. Perhaps one will just naturally take himself out of the running or one will shine brighter. All I do know is that if I had wallowed in mourning instead of burying myself in Him, I would still be harboring heartache, there is no way I could even be entertaining the thought of a new relationship in the next few months, and I don’t even know if I would still be passing my schooling. This God we serve, He gives us miracles in our trying times but we must recognize them when they happen or, like the woman in the passage above, we may perish in our sorrows.

Jesus,

Help us not miss Your miracles in the midst of our storms. As the preacher said, they may be tiny, crying miracles that need our care and attention, but when they grow up, like how her son would have been able to take care of her in her old age, Your miracles will come to fruition if we just hold on to hope and stay faithful to our daily tasks.  Lord, teach us to focus on You and hold on to the fact that in You, we have hope.  In You, there are miracles that we may not even recognize just yet.  Thank You Jesus for saving me from tying myself to someone who never even saw my real worth and couldn’t even tell me I was beautiful until AFTER he was essentially dumping me when he asked for a break.  Lord, for those who are brokenhearted, I pray right now that You show them just how faithful and loving You are as You did for me in my time of pain.  For those who’s life is falling apart, show them that in You, they have a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Show them that in You, they can overcome the things in this world because You overcame the things in this world (John 16:33). I love You Jesus with all my heart. 

Rebekah M. 

Being Anna

Mar3

“There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.” ~Luke 3:36-38

My last post was about seeking God and not His promised rewards; those will come on their own as God sees fit, but our priority as Christians needs to be on God Himself.

The story of Anna the prophetess exemplifies this. She was married for seven years. That’s it – just seven years before her husband died. Marriage and parenthood are supposed to be two relationships, marked by unconditional love, that emulate God’s love for His people. We can’t fully love the way God does, but in these two relationships, if we do it right we come as close as we can.

However, Anna was denied these things. She was denied a loving marriage. The bible doesn’t mention any children; since other details about her life and family are mentioned, I’m assuming she had no children. But if you know for sure please tell me! Regardless, most girls dream of growing up and getting married. Especially back then. Anna got that life, and then it was taken away from her.

Did she get bitter, or turn on God? No. She may have for awhile, I’m certain she was hurt; but she opened herself up to be healed by God and to grow in her walk with Him. Ultimately, she spent her life not on a human family or any earthly thing; she spent her life with God. Granted, she was brought to a place where there was nothing left for her on earth. Facing that, she turned her desires and her focus to Heaven. Her temporary home was empty, so her sights were set on her eternal home. We aren’t all brought to such a place of despair; sometimes we have to shift that focus on our own.

But look what happens when we do! Anna, at age 84, having spent most of her life as a widow, was essentially living in the temple and spending her waking hours in fasting and prayer. She worshiped and prayed to God for the sake of being with Him – not to gain a reward, but just to be with Him. Her perspective was right, and guess what happened? God rewarded her anyway! Anna spent so much time worshiping in the temple that she was in the temple when Jesus Christ was brought in to be dedicate. Anna’s there praying, desiring God, and then sees Him as an 8-day-old infant. Not only did she see Him, but she knew Him for who He was. She had been blessed with prophesy and her time with God honed her discernment. She knew exactly who she was looking at, and she knew what He would ultimately do. She had the chance to speak over Him. God literally rewarded her with Himself.

Jesus, we thank you that you are so faithful and giving of Yourself to us, when we just focus on You. Help us to keep our priorities straight and keep our eyes on You and Your light. Help us to see You as the true and ultimate reward, and to see anything you bless us with here on earth as a bonus.

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Unveiling Your Treasures

Mar1

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” ~James 4:3

I’ve been noticing a heavy sense of entitlement in the Church. It’s no secret that we work hard to become closer to God. We fast, we pray, we meditate, we worship, we fellowship, we go to church, we sacrifice things we know we shouldn’t be doing.

Then, at the end of it, we say “God! Look! I’ve fasted! I’ve humbled myself! You can reward me now!!”

Yes, God rewards us. Yes He blesses us. He loves us and desires to bless us. However, we need to check our priorities here. Why are you fasting? Are you fasting and sacrificing so that if you ‘prove’ yourself to God, He’ll reward you in kind? If you act kingdom-minded enough, He’ll give you the worldly things you want too?

If that’s the case, you’re already living the reward. You got the greatest reward you ever could – eternity life with the Holy Spirit. If we were truly kingdom-minded, as kingdom-minded as we’re called to be, we would be rejoicing in the sacrifice itself. The more of the world and our human, fleshly desires that we shed, the more room there is in us for the Holy Spirit to manifest itself. The bright His light shines through us as we move through the world, that the space may be brighter for us having passed through. That’s a reward in and of itself. That’s the ULTIMATE reward.

Has God not already rewarded us in advance, by the stripes and cross of Jesus Christ? No act in our lifetime will ever be great enough to deserve that; yet it was given to us in advance.  Does God not promise us that He finds the best pathway for us to be on as we navigate the world? No act in our lifetime will ever be great enough to deserve that; yet it was promised to us already.

Yet here we are. “God I fasted; show me the fruit of my labor.” “God I prayed; send me a boyfriend.” “God I sacrificed ____ because I know it’s not right in your eyes; so reward me.” If we were truly kingdom-minded, those statements would look more like “God I prayed; deepen my prayer and multiply my time so I have more time to rejoice in You”. Or “God I fasted; my physical hunger left room for spiritual nourishment, and I’m more full of you than ever.”  I’m not saying God’s never going to bless you; of course He is, and He’ll bless you with earthly things.

But for our part, when we go around sacrificing and doing these things so that we can be blessed and rewarded, we are putting God’s promises above God Himself. The action may be Godly, yes….but in our hearts, if we’re doing it for the blessing that comes later, are we not still just doing it for our own gain? Is that being truly kingdom-minded?

And what about those times that we do godly things, go on fasts and prayer journeys, and really dig deep into God, and then look around for our reward and get disappointed when we don’t see it? Are we perhaps looking for rewards with worldly eyes? We’re told we’re storing up treasures in Heaven, not here on earth. Do you think treasure looks the same up there? Maybe when we don’t see a tangible reward, we just aren’t looking for it with kingdom-minded eyes; our worldly eyes are looking for tangible things. God does reward, but He sees things differently than we do. If we were truly kingdom-minded, we wouldn’t measure God’s rewards with worldly eyes. We’d be looking with His eyes. That changes the value of all treasure here on earth. Just like a flawed mirror of ourselves, the world gives us flawed glasses. Treasure here, and tangible things here pales in comparison to the treasure God can truly give us. A glorious ministry, a clear path, a husband….these are all good things and God can and will bless us with them. But nonetheless, they are things of this world. If we’re looking around for tangible rewards right where we stand, aren’t we putting God in a box? When He does reward, let’s let Him do so in His own way. Who knows, maybe He did reward you and you were so busy looking for some worldly thing that you missed it?

Also, I feel a sense of condemnation in this sacrifice – I’ve been feeling it in myself, and God’s been doing a lot this week to relieve me of it. “Lord I don’t know you enough; I don’t have enough of you in me; I’m bad at being Your daughter; I need to sacrifice and stop doing ___ and see if I can find more of you somewhere.” We condemn ourselves to it; God loves us to it. We put up blocks sometimes, thinking we aren’t good enough yet or worthy yet to fully let God in. We try to do more and more, thinking “at the end of this sacrifice, I’ll be worthy to feel God more fully.” It’s a constant feeling of striving.

Striving for more of God is great. But the thing is, God is already in relationship with each one of us. In active relationship. Some of us know Him intimately, and some are mere acquaintances, and some are strangers. Either way, it’s a relationship. I don’t think it’s possible to have full revelation of God here on earth. Our human minds are so small compared to Him, and He even tells us we should always desire more of the Spirit.  That hunger, that desire, is always going to be in us, because as Rebekah M said, we aren’t home yet. We’re here for a short time, and this isn’t our true home. While we walk here in this foreign land, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us in the way we’re supposed to go and show us how to think and act. But the Holy Spirit is not something we need to go on a quest to find; it’s already inside us. We just need to look inside ourselves and let it love us. We get so caught up in changing ourselves that sometimes we get ahead of God, or sometimes we forget to stop and check in with the Holy Spirit inside us and let it show us what it’s done in us already.

Sometimes there are things that need change. The difference is we see ourselves as “bad Christians” when it comes to certain things. God doesn’t see us as bad; He just sees that He isn’t done molding us yet. So He brings us through tests and trials, He trains us…sometimes we don’t need to anything at all, we just need to sit there and let Him come over us and love us, and let the presence of His light cast out our darkness. Sometimes we are called to fast and sacrifice.

But either way, God is always there. Always. And we were created to serve, worship, and love Him.  So, if we feel called to make certain changes or sacrifices, and we do, and we don’t see the fruit of it right away, check your heart. Are you doing this for God, or for God’s promised reward? Are you looking for a reward from God through the flawed glasses of the world?

If you feel like you’ve been fighting an uphill battle, take the time today to just spend time with God. Just let Him love you. Let yourself feel Him. It’s enough to just dine with Him at His table. We don’t need to be questioning Him and putting demands on Him; just sit there and belong to Him. Check your motives with Him, and give Him your heart. Just bask in His presence; meditate on His kingdom. Because at the end of the day, there’s your reward. It’s there, right next to you, waiting for you to truly embrace it, without veiling it with the expectations of the world.

I pray for all who read this blog that this revelation of God’s rewards may touch them. And I’d love to pray for you individually! So write to me at being.rebekah.a@gmail.com.

God bless!

~Rebekah A

I Choose

Feb25

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. ~Joshua 24:15 

For almost as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved the name Joshua. So many times I’d say “any single guy named Joshua gets a +1 in my book!” My adoration of the name was because of the above verse: Joshua chose God when not everyone was. When it wasn’t the trendiest thing to do, he chose serving the Lord over any other.

In the last few months God has been opening my eyes to the fact that life is all about choices.  As I mentioned before, when my world was falling apart God gave me a choice and I chose worship.  As my 21 day fast continued, I made an ever growing list of choices such as “Monday I chose to worship You and today Lord, I choose to worship You and to trust You.”  Let us, when events occur in our lives, through God’s strength and grace, make the choice to worship, trust, and know that God is good and His mercy endures forever and that He has EVERYTHING in His hands.  Hold on to Romans 8:28 and know that good and bad works out in the end.

I was talking with one of the guys about this concept yesterday. Honestly, it was probably one of the best conversations about God that I’ve had in a while. We ended up talking about the fact that God is okay with us being human. Jesus lets us weep and cry out to Him and it is in our choice of reaction that we forge our destiny. When my car hit the guardrail while I was driving on that mountain road, my pastor and his wife called me up and we prayed over the phone together.  We soon broke into worship and it was IN THE MIDDLE OF WORSHIPING JESUS  that I got the phone call saying that I was set up with a rental in the middle of the night so that I could go to bed worry free, knowing I had a way to get to the conference the next day! THAT is God! However, before that happened my first reaction to the accident wasn’t to jump up and worship as I looked at my car- it was:

God I’m SO FRUSTRATED!!! I thought everything was turning around! I AM SO FRUSTRATED GOD!!!!

I know that yes, I could have had a MUCH better first reaction, but I also feel like God blessed me because despite the initial frustration, I went from “pity me” to “Lord, despite it all, I trust You and I worship You.” It took me longer than it should have, but I learned a lesson in my hesitation to immediate worship- it was fruitless because in the end God did have it all in His hands!

Jesus, 

I ask that You now solidify in our hearts that with every event in our lives we have a choice. We can choose to do things our way or do things Your way. We can choose to worry or we can choose to worship.  We can decide to walk away from you because of fear and doubt or we can choose to walk towards you- hurtling ourselves in Your arms when things go wrong.  Let us choose worship. Let us choose trust. Let us believe and know that You are sovereign and above all things, even the problems of our lives.  Thank You for understanding that we are human and allow us the space to come to You when we hurt and just sit in Your presence and say “Lord, I choose to trust You, but it hurts so much right now.”  To declare, “Lord, my heart is breaking but I know it is in Your hands.”  To resolve “Lord, I am afraid, please help me with this fear for I choose to worship You even though I am so afraid right now.”  I love You Jesus with all my heart. 

Rebekah M.  

Working In Partnership

Feb22

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to His labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” ~ 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

It’s no secret that God gives us strength and wisdom, and God has all things in His hands. Yet God has been telling me lately that I play a big role in this. Every inch of my heart is either of God or of the world, and I choose which to follow. If I follow God, the things of the world are bound in my heart, and God’s will is free to reign over me. If I follow the world, God’s will is what I’m binding.

So often, we treat God as statue-like, there to answer our desires, and give us what we want. When we don’t like His answer, we wait til the season has passed and we hear a different one. But that is not the God we serve. The God we serve is never idle, with any area of our lives. With every single part of our heart, and every single area of our lives, God wants to be moving. He wants to guide us, refine us, call us deeper to Himself so that He may provide for us more and more fully, and His will may be manifest over us.

He wants to do all these things, for His will and His path is the best one we could possibly be on. However, in order for Him to do these things, we have to let Him. If we want Him to water the ground we’re on and make it fertile, whether it be growing our relationships or jobs or anything else we have in our lives, we need to plant the seeds so that His water can be put to use. Sometimes He even gives us the seeds; with me, He’s been holding His mirror up to my heart showing me areas that need change. He handed me the seeds on a silver platter; He could not have made it more clear. My job, then, was to plant them and let His water flow forth.

As God is not idle in our lives, we cannot be idle and expect Him to work anyway. We have to take the steps He calls us to take; we have to sow when He tells us to sow. We have to open up places in our hearts when He tells us to. Sometimes this calls for sacrifice and fasting; other times this calls for worship. Either way, we are God’s partners. We are His voice and hands and feet here on earth. It’s an amazing, beautiful, and humbling place to be. So pray into His will today, and take the time to listen to what He tells you. He won’t leave you hanging! And of course, feel free to write to me at being.rebekah.a@gmail.com, and let me know what He’s telling you; I’d love to pray into His will for you!

God bless!

~Rebekah A