Confessing the Word

"Ah, Sovereign Lord, 

You made the heavens and the earth 

by Your great power and outstretched arm. 

Nothing is too hard for You."

Jeremiah 32:17 niv

This week a passage from a fiction book I am reading

really jumped off the page at me. 

It made me take in a breath and say, "Oh!"

The truth of this passage 

really spoke to me

and showed me something that 

I want to apply in my life. 

The book I am reading is 

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down

by Neta Jackson.

Within the story, several of the main characters

experienced a very traumatic event together. 

This section comes a couple of weeks 

after the event, but is the first time 

the prayer group has gathered since it happened. 

•

Avis quickly discouraged simply rehashing the details. 

"We need to help each other move 

beyond the trauma to a place of faith."

"Uh-huh." Ruth considered that. 

"So spiritual, I'm not.

Exactly how do you do that?"

Stu snickered. "You sound like Yo-Yo."

Yo-Yo, sitting crossed-legged on the floor

and cleaning her fingernails with a pocketknife,

just grinned. 

Avis took the question seriously.

"By confessing the Word —"

"Avis! Plain English!" 

This time Yo-Yo did speak up.

"All right, plain English.  

But it's an important concept, so I'm going to break it down.

Confessing — it literally means 'to tell, to make known.' 

The Word, of course, is what God says in the Bible.

So, we can either go around confessing, 

'Oh, wasn't that awful' or, 'I'm so scared' or, 

'I'm so angry about what happened.' 

Or we can confess the Word:

'I'm created in the image of God.' 

'God knows and cares when even a sparrow falls

to the ground; how much more He cares about me!'

'All things work together for good for those who love Him

and are called according His purpose' —

to name just a few. 

That's what I call 'confessing the Word.'"

I knew I needed that kind of encouragement to actually

speak the Word. Say it out loud. 

Remind myself what God said about stuff 

that happens when my feelings 

are flying off in every direction.

...

"Stu, I don't mean to deny anyone's feelings. 

We all have natural feelings including me. 

Yes, I felt angry. Yes, I was upset. 

I don't think one day has gone by that I haven't cried

about Hoshi's pain, and I don't know how pretty bad.

But I do know that if I stay there in the natural,

focusing on all my feelings, Satan gets a foothold in my heart.

I begin to doubt God's love. My trust slips —

is God really in control? 

All I'm saying is, what I need to do is confess 

the promises of God, and I need to do it right away.

'Satan, you're a liar!' 

'God, Your ways are above my ways, so I trust You!" —

even if I don't feel like it. 

Because that's the only way I can keep my feet 

on solid ground and my heart from 

giving in to fear."

•

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down

by Neta Jackson

pg. 192-193, 194

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, 

set your hearts on things above, 

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:1-3 niv

He Never....

God's mercies are truly new every morning! 

I am praising and thanking Him today for that truth! 

I am so thankful that He NEVER changes, 

He NEVER fails, 

He NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us. 

He NEVER gets bored with us, 

He NEVER turns His back on us. 

He keeps no records of our wrongs. 

He ALWAYS loves us.

I had been feeling so dull and dry again. 

It covered every part of my life. 

Nothing bad or unusual was happening. 

But I was just feeling blah. 

My times with the Lord were fine, 

but that's just it...

they were FINE, 

not refreshing, full, overflowing, 

exciting, convicting, renewing... 

just Fine.

This morning, for some reason, the veil was lifted again.

I felt the connection.

I felt Him.

His love surrounded me and came trickling out of my eyes.

Joy bounced in my chest as I felt again.

My desire for the Lord had returned.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, 

but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  

Romans 8:6 niv

This is from my reading in Jesus Calling this morning:
 

"Let Me control your mind. 

The mind is the most restless, unruly part of mankind. 

Long after you have learned the discipline 

of holding your tongue, your thoughts defy your will 

and set themselves up against Me. 

Man is the pinnacle of My creation, 

and the human mind is wondrously complex. 

I risked all by granting you freedom to think for yourself. 

This is god-like privilege, 

forever setting you apart from animals and robots. 

I made you in My image, precariously close to deity."

"Though My blood has fully redeemed you, 

your mind is the last bastion of rebellion. 

Open yourself to My radiant Presence, 

letting My Light permeate your thinking. 

When My Spirit is controlling your mind, 

you are filled with Life and Peace."

 

I am so thankful that even when I am not "feeling it", 

when I am dry and just existing,

He is still with me.

He doesn't leave.

He still holds my future,

and He still holds my life in His hands.

Even In the Midst of Mundane

 Look closely, you can see the yogurt smears on the table and bench...

When your words came, I ate them; 

they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty. 

Jeremiah 15:16 niv

•

Life is good.

Nothing "bad" is happening.

No emergencies.

It is just rollin' along.

But when my focus gets off,

it can seem so bad.... so very, very bad.

The scene after the FULL pitcher of lemonade fell out of the fridge....

Messes happen all day long.

I live with imperfect people

(Shhhh... don't tell them I said that....)

I'm far from perfect myself.

(Ahem, again, don't tell them that, but, 

I'm sure they have come to realize that along the way.)

I focus on the mess,

the imperfections,

the less-thans.

And then I start thinking life is bad,

really bad.

When it is good,

really good.

Ruthie is finding her style... who needs pants, right? :-)

Once again, I have been feeling

dry, 

disconnected,

lost.

He has showed me what He wants me to focus on.

Choosing thankfulness,

trusting Him,

talking to Him, instead of myself.

I am realizing that I thought

that just because I wanted these things 

to be a part of my life,

they would just happen --

like God would just wave a wand 

and zap! I'd be grateful! 

It just doesn't happen that way. 

I have to practice gratefulness.

I have to learn to trust Him.

I have to remember to talk to Him.

I have to repent.

I have to practice.

•

Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
      I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
      I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands,
      for that is where my happiness is found.

Psalm 119:33-35 nlt

•

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine 

and puts them into practice 

is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

Matthew 7:24 niv

•

But he who merely hears and does not practice doing 

My words is like a man who built a house 

on the ground without a foundation, 

against which the torrent burst, 

and immediately it collapsed and fell, 

and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.

Luke 6:39 amp

•

Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; 

throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], 

so that your progress may be evident to everybody.    Look well to yourself [to your own personality] 
and to [your] teaching; persevere in these things [hold to them], 
for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

1 Timothy 4:14-16 amp

Life on the Cluttered Plane

"I am calling you to a life of constant 

communion with Me. 

Basic training includes learning 

to live about your circumstances, 

even while interacting on that

cluttered plane of life.

You yearn for a simplified lifestyle,

so that your communication with Me

can be uninterrupted.

But I challenge you to 

relinquish the fantasy

of an uncluttered world.

Accept each day just as it comes,

and find Me in the midst of it all.

 

from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

I can get so distracted 

by the clutter

and chaos

that fills my days.

I can easily blame 

the circumstances for 

the distance 

that I allow to come 

between us.

I long for 

quiet,

room,

space,

calm.

 I think that there 

and only there can I find

peace,

rest,

You.

But You are here.

Always.

In the midst.

Communion with You

is possible.

How much do I seek it?

Then you will call upon Me, 

and you will come and pray to Me, 

and I will hear and heed you.

Then you will seek Me, inquire for, 

and require Me [as a vital necessity] 

and find Me when 

you search for Me with all your heart.

I will be found by you, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:12-14a amp

Taking One Step Forward

Therefore humble yourselves 

[demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] 

under the mighty hand of God, 

that in due time He may exalt you, 

Casting the whole of your care 

[all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] 

on Him, for He cares for you affectionately 

and cares about you watchfully. 

1 Peter 5:6-7 amp

•

Oh man, was I sinking down into the depths this morning!

It started with a quiet time that just wasn't clicking.

I was doing all my usual things, 

but I just wasn't connecting 

with Jesus. 

And, then, from there, it 

seemed like a normal morning, 

but somewhere along the way

things started just getting 

bigger

and

heavier

and 

growing

out of proportion.

 Way out of proportion.

I was mad at my kids for not wanting to cooperate with me,

I was overwhelmed by my "to do list",

I was sick of picking up, 

cleaning, directing kids,

redirecting kids, getting groceries, 

making meals, washing clothes, etc., etc., etc.

I wanted to crawl back into bed

and stay there.

I started visualizing a 

remote,

beautiful

beach

where I could just sit

and listen to 

and watch the waves. 

As I started to cry,

my two year old

barged into my room

and hugged me tight.

"It's OK, Mom."

she said in her cute little voice.

I knew the right thing to do,

I knew Jesus was right there with me,

I knew I just needed to cry out to Him,

 but it was like I just couldn't. 

So, I emailed my husband.

I told him I was having a hard day. 

And, I asked him to pray for me.

He must have,

because I was able to start 

looking up. 

I went back into my room and

literally cried out to 

our Father. 

I poured it all out,

dripping all over His feet.

And then, I was able

to take the next step forward.

I chose a praise song to play on You Tube

and cranked it up,

and danced around the living room 

with Ruthie.

Finally, I was able to gather the girls together

for devotions in the living room.

I love that we are using the kids' version of

Jesus Calling

because I get to do a review of what I 

read on my own in the morning.

And did I ever need a review! 

This is what it said:

"Grumbling and complaining are not what I want from you.

When you grumble, you are telling Me that you 

don't like the way things are going in your life —

that you hate My way of doing things. 

And when you complain, you are showing 

an ungrateful heart."

GULP! 

"Thankfulness is your protection against the 

sins of grumbling and complaining.

Being thankful also keeps you 

close to Me."

There was my theme for the year... gratitude. 

And then....

While the girls and I were having a really

good discussion about the devotion and the verses,

a car pulled up outside.

It was the Jehovah's Witness lady

who has visited me in the past. 

I hadn't seen her in a while,

but when she comes, 

she wants to read a verse or two to me.

I had to smile as she knocked on the door.

I knew God had a verse for me.

And He did.

The verse He delivered to my door this morning was:

Therefore humble yourselves 

[demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] 

under the mighty hand of God, 

that in due time He may exalt you, 

Casting the whole of your care 

[all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] 

on Him, for He cares for you affectionately 

and cares about you watchfully. 

1 Peter 5:6-7 amp

 •

Humbly I repent of my ungrateful heart.

I acknowledge I was not liking the 

plans He had for my life,

and I confess that I was clutching onto my cares

with both tightly clenched fists. 

Thank you, Jesus, for caring for me affectionally

and for caring for me watchfully.

Thank you that I can cast all my cares on You.

Smashing What I Created

I have strength for all things 

in Christ Who empowers me 

[I am ready for anything and 

equal to anything through Him 

Who infuses inner strength into me; 

I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. 

Philippians 4:13 amp

 

•

This calf you worship, O Israel, 

was crafted by your own hands! 

It is not God! 

Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.

Hosea 8:6 nlt

 •

We call Abraham "father" not because he 

got God's attention by living like a saint, 

but because God made something out of Abraham 

when he was a nobody. 

Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, 

God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? 

Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because  

he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: 

raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.  

When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, 

deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do 

but on what God said he would do. 

Romans 4:17-18 msg

 •

...when they knew and recognized Him as God, 

they did not honor and glorify Him as God 

or give Him thanks. 

But instead they became futile and 

godless in their thinking 

[with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, 

and stupid speculations] 

and their senseless minds were darkened. 

Romans 1:21 amp

I am an idol craftswoman.

All along I thought I was "doing it right" or at least trying.

I have been setting my eyes, my focus, my attention on how much I want to be a beautiful, godly woman, with my home in order as well as my life, and my children's lives. Yesterday, I was determined that I was going to get myself disciplined (in a day...) and get my home clean, organized and sparkling. On top of that, the kids and I would do devotions, get school accomplished, and whip all their character flaws into submission... as well as my own.

I can laugh now, as I type that out, but let me tell you, by 8:30 last night, it was not a pretty picture. I was a big crabby mess.

This morning as I sat before the Lord, I knew that I needed Him to show me what was going on. I asked Him to. And the swiftness and the unexpectedness of His answer brought tears streaming down my face.

Before I even finished asking Him to take my mess and show me what He wanted me to see, the words to Hosea 8:6 came into my mind.

This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits. -- Hosea 8:6 nlt

Have I made an idol of the picture I have in my mind of who I should be, what I think I should say and act like and feel and desire?

Wow. I really didn't see that.

And yet, our loving, never-forsaking Father, had allowed me to see, and start sinking down into, my failure. He was allowing me to see the impossibility, the falseness of what I was trying to sculpt - to create - in my life.

As I am typing this out, I am realizing that what has been going on in me is nothing new. It seems to be a pattern with me... not too long ago this was my share... l And I'm sure that if you spend some time looking through my blog posts, you will find many more that are just like this.

So, I have been an idol craftswoman.

But the Spirit of the Most High God lives in me.

He has called me His own.

He has called me a new creation.

When I refuse to honor Him and glorify Him and give Him thanks in my life, that is when I become futile in my thinking (Romans 1:21). That is when I start crafting a new idol - or a replica of the same old one I seem to create.

I am so thankful for His patience with me. I am thankful for the promise that He, Who began this good work in me, is faithful and will bring this work to completion. (Philippians 1:6)

Cooperating With God

As for God, 

His way is perfect; 

the word of the Lord is flawless.

He is a shield for all

who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 18:30 niv

•

God has been showing me a lot about

putting my focus on Him,

trusting Him,

and giving Him thanks. 

I want so much just to get it...

to be perfect at 

keeping my focus on Him

all the time.

I want to be able 

to just walk through my day

and see His presence

all over the place.

Because He is there.

But then I find myself 

in the midst of a 

very normal day.

You see, my kids 

haven't gotten with the program.

They're not cooperating with me.

They've not gotten the memo

that now that their Mom

is on this holy quest to be perfect,

they need to be perfect.

I mean, really, 

that would make my life

so much easier!

I blow it

ALL THE TIME.

I just am finding 

keeping my focus on Jesus is

so much harder than it sounds.

Wow, that can be discouraging. 

But, this is a journey, right? 

The Bible is full of illustrations of 

how long it can take to 

cultivate and grow 

spiritual fruit.

I'm really hoping that I 

don't have to go live in the 

wilderness for forty years.

Or even forty days.

I know that I am a child of God.

I know that He has put His Spirit in me.

I know that He has begun a good work in me,

and will carry it to completion. 

My hope and trust is in Him. 

I just need to be patient and cooperate.

•

"When God assures us of a promise,

He desires for us to respond by cooperating

in the fulfillment of that promise.

Sometimes that means battle;

at other times God directs us to sit and wait.

Wisdom involves learning to know the difference.

Whether God tells us to sit, stand, or move,

He calls us to respond with 

a spirit of cooperation."

Beth Moore in David

•

I have a choice

to fight Him or cooperate with Him.

I can choose to try to go it on my own

or take refuge in Him and

rely on His strength.

•

If the Lord delights in a man's way,

He makes his steps firm; 

though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalm 37:23-24 niv