Take Away

Take away any desire in me that hurts you;
Take away anything that stands between me and You.
I want to be what you've created me to be.
It's my desire that you find favor in me
Lord take away anything that displease you.....Yolanda Adams

Sitting in my car at lunch one day last week and listening to my Yolanda Adam's station on Pandora and talking to the Lord, the song above came on and instantly arrested my attention.  As the tears begin to flow I realized that there was still alot of work God needed to do on me.  I am not where I want to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be.    would like to think that after growing up in the church and being saved now for twenty-five years that I would be rid of  all those things that are not like God. But truth be told, I am not.  There are just some things that I enjoy that I continue to hold on to. It isn't that the Holy Spirit hasn't pointed those things out to me.  It's more about me ignoring the Holy Spirit.  And not only that, there are times that I feel that God is dragging His heels.  He doesn't seem to come to my aide quickly enough. Now don't get me wrong, God always shows up, just not always in a time frame that coincides with what I want.  Nevertheless,  I can't continue to ignore the voice of the Lord and the urging of the Holy Spirit and expect to be growing in the Lord.  Now if you are satisfied with where you are in your relationship with God and don't feel the need for growth then stop reading.  But if you are like me and have a strong desire to be everything that God wants you to be and who He created you to be than keep reading.

With that being said what do you do when you recognize things in your life that hinder your relationship with God? Of course SIN is at the top of the list and I will leave it up to you to dig deeper in your personal life and identify those specific things or people that continue to separate you from God.  Above everything else in my life, my heart's desire is to live my life pleasing to God.  I have learned that first and foremost I must submit and give God supreme authority to make decisions over my life that may at times be painful but very necessary. I must confess that I haven't always made the best decisions for my life.  Therefore, because I know me and I understand that I have become comfortable and secure in my way of doing things.  (You know, those behaviors that are not necessarily becoming of a child of God.)  But I thank God for the piercing power of His Word that brings to my attention those things that I need to change.  And because I am a creature of habit and used to trying to control my own life it is not easy to just give those things to the Lord.  Instead I have to ask the Lord to 'take away' everything that displeases Him.  

The Psalmist said it best, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See is there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting". (Psalm 139:23-24)  This is not a scripture to be taken lightly.  When David wrote these words He was asking the Lord to search him thoroughly, till every point of his being is known, and read, and understood; for he is sure that even by such an investigation there will be found in him no complicity with wicked men. This type of request is not for the weak at heart.  It is for a thorough investigation, the innermost search.  I like the way one commentary put it. 'Read not alone the desires of my heart, but the fugitive thoughts of my head'. That's deep.  Total exposure. Nothing is hidden. Even though God already knows our hearts and our innermost thoughts it is showing total trust.  Go ahead and try me by the fire, send the flood.  I want to better by any means necessary. Singing...I trust you Lord.  It's the beginning of the new year and many of us Those of you that have been with me for a while know that I often refer to this life as a journey of trust.  Along this journey there should come a time when we stop bucking and fighting against what God wants to do in our lives.  I don't make New Year's resolutions but I do take a moment each year to reflect.  Upon my reflection this year I determined that the only change I wanted to make was to trust God more. To be the person He created me to be which in turn would make be a better wife, mother, friend, servant.   My challenge to you today is that instead of trying to determine what things need to be changed on your own, give that task to the Lord.  Pray as David did and give God free reign to make you better.  Truly 'take away' those things that hinder your service unto Him. 

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

I thank You for this another day you have granted me. Whatever bad choices I may have made on yesterday, I ask You to forgive me.  Some of those things I may have been aware of and some things may be unknown to me.  Whatever the case I ask that You see whether there be in my heart, or in my life, any evil habit unknown to myself. If there be such an evil way, take me from it, take it from me. No matter how comfortable I may be in this behavior, if it is contrary to Your will and Your way then please deliver me from it altogether.  Take it away from me by whatever means you deem necessary.  I truly want to me what You have created me to be so that You can get the glory out of my life.  In Jesus' precious name I pray Amen.

A Blessing In Unanswered Prayer

What makes you lose your fire for the Lord?  As for me, my answer most of the time is what appears to be unanswered prayer.  There are so many times when I just don't understand why God insists on leaving me in my current condition as long as He does.  Relationships on a continual roller coaster.  Finances up and down.  Sickness.  Job insecurity.  Feel free to add a few of your own.  I finally had to come to the conclusion that I don't need to understand why God does what He does I just need to trust Him.  My faith has to be based on more than what God does for me. Why?  Because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God's power is not measured by how quickly He brings me out of a situation.  God is more concerned with the total package.  I like to think of it this way.  As a parent I could give my children everything they want.  I could overlook their bad behavior.  But at the end of the day by doing this would I be helping them or hurting them?  I believe that I would be hurting them.  That is why even though they may get mad at me because I don't allow them to sleep in church or play games on their phones, I know that I am doing the right thing.  The Bible says that we must 'Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)  When I was young I went to church seven days a week and two or three times on Sunday. My parents made me learn entire chapters of the bible. I didn't know what the words meant but I had it memorized. (By the way, I thank them all the time for that today. They were helping to build my foundation.) But now that I was calling all the shots I decided that I needed a break. I remember the years I went to college . I didn't come home much and the only time I went to church was when I needed a home cooked meal. But while I was taking my break, life didn't wait around on me. Things began to happen. I started to experience my own set of trials. One trial in particular was when I became a single mom. While I thank God for the foundation my parents and childhood church had instilled in me, it was about time that I got to know Him a little bit better for myself. It was time for me to move from milk to meat.

Now during this time I didn't stop praying.  In fact I still remember some of those prayers.  If God had answered those prayers I am not sure where my life would be.  Most of these prayers had very selfish motives.  Lord, give me this.  I want that.  It wasn't about making me a better person.  I wasn't concerned with my inner man.  Every day I saw the ugly that was staring back at me in the mirror.  Yet and still my prayers didn't ask God to 'Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me'.  (Psalm 51:10)  I didn't want God to 'Search me and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thought'. (Psalm 139:23) It wasn't until God grew me up a little bit through my trials and tribulations that I was finally able to go to Him and pray these prayers with sincerity of heart. I understood that this may mean more tests and trials were headed my way but I was prepared.  I knew that He wouldn't leave me out there by myself as I traveled through the storm.  I knew that He would provide safety and protection.  The one thing that I had been missing all this time was a personal relationship.  God was not my number one priority and consequently everything else in my life was falling apart. 

You see, I believe that we make time for whatever we feel is important to us. And many of us have not made studying the Word and spending time in communion with God a priority. Especially those of us whose lives seem to be going okay right now. Even some of us in a storm don't realize that you are there because God is trying to get your attention. He misses you. He wishes you talked to Him more. He has some important information that He wants to share with you. He is urging you, like the writer of Hebrews, that the time has come for you to move from spiritual infancy to maturity. It's time to stop letting every storm catch you by surprise. It's time for you to stand up to the devil with the Word of God. I am here to tell you, Spiritual Maturity has its benefits. You don't have to worry as much. You can actually get some sleep. Yes, you are in a storm but because you read in His Word that 'His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.' (Psalms 30:5); you can go to sleep. You've come to keep verses like, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever' (Hebrews 13:8) in your vault. That let's you know that if He did it for the three Hebrew boys who were right in the midst of the fire, He can do it for you. There has been no greater revelation to me than when I sit down to learn first hand from God himself in my personal study time. It encourages me. It gives me the strength that I need to run on and see what the end will be. I don't have to be taught the basics over and over again. I see the big picture. I know that 'my present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for me an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. (II Corinthians 4:17)

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

Today I thank You for unanswered prayer.  I thank You for those times You said "No" or "Wait", "Now is not the time".  I am so glad that You have the ability to see the bigger picture.  Help me to rely on Your consistency.  I know that You won't put more on me than I can bear.  I submit to Your will.  Give me the strength to continue to stand while riding through the storm  I will continue to give You all the glory, honor and the praise. In Jesus' Wonderful name I pray Amen.

Do You Have A Plan?

Have you ever tried to sit down and write a life plan?  Typically people do this when they have reached that point of needing guidance in their life.  They are not sure of which way to go.   Someone had to go and ask that dreaded question "Where do you see yourself in five years"?   I had to do this as my final assignment in my Human Relations in Training and Development course this semester.  It was an interesting assignment.  The object of the assignment was for you to identify those things that you want to improve about yourself and then put together a plan of action to correct those steps.  As I begin to make a list of the things that I needed to improve. The funny thing about this list was that I had made this list before.  So why was I once again in the same place?  Or was I?

The more I sat and thought about it, I realized that I was not in the same place.  I was indeed aware of those things that I did not like about myself.  I recognized those things that I wanted to do better.  This time was different.  It was not by accident that these things were discovered.  It was through my asking the Lord to "search me and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me in the way everlasting".  (Psalms 139: 23-24). This discovery was through my reading of the Word that is "quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart". (Hebrews 4:12)  You see, in the past this discovery was done by accident.  The process was kind of rough and I went pretty much unwillingly, kicking and screaming the entire way.  The difference now is that I want to know these things.  I trust that God knows what is best for me.  He knows my innermost thoughts.  He sees my sometimes evil ways.  He knows those things about me that hinder my ministry.  And because He knows He can point them out and take me through the necessary steps to remove them.  Now I have come to know that this is not going to be the most pleasant experience but the reward in the end is heavenly.  My encouragement for you today is for you to stop being surprised at the ways God is working in your life.  There is truth behind Romans 8:28.  He is working it all out for your good.  One thing I have learned is that it is not the process but the pain that produces perseverance.  Everything that God is doing in your life is perfect.  It is achieving for you a far greater weight in glory.  I know that it is easy to look at what you see right now in front of you.  No one knows your circumstances better than you.  But I challenge you today to test your faith.  Are you relying in your own ability or in the power of God?  I must admit that my greatest failures have come when I was relying on my own ability.  The knowledge I had accumulated with the brain God gave me.  The experience I had gained through employment opportunities God had blessed with me.  My personality and the ability I have to interview well which came from a heart transplant given to me by God.  All of these things that I thought were "my own" but were truly from God. 

Maybe you feel that you are far from where you thought you should be.  May you feel that there are manmade roadblocks in the way of you getting to where you want to be.  Whatever the case I stopped by to remind you to trust God.  Sometimes it's as simple as that.  Allowing God to make the necessary changes in your life.  Allowing Him to make up the difference.  That's what it is all about.  Remember that He loves you to much to leave you the same way.  Go ahead and try to create steps and strategies to change your life.  Unless God is at the center of that plan, you are setting yourself up to fail.  How much better your life will be if you just trust God!

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

I thank You for Your Word that directs me and reminds me that I can show you all my flaws, my innermost  thoughts, the very ugliness that I see staring me in the mirror some days, not to be ridiculed but for correction and for change.  My hearts desire is to be more like you.  To walk like you Lord.  To talk like You Lord.  I want the words that I speak to be acceptable in thy sight.  I love you Lord.  In Jesus' Wonderful Name I pray Amen.