Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. -- Philippians 4:11
I have heard it more than once from numerous people. If truth be told, I have been that person who has uttered these words whenever things aren't going my way, or when drama seems to be unfolding all around me. I have said them as carelessly and commonly as if I was taking a breath and never really thought anything of them. I have said, as if it is the only thing keeping me from eternal bliss, "I just want to be happy". Perhaps you are familiar with this phrase. We use it all the time, especially in regards to relationships, but it has also been spoken in reference to employment, living situations, kids, and various other topics. Usually they are spoken with a sigh and a heavy heart, stated as though a fixed marriage, job, or home would really make us happy.
But when you think about it, is this statement really true? Would an improvement in your marriage honestly make you happy? Didn't you use to say that just being married would make you "happy" when you were talking to your single friends? Or would a different job make you happy? You complained about the last job and God blessed you with this one, but you're still not "happy". Or the house you just had to have...God told you to wait but you weren't "happy" living in the smaller one you could afford so now you're unhappy and broke to top it off! So now in every one of these situations and countless others, we still "just want to be happy".
I wonder, are we ever satisfied? My thought is -- no, we aren't. There is always more that we seem to want in order to fulfill some insatiable thirst we have for more, bigger, better, different. I realized today that the concept of "being happy" is really for people who already have too much. Think about it. Have you ever heard a homeless person say, I just want to be happy. Or an abused child. Or an addict. Or someone living in a shanty in a third world country. Or a single mom with 5 kids living below the poverty line in the good old US of A. I doubt that you have. Why? Because they are more desirous of basic, fundamental necessities like food, water, shelter and clothing to be concerned with whether or not they are "happy". They are "happy" to eat, have a bed to sleep in, clothes on their back, a roof over their head and here we are talking about "I just want to be happy".
Well you know what you should do? You should just "be happy" in whatever state you are in as Paul mentions in the above verse. In verse 12 of this text, Paul states that whether he is living large or struggling, on the mountain high or the valley low, he is content, satisfied and aware that God is meeting his every need so what more can he ask for? We in the body of Christ are a blessed and prosperous people. We are fortunate beyond measure and yet we can be so ungrateful. God gives to us exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think according to the power at work in us and yet we still want more.
I know I am guilty of it and God is chastising me for it so I figured I'd share my insight with you. We must learn that the notion of happiness is relative and a luxury that people who usually already have every reason to "be happy" are merely overlooking. Today, and every time, we should just take a few moments to count our blessings, thank God, and say, in this life, I am happy.
God has a vision for you...let's find out what it is!
In Christ,
SistaV
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Where Are You?
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? -- Genesis 3:9
God asks this question of Adam shortly after Adam and Eve have eaten of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Because their eyes were now open to the knowledge of good and evil and because they now knew they were naked, they covered themselves with fig leaves and hid in the bushes when God came by for His customary conversation with them. God, who is all knowing and thus who clearly knows where they are and why, asks the rhetorical question, "Adam, where are you?"
Everyday God came to the garden to see about Adam and Eve. Everyday they had the luxury and privilege of walking with God Almighty, probably having the opportunity to ask anything of Him and being able to receive an answer directly from God Himself. I bet they even asked Him, and likely more than once, "Why is it again that we can't eat of this one tree?" And I'm sure God, as any gracious parent would do to an obnoxiously curious child, just patted them on the head, smiled and said, "Because I said so." Well we know that answer wasn't good enough because eventually the dynamic duo was able to be hoodwinked by satan when he appeared in the form of a serpent and convinced them to eat of the fruit.
And yet God still asked, "Adam, where are you?" I believe that God knew exactly where they were, that He knew exactly why they were hiding, and He knew the obvious unfortunate consequences of their actions but I don't think those are the only reasons why He asked the question. I would like to highlight the fact that I believe God was accustomed to communing with them, and that is why He asked the question. I believe He expected them to be in their usual place, at their usual time, in spite of the fact that they had missed up.
I also believe that God is asking each of us that same question right now -- "Daughter, where are you?" "Son, where are you?" I know you messed up, I know you went against my clear instructions and commands, I know you think the mistake you made is unforgiveable, but guess what? I still want to commune with you. I still want to meet with you in the cool of the day and minister to you. I want to hear how your day was and the questions that only I can provide answers to. I want to forgive you, showing you new mercies daily and remind you that despite the schemes the enemy may pull and how many times you may fall for the same trick, I AM still God and able to restore.
"Son, daughter, where are you?" God is calling to you today. He wants to know where you are and what you are doing. He wants to love on you just like He did the day He carefully crafted you for your mother's womb. No mistake, no situation, no devil in hell can keep God from you. So call out to our God right now and let Him know right where you are, and He will meet you there.
Father God, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for the spirit of forgiveness and new mercies. We thank you that you don't hold grudges and that you allow us back in the fold without so much as a backward glance. We appreciate you for your display of loving kindness and receive the drawing of the Holy Spirit who leads us back into your loving arms. We thank you for that place of rest like no other and allow you to minister a fresh anointing to us to do the work you have called us to do. We love you Lord, and we thank you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
God has a vision for you...let's find out what it is!
In Christ,
SistaV
God asks this question of Adam shortly after Adam and Eve have eaten of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Because their eyes were now open to the knowledge of good and evil and because they now knew they were naked, they covered themselves with fig leaves and hid in the bushes when God came by for His customary conversation with them. God, who is all knowing and thus who clearly knows where they are and why, asks the rhetorical question, "Adam, where are you?"
Everyday God came to the garden to see about Adam and Eve. Everyday they had the luxury and privilege of walking with God Almighty, probably having the opportunity to ask anything of Him and being able to receive an answer directly from God Himself. I bet they even asked Him, and likely more than once, "Why is it again that we can't eat of this one tree?" And I'm sure God, as any gracious parent would do to an obnoxiously curious child, just patted them on the head, smiled and said, "Because I said so." Well we know that answer wasn't good enough because eventually the dynamic duo was able to be hoodwinked by satan when he appeared in the form of a serpent and convinced them to eat of the fruit.
And yet God still asked, "Adam, where are you?" I believe that God knew exactly where they were, that He knew exactly why they were hiding, and He knew the obvious unfortunate consequences of their actions but I don't think those are the only reasons why He asked the question. I would like to highlight the fact that I believe God was accustomed to communing with them, and that is why He asked the question. I believe He expected them to be in their usual place, at their usual time, in spite of the fact that they had missed up.
I also believe that God is asking each of us that same question right now -- "Daughter, where are you?" "Son, where are you?" I know you messed up, I know you went against my clear instructions and commands, I know you think the mistake you made is unforgiveable, but guess what? I still want to commune with you. I still want to meet with you in the cool of the day and minister to you. I want to hear how your day was and the questions that only I can provide answers to. I want to forgive you, showing you new mercies daily and remind you that despite the schemes the enemy may pull and how many times you may fall for the same trick, I AM still God and able to restore.
"Son, daughter, where are you?" God is calling to you today. He wants to know where you are and what you are doing. He wants to love on you just like He did the day He carefully crafted you for your mother's womb. No mistake, no situation, no devil in hell can keep God from you. So call out to our God right now and let Him know right where you are, and He will meet you there.
Father God, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for the spirit of forgiveness and new mercies. We thank you that you don't hold grudges and that you allow us back in the fold without so much as a backward glance. We appreciate you for your display of loving kindness and receive the drawing of the Holy Spirit who leads us back into your loving arms. We thank you for that place of rest like no other and allow you to minister a fresh anointing to us to do the work you have called us to do. We love you Lord, and we thank you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
God has a vision for you...let's find out what it is!
In Christ,
SistaV
Friday, March 6, 2009
It's All About Me!
"7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused... 20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison." -- Genesis 39:7, 8, 20 (Read Genesis 39 for the whole story.)
I know, from the title, it sounds like this blog is going to be self-indulgent, a bunch of ranting, full of egotistical banter about me and my greatness, but really it's about the exact opposite. It's about my (and perhaps others) need for humility and deliverance. But since I can't talk about anyone else, I'll focus on myself. Earlier today I was wondering why we have to go through struggles, and why, it seems, that our (my) struggles are typically at the hands of others. "If they would just get it together, stop bothering me, do what I say, life would be so much better." Sound familiar? Well, it has been my daily mantra for quite some time; and unfortunately until very recently, I thought it was the appropriate way to handle all that ails me. But today, God had a different story in mind.
It actually started last night while watching "Fireproof" (a movie I would highly recommend to couples and singles alike). At first I sympathized with the wife's character of course, but as the movie progressed, I realized that I was very similar to the husband's character who was convinced that his marriage would be so much better if his wife would "just get it together, stop bothering him and do what he said!" Gosh, do I really sound like that?, I thought to myself. And God nodded His head, Yep you do. Dang it...lol... So what does all this mean? It means that struggle has a purpose, but it's not the one we (I meant, I) usually think it is. We (I) often think that the struggle is caused by the actions of other people, but really it's God's way of getting us in check.
Case-in-point, Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Now I'm pretty familiar with this text, think I may have even preached out of it but God revealed it to me in a new way today. I don't think I have ever heard anyone teach on this text in regards to the issues that Potiphar's wife had. She clearly wanted to be an adulteress (if she wasn't one already); she was selfish as she wasn't concerned about Joseph's well-being, character or name; and she was most definitely a liar. But guess what? No one is talking about that; they're talking about Joseph. Why? Because the situation, the struggle, was for him, not her!!
Hello? Is anybody out there? Did you catch that? I finally did...for all the conversation that could be had on Potiphar's wife, the purpose of Joseph's encounter with her was for God to do a work in him, not her. I believe that God knew Joseph still harbored some anger and unforgiveness in his heart towards his brothers and that God needed to allow Joseph a little more time (2 years in fact) to deal with that before he could be further promoted. Now that's just speculation on my part, but I honestly believe that if Joseph's brothers had shown up before he went to prison, Joseph wouldn't have been as forgiving or understanding to their plight. God used the incident with Potiphar's wife to refine Joseph and prepare him for what was yet to come.
Perhaps like Joseph and like me, you are in a situation where you're thinking, "if this person, this job, this place would just change, my life would be so much better". And perhaps like me, you've been doing everything in your power to make that happen to no avail. And perhaps like me, you're tired of fighting a losing battle and finally realize as Joseph did, that this struggle is for your benefit and edification in the Lord. If you are that person, join the club, and make a decision to see what areas of your life need to be further refined by the uncomfortable situation you are currently in. Is there anger, unforgiveness, hurt, pride, lust, fear, etc. that God may be trying to remove from you through this situation that is hindering you from moving to your next level in Him? If so, like Joseph, use this time to allow God to do so, and eventually, you too will be promoted to the palace God has destined for you.
God has a vision for you...let's find out what it is!
In Christ,
SistaV
I know, from the title, it sounds like this blog is going to be self-indulgent, a bunch of ranting, full of egotistical banter about me and my greatness, but really it's about the exact opposite. It's about my (and perhaps others) need for humility and deliverance. But since I can't talk about anyone else, I'll focus on myself. Earlier today I was wondering why we have to go through struggles, and why, it seems, that our (my) struggles are typically at the hands of others. "If they would just get it together, stop bothering me, do what I say, life would be so much better." Sound familiar? Well, it has been my daily mantra for quite some time; and unfortunately until very recently, I thought it was the appropriate way to handle all that ails me. But today, God had a different story in mind.
It actually started last night while watching "Fireproof" (a movie I would highly recommend to couples and singles alike). At first I sympathized with the wife's character of course, but as the movie progressed, I realized that I was very similar to the husband's character who was convinced that his marriage would be so much better if his wife would "just get it together, stop bothering him and do what he said!" Gosh, do I really sound like that?, I thought to myself. And God nodded His head, Yep you do. Dang it...lol... So what does all this mean? It means that struggle has a purpose, but it's not the one we (I meant, I) usually think it is. We (I) often think that the struggle is caused by the actions of other people, but really it's God's way of getting us in check.
Case-in-point, Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Now I'm pretty familiar with this text, think I may have even preached out of it but God revealed it to me in a new way today. I don't think I have ever heard anyone teach on this text in regards to the issues that Potiphar's wife had. She clearly wanted to be an adulteress (if she wasn't one already); she was selfish as she wasn't concerned about Joseph's well-being, character or name; and she was most definitely a liar. But guess what? No one is talking about that; they're talking about Joseph. Why? Because the situation, the struggle, was for him, not her!!
Hello? Is anybody out there? Did you catch that? I finally did...for all the conversation that could be had on Potiphar's wife, the purpose of Joseph's encounter with her was for God to do a work in him, not her. I believe that God knew Joseph still harbored some anger and unforgiveness in his heart towards his brothers and that God needed to allow Joseph a little more time (2 years in fact) to deal with that before he could be further promoted. Now that's just speculation on my part, but I honestly believe that if Joseph's brothers had shown up before he went to prison, Joseph wouldn't have been as forgiving or understanding to their plight. God used the incident with Potiphar's wife to refine Joseph and prepare him for what was yet to come.
Perhaps like Joseph and like me, you are in a situation where you're thinking, "if this person, this job, this place would just change, my life would be so much better". And perhaps like me, you've been doing everything in your power to make that happen to no avail. And perhaps like me, you're tired of fighting a losing battle and finally realize as Joseph did, that this struggle is for your benefit and edification in the Lord. If you are that person, join the club, and make a decision to see what areas of your life need to be further refined by the uncomfortable situation you are currently in. Is there anger, unforgiveness, hurt, pride, lust, fear, etc. that God may be trying to remove from you through this situation that is hindering you from moving to your next level in Him? If so, like Joseph, use this time to allow God to do so, and eventually, you too will be promoted to the palace God has destined for you.
God has a vision for you...let's find out what it is!
In Christ,
SistaV
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