Feeling reassured...

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Exodus 14:13

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹³ Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again.

Why is it sometimes easy to believe that God is able to do the impossible, but more difficult to believe (or more so trust) that God can do for us what God does for others EVERY day? Every day happenings in the lives of others, we somehow have an issue believing that those same things can be done for us. I believe that my God can do what NO man can do. I believe that God can open doors that no man can shut and close doors that no man can open. Yet, every now and again my hope wanes and I begin to think that my small stuff cannot be fixed. Oh, but when God said to me "Stand still" and I read this verse, I was reassured that God shall deliver me in the face of the seemingly impossible challenge and I had a revelation. SURELY if God can do the IMpossible then God can do the absolutely possible! It IS God that we're talking about and for God NOTHING is IMpossible. Just as the Israelites faced the red sea in front of them and Pharoah's army behind them and God told them through Moses to "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord," God is telling some of us that very same thing, STAND. STILL. I'm so glad those were my most recent instructions. There is rest in knowing that God has said "I've got this." Instead of continuing to allow myself to think that my stuff is too hard for God, I'll just stand and watch the salvation of the Lord this very day. Will you stand and watch with me?

Feeling rebuked...

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Esther 4:13-16

The Message (MSG)

^12-14 When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”

A few weeks ago, my Pastor asked me to prepare to teach Bible Study on Esther, which I did yesterday. I studied and meditated on what God would have me to share with the people and the lesson on Esther and Vashti, in my opinion, was good! I made it through the days of preparation and the majority of the lesson, but at the end as we were about to close, I asked if anyone wanted to share what they had gotten from the lesson. My husband began to share his takeaway and it was during his sharing that I realized I-I-I was being rebuked! Not by him, lol, but by the Holy Spirit. My husband shared, in so many words, that just as Mordecai had to remind Esther that her position offered her no protection God sometimes has to send people to remind us that we have work to do; that we have purpose to fulfill; that we weren't placed in our current position so we could get complacent and watch as people are hurting. God sends people to remind us to move! God sends people to remind us that there is MORE for us to do! All I could do was laugh as I settled into my rebuking and I'm thankful for the rebuke that reminded me that I have to step up to the plate and do the tough things and have the hard conversations because 1) silence in my position offers no protection and 2) I may have been positioned here "for such a time as this." Today I resolve to *sigh* do the things that I shy away from doing because of the threat of losing my "position." So I challenge you, today, as you go throughout YOUR day, ask God to grant you wisdom and strength to do what you need to do and what God would have you do in order to help save your people. If you won't do it, someone else WILL be raised to do it, BUT you may not even be around to see it done. Ask for boldness to carry an attitude like Esther when she decided she would do her part. Say to yourself what Esther said, "and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)

Feeling fragile...

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Colossians 3:15-16

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁵ And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].

¹⁶ Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.

Retrieved from Biblegateway.com

Rather than give a full recap of my day, I'll just start where I am...and that is in a fragile state of being. Not fragile in the sense that I can be easily broken in a negative way, but fragile in a way that makes me vulnerable to the slightest shift in the spirit; causing me to lose myself in worship and thanksgiving. My heart sings songs, the tears are creeping up toward the surface and my thoughts are consumed with the surpassing greatness of our God. What brought this on? What caused me to shift from my typical state of mind to this on-edge state? Perhaps it was the realization of ALL that God has done not in MY life, but in the life of those around me. Perhaps it was the meditation on the possibilities that exist...the open doors that lie before those who follow God. It's all so overwhelming for me today. It's PEACEFULLY overwhelming. My heart is glad as I consider who God is and as I consider the place that I'm in, I found these verses that help to paint a picture of where I am. I believe that every promise IS true...every Word spoken SHALL come to pass and THIS assuredness strengthens my hope, lifts my spirits, washes over my heart....and causes me to be on the edge of 'in'. Let the scripture above wash over you today. Meditate on it. Write it upon your heart. Be encouraged by it. Have a wonderful day!