I just finished doing the homework for my small group lesson tonight and I am left feeling convicted, uncomfortable, yet excited about the way God spoke to me through the lesson. The very first chapter of the book was all about being used by God. Ironic too because that was exactly what the pastor spoke on this morning too.
Romans 12:1-2 "1So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." The Message
I read this in about 4 different versions because I have heard these verses my entire life and I wanted them to speak to me in a new way and they did!
God wants to use us to transform the world through his church. And I'm not doing my part in that.
In the book I read it said "Serving God is not a bed of roses. You take your hits, the shine comes off, and you have to replace parts here and there. Sometimes it's a hurtful thing. But it beats spending your life never experiencing what you were built to do." WOW..... this life of presenting yourself as a living sacrifice to God isn't easy. It is uncomfortable. It means getting rid of your own selfish desires and ambitions. It isn't for the faint of heart. But it sure beats not ever experiencing life the way God intended for us. He came that we would have life and have it FULLY! (John 10:10)
I want to have a full life. The kind that God intended for me to have and I really don't want to cheat myself out of living a life like that.
"If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full." -John Piper
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
When God Gives a Big Fat No
I hate being told "no". I am one of the most headstrong people you will ever meet. Ask my husband. I can remember growing up in my teenage years and being unable to wait for the day when I would be out on my own and wouldn't have to do what my parents told me anymore. What a joke! Adulthood is full of having to do what other people tell you to.. who knew??
Even now, I struggle daily with being the submissive wife like the Bible tells me I am supposed to be. I dislike being told what to wear, to hide my nose piercing, that I can't spend money on certain things that I want, etc. I have a rebellious spirit, I guess.
I think that is why I really hate it when God tells me "no". I have plans for my life and I think they are great, and when God comes along and says, "no" or "not right now" or "I have something else for you", it really is a difficult pill for me to swallow. I want to argue and tell Him that my way is best, that I know myself really well and I know what I need and when I need it.
That's why sometimes I need this little reminder....
"I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work., God's decree. For as the sky soars high above the earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond what you think" Isaiah 55:8-9
These have been some of my favorite verses since I was a teenager. Probably because of my rebellious, authority-hating nature!
When you really think about it from God's perspective, it's actually kind of laughable. The "created" telling the Creator who/what they should be! It's ridiculous. The Creator would be the only one that would know best what the "created" should look like and what the "created" should do.
So, today, I am uncomfortable with the "no's" I am getting, but I am learning invaluable lessons through it. I am learning to submit to One who honestly does know what is best for me. He honestly knows exactly what I need and when I need it.
Even now, I struggle daily with being the submissive wife like the Bible tells me I am supposed to be. I dislike being told what to wear, to hide my nose piercing, that I can't spend money on certain things that I want, etc. I have a rebellious spirit, I guess.
I think that is why I really hate it when God tells me "no". I have plans for my life and I think they are great, and when God comes along and says, "no" or "not right now" or "I have something else for you", it really is a difficult pill for me to swallow. I want to argue and tell Him that my way is best, that I know myself really well and I know what I need and when I need it.
That's why sometimes I need this little reminder....
"I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work., God's decree. For as the sky soars high above the earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond what you think" Isaiah 55:8-9
These have been some of my favorite verses since I was a teenager. Probably because of my rebellious, authority-hating nature!
When you really think about it from God's perspective, it's actually kind of laughable. The "created" telling the Creator who/what they should be! It's ridiculous. The Creator would be the only one that would know best what the "created" should look like and what the "created" should do.
So, today, I am uncomfortable with the "no's" I am getting, but I am learning invaluable lessons through it. I am learning to submit to One who honestly does know what is best for me. He honestly knows exactly what I need and when I need it.
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