Have you been praying, but wondering if God has heard your prayers? Have you been giving, offering, sacrificing, serving, but feel like the memo maybe isn’t getting through to God that you are being faithful?

I once believed if God knew you were being faithful, it would result in immediate and ridiculous overflowing abundance in every area of your life. Well, I was D-I-S-A-Double P-ointed. Disappointed with like a capital D. The appointing was more like a dis (get it?) Like what the heck God, I was faithful AND I was still having trouble making my car payment? I was praying AND everything still seemed to be falling apart?

Now I realize I had misunderstood God’s promises and intentions. He never intended to make my life easier as a result of my faithfulness, he intended to make my life more meaningful with missions bigger than just myself. Oh my sister, if you hear nothing else this morning, hear this … You know God has heard your prayers and seen your faithfulness when you are given a mission. Not when all your problems are miraculously fixed and your questions are answered with a guaranteed 10 year plan … nope … not the way God works. Mission. He gives you a mission.

Acts 10 tells us about a faithful man named Cornelius. It says “Cornelius and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”

Ohhhhhhhh, this is great news! God had a meeting discussing Cornelius’ faithfulness!!!! Like finally. Let me prepare myself for the downpour of blessings. Yassssssss!

Now I want you to imagine for a moment, God calling all the angels around and saying, “Have y’all seen this girl? Have you heard how she has been praying? Every day she prays. Have you seen how she makes time to seek me? She looks for me in the details of her life and she is continually seeking to step into my good plans for her. Oh that girl makes me happy. She is so faithful in using everything I have given her and giving in a way that honors me. Now, I’ve called this meeting so we can talk about what we’re going to do for her next.”

This is exactly the kind of meeting that had been taking place concerning the faithfulness of Cornelius. Don’t you want to know what happened as a result? Don’t you want to know what God does when he hears your prayers, sees your sacrifice, knows your intentions, and calls a meeting in heaven to make plans for you? Ohhhhhhh yasssss, let’s keep reading!

Verse 5 , The angel of the Lord told Cornelius, “send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Hmmmmm, not quite what you were expecting? You were expecting for God to hear your prayers and see your sacrifice, and respond with something a little sweeter than, “hey, now do this.” You were expecting walls to come tumbling down revealing your miraculous breakthrough? You were expecting flashing signs leading the way to your very clear jackpot? You were expecting everything to start going right and all that was bad immediately turn to good?

Nope. Instead, God sees who is faithful and sends them on a mission!

God has heard your prayers, my sister. He has seen your struggle and how you have continued to return to him through it. He has seen the sacrifices you have made that no one else even knows about. He has received your offerings as gifts of gratitude and signs of complete surrender. AND HE HAS RESPONDED. HE HAS RESPONDED WITH YOUR MISSION.

You’re right and they’re wrong … so what are you going to do about it? They have treated your poorly, talked about you, taken advantage of you, and come back to do it again. They want to fight. They want to argue. They want to stir up trouble and get you upset. Is that what will happen here again?

What if I could guide you to two scriptures today to help you know exactly what to do when someone is against you? How do you handle this? How do you win this battle without battling? What does God expect you to do here?

The book of Proverbs is filled with truly practical advice. The kind of advice your grandma would give you, advice she learned from her grandma before her. Like Proverbs 25:16 “If you find honey, eat just enough. Too much of it will make you vomit.” That’s a true story right there. Then the next verse proves the same point, “Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house. Too much of you, and they will hate you.” That’s fantastic advice. It was true back then and it’s true today.

So, tucked away in God’s word is advice for handling this situation where someone wants to argue with you. Someone who wants to take up their issue with you and make it personal. Someone who wants to get nasty with their insults and personal with their attack. Maybe you know them, maybe you live with them, maybe you work with them, or maybe they’re just on Facebook. Here’s your scripture, Proverbs 25: 21-22 “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

The only part of that which sounds appealing to you is the “heaping burning coals on his head” part, right? Yeah … I will be kind and it will set his head on fire. I will kill them with kindness. It will hurt them worse than it hurts me! REVENGE!

But, did you know this scripture actually has nothing to do with revenge? This isn’t about killing anyone with kindness. This isn’t about making them regret what they did. This is about being genuinely kind because kindness is what is in you.

Yes, God put KINDNESS in you. Let me prove it. As a follower of Christ, you get to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. This is how you are prompted by God. This is what gives you that holy little nudge to do the right thing. This is that unspeakable peace you feel when you do what you know you’re supposed to do, and the opposite of peace when you’re doing the wrong thing. Yip, that’s the Holy Spirit. And that Spirit grows within you to produce fruit in your life. What are those fruits? Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness …”

KINDNESS. You are to be kind because KINDNESS is what is in you through the Holy Spirit. You see Sis, this isn’t about who they are, this is about who YOU are. You can be kind here because kindness dwells in you. This is who God has made you to be. God doesn’t say anything about you always being right. He doesn’t say anything about your point always being made. He doesn’t say anything about you and your soap box. You and your list of how it should be. God’s word says YOU be KIND because God has deposited his KINDNESS within you.

Now, back to that heaping burning coals on their head thing. Let’s get back to that because that sounds kinda awesome when someone has done you wrong. And you would be right, this is kinda awesome when someone has done you wrong. You should totally do this. Let’s understand exactly what it means.

This was written at a time when keeping your fire going was a life-saving necessity. Everything about surviving centered around fire. If someone could not keep their fire going, they would put a container on their head and walk a...

Have you ever felt like you’re trying so freaking hard, but not really making the progress worthy of your effort? Like dang, why am I not further along than I am? Why is this taking so long? Why am I so tired? Why isn’t what I’m doing working?

Well, have you stopped to see what you’re tangled in? What are you dragging behind you? Why are you stuck? What is causing this drag and is there something you can do about it?

Earlier this year I hosted one of our BIG Life Retreats in Florida. On adventure day, I took everyone out on kayaks to the most beautiful fresh water springs along the coast and we swam with the manatee. It was a glorious experience. These beastly sea creatures would ever so gently come up right under your kayak and in their curiosity, they just hang out with you.

At one point in our adventures, my kayak partner, Jen, and I climbed back into our kayak after a swim and we began paddling back. We both noticed how tired our arms were. It had been a long day on the water. We noticed how slowly we were making progress. The wind must have been blowing hard against us, but we couldn’t really feel it on our faces. We looked around at everyone else, wondering if they too were struggling to paddle as we were, and nope … they were blowing right by us with laughter and very little effort. Dang, we must have been in a bad current.

I thought of every reason why this was so hard for us and how we would just have to keep pushing through. With our arms on fire, I said to Jen, “Gosh, it’s crazy how much harder it is now than it was before. It’s almost like we’re dragging something.”

Silence. It was if time stood still and my mind took time to rewind to see myself in slow motion throwing out the anchor to swim, climbing back in the kayak afterwards and setting off on our hard paddle. THE ANCHOR WAS STILL DRAGGING BEHIND US. No, our arms weren’t just really tired after a long day on the water. No the wind wasn’t blowing hard against us. No, we weren’t caught in a bad current. We were dragging our own dang anchor!

It’s amazing how zippy Jen and I were after we lifted the anchor. We were like Olympic level kayakers, barreling through the springs!

How many times are we going through life, dragging anchor and complaining how hard it is? We’re blaming it on everything and everyone else, but the truth is, we’re struggling because of what we’re dragging behind us.

Hebrews 12:1 “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

What is hindering you? What has you all entangled? Seriously, Sis, what’s holding you back?

The funny thing is, we grow accustom to our struggles and make friends with them instead of trying to figure out why we’re struggling.

WHY ARE YOU STRUGGLING? Why has this become so hard for you? Are you going to continue to blame it on all these things you can’t control, or are you going to really check and see if there’s something you need to throw off?

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed aches and pains in my body that I assumed were just normal as a girl like me who’s always been 30 suddenly wakes up in her mid 40’s. One particular pain was in my ankles. Every morning when I would wake up, I could barely stand because of the pain in my ankles and the top of my feet. I would hobble around for the first few minutes of every day until eventually the pain would go away. I assumed this was just part of growing older.

Then I took my body through a 14 day cleanse where I eliminated practically everything other than fruits and vegetables. Would you believe, this pain in my ankles and feet completely went away in those 14 days? What is this magic? Oh and the huge puffy bags under my eyes that I had deal...

Imagine this, the same One who created the majestic mountain tops, is the same One who created the neighborhood you would live in. The One who formed the entire Universe and held it in the palm of his hand, is the one who formed your career path and where you would work. Just as God laid out the stars in the sky and the rivers on the land, he laid out the turns in your life that would bring you here today.

This is exactly what God means when he says to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 ““I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah was set apart and appointed as a prophet. Now, what have you been set apart for, my sister? What have you been anointed by the Almighty to do in your lifetime? What are his plans for you? Where has he put you and what has he put in you for this lifetime?

How are you doing with all God has planned for you? What are you doing with all God has aligned for you? How is all of this “living” thing going?

Someone sent me a photo of a page in the book they were reading last month. I saved the photo, but I don’t recall who shared it with me or what the title of the book was. However, here’s what it said …

Imagine getting to heaven and God saying:

Before I laid the foundations of the earth, I thought of you and of the days you would live on earth. I planned out the people and the places I would give you. I laid out your neighbors and your workplace, the places you would attend school, and your family; I laid out enough days to do all the good works that I purposed for you, and I equipped you with all you would need to accomplish those purposes here. I filled you with my Spirit to encourage and remind you and lead you. I gave you my word so you would know me and know what to do. I gave you people to run with and people who needed me.

Now, let’s talk about how all that went.

Wow.

Your day of having this chat with God is coming. In fact, today is one day closer to that meeting in Eternity. How’s all of that going so far? How are you doing with all God has purposed for you? Are you being faithful with these opportunities? Are you still counting your blessings, or have some of those blessings become burdens to you? Are you using all he has equipped you with and are you fulfilling the good works God intended you for?

Or have you dismissed yourself from goodness? Have you convinced yourself you don’t belong when this is precisely the place God placed you to be? Have you allowed yourself to become overwhelmed and confused when all this time you have the Spirit of God here to lead you? Have you taken all you GET to do and turned it into a list of chores, duties and tasks you now HAVE to do? Are you wishing for a different day and time, when this is the exact time in history that God, in all of his wisdom, precisely chose for you to be here for his purposes.

How is all of this going?

God is reminding you today in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ”

Do you see how God is trying to prosper you and not harm you? Do you see how he has been removing things from your life for a purpose? You were getting stuck when God’s good plans for you were ahead. Honey, you were going to miss it if that wasn’t removed from your life. And God would rather have you uncomfortable now in the absence of what you were holding on to, than to have you miss the unspeakable goodness he has for your future.

Oh indeed, I speak as a girl who was once holding on to a stressful job because of the insurance and God had to cancel it all for me to get me to step into what he had for me next. I see that now. I didn’t see that then.

I once had a mortgage payment that was a stress every si...

Are you burned out? Straight up stinking tired? Exhausted from all the effort, all the work, all the pressure, the stress, the expectations, all the time, and you feel like you just have nothing left to give?

We’ve all been there. Some of us are there now. Trying to drag our butts through another day when we’re just so over it all. We really just want to quit. We really want to hide. We really want it all to go away, and if it doesn’t go away, we’re ready to go away.

Did anyone ever run away as a kid? I did. I was in my early teen years and I had an argument with my parents. I was convinced they were ridiculous, I was right, and if I ran away they would be sorry. So I slammed the door behind me and I set out on my march of freedom. Then I realized it would soon be getting dark, we lived on a windy country road where all kinds of creatures lived, and I was immediately regretting my decision. So, I did what any hot headed 15 year old girl would do … I sat down on the side of the house and I ugly cried. I couldn’t even run away right.

Minutes later I watched as my parents loaded up in the truck, tore out of the driveway and barrelled down the road looking for me. They failed to see me sitting right by the house. When they returned and found me sitting there, I never admitted I had really never left. Mom invited me back in the house for a little snack and my own comfy bed.

I never ran away again, but there have been times I felt like it. I felt like running away from my problems. Running away from the messes. Running away from all that was going wrong. Giving up, because dang, things can be so hard sometimes.

There’s a story in the bible about a man named Elijah who was a prophet of the Lord. A man who wanted to run away from everything. A man who was overwhelmed and giving up. We’re going to learn from him today and apply it to all the areas where we are burned out, where we don’t want to try anymore, where we are frustrated, overwhelmed and want to quit.

Elijah was guided and directed by God. He received clear instructions continually, and was used in marvelous ways to do miraculous things. A great drought fell on the land for years, but God directed Elijah exactly where to go.

1 Kings 17: 2-6 “The word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Notice a few things things here. Elijah DID what the Lord told him, and he STAYED there. When Elijah did what God said and stayed where God had brought him, he was provided for.

Oh girls, have we been doing what God told us to do? Have we stayed were he told us to go? Or have we grown lazy? Have we grown restless? Have we strayed when we should have stayed? God provided in the exact place he told Elijah to go, and without fail, God will provide for us in the exact place he tells us to go.

Then it happens again for Elijah. The brook where he had been camping dried up because of the drought, so then God told him where to go next. He told him of a specific town where he had already instructed a widow to care for him. Sure enough, Elijah goes to that town, and there he meets a widow who cares for him. Now remember, in this home is where God used him for a miracle to revive the widow’s son who died. We talked about that a few weeks ago. Remember, the mother had to stand outside the door while God did the miracle. Sometimes we have to trust God to use someone else to do what we so desperately need.

So let me tell you, Elijah is on a God high here. He is being super-naturally guided by the Almig...

God is working in the details of your life you are yet to understand. He is guiding you to places you do not yet know about. He is preparing you for purposes you have not even yet imagined. And God does all of this, choosing you as a vessel for his power to flow through and his glory to be made known. Your job is simply to be available for it and continue to follow his promptings.

But, do you ever get sidetracked? Do you ever realize you have been majorly distracted and wandered down paths you should have never set foot on? Do you stray from the objective and get a little lost along the way sometimes?

Me too. Like a lot.

I had an app on my phone which guided me from where I was to where I wanted to go. The problem is, this particular GPS app had a real fancy for taking me on the back roads, through the ghettos, and sometimes dropping me off on dead end roads and declaring it was my final destination. This app really didn’t serve me well, although it provided many adventures along the way. But I continued to use this particular GPS app because I really liked the voice and I preferred the little map view it provided.

One day, a truly good friend who isn’t afraid to occasionally step on my toes and reach across me to do what’s best for me, grabbed my phone, deleted that app and said, “Stop it. You’re using Google Maps from now on!” And I have. I haven’t wandered down backroads through the ghettos since. My travels are a little less exciting and slightly more safe now.

Girls, sometimes we’re following things that really are not serving us well. We continue to do the same things because it is familiar, not because it is working. We are creatures of habit, and once we have a habit of doing things one way, we are likely to continue in the same fashion no matter what.

Did you know every time you take a shower, you follow the same washing routine? For real, you don’t even think about it, you’re not even consciously aware of it, but you habitually do the same thing in the same order with every shower. When you wash your hair, you have a routine. You scrub in exactly the same way. You wash one armpit before you wash the other one, and it’s always the same one first. Why? It’s just your habit.

I once issued a challenge to the women I mentor to switch up their shower routine to make them more aware. If you typically wash your hair before you wash your body, switch it and wash your body first. If you shave your right leg first, switch and shave your left leg first. Interestingly enough, I received reports of women getting out of the shower realizing they had failed to wash the conditioner out of their hair, or they had forgotten to shave the other leg. Why? Because their routine was off.

We are creatures of habit. Habits save us precious mental space by allowing us to cruise on auto-pilot for mundane tasks and save our focus for more crucial tasks. It’s a good thing … until it’s not good at all. Until our habits have us doing things that don’t serve us well. Until our habits have us wandering down roads we shouldn’t be on. Until our habits have us missing what God has for us.

Do you have a habit of rushing in before seeking God? Do you have a habit of trying to force closed doors to open? Do you have a habit of staying stuck where you were only meant to pause? Do you have a habit of trying everything on your own before ever considering asking God for a little help?

You’re doing it, and you don’t even realize it. Just like perpetually washing one armpit before the other, you keep doing it because it’s what you’ve always done. But honey, if this thing isn’t working for you, someone’s got to step in front of you and say, “Stop it.”

So here I am, as your humble and peppy voice of the Lord this morning … GIRL, STOP IT.

You’re sitting here discouraged, about to dismiss what could be made possible for you. You’re overwhelmed by the threat and you’ve forgotten the promise. Today, God has asked me to be the one who reminds you of his good plans for you. He’s asked me to be the one who tells you although it looks impossible, the way has already been made if you will follow it in faith. He’s asked me to encourage you in the face of this discouragement and help you see beyond your circumstances into his promises.

You have enough people giving you bad reports. You have all the sources in the world telling you how dreadful things are and how much worse things are projected to get. It’s no surprise, God always warned us of the coming times and the problems. But Sis, what you perhaps need to remember today is, maybe you were made for a time such as this. Just, just like Esther had to be reminded of her divine place and time in history, you have come to a place where you must dig deep and know YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS!

And make no mistake about it, you weren’t made to be part of the problem. You weren’t made to be part of the fearful, overwhelmed, desperate complainers. You were made to be different and do something different!

God always saw this coming. None of your seemingly surprising bad news has been a surprise to God. He always knew what was ahead and he aligned your path to bring you to this very place. You were literally made for this. God designed you with your destiny in mind, and today, this season of your life, this stage, this circumstance, this is all part of your destiny. But know this my sister, IT DOESN’T END HERE. You’re passing through this problem. You’re going through this hardship. But you’re not staying stuck here. You’re going through it, but you’re not destined to stay here.

God’s good plans for you reach beyond this. His promise over your life blankets today and stretches over all your tomorrows. You are completely covered. You are protected. You are guided. You are destined. And you are called to overcome this discouragement and step into all God is making possible for you.

Last Monday, in episode 1138, we talked about The Fear Report. The 10 spies who stepped into the Promised Land for 40 days, then returned to Moses to tell him how massive their enemies were and how impossible the task would be. Their fear spread through all the Israelites and it was decided their pursuit of what God had promised them would stop right there.

What has caused you to stop in your pursuit of what God has promised you? FEAR. Fear of failure. Fear of it being too hard. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of no one going with you.

Who told you it would be too hard? Who told you that you would never be good enough? Who told you this would never work? Who told you the timing isn’t right? Was that God … or was that a voice of fear? Fear shows up in well-intentioned people who love you, but they don’t want to see you struggle. Fear shows up in you as a natural means of self-protection and survival. Fear is natural, but the problem is the enemy works in fear to hold you back from the BIG life God has already aligned for you. I promise you this, God is not fearful over what can and cannot happen for you. He is absolutely certain of his promises over you, and his ability to make every last one of them possible. The only question is, will you believe what he says, or will you believe what fear says?

Dig deeper in this biblical story of the spies, and you will see there were 2 spies who gave a different report. Of the 12 sent, 10 came back with their fear report about the land of Canaan, but 2 came back with absolute certainty this was their land and it was time to take it. These 2 optimistic spies were Joshua and Caleb.

No doubt, they had seen what the other 10 spies had seen.

What could you do today that would really make the Lord pleased as pickles? What could you do that would bless God’s socks right off? (I mean, if God even wears socks. I never thought about that before.) How could little ol’ you do anything that would impress big ol’ Him? I’ve always imagined living a day of life in such a way that made God say, “gosh, I’m glad I gave that girl another day!”

How can we live that way today?

Proverbs 21:3 “The LORD is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices.”

God isn’t looking for some religious ceremony from you, he’s just hoping you will live your life right today. This is what pleases him most. More than anything you could give, more than any offering or sacrifice, God is so pleased when we take the day he has created for us and we live it right.

So, here you are waking up to find that God once again faithfully made the sun to rise for you. Go ahead and check to see – yip, the world is still spinning, your heart is still beating, you’re miraculously still alive. You have the gift of a new day of life. And what would please God the absolute most is for you to live it right.

But, exactly how do we know how to live today right? How do we know for sure we’re doing the right thing in the right way? The answer is as simple as pausing to ask a single question of ourselves. Because remember this, your mind answers every question it is asked. If you ask “why do bad things always happen to me”, you will provide yourself with ridiculous answers. Why? Because it was a ridiculous question. Ask better questions and you will get better answers.

If you sit down with a menu and ask yourself what would be the most ooey, gooey, delicious, sinful thing I could possibly put in my mouth, you’re going to get the answer. But that answer may not serve you well.

If you ask yourself who is the most hateful, ridiculous person in your office, you’ll get your answer. Then don’t be surprised if you somehow end up in a small space with that person after asking.

If you ask yourself how is it possible that your kids can undue all your hard work in a matter of 5 minutes, boom, 5 minutes will pass and you’ll see for yourself they are master messers and you will be left with nothing but an answer to your ridiculous question and frustration.

So, here’s the better question to ask of yourself today: “How would the best version of myself handle this?”

With every interaction, every decision, every conflict, and every opportunity, how would the best version of you handle this?

This best version of you is the authentic you created by God. The one who according to 2 Timothy 1:7, is not fearful, but has a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of self-control. How does that girl handle this today?

By asking this question, you simplified the complicated issue of how do you please God by doing what is right and just. Wow … so clear, so simple, and so powerful. Right?

How WOULD the best version of you handle this?

Great questions get great answers.

God has perfectly equipped you with everything you need to live today well. You are lacking nothing. He has empowered you to show up as the best version of who he created you to be and do what is right. Now, will you? Will your life get the best of you today, or will you show up with some lesser-than, watered down, cheap imitation version of the powerhouse you really are?

I recently had a conversation with a woman who has so much to offer this world, but she spends a whole lot of time sitting in the back so no one sees her. Digging a bit deeper, I discovered she’s carrying around hurt caused by careless words thrown at her 40 years ago by a father who didn’t know how to love.

If you knew what you were doing, it sure would make things easier, wouldn’t it? Like for real, wouldn’t some divine wisdom come in handy about right now? Wouldn’t a definite destination with turn by turn GPS instructions really help a girl out? But we don’t know, do we? We’re not sure what we’re doing, what’s coming next, or how it’s all going to work out. And that can either drive you crazy, or release you to live in freedom.

What we’re all seeking here is wisdom. Wisdom to know what to do and what not to do. Wisdom to see things from a higher perspective. And how exactly do you gain this wisdom?

Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” So, there’s our answer. But honestly, that answer is even more confusing than the original question, because doesn’t the bible tell us like 365 times to not fear, like fear is a bad thing, but we are to fear the Lord and this is the beginning of wisdom for us?

We must dig deeper. We all would do better with some divine wisdom making our decisions, so let’s figure out what it means to fear the Lord.

Are we talking about a worrisome kind of fear? Like a fright? A terror? A crippling feeling that makes us hide in dark places? Is that how we’re supposed to feel about God? This takes me back to my earlier years of viewing God as some grouchy old gray haired man with a long beard and a big stick sitting on a throne, always ready to strike me for my next wrong move. I was shameful and hiding from him. No way I was approaching that throne to be hit with his big stick.

Oh, that’s who our enemy would have us believe our God is. An unapproachable God. An unforgiving God. A perpetually angry, vengeful God. But that’s not at all who he is. Who he is can be described in one act. He is the God who loved you, his girl, so very much that he couldn’t stand to watch you struggle and stray, so he sent his son Jesus to save you. He paid a price you couldn’t afford to pay, and he made that exchange non-refundable. You can never take back what has been done for you, nor can you screw it up. You’ve been bought. You’ve been redeemed. YOU ARE SECURELY HIS.

So, how exactly do we fear him?

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. The original Hebrew word used in this scripture is yireh (yer-ha) which is translated to both fear and awe. Awe of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Awe to the point of trembling. It’s literally awestruck, hardly able to contain who he is and what he does.

You see, when we are reverently aware of God’s presence, God’s power, and God’s providence over every detail of our lives, we are changed. We see ordinary events in extraordinary ways because we are seeking God’s presence in them. We live in awe over the Almighty’s interaction with us individually, and this creates a deeper understanding we couldn’t have otherwise. What is this understanding we’re gaining as we begin to seek and find God in our everyday lives? WISDOM!

Yireh (yer-ha) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

If you want to know what to do here, look for the presence of God here. Be in awe of how he is working in every detail on your behalf. Jesus promises when we seek, we will find. And when you find how God is working here, you will find the wisdom you desire. Next steps will be made clear right in front of you. Ways will be made that were never there before. The wrong doors will be closed and the right doors will be opened. You will be supernaturally guided along the way.

This is wisdom. How did it begin? Awestruck reverence of the Almighty God, seeking and finding his presence, his power and his providence over every detail of your life.

As God was formulating this revelation in my spirit this morning and I was putting these pieces together,

Are you consuming Life or Destruction?

I’m a simple man – Que Lynyrd Skynyrd. I believe the keys to living well, the life God Created us for are simple and most people get stuck in or hide out in complexity.

Let’s pick some low hanging fruit here – pun intended as we will be talking about that moment in the garden.

Since our physical life is the one we have the most control over and can easily see the results of (good & bad), we’ll use it as an example, but this applies equally across all areas of our life.

Simple – If you want to lose weight. Eat – Be healthy.

The path to a healthy body is through – health. That is the simple truth, the Truth that shall set you free.

But I see a lot of people choosing bondage, choosing destruction and yes, Lonnie raises his hand here too, because whether physical health or other areas, I am not immune to the dangers, or voices of the Dark Side either (been watching too much Star Wars lately).

Deuteronomy 30:19 – This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life… Now choose Life…

The enemy deals in Deception. The path of darkness and destruction.

Our God deals in truth. Sometimes hard. Often – times – hard…

John 8:32 – You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free….?

Or John 8:34 – Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

Where does Sin Begin… it begins with deception. Just ask Eve how the serpent talked her into taking that forbidden bite – “I was DECEIVED by him!”

Who’s words are you consuming? The father of lies and his Deception which leads to destruction OR…

The bread of life who’s words will set you free.

So let’s end this with a little chat about Freedom…

Freedom is very important to me. Could say it is at the top of my list. I am the grandson of a veteran, the son of a veteran, a veteran myself and have 2 children on Active Duty in the Army. Freedom and … The cost of it are very important to me.

Jesus being the ultimate Freedom Fighter – Paying the wages of our sin, to rescue us from bondage and Set – Us – Free.

But…Often times, if we are honest with ourselves, we chose bondage because it’s easier. See freedom comes with responsibility.

Freedom ALSO means freedom to fail.

Ouch! Who likes to fail? So to avoid failure we hide behind deception and chose bondage over freedom because we afraid of failing…again.

You allow yourself to be deceived into believing that a healthy diet somehow doesn’t work for you because it gives you an out. And while you are protected from failure, the price you pay is bondage. Destruction and darkness.

Freedom has a cost, an upfront cost and an ongoing one too. But Do Not allow yourself to be deceived… so does the safety of bondage. It has a price too and it’s your soul. You’re not made to give up on yourself, give up on the life you were Created for. That will rot your soul.

The truth is you were Created for a BIG abundant Life.

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