Who are you seeking approval from?

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." -Galatians 1:10

This is something that God has really been impressing upon my heart over the last year or so. I tend to be a people-pleaser at times, and it's something I'm working on. When my desire to please people overpowers my desire to please God, it's a problem. Everything in this world is going to fade. Nothing is eternal...not family or relationships or wealth or popularity...nothing. It's all going to evaporate eventually. So why do I waste time and energy trying to please the ones who don't matter? We are on this earth to bring glory to God. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that our goal at any time is to please others. Obviously this doesn't mean we need to treat people like crap, but our feelings of sufficiency and worth and value should not come from them, but from our Creator. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." So even when "we" do the right thing it's not us at all. It's all God. We must decrease, He must increase. (John 3:30). We are not to find our affirmation in man, but in God. I have the habit of seeking the approval of man before God at times, and it's definitely not something that I'm proud of. I should never turn to others before I seek God's face. So I'm learning to let things go. I'm learning not to focus on the past or linger on things. Because in the light of eternity, a lot of things aren't going to matter. God's teaching me to find my worth, contentment, affirmation, and so much more in Him and Him alone

God is good.

^"1I will bless the LORD^(C) at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
²My soul^(D) makes its boast in the LORD;
   let the humble hear and^(E) be glad.
³Oh,^(F) magnify the LORD with me,
   and let us exalt his name together!

 ⁴I^(G) sought the LORD, and he answered me
   and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵Those who look to him are^(H) radiant,
   and their faces shall never be ashamed." -Psalm 34:1-5

Sometimes I think we forget to do this. Life gets hard, our circumstances get overwhelming, and we lose focus. This doesn't say "I'll bless the Lord sometimes" or "I'll bless the Lord whenever things are going well." No. It says at ALL times. In every situation we are commanded to bless the Lord.  I want to be like David: intelligent in head and inflamed in heart - he knew to whom the praise was due, and what it was due, and for what and when. The passage goes on to say that our soul makes its boast in the Lord. Our soul is the very core of us, open and exposed to God. And how awesome is it that we serve a God who is not unapproachable or distant? There isn't a time where we cannot approach the throne of grace of our Heavenly Father. And not only does He answer us, but He delivers us. What a God we serve! Seriously! The last verse of this passage is one of my favorites. When we look to Him our faces are radiant. Radiant. That makes me smile every time I read it! As Christians we have a different "glow" about us. Don't believe me? Ask my friends who took a trip to the Salvation Army last week. The lady who worked there knew they were from Liberty because she said they had a glow about them, and their faces were radiant. Even though we go through hard stuff and we may feel weathered by the storms of this life, we are radiant. We are shining. And we will never, ever be put to shame. God never wastes a wound. 

forgiveness

Forgiveness is not predicated on someone else's request.

We are required to forgive others...it isn't a suggestion from God but a command.

Luke 6:35-38;42
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." ... How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 

Instant Gratification

Instant:
      1. immediately; without delay.
      2. immediate; instantaneous.
Gratificaton:
     1.  pleasure, relish, delight, enjoyment, comfort.

About 2 weeks ago I was praying to God about a certain situation that I have been wrestling with for quite some time. One thing that I've found myself saying is "God, why can't this be over already? Why can't I just be done with this? I'm so tired of dealing with this," etc. Then it hit me: I was asking for instant gratification. I wanted immediate results instead of waiting patience. In essence, it's like saying "God, I know You're in control, but right now I think that my plan is better. I think I know what I'm doing." How arrogant is that? Isaiah 40:31 flashed through my mind..."But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Why do I want to rush things when I know that God has a far better plan than I ever will have? Romans 8:24-25 says, "We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)"  And Psalm 40:1, "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry."

In a society where we strive for instant gratification, God is calling us to do the opposite. He has a far better plan than we can ever imagine, and He has a purpose for every single thing that He does. Our trials and sufferings are not in vain. God disciplines those that He loves. He makes beautiful things out of our wretched souls. Instead of focusing on how fast we can be done with a process that may seem rather painful, I think we need to focus on things like "God, what are you trying to teach me through this?" or "God, how can Your Name be most glorified in this situation?" Hebrews 12:11 "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." He's the potter, we're the clay. We're merely characters in His story. It's not about us-it never has been and it never will be.

While I'm Waiting-John Waller. Good song, look it up.

Trust

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."


Trust is something that God has really been impressing upon my heart lately. How much do I trust God? Do I say I trust Him but then show the opposite when I face difficulties? And has my perception of trust been skewed by the imperfections of this world? This entry probably isn't going to be "organized" and it might be difficult to follow, especially for those of you who don't think the way that I do. :] However, there is quite a bit swirling in my head so I'm just going wherever with this. Warned in advance. So with the issue of trust also comes the issue of contentment for me. Is Jesus really enough for me? If I had nothing else in this world, would I be satisfied with "just having Jesus?" God has been taking me through some pretty difficult things this past year. There is a situation I'm currently in that is probably one of the hardest situations I think I've ever dealt with. Definitely not the hardest situation ever, but it ranks up there pretty high. Sometimes I find myself thinking, "Yeah but God if I only had ______ I would probably feel better." or "If I could just ______then  I would be happy." ...Yeah no. That's not how it is. God is showing me that I will never be happy until I learn to fully trust and rely on God, casting all my cares on Him. He has shown me time and time again that I can trust Him, even though He doesn't have to prove anything to me. I get so frustrated at times because I know all of this, but I still lack in complete and total trust. [You can pray for me, seriously].


I look at the situation I'm in now and I think at times, "God, why did this have to happen? Why do I have to deal with all of this pain? This hurts too much." But then I realized-how much more does it hurt my Savior every single time we sin? Every time we deliberately disobey His will? Every time that I know I can trust Him, but don't? Every time that I try to do my own thing instead of following His flawless plan. Yeah, this situation hurts right now. I hate it. But once again I am reminded of the promises in the Bible that we will walk through trials and temptations, but we are not walking through them alone. It's easy to trust God when everything is going the way I think it should go. But that's the problem. Things aren't always going to go the way I want, and praise God for that! I can't even imagine how miserable my life would be right now if God had answered every single prayer that I have ever prayed the way I wanted Him to. I don't see eye to eye with my Creator, and sometimes I would rather attempt to take things into my own hands [which never works out well] than to trust God to bring me through situations, and trust His hand. He knows what's best. I don't. Psalm 118:8 says, "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man." Lately I've realized just how much faith and trust and confidence I put in people. While it is important to have people in my life that I can come to for various things, I should always put God before people. Always. My trust in people shouldn't even be comparable to the trust that I have in God. People are going to disappoint me...they already have. It's a part of life unfortunately. However, if I am able to trust people who have flaws and imperfections, then how much more should I trust Jesus, the Author and Perfector of my faith? (verses here). James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." I think that at times I focus too much on the trial and not enough on the crown, the glory after the hardships. I don't know how long this trial is going to last. But I need to remember that the pain now can't compare to the joy that's coming. The crown comes after the trial. And God isn't going to leave me through it.

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:23-26. This has been one of my favorite passages since April of last year. I was thinking about it the other day and God was showing me a different perspective on it. The first part that really stuck out to me was the phrase, "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." The verse doesn't say, "You guide me with your counsel and while doing that you will receive me to glory." No...it says afterward. There are definitely times when I get so caught up in the "why is this happening?" or "can this just please go away now?" that I forget about the bigger picture. It's more than that though. God promises us that we will go through trials and temptations and struggles. We live in a fallen world, it's inevitable. But God will guide us with His counsel if we let Him. I know that at times I'm guilty of trying to do everything on my own. Honestly though, that is so arrogant and prideful. Who am I to think that I can handle everything by myself, when the Creator of the universe is the one who spoke me into motion in the first place? The God who created everything chose to create me, to make me part of His plan. Not the other way around. Read chapters 37-42 of the book of Job. They're incredible, and very humbling. That's the God we serve. And after we go through the difficult times, God will receive us to glory, the glory that we don't deserve in the first place. When I read the part again that says,"Whom have I in heaven but you?" I was reminded of a quote by John Piper. Piper says, "The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?" Every single time I hear that quote it challenges me. Every time. Can you honestly answer that you would not be satisfied if Christ were not there? I want to get to the point in my life where I can honestly say that there is nothing on earth that I desire besides God. Nothing. I'm not there yet. Our hearts beat for God and God alone. Nothing else even comes close to being deserving of our complete and total love, affection, energy, time, thoughts, praise, worship, etc. For You and You alone, awake my soul.

eternally minded

I haven't blogged for awhile, mainly because the last month of my life has been crazy [even crazier than it usually is!]. A lot of stuff happened, and God has really been showing me a lot. Uncle Dale's funeral was unlike any other funeral I've ever been to. Because he knew that he was dying, he was able to have my cousin Alex videotape him talking. 25 minutes of him speaking was shown at the funeral, and it was awesome. Uncle Dale's message was inspiring and challenging, and it was absolutely incredible to see the legacy that he left behind. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him, and I miss him very much. But I think it is so so so imperative that we as Christians remember to stay eternally minded. It was not goodbye from my family to Uncle Dale. We are going to see him again, and I cannot wait. Although there is a lot of pain and hurt in our hearts, my family and I know that Uncle Dale is far better off than he ever would be here regardless of if he had cancer or not. We need to remember that this world is not our home. This is not our final destination. We're living for something so much bigger and better than this world full of poverty, destitution, pain, sorrow, and sin. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." I gained a new perspective on this verse through the life and death of my Uncle Dale. It seemed as though the more the cancer affected him physically, the more his inner self strengthened. As his body became extremely weak and frail, and in essence disintegrated, the more his testimony was shining through. When I read this verse, I think of my Uncle Dale. His outer self was wasting away, but his inner self was being renewed. What a truly beautiful thing that was to witness. And you don't have to have cancer or a life-threatening disease for this to happen in your life. The next part of the passage talks about how this "light, momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...". We are not going through these difficult times in vain. God has a bigger plan than we could ever imagine or even attempt to comprehend. These afflictions are preparing us, and they are not even comparable to the glory that will someday be revealed to us. Romans 8:18-19 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God." What a comforting reminder once again! As I go through difficult times in life and various hardships, I truly pray that God reminds me of this again and again. Yes there are going to be hard times in life-we live in a world full of sin. It's inevitable that hardships are going to come our way. God even tells us that they are. But what a comfort and joy and peace that God doesn't leave us during those times! And they are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us. The Bible even says that creation waits with eager longing...I love that! There has been about 8 people that I have known who have passed away in the past month, the most recent one being one of my close friend's father. As tragedy continues to enter my life [as it does everyone's lives at some point] I realize more and more my desperate need of Christ. It isn't about us...it never has been and it never will be. God is my rock, my strength, my joy, my peace that surpasses understanding, my comfort, my never ending support...the list goes on and on. God doesn't need us at all, but He chooses to include us in His plan. How awesome is that?! And He continues to use us until the day that He takes us home to be with Him, where we are eternally healed. "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." – John 14:1-3