God is Still God
“Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.” Psalm 90:2 NLT
On the days when things are not going the way I think they should, I need the reminder that despite what’s going in around me, God is still God. He is constant and consistent. He is the Great Creator. He is love. He is my provider.
One of the fastest ways to straighten out my “I want it now” mindset is praise and worship. My song of the day is Desert Song by Hillsong United. It came up on my iPod today and I listened to it on repeat. The whole song is fantastic, but there’s one lyric that just hit it for me today: “All of my life, in every season, You are still God; and I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship.”
One of the reasons praise and worship is so important is because it reminds us who our God is and how big He is. How good He is. Singing this song on repeat today reminded me who God is and it brought me out of that “do it my way, God” mindset.
Distractions
I had one simple task.
Install new door handle on the bathroom door. (Funny story about my roommate being trapped in the bathroom when it broke and my panic thinking I may have to break the door down to rescue her…but that would distract us from what I was saying. What was I saying? Oh yeah…one simple task.)
That’s it. The same one simple task I’ve had since I bought the new handle 4 days ago.
So I installed the latch and the strike. Easy peasy. 2 whole minutes. Then I hit a snag. The new handle base is ever so slightly smaller than the previous one. Crap. Now I need to paint. I love to paint. But I’m not wearing paint clothes and I ALWAYS get paint on myself and my clothes. ALWAYS. I seriously have 3 long sleeve and 3 short sleeve painting shirts, a pair of painting jeans, a pair of painting sweats and a pair of painting shorts. I had more but I recently purged. I also have painting socks and shoes…but I digress. I decided to brave it and paint without paint clothes…because I need to get back to writing.
So I touch up the paint. For the first time I didn’t get paint on my clothes. All over my hand, but not the clothes! Victory!! Happy dance. Oooh! I need dancing music. Where’s my iPod?
Mid-way through Everything is Awesome I realized I now have to wait for the paint to dry before I can finish installing the handle. Crap. What should I do while I wait? Oooh! I know! I can paint the sides of the guest room door that I somehow forgot to paint when I painted the front and back of the door. No. That would require paint clothes for sure and a tarp so that I don’t get any more paint on the carpet. And if I start painting then I will want to pull out my canvases and work on one of my in process masterpieces. (I use the word masterpieces loosely.) This will completely hinder my plan of writing all day.
What’s the point of all this random (besides giving me something to do while I wait for the paint to dry)?
The point is how many times do we get “so busy” and distracted by little things? They may even be good things or shiny things. But being busy actually prevents us from focusing on the important things for our purpose, goals, and dreams.
Do yourself a favor and take some time with the Lord today about your distractions. Ask Him for wisdom and revelation about your purpose (the big picture/long term goal). The thing that’s so big it requires partnership with Him. What about the short term? What’s in your hot little hands right now that you need to focus on? What are the things distracting you that need to be set aside or let go of?
Ephesians 1:15-19, tells us that we can have a spirit of wisdom and revelation to understand what God has for us in the short term (our calling…i.e. what is in our hands right this minute) and long term (our purpose). If you ask Him, He will answer.
Now…I need to go finish installing my bathroom door handle. Then I need to focus on my current writing project.
Reboot for Manic Mondays
It’s Monday. Are you having a manic one? A crappy one? A rough one? A great one? Then I invite you to listen to O Mighty Ones as sung by Catherine Mullins. It is sure to reboot you for the week!
Whenever this is sung on Sunday morning at my church… a dance party breaks out. It’s so much fun to dance before the Lord! And I’ll be honest, it took me a long time to write this blog post because I had to dance around my living room! With lyrics like this….
When I move my body
When I move my feet
When I open my mouth
Then the darkness flees
and
My praise is a weapon
My dance is a weapon
My shout is a weapon
….can you blame me?
GET UP AND DANCE!!!
Real Power
“Oh! May the God of hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope.” Romans 15:13 MSG
This verse may sound light and fluffy. But it isn’t. This verse is about real power.
Joy here is not happiness from external circumstances, but an inward calm delight that overflows into exceeding joy. Maintaining joy in the midst of turmoil and trials is how you are strengthened to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Peace here is not absence of conflict but rather peace in spite of conflict. This peace allows you to prosper no matter the circumstances. It gives you clarity in chaos. It prevents you from making choices out of anger and emotion.
Hope is about anticipation with pleasure attached to it. It’s about the expectation of good. God is the God of anticipation of good. He’s looking forward to filling you with joy. He’s looking forward to filling you with peace. Will you let Him? Will you receive it?
He is awaiting with pleasure the day you understand the power you have at your disposal and begin to walk in it. God wants to see you prosper as your soul prospers. This begins with receiving and learning to walk in joy and peace, with an expectation of good. That is true power right there.
Tears as fertilizer
“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. ” Psalm 126:5-6
Letting go of the comfortable old for the uncertain new can be daunting and emotional. Even if it hurts, choose to remain open. Don’t let fear steal your future harvest!
There may be tears of pain and grief or even tears of frustration and exhaustion. Think of those tears as fertilizer and don’t let fear stop you! Remain open! Those tears are only for a season.
Seeds
While I was working in the yard today, I found this new little tree (see photo) and it blew me away. The seed wasn’t even in the ground, it was lying on the ground, but it had sent the roots down and the stem up. Without any assistance from anyone the seed did what it was made to do, it grew.
Seeds are fascinating. They are tiny seemingly inconsequential things. But inside them are plants of all kinds…mighty oak trees, fruit trees, beautiful flowers, vegetable plants, weeds, and even poisonous plants.
There’s a lot in the Word about seeds and reaping what you sow. All seeds are designed to take root and grow. That’s just what they do. So be careful what seeds you are sowing in your life and the lives of others.
A Lesson From Job
“I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes.” Job 42:5
Everyone has hard times, but not everyone learns or grows from those times. You have the choice to become hard and bitter. And You have the choice to remain positive and open to change. Your perspective in the situation really is everything.
Job came out of his situation with a perspective shift, a softer heart & a real relationship with God.
jillbeingstill 