Lately, God has taught me/shown me/reminded me of so many things. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed and feel as if I am going to forget all that He has taught me! It is easier to just write them down or blog about it. So here are some things God has taught me this past week:
1. I have learned that I CAN pray for specific things. I always feel so guilty asking God for specific wants or needs for myself. But I learned that as I make the Lord the object of my delight, my deepest heart's desires gradually align with His desires. The more I grow in Christ, the more my desires change. This has been so great in my prayer life. I learned that I can ask for specific things because I know I desire the things that God desires in my life. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
2. I was reminded this week that my treasure is in Heaven, not here on earth. Do I live that way? It is so easy to say, "Just make sure your heart is in the right place. If God asks you to give up everything for Him would you?" I don't know, would I? I should be asking myself that everyday. Is my heart in the right place? After all, Jesus said to "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." I know God may not be asking everyone to sell everything they own, but he could. And if He did, would I? This week, I have questioned where my heart truly is.
3. I read in my Beth Moore bible study, "If He is unashamed of us, in all our imperfections, how can we be ashamed of Him, our Redeemer and our Deliverer?" Luke 12:8 says, "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God." Even after all of my failures and disobedience, God will gladly acknowledge me before the angels of God! So why am I ashamed at times to acknowledge God before men here on earth??
4. I had a great reminder that Satan is strong but God is stronger. Of course I knew that, but it was good to read it again. There are times when I feel like a failure and I should just give up. But I know that is Satan putting those thoughts into my head. God is so good and it was a great reminder that He is stronger and I need to put my trust in Him and quit listening to the lies that Satan tells me.
5. I spent one entire day this week cleaning out my extra bedroom. It has become a storage room and I hate having a junk/storage room. I wanted it to be a nice extra bedroom for when people come stay with us. I kept thinking, if only I had a three-bedroom house with more space or a house with bigger closets. Then, God showed me this verse, Luke 12:15 "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Thank you God for this wonderful reminder. I think I will crawl under my covers and hide now. I heard God say, "If you didn't have so many clothes and shoes you wouldn't have to worry about a bigger closet." And "If you didn't have so much stuff you wouldn't need another bedroom to store your extra stuff." Ok, ok I get it! Man I was just trying to reorganize my bedroom. It's funny how God can teach you things when you least expect Him to. I was also reading in the book Radical and David Platt wrote that only in America do we have storage units for the extra stuff that won't fit into our huge homes! So what if I live in a tiny two-bedroom rent house, it is a mansion compared to the homes I saw in China. I should be thankful for my home, not wishing for more. Thank your Lord for your reminder of how blessed I am.
6. On a happy note, God reminded me that I am of great value to him and I have no need to worry. Luke 12:32 says "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." We are his little flock. So cute. It reminded me of times when I was little and my parents protected me. I was their little sheep. Beth Moore asked me to write out the reasons I had to worry right now. Here are a few that I wrote:
- Finding a job
- Cleaning the house
- My health and weight
- What others think of me
- I hope supper is going to be good tonight
She then had me write the word TRUST in big, bold letters above my list. I felt so relieved after I did that. It was like I handed it all over to God. Seriously I was worried about supper being good??? Why worry about little things like that? Even finding a job is crazy to worry about. God is in control at all times!!
7. Lastly, I was reminded today to live as if Christ was coming back at any second. I was told yesterday that the world is supposed to end today at 6:00. Apparently I don't watch the news enough since I just found this out, but I kind of joked around and thought dang wish I had lived life to the fullest today! Of course I do not believe that the world will end today, but I should still live life as if Christ was coming back today. Luke 12:40 "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
I know this hasn't been the most exciting post ever, but thank you for allowing me to share with you what God has shown me this week. I hope that through this He has reminded you of some things as well.
I hope you have a great weekend!!!!
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