Post by cspain03 on Sept 10, 2014 11:28:31 GMT
Good morning ! I trust you all are well rested and if not that God will provide you with he strength and clarity of mind you need to have a productive day.
In working off of the reading reflection Kia provided for these two chapters I found the following verses stood out to me:
Ch. 3:
20 "Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,
21 to those who wait for death that does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice even to jubilation, and are exultant when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
Ch. 4:
3 Look, you have instructed many; you have strengthened feeble hands.
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees that gave way.
5 But now the same thing comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are terrified.
We are asked today to focus on purpose. I think these scripture highlight that in a unique way for me. I feel like the questions you see Job asking his friends/in general in Chapter 3 are questions at some point we've all asked ourselves, I certainly know I have. I may not have been speaking from the same type of place of misery as Job (having lost my possessions, family members, and being physically ill) but I've certainly had my own respective "lower than low moments" where all I can do is ask "why, what's the point?" I recently heard someone say that "If the Lord is waking you up every morning, that means He's not done with you yet!" So in other words, we still have a purpose yet to fulfill. And I think as we mature, that simple fact brings it's own sense of joy and peace. I know I've really had to focus on quieting myself and my heart and removing distractions so that I can prepare my spirit to hear/receive the purpose God has for me, because I still don't know what it is. It used to really upset me actually, especially because I felt like I was always surround by people who knew what their purpose was. Now don't get me wrong, I have desires, goals, plans for my life, but I realized that I needed to put in work to make sure I was aligning myself with His Will and His Word so that, until He confirms in me what my purpose is, what motivates me currently will still be on the path to get me to where God wants me to be. I still have my moments where I feel let out of the loop because I can't say "God has purposed me to ___" (outside of spread the Gospel and love, especially loving "the least of these") but I know that as I grow and mature, I will reach the place where God will look down and realize I am ready to receive that statement of purpose.
The verses in Chapter 4 are a reminder that in the midst of walking towards (and eventually walking IN) my purpose, I can't be discouraged when times get rough. I can't allow hard times or a difficult journey to cause me to doubt God. Now, this is a slippery slop to stand on: we don't want to run the risk of being "self righteous" was we help others work through their difficult times to only turn around and be hypocritical when times get hard in our own lives. We/I have to understand that if "this" is our purpose (whatever "this" is) and we are certain that "this" is what GOD has called us to do, then, even when we face hard times, or stumble along the journey, we can rest assured that it's something we'll make it through. BUT if we're operating out of flesh/the world, we are going to face hard times more often and we're going to be led to constantly question our abilities and our strength. When God has purposed us for something, we KNOW that He is our source of strength and HE WILL PROVIDE and that is a sense of peace we can only obtain from Him. I think too often we either, talk ourselves out of our purpose because things get hard even though we know the Spirit has led us to this point OR, we try to convince ourselves we've been called to something just because we like it or happen to be relatively good at it. I was told once "just because you're good at it, doesn't mean you're purposed to do it." Even when you receive tons of praise for a job well done or everyone wants your opinion/input or people really benefit from what you're doing or you have a specific skill set, doesn't mean your PURPOSED to do it. Example: the people in the organizations I work with/volunteer with really appreciate the thorough job I do with taking Minutes for Meetings, they appreciate the sacrifice I make (mainly because no one else wants to ever do it), I am really helping the organization by keeping track of important conversations for historical reference. BUT I know that the Lord is not speaking to my spirit and telling me that my purpose in life is to be a secretary/take minutes.
It's a delicate but very important aspect of our lives. I know the more I press into His presence, the more quality time I spend with Him and in His Word and in worship, the more I am preparing my spirit to receive my purpose. To all those who know and are certain of their purpose - stay encouraged through the difficult times and make sure you are surround by the right people and stay in His Word/stay connected to Him. To those, like myself, who are still waiting, stay encouraged and know that God has a plan and His time table is best and when the time comes to reveal your purpose to you HE WILL DO JUST THAT, but remember you have to do your part as well. Show Him that you're ready!
In working off of the reading reflection Kia provided for these two chapters I found the following verses stood out to me:
Ch. 3:
20 "Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,
21 to those who wait for death that does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice even to jubilation, and are exultant when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
Ch. 4:
3 Look, you have instructed many; you have strengthened feeble hands.
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees that gave way.
5 But now the same thing comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are terrified.
We are asked today to focus on purpose. I think these scripture highlight that in a unique way for me. I feel like the questions you see Job asking his friends/in general in Chapter 3 are questions at some point we've all asked ourselves, I certainly know I have. I may not have been speaking from the same type of place of misery as Job (having lost my possessions, family members, and being physically ill) but I've certainly had my own respective "lower than low moments" where all I can do is ask "why, what's the point?" I recently heard someone say that "If the Lord is waking you up every morning, that means He's not done with you yet!" So in other words, we still have a purpose yet to fulfill. And I think as we mature, that simple fact brings it's own sense of joy and peace. I know I've really had to focus on quieting myself and my heart and removing distractions so that I can prepare my spirit to hear/receive the purpose God has for me, because I still don't know what it is. It used to really upset me actually, especially because I felt like I was always surround by people who knew what their purpose was. Now don't get me wrong, I have desires, goals, plans for my life, but I realized that I needed to put in work to make sure I was aligning myself with His Will and His Word so that, until He confirms in me what my purpose is, what motivates me currently will still be on the path to get me to where God wants me to be. I still have my moments where I feel let out of the loop because I can't say "God has purposed me to ___" (outside of spread the Gospel and love, especially loving "the least of these") but I know that as I grow and mature, I will reach the place where God will look down and realize I am ready to receive that statement of purpose.
The verses in Chapter 4 are a reminder that in the midst of walking towards (and eventually walking IN) my purpose, I can't be discouraged when times get rough. I can't allow hard times or a difficult journey to cause me to doubt God. Now, this is a slippery slop to stand on: we don't want to run the risk of being "self righteous" was we help others work through their difficult times to only turn around and be hypocritical when times get hard in our own lives. We/I have to understand that if "this" is our purpose (whatever "this" is) and we are certain that "this" is what GOD has called us to do, then, even when we face hard times, or stumble along the journey, we can rest assured that it's something we'll make it through. BUT if we're operating out of flesh/the world, we are going to face hard times more often and we're going to be led to constantly question our abilities and our strength. When God has purposed us for something, we KNOW that He is our source of strength and HE WILL PROVIDE and that is a sense of peace we can only obtain from Him. I think too often we either, talk ourselves out of our purpose because things get hard even though we know the Spirit has led us to this point OR, we try to convince ourselves we've been called to something just because we like it or happen to be relatively good at it. I was told once "just because you're good at it, doesn't mean you're purposed to do it." Even when you receive tons of praise for a job well done or everyone wants your opinion/input or people really benefit from what you're doing or you have a specific skill set, doesn't mean your PURPOSED to do it. Example: the people in the organizations I work with/volunteer with really appreciate the thorough job I do with taking Minutes for Meetings, they appreciate the sacrifice I make (mainly because no one else wants to ever do it), I am really helping the organization by keeping track of important conversations for historical reference. BUT I know that the Lord is not speaking to my spirit and telling me that my purpose in life is to be a secretary/take minutes.
It's a delicate but very important aspect of our lives. I know the more I press into His presence, the more quality time I spend with Him and in His Word and in worship, the more I am preparing my spirit to receive my purpose. To all those who know and are certain of their purpose - stay encouraged through the difficult times and make sure you are surround by the right people and stay in His Word/stay connected to Him. To those, like myself, who are still waiting, stay encouraged and know that God has a plan and His time table is best and when the time comes to reveal your purpose to you HE WILL DO JUST THAT, but remember you have to do your part as well. Show Him that you're ready!
!!!! Not the word, not the command, the sentence, the speech...simply the BREATH! Inhale, exhale that's all it takes for the wicked to fall. Let's just say don't get caught being one of the wicked...you might be one breath away from death lol. Secondly, Should not your piety be your confidence