iShineInMinistry

Psalm 119:2 NKJV

 

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,

 

Who seek Him with the whole heart!

 

 

 

More and more, life seems to become increasingly hectic and tragic around us. There are a variety of reasons to be discouraged, dismayed, frustrated, infuriated or just get to the point of apathy because you are so done with all the bad and terrible news. I’m sure we can find ourselves settling in a little cloud of affliction as we see horrific encounters, read of devastating injustices and see that everything around us is in shambles; yet in all of the bad that surrounds us, we need to make sure that we continue to be the light in this dark, sad world.

 

 

 

Our job is to keep His testimonies, to seek the Lord with our whole heart. I know this seems like a “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” statement. However, how often do we let other trivial things in our life crowd God out of our hearts? How many times a day are we more interested in seeking a career path, lifestyle, husband, dress on sale, popularity via Instagram likes or a higher status overall instead of seeking God with our whole heart? How often are we caught up in vanity of vanities and not caught up in ministering to our coworker that just lost a loved one or helping a friend in need during a spiritually dry season of life? How often are we ready to go on a mission trip and document our good works via social media and not even take care of our own loved ones who are close by and need us?

 

 

 

Are we keeping His testimonies throughout our day or sweating the small stuff, acting petty and just plain losing focus of what truly matters? Let’s remember to look to the Lord and His word to lead us, direct us, allow our lives, path and thoughts to be established and then let Him work out how things are supposed to “work out”. Too many times we get in the way, take matters into our own hands or just do not respond in a godly way.

 

 

 

Let’s be women that are really blessed in every sense of the word, seeking Him and His kingdom above all things…and allowing life to go in the way that He plans for us. For we all know, that is the best way!

 

 

 

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

 

 

Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Psalm 138:8 (ESV)

 

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

 

 

For the last five years, I have been setting a goal to get back to a certain weight by my birthday. Yet, without fail, now for the fifth year in a row, I have not made that goal. While I am still quite active and healthy, I am hoping to get down to a specific number on the scale just for my own enjoyment. However, I don’t get bent out of shape or beat myself up fi this doesn’t happen. This is the reason why…

 

 

I’m still living a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy and getting more than an adequate amount of exercise each week.

 

 

I’ve been doing quite a great deal of other wonderful things with my time, such as ministry, volunteering, and fellowshipping and having personal time with the Lord.

 

 

My life is still filled with joy no matter how I look in the mirror or how chubby my cheeks are (plus it keeps me looking much younger than my age).

 

 

While we may come up with specific personal plans and goals that could be a benefit to us (mine is mostly vanity, not going to lie), we must make sure that we balance out our life in such a way that is pleasing to the Lord and allowing wonderful things to take place…such as divine encounters, opportunities to pray and serve and just the lovely things that go with living a life for the Lord.

 

 

What God wants to happen will take place and His love will endure no matter what pressure, unnecessary goals or crazy stipulations we put on ourselves. Let Him fulfill the best purpose for your life and continue the work that He is doing in and through you…you’ll be a much more joyful person if you do!

 

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

 

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

 

 

What are three things in your life right now that are causing you the most anxiety, stress or frustration? Ask yourself if these are things God has called you to or decisions that you made without His prompting or consent. If they are not of Him, pray through how to redirect your plans to align with His will.

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

 

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

 

 

 

I love making to-do lists, organizing and basically putting things in their rightful place. This love was forced upon me once I moved to New York and realized how much space I did not have in my home. This new “forced love” has also trickled into many parts of my life, such as planning, events, scheduling my life and my workouts. It helps me stay on track and have a spirit of diligence; however, sometimes I just need to calm the heck down and let god do what He is planning to do.

 

Oftentimes, we go into control-freak mode and think we can change the course of very specific elements of our lives. While we can redirect the color of our hair with the help of dye or a hairdresser, making other things fall into place is not so easy. In our efforts to get God on our program we may also manipulate what look like well-meaning plans to try to get an ideal outcome for ourselves.

 

 

 

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve done that, many times my final thought is, “Well that didn’t go as planned.” I may try to work out more to train for a big race, only to get injured and not be able to participate at all. Or, I could work and study and strive until I have sleepless nights and live at work or school…then get demoted or not get accepted into the grad-school program that I worked so hard to get to. Perhaps I have been making a new set of friends with the intention of catching the eye of a specific guy, only to find out that he has a long distance girlfriend in Sweden. Fill in your blank as needed; but the point is, we need to stay on god’s course and want His will if we’d like things to go as planned.

 

 

 

I hope so very much that we will place our full, undivided, complete and sincere trust in the Lord and let Him establish our steps rather than come up with a course on our own that either leads to trouble, getting lost or a dead end. Let’s truly trust Jesus with our lives the way we say we do when we sing songs to Him, we will be much better off if He’s really in control!

 

 

 

Jeremiah 32:27 (NET)

 

“I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me.

Are you feeling disappointed today? Do you have this unsettling feeling in your heart and mind that something is putting a cloud over your joy? Is life as you know it feeling more like a routine set on auto-pilot than a beautiful picture of God’s plan for you? Are you waiting and starting to lose hope in letting patience have its perfect work? If any (some or all) of these statements is true for you, let me remind you to meditate on this area of scripture and also let’s remember how much the Lord loves us.

 

 

 

Romans 5:1-5

 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 

 

 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to grow in endurance, character and hope as you start to get disheartened by how much longer this season is lasting. Jumping the gun and forcing your own way may seem like a good idea for the here and now, but think of the better option God has for you, think of all the unsaved people around you that are watching how you respond to life. Think of the amazing way the Lord is using you right now in whatever situation you find yourself in. Don’t lose heart!

 

 

 

We may not understand why things end up the way they do or how it all seems to work out, but we do know that the same God that willingly sent His only begotten Son to the cross for us always has our best interests in mind as He orchestrates each moment of our lives. Let’s trust what He is doing and let Him have His way in our lives…we will be much better off and an amazing testimony of His truth and faithfulness!

Heart check time – are you doing all to the glory of God right now? As you sit at work, in your volunteer position, in class or in a meeting...are you truly focused on the Lord and bringing Him glory in all you do? I know for a fact that I am not right now. I have a severe case of "short-timers" as I am in the process of transitioning from one position to the next big thing that God has for me. However, I need to finish strong so that I can do the last fantastic thing that God gave me to do in this season. Might you be encountering the same problem?

 

 

 

Let's encourage one another today. We need to keep going in the right direction and let our work ethic be a testimony of our devotion to the Lord. Let's get our tasks complete, bless those around us and keep doing the work that the Lord has called us to do. Let's be extra-sparkly as we worship the Lord in spirit and truth through our actions and everything the Lord allows us to do in this life.

 

 

 

I will keep you in prayer in this endeavor...and please also pray for me!!