For Such A Time As This

 I don’t know about you, but the rain yesterday didn’t help my Monday motivation. I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday of this week. Time sure continues to fly by at a rapid speed. Sometimes I have to sit down and not take for granted the good times and moments I have shared with everyone that has been graciously placed into my life. The retreat really helped me to slow down, but I’m back at my normal go go go, so now I have to really focus! Take some time this week to sit and realize all the great thing going on in your life and remember who provided them for you! :o)

 What would you do if you knew that everyone in your circle of life would be gone in a blink of an eye? Would you stand up? Would you fight? Would you use your voice? If you look in the Bible you will find a woman who did. Queen Esther. She is known to be a heroine of her day! Saving the Jews. God used her for a purpose and at the right time. She probably at the time didn’t know she could make such a difference, but that fact that she too was a Jew resonated with her and she desired to do something about for the sake of others. It was her TIME.

Esther 4:14 ,”For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

What does “for such a time as this?” mean to you? Have you had your time? Maybe you have, but you don’t even realize it. When has God used you to do something extraordinary for others with a Kingdom purpose? Have you passed up any of those moments? Are you in your time right now? If not, can you imagine using one of your gifts or talents for God on His timing? Would you be open to anything? I truly believe God has something extraordinary for all of us for the purpose of furthering His kingdom! Why wouldn’t he, after all He is extraordinary!!! Are you ready? If not, look out for opportunities, you never know when time might be knocking on your door.

You Are That Which is Sought!

Psalm 27:8
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

How do you seek God? How do you find Him in the midst of your week? Do you find yourself running to Him, or do you hold back and wait for Him? Do you have a solitary place where you sit in awe of Him and His presence? Do you bask in Him as you walk? Do you listen to worship music on your way to work?  Do you use every ounce of your being to grasp even just a little more of Him every day?  In a dependent state of needing His grace…how do you find it? In all your seeking thus far what does His face look like?

Hosea 10:12

¹² Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with ^[a]kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Until He comes to ^[b]rain righteousness on you.

Haven’t read the book of Hosea in a while, but it’s all about God’s unconditional love in the midst of His children dishonoring Him and worshiping other gods and a wife being unfaithful to her husband. Whether we can relate to worshiping other “gods” or being unfaithful in any manner or not, we are each called to seek the Lord in every capacity. With all intensity, focus, ambition, and desire we can accumulate. Then maybe in your seeking you will find the one who seeks you too!

You are that which is sought!

What do you seek? Who do you seek? And how do you seek?

Maybe your seeking needs a little work…mine sure does!

He Holds Our Hand

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, 'Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river.' The little girl said, 'No, Dad. You hold my hand.' 'What's the difference?' Asked the puzzled father. 'There's a big difference,' replied the little girl.

'If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.'

In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond. It’s a big deal. And the BIG difference between trusting and not trusting, is life and death. Sounds drastic, but I’m not talking about trusting or not trusting your friend to come through with something for you, your son or daughter to do their chores in a timely manner, or your spouse to stay faithful through your entire marriage. It’s not an earthly trust that causes life or death, it’s a godly trust. It’s actually quite simple you either trust God or you don’t. But why does TRUST have such a detrimental connotation?  

According to the dictionary trust is, “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person or thing; confidence.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 (NIV)

“⁴ Such confidence we have through Christ before God. ⁵ Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. ⁶ He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Many times it’s hard to trust, most psychologists believe this is because of experience rather than the failing of human nature. I would have to agree. When I was little, I trusted everyone and it wasn’t until I experienced a personal breaking of trust that I began to question the reliance of others. Is it fair to cast those feelings of distrust towards others because of one experience? Well, no but it doesn’t help in any situation and often times can result in un-forgiveness.

Whether experience leads you to trust or not, there is a special bond with Christ that we can have, and a place to put our trust. Isn’t it comforting to know, that HE holds OUR hand, even when we tend to pull away. Don’t let negative experiences get in the way of putting your trust in CHRIST!!!