treasure bucket

Friday, June 11, 2010

He gives strength! Hang on!

Perfect timing............

He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; He offers strength to the weak. -- Isaiah 40:29, New Living Translation

God enables us to do His will. This is very powerful. When we find ourselves struggling -- whether it's with life in general, an addiction, a mental disease, or a circumstance -- we can very easily grow tired and worn out.

God is our sustenance -- He is and provides everything we need when we need it. God's provisions and timing are perfect -- all we need to do is ask.

I love the story of the prophet, Elijah in 1 Kings 19. God had commanded Elijah to do some things that offended the evil queen, Jezebel. She vowed to kill him, so Elijah ran away out of fear for his life.

He traveled all day and found a solitary broom tree under which he stopped and prayed to the Lord. Elijah pleaded with God to take his life. Elijah had had enough and he was overcome with exhaustion and depression.

Then Elijah laid down and fell asleep. But God had more for Elijah to do, so He provided for his needs. In verses 5 and 6, the Lord provided for Elijah by sending an angel who woke Elijah and told him to eat.

On a hot stone was fresh bread and a jar of water. Elijah ate and drank and slept some more. The angel came again and woke Elijah and told him to eat and drink more -- which was provided by God -- and Elijah did.

Elijah, now strengthened by God's provisions, travels 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Sinai where he had a conversation with God. You can read the rest of this story starting in verse 9.

The bottom line is, Elijah was so tired and so worn, he barely had the strength to ask for what he needed. He prayed for death because he thought that was the only thing that would end his suffering and fix his circumstances. But God knew Elijah's needs and provided for those needs at the right time.

God provided the solitary broom tree (verse 4) for shelter. He provided a deep, restoring sleep, food and water (twice) for Elijah's renewal of strength. That strength carried him 40 days and nights to the safest place Elijah new -- the mountain of God.

God knows what we need and He provides it when we need it. Many times; however, we ask for what we want rather than what we need. Then, when God provides what we need, we don't recognize it as His provision -- it's not what we wanted. Sometimes we think we know better than God what we need, but this is never true.

I remember the insurmountable stress I encountered when trying meet some deadlines at work. I found myself struggling with dark emotions and fatigue. At times I was too tired to even think. How was I going to get this work done? I prayed to God that it would just go away. But it didn't. In my delirium, I imagined a great wind coming into my office and carrying away all my projects leaving nothing behind. Wiping my slate clean along with my stress.

I smiled at this thought and began to giggle a little inside. I suddenly felt better; at peace; confident I could do what was needed to get everything done. I suddenly found a focus I didn't have before and unshakable concentration. I dove in and completed my projects. On time and under budget! Afterward, I thanked God for giving me what I needed when I needed it. I'm glad I didn't get what I wanted. God's way was much more fulfilling and I learned a little more about God.

God provides for us in every circumstance and He provides completely. God gives us bread; His Son whose broken body provides the example of ultimate suffering (a reminder that the One who saved us suffered more than we ever will). And water -- His Word which is the Living Water that quenches our thirst and renews our souls. And God provides us rest in His presence and strength when we're weak.

When we see things through God's eyes, we see what He provides as complete and timely. To see things through God's eyes, we need to better know Him and His ways.

When we measure God's provisions by our own standards, we become frustrated and tired because every decision is met with a divided mind. We struggle with every little detail in our lives (Do I wear the brown shoes or the tan ones?). We are unable to see past the little things and don't want to address the big ones. We're just too weak, too tired and worn out.

When we are within God's will and we earnestly ask God for what we need, then He graciously and abundantly provides. We get the rest we need to regenerate our minds, the sustenance for our bodies and the strength our spirits need to stay connected to God and His blessings.

What do you really need today? Strength to hold to your convictions and character? Humility so your heart is opened to Truth? Encouragement to complete a mountain of work? The ability to trust our Lord to provide -- that He will make all things new and work out for our good?

Ask Him -- He gives power to those who are tired and worn out and offers strength to the weak.

needing peace

i've been extremely anxious lately. it's been causing me to stay up thinking at night and i always feel in constant worry. a lot of it is about my job - everything is always so busy and i'm constantly trying to understand my value and how i can be better. i'm still unclear of my passion and purpose in life so i think a lot of the turmoil i am facing is due to the conflict between what i am doing and what i truly love. i'm starting my mba in less than 2 months as well which is also absorbing my thoughts - i'm concerned how i am going to balance everything. my job alone is a lot more than a full-time 40 hour a week job - let alone adding 25+ hours of school work/studying on top of it. sometimes i wonder why i do the things i do. i think what makes things so difficult for me is that i am a perfectionist - so i try to do everything 110%. i've been praying a lot lately - asking for peace, guidance....a good night sleep. i am so thankful for the things i do have. i hate to sit and complain about all of this because i am so blessed to have a job and the lifestyle i am able to lead - but money is definitely not everything and i'm lacking content right now. please pray for me if you would.

in the mean time, i love to dream about the things i am passionate about....i'll share "some" of them below. these help me stay sane and find peace in the mist of my scattered thoughts and anxiety.

Monday, April 26, 2010

stress....worry

i am one to often say 'i am so stressed.' i'm not sure when it started but the more i think about it, its probably due to a lot of what i saw when i was growing up and is highly attributed to what i see in how the world deals with things in general. in matthew, jesus tells us not to worry about anything and how worrying doesn't change things anyway nor does it fix or buy us more time. i really really struggle with worry. most of the time its because i can't control the situation at hand or something is not going to how i had planned. we are going through a 'stressed' series right now at conerstone and it really hits home to what im going through and have been for the majority of my life. lynn talks about how we stress when our life doesn't match up perfectly with the plans we set for ourselves. lynn has also been talking about how we try to feed our problems and stressful situations in life with other things and as long as they are available, everything is a-ok. some of these things include money, accomplishments, friends/relationships. but all of these things are so temporary and without jesus, you end up falling at some point anyway. what i have learned so far is that when we are stressed we need to pull over the car, get out, and pray. it is so simple yet so profound. even deeper, we need to acknowledge that its not our will, but his. if we follow this and truly trust he will guide us through, what do we have to worry about anyway? my dad posted some pictures today that consisted of the universe and how planet earth and where we reside is so small in comparison with the other planets, the sun, the galaxy. we are so busy chasing our dreams and trying to get what we want out of this existance when in reality, what we want is so insignifigant anyway. i truly believe god has a plan for every person in this world but what i find interesting is that the majority of us in this world (including me) is so busy chasing our own dreams and desires and when things are not going our way (typically with money, relationships, careers, fame), the stress levels become so high that there is absolutely no hope but deep depression. what we all need to come to realize is that we are here on this planet for a purpose. yah its not going to be easy and he told us this, but its a salvage operation and its not about us but him. there is no need to stress for he will take care of us and whats comforting to know is that this world is so temporary, a dot in the grand scheme of existance and we will be home soon.....in the mean L.I.V.E, L.O.V.E, and spread the good news. That is all we should be concerning ourselves with anyway! :)

Sunday, April 25, 2010

post plan for at least 3 days of each week

i need to start writing more in my blog and reflecting on what i love most in life. i also need to reinvigorate my goal to blog about my spiritual growth in 2010. i've been lacking in my posts for this so i need to recommit to that.

top 3 things to blog about each week (only committing to 3 as i know i probably won't be able to do more than this)

monday - something spiritual