Over the past couple of weeks the same phrase has been popping up in conversations and in different places that I have been looking. At first, when I heard it from a friend, I knew that it was something I should do, but I didn’t take action right away like the Lord was telling me to do. I disobeyed. But, the Lord is forgiving and reminded me of the very same thing a couple days later. I was preparing the Children’s Ministry classrooms for a new month and putting up new lesson plans when I happened to look at the verse for the month. James 1:5 (NLT) “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” I was shocked! The very verse that I knew I needed in my life, was the same one I was afraid of.
When my friend brought it up over conversation, she mentioned that most people read this verse and instead of thinking of it as a command, they consider it to be a suggestion and never actually ask for wisdom. She was astonished at how the Lord is giving an answer to so many people, but yet they won’t take it. That’s like the saying, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” As simple, and funny as this saying is, it’s so true! How many of us know the things we ought to do, but instead we do the opposite? Paul the Apostle wrote about this very thing in the book of Romans 7. Paul was talking about the law of sin and how if you let the desires of the flesh run, then you live a sinful life. So many of us struggle with sins, and all different ones. The devil is a roaring lion who prowls around at all hours looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to kick people off of the step that the Lord has placed them on. What is the devil trying to knock you off of? For me, this past week, it was the security of the family that I have around me. For you, it could be work, or a spouse, or even an illness. But whatever it is, the Lord has already won the battle. There is no need to dwell in the hurt and shame, but rather dwell on the things that the Lord has already promised to you.
In 1 Corinthians 10:13, it says, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” How powerful is that!?? To know that whatever I go through, the Lord will give me a way out, it is remarkable and almost unbelievable. The creator of the universe wants me to prevail in life, to flourish, and stand strong in Him. But the devil so frequently cuts me off from the Lord because he reminds me of those things I did in the past, or the thought that I had once years ago. But what I’m starting to remind myself is that the Lord keeps no record of right and wrong, He accepts me as I am, and He loves me no matter what I do or don’t do. Philippians 1:6, “Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” If we don’t feed ourselves with all these promises that the Bible has, then we begin to take those steps away from Jesus and The Father of the Universe.
How long will you wait until you realize that you need someone in your life that takes care of all things? How long will you think that you are not worthy of joy and unconditional love? For me, it was 23 years of living in the thought that I was worthless and would never be loved. What will it take for you? I pray that today you take a step of faith to remember who Christ says you are, because He is the only person whose opinion should matter because He made you in the image He had. No one on this planet will ever be worthy enough to tell you what you should look like, what you should do with your life, or where you should be. The only one who can do that is Christ, and I’m so thankful that I only answer to Him.
So let me ask you, do you need wisdom? Because I did, and I still do. Jesus, as a young boy, knew He would need wisdom. In Luke 2:41-52, He leaves his family in order to learn more and seek counsel for wisdom. So if Jesus himself seeks wisdom, who are we to say that we don’t want that very same thing? He came to this world to reconcile all who are lost. You may not know you are lost, but if you don’t have a relationship with the Father who created you, than would you pray today and see if that is something He would want you to do? For me, it took close to 6 of my later years to realize I was living in sin and crushing the Lord’s heart. If you make that decision, I would love to hear from you and to pray for you as you begin this remarkable journey!
I’m praying for each and every one of you today as you read this that the Lord’s wisdom would pour over you as you go through your daily routines. That His grace would be sufficient for you and that His love would be enough. As I pray for you, would you do the same for me? My squad and I have endured attacks from the enemy in the past couple of months about where we are supposed to be, if this journey is our call, as well as attacking relationships before we leave. Pray with us and for us that the attacks would seize in the name of the Lord and that we would find our worth in the Lord. Some squad members are having a hard time with the thought of leaving behind family and friends, so pray that the Lord would comfort us in these times.
I also ask that you pray for our financial situations. Raising lump sums for a mission like this is difficult, but with the timeline we are on we have a little over 5 months to raise our budgets in order to be able to leave on January 3, 2019.
I am personally working on some fundraisers that will be announced in the coming weeks, but if you’d like to donate before then, I encourage you to click on the “Donate!” button on the top of this page. Any and all donations are so appreciated and will stretch the extra mile! As I stated in my last blog, for $56 you can sponsor a whole day for me overseas! How INCREDIBLE is that!!? Anyways, love you guys and I’m super thankful for you!
XOXO
