Coffee Break - Rock Polishing

Coffee Break

"Rock Polishing"

Through everything that I have gone through, the Lord is using it to do a work in my inner man.  As I have said several times there is always more behind what you are going through than what you are going through.  Although He did not do this to me, as I have said He is bringing something good and eternal out of it. 

For my birthday my husband bought me a rock tumbling kit because I am fascinated by the transformation that takes place when a plain old dirty looking rock becomes a beautiful, colorful, polished, smooth stone.  The transformation is amazing.  It doesn't even look at all like what it started out being.  Who would have thought that such beauty was hidden inside something so unappealing.

That beautiful polished stone did not get that way without going through a process.  It was put in a tumbler to go around and around and around-- not for a few minutes but for days.  Inside the tumbler was also several other rocks and some course grit.  After many days it was taken out.  But that wasn't the end of the process. It was washed and dried and put back in the tumbler with the same rocks and finer grit to be tumbled again for another week.  Then it is taken out and washed.  Is that the end of it?  No, back into the tumbler to go around and around again, this time with a prepolisher.  The same process is repeated as before.  Lastly, it is put back in the tumbler with another polisher.  At the end of an appointed time, it is taken out of the tumbler, washed and there you have... finally... the finished product.  The whole process was intended to reshape the stone, smooth it and bring out its beauty.

When we go through some of the situations we go through, through them God is trying to make us into something beautiful for His glory.  Sadly, we live in a time when the gospel message we hear is one that says as a Christian you will never go through any hardship, heartache, suffering, affiliation, pain or tribulation.  This is not what the Bible teaches. Our Lord Jesus said we would have tribulation in this world.  So we do go through things.  But while the devil intends to destroy us through them, God never intends for those things to spiritually destroy us.  He intends for them to make us like beautiful polished living stones.

Like the rocks in the tumbler, we have to go through a process in order to be who God plans for us to be.  That process isn't always easy, comfortable or pleasant- and it doesn't happen overnight.  We can't become who we need to become and get to where we need to go in the Lord without adversity and friction.

Have a great day.  To be who God wants you to be so that you can do what He wants you to do, you have to go through a reshaping process.  It isn't always easy but in the end you will come out looking beautiful.

Coffee Break - No Fire

Coffee Break

"No Fire"

When I surrendered to the Lord's will to have surgery, I didn't know that through it what He was also doing was answering prayers that I had prayed.  When I had my surgery, I was kept overnight.  That night in the hospital I wasn’t able to sleep.  Sometime during the middle of the night I decided to turn on the television.  I began to scroll through the channels looking for a Christian station.  I found one.  As I watched the guest was talking to the hosts about an event that was soon to take place.  The event was going to be a gathering of believers who wanted nothing more than God.  They were gathering to seek the Lord for a fresh touch and be in His glorious presence.  The guest was inviting people to come and be a part of the meeting.  He said something that made my “spiritual ears” stand up at attention. He said, “You have been working for the Lord, been involved in ministry, gaining more knowledge, praying, doing all the Christian duties, but you have lost the fire.”  I said, “Oh, Lord, that is me.” I am working for you, running a ministry, teaching, studying the Word, being used in the gifts, but something is missing.”  That was it!  I have felt for a while like something wasn't right and something was missing in my life.  But I didn't know what it was.  I had prayed about it but never could put my finger on what it was.  This was it--My fire had gone.  I was like a smoking flax and bruised reed. (Matthew 12:20 ) The smoke of religious service was there but the fire of the Spirit, the passion, the hunger, the yearning and first love was not there.  But God is so gracious and loving that if we allow ourselves to get to the point where we are just “smoking”, He will not quench it.   He sees the smoke and knows that were there’s smoke, there is a chance for a fire.  He knows how to blow on the embers and reignite it. 

Let me ask you this morning-- and be honest with yourself and God.  Are you a smoking flax?  Often we think we are on fire but are nothing more than smoke.  Have you lost your passion for the Lord?  Is the zeal of God still there?  Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?  Have you lost your first love?  Do you still yearn to be in His presence?  Like I said already, we can go through the motions and do all the Christian duties but lack the fire.  Maybe you are like I was, you knew something was missing but didn't know what.  Maybe it's the fire.  If it is, you can get it back.  I am!  The way it is happening is by drawing near to the Lord and making Him and His presence my priority.  

We often equate the work of the Lord with the presence of the Lord.  It isn't.  You can do His work and still not have His presence.  "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:22,23)  Many are drawing to the works, thinking they are drawing close to Him.

Have a great day.  Has your fire gone out?  Don't mistake your Christian works for God's presence.  Start drawing close to Him and getting into His presence and He will fan your smoke and start a fire from it.    

  

Coffee Break - Alone

Coffee Break

"Alone"

Yesterday I shared with you that with God things are not always what we think they are.  I thought I was just getting relief from my pain and fixing the problem that was causing it by having surgery. But, like I have already told you, it wasn't about my physical well-being, it was about a spiritual journey He wanted to take me on. 

As I also said, don't misunderstand, God did not do this to me.  He didn't afflict my back and put me in such pain.  But He is using it.  He is using it to get me in a place where I am flat of my back, I can't do anything, I can't go anywhere, I am alone and I am being still. I am in a solitary place.  Therefore, I have nothing else to do but listen to Him.

Thank God for solitary places.  Jacob was in a solitary place and he encountered the Lord.  He wrestled with Him and the Lord touched his thigh so that he limped the rest of His life.  Let's put it this way-- after he had an encounter with the Lord he never walked the same way. The Lord will change our walk/life when we have a real encounter with Him. Jesus was in a solitary place-- 40 days in the wilderness.  When He came out of the wilderness, He came out in power and victory and started His ministry.

Are you in a solitary place?  Each time we go into our prayer closet, or war room, and we shut the world and everything else out we are going into a solitary place.  Those solitary places (whether they are your prayer closet or some situation that has you alone) are where we come out refreshed, changed and empowered to do what we are called to do. 

The Lord has spoken a word to me throughout this whole trial, and He speaks it to me often.  It is-- when I am tried, I shall come forth as pure gold. The Lord wants to turn you into a pure gold vessel to be used for His honor and glory.  But it comes as we submit and surrender to the Master Refiner.  We have to be willing and obedient to allow Him to do whatever He desires.... even if it takes us down a path that we would not choose or want to go down.  And even if it takes us into a solitary place.

Have a great day.  Sometimes we don't understand what God is doing, especially when we are in a solitary place, but it is always a good thing, it always benefits us and the work of His Kingdom.    

 

Coffee Break - It's Working For Good

Coffee Break

"It's Working For Good"

I know I have already said it and I am sure that I will probably say it several more times before I finish sharing this journey with you.  But it bears constant repetition. 

It is:  God did not put this affliction and suffering on me-- or on you.  The things that we suffer in life come as a result of living in a fallen world-- one that is under the curse of sin.  Because of this, our bodies are subject to pain, trauma, sickness and death.  We won't live here forever.  If we live to be old our bodies will have aches and pains and begin to wear out.  They also come as a result of the actions of others against us.  They come as a result of consequences for bad choices, unwise decisions and mistakes we have made.  They also come because we have an enemy, the devil, who is out to destroy us. 

But when they do come our way, God can use them for our good.  The good that He can bring out of them may differ from one person to another.  The good that is being worked out through my situation may not be the same thing that is being worked out in yours.

In my case the good thing is to bring me back to a place of hunger and thirst for the Presence of God in my life that has been lacking.  It is also to bring me to a place of fresh surrender so that He can take me to the next level He has planned for me to go to.  When the Israelites were standing between the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army, it was to bring them to a place where they could see the power of God over their enemies.  When the disciples were in the boat during the storm, it was so that they could see that Jesus is the Son of God and has power over nature.  When the three Hebrews were thrown into the fiery furnace, they learned that the Lord would never leave them-- He was the fourth man in the fire.  When Daniel was thrown in the lion's den, it revealed to him that the Lord could save him out of any situation-- man or beast.  When Job faced great calamity, in the end he gained a knowledge and closeness to God that he had never experienced before even though he was a worshipper.

Perhaps you are going through a trying time at the moment.  You may be facing sickness and pain in your body.  You may be going through a time of financial lack.  You may have just lost your job.  Your friends may have turned their backs on you.  You may be at a cross roads in life.  You may be fighting depression or some other mental and emotional trial.  The Lord can work in each one, no matter what it is.  For some it may be to show you that the Lord is with you always.  For others it may be bringing them to a place of repentance because of lack of faith.  For others it may be so that He can show you His awesome power to work on your behave.  For someone else, through it He can show you that He is your deliverer.  Then for another He can prove to you His amazing goodness and love.  He may be using it to show you that He is your provider and can make a way where there seems to be no way.  Etc., etc., etc. 

He knows what you are going through.  He knows where you are.  He knows how to take every situation and work through it for your good... whatever that good may be. 

Have a great day.  We all go through something at sometime in our lives. Is there something that the Lord is wanting to work out in your life through what you are going through?

Coffee Break -- So, Why?

Coffee Break

So, Why?

When I surrendered to the Lord to have the surgery, little did I realize at the time that I was actually being set up by the Lord to go on a spiritual journey.  It wasn’t about my physical well-being or healing.  After all, I was already healed by the stripes of Jesus.  And I had experienced His healing power in this same area six years earlier.  

Six years ago I was working in my yard and overextended my back.  When I did, pain hit my back and I knew something was wrong.  Several weeks later I had an MRI.  When the doctor gave me the results, the first thing she said was, “Are you ready for surgery?” I had five bulging disc.  My immediate reply was, “No, surgery is not an option for me.”  I did not have the surgery.  I took pain relievers, prayed and stood upon the Word of God.  I continued to experience pain (but not to the degree I did this time) for five months.  Then one day the pain stopped.  I have been fine since.  I know the Lord touched me and healed the bulging discs.  To confirm it, three years later I was in an automobile accident (fender bender).  It wasn’t serious but I was hit from behind while I was parked.  I decided to have an MRI done from the top of my spinal cord to the bottom.  (I wanted to make sure that I was alright.)  I went to the same Orthopedic doctor and he confirmed from the results that there was nothing on the MRI that indicated any need for surgery.  God had healed me.

When I surrendered to the Lord to have the surgery, it wasn’t about relieving the pain, healing or my physical well-being.  It was about something greater.  Something eternal.  Something that would glorify Him. God cares about us and everything that affects our lives.  He cared about the pain I was in, but He is more concerned about our spiritual well-being than our physical.  Our spirits are eternal, our body is not.  It will go back to the dust one day.  

When I surrendered to the surgery, I surrendered to His will.  Once I was surrendered to His will, He could then begin to do a work in my life that He desired to do.  When God leads you, it is about more than you think.  He is working out a greater plan behind it.  

Have a great day.  With God, things are not always what we think they are.  They are never what we think they are about.  It is about something far greater that the Lord is after.  Bottom line, you will miss what He really wants to do in your life if you don't surrender.