God said what?!

So one day you find yourself happily doing your thing and God speaks. You think: “did I just hear correctly? You want me to do what?! You are giving me what?! Did He just say that?! Uhm.. well.. I didn’t ask for this, but it’s quite exciting..”

Maybe you are in that situation where God has told you a secret about yourself or about your future. You were super excited to hear His voice and excited because of what He said. Then you start sharing it with people and they start looking at you funny and questioning whether God could really tell you such a thing. Suddenly doubt creeps in and you become discouraged. “Can this really be? Was this really God or was it my imagination?”

I have spoken to a few people lately who seem to be facing this issue. God is a speaking God and He loves telling us things about ourselves and the amazing plans which He has for us. But more often than not, He only gives you one piece of the entire puzzle and you wonder: “how on earth is this going to fit into my life or how will this work out?” Just because He spoke to you today, doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen tomorrow. I have heard things spoken to me by God 5 years ago which still has not happened, but I know it’s in my future and I don’t have to doubt them.

So how do you deal with this word that you received from God? Maybe you are not even sure if it was God? My best advice would be to not share it with many people. Mention it to your closest friends and guard it in your heart. If God spoke this word then He will make it come to pass and He will walk this journey with you and lead you all the way. Ask Him to give you scripture to accompany His word.

“so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

God will always finish everything which He starts. You do not need to act on this word, unless He tells you to. Just relax and wait for His guidance. It might be months before He mentions anything again relating to the word. Put your focus on Jesus and follow Him. Don’t let the word distract you from what He has put in your hands at this moment. He will tell you the next step when the time is right.

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:11-12

Now you see only a part of the journey, but in the future you will see it fully. The worst thing that we can do is try to make something happen in our own strength before the time is right. This will only discourage us and be a struggle. Breaking the door down or slamming against it with your fists will not make the journey easier, rather wait until God opens the door for you and tells you to walk through it.

The journey that we are on is such an incredibly exciting one and Jesus is taking us from glory to glory in Him. Be ready to learn everything which He wants to teach you in the meantime to prepare you for the calling that He has for you. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1). He is putting you in this situation to teach you, therefore open your heart and trust Him completely. He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2) and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:6) No one can walk this road for you, it's between you and God. He is for us and not against us. He delights in us and His plans are marvellous!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matt 6:33

Photo credit: Mandy Lynne

What is the condition of your heart?

What is the condition of your heart? If you had to draw a picture of your heart, what would it look like? When I met Jesus years ago, I underwent a radical transformation. I remember seeing my heart depicted as a house, it looked like one of those deserted, wooden houses standing in a field with a big tree next to it. As Jesus invaded my heart it turned into a beautiful glass house. He opened every window, old door, cupboard and spring cleaned so thoroughly that there was no darkness or weed to be found. I felt as if my heart was made out of glass and that there was nothing hidden and that I can stand in front of Him and He can see through me. I was hiding nothing and nothing was holding me back.

It is our responsibility to keep our hearts in that condition. We need to be careful what we allow into our hearts. I can immediately feel when anger, bitterness, resentment, hatred, unforgiveness, offence etc. try and worm its way into my heart. It’s like a rotten egg thrown at my window and I just know that there is something unpleasant going on. If you don’t realise it immediately then it might happen over a few days, you start feeling less peaceful and more irritable and the condition worsens the longer we take to deal with it.

The problem with the emotions mentioned above is that they take up space in our hearts, the space which love used to fill and this makes us feel drained, burdened and irritable. Your glass house now has weeds growing out the window and this is embarrassing, so you just withdraw because of shame and anger towards others. And if the weeds are not dealt with, our hearts close up, the glass turns to wood and we design walls to keep others out, mostly because we are angry at the world, vulnerable and ashamed of our pain. The worst thing is that we don’t just keep people out, but we also keep the love of God out and then our hearts can grow hard.

If you find yourself in this situation, whether there is a small weed growing or whether your house is completely closed with extra barbed wire around the wall and a big “keep out” sign out front, it does not matter to God. Nothing is impossible for Him and there is no heart that He cannot heal. God is more than capable to deal with any issues that you might have. All you need to do is allow Him to enter.

Often we already know what we have allowed into our hearts, especially if it’s something small, but sometimes it can be years of brokenness, hurt and rejection and these things will take time. Remember that He is gentle and kind and that He operates in love. He knows how fast He can clean and what you can and cannot handle. He works at your pace, slowly pulling out weeds and replacing them with love.

I’m not encouraging you to go on a journey of introspection and to find issues in yourself, but rather take the things that you do know of or the things that are bothering you and sit with the Holy Spirit and ask Him to show you how to deal with them and to fill your heart with love. God is taking us from glory to glory on this wonderful journey with Him. Do not be anxious because of where you are at in your journey, but know that if you hold His hand you will always reach your intended destination.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Ps 51:10

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Cor 3:18

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:23-24

Photo credit: favim

Be yourself!

Photo credit: favim

You are unique. God made you with all your personality traits and talents. When He made you, He considered everything about you and perfectly put you together for the plans that He has for you. So often we think that we need to be more intellectual, spiritual, theologically correct etc. before God will use us. WRONG!

Once again we are at the place where we think that it is something that WE do or a place that we reach that now qualifies us to be used by God and this kind of thinking is wrong. As I mentioned in my recent post, “God, what do you want me to do”, God is more interested in the heart than in anything else. God can do more with a person who has a willing heart than with a person who has had years of theological training. I hope we can just get this on a deeper and deeper level. It is so not about us and what we can do, but about what He can do through us. And the only way in which He can do something through us is when we realise that it is not our doing, but His and we allow Him to move.

I just have it on my heart to teach that we must just be free and secure to be ourselves and not strive to be like other people. God has put all the necessary things in you to enable you to reach, comfort and encourage the people He has placed in your life. If God can use a donkey to speak in Numbers 22:28 then He can use you and me in any space that we find ourselves in. You can meet God today and be used by God the same day. At every “stage” in our journey with Him, He has placed people in our lives that we can impact, support and encourage. We do not need to reach a certain level before we can be used by Him.

“Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”” Numbers 22:28

Do not stress about doing everything right, you are already right by just being who you are in Christ and being who He made you to be. Live with freedom and joy, love freely and engage with the people around you with confidence, knowing that God will use you just as you are. Your life is a window for other people to see Jesus through.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” Matt 5:14-15

An amazing friend of mine once had this conversation with God:

God:  “What does a light do?”

My friend:  “Nothing, it just sits there and shines.”

God:  “Exactly, then why are you hopping around flickering and screaming: “I’m a light, I’m a light”? A light just needs to BE and by being what it is, it lights the way for the rest to follow, but hopping, flickering and screaming are just distracting people off the road and drawing attention to itself.”

Absolutely WOW, need I say more? Find out what God has put in you and be who He has made you to be. That is the place where you will shine, experience the most joy and be the most effective for Him.