Monday, October 22, 2012

Daily Word: Destined for Greatness

Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

If all your life, you were taught “You are destined for GREATNESS", how powerful and strong would you be?  Would there be any limit to how hard you worked or pushed yourself because failure was not an option, nor in your panoramic, conscious, or subconscious view?  Would you doubt your ability to succeed, be victorious, or triumph over any hurdle?  Would you allow anyone or anything to stand in between you, your God, your goals and your dreams? 

These are questions I often times ask myself as I journey along this path called life.  I believe that I am God’s creation and that a portion of His/Her spirit dwells within me but yet, I do not always believe in my ability …….. Nor trust that God will stand in the gap when I am at the end of my rope.   

During life we face obstacles known as trials, tribulations, hurt, pain, fear, doubt, insecurity, and the list can go on.  However, every time we are faced with adversity and challenges that seem impossible to overcome, we become doubtful in our ability to be a “survivor”. 

Elihu said to Job Gods servant “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life”.  During this time, Job was at a low point in his life and Elihu wanted to remind him of his Creator.  He said to Job the same God you serve, I serve, and the same God who made me, also made you.  The spirit of God dwells within me but guess what Job, He also dwells within you too.  Let me personalize on this scripture to let you know that that same spirit of God dwells within you and I as well.   

Merriam Webster defines spirit as an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms. It defines life as a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings; the form or pattern of something existing in reality. 

This tells us that Gods is the primary source of our existence and His Spirit is a necessary component and the organ that brings forth life to this temple in which we reside.   GOD is GREAT, MIGHTY, POWERFUL, and OMNIPOTENT.  If God is our creator,  the very essence of your life is founded on the same greatness, might, power, and omnipotence.    It is the sustaining factor and the force in which you were created upon.

With a portion of God's spirit running through your vital organs, how can you be anything but GREAT?  Do you believe?  If you don’t know, I am telling you that from the day you were born God said, "My creation, you are Great. Believe in your ability and I will give you eternal peace. Strive to be all that you can be and I will give you the increase.  You are destined for GREATNESS my child, it is in your foundation and make up."  Trust and believe the only thing that lies ahead of you is your destiny which is field with GREATNESS. 


Lady A~

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Silence

1 Corinthians 3:16:  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Sprit of God dwelleth in you?

Spirituality is a personal journey inside our individual temples to commune with the Spirit of God that dwells therein.  It is an inner path that strives to achieve a connection with God so that we can have a more comprehensive understanding of who we really are.  Striving toward increased spirituality, striving toward a stronger connection with God, requires us to block out the noise.  The noise of the world, the mundane, the literal, the trivial, the bills, the house, the car, the dog, the trials and tribulations, the limitations, the distractions, the enemy.  Make them silent.  Our challenge is to let all the earth keep silence while the LORD is in His holy temple so that we can connect with the Spirit of God that dwells within us. 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Daily Bread: Overwhelmed

"O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do:  but our eyes are upon thee."  2 Chronicles 20:12

Life can be really overwhelming if you allow it to be.  Thinking about family obligations, financial obligations, the future, the past and everything in between can leave you feeling weak, powerless, and overwhelmed.  This week my student loans really got to me, and I was frustrated and wishing it would all just go away.  But after a lovely and helpful talk with Lady A., I was reminded this trouble aint gonna last always.  You do what you can to address your problems, and what you can't do you turn over to God.  The truth is sometimes life's problems are more than we can handle.  If you are really powerless against your problems and really don't know what to do, keep your eyes on God.  He will direct your path.  He will order your steps.  He will lead you to a solution.  As a person of faith, I have to believe that there is nothing too big for my God to handle.  I know that is something that people say all the time, but I have to constantly remind myself that its true.  There is no financial situation that He can't handle.  There is no family situation that He can't take care of.  There is no health issue that He can't make better.  There is no breach that He can't repair.  There is no heartache that He can't mend.  Stay prayerful.  Stay peaceful.  And keep your eyes on Him.

Lady S.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Daily Bread: Embrace Your Weakness

I have been doing a lot of thinking about strength lately.  More specifically, I've been thinking a lot about this phrase coming from Exodus 13:14, "By strength of hand, the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage."  And I've been plagued by this thought:  What exactly is God's strength of hand? 

I mean I know what my strength of hand is.  I know how to push, pull, lift, and support with my hands.  To snatch something away quickly, to offer a hand to stabilize my toddler, to reach out my hand to stop my 4 year old from doing something she shouldn't do.  But what exactly is God's strength of hand? 

It must be so much more than my concept of strength.  I mean, God is my strength.  God is strength.  God is so much more than strength.  And thinking about God's strength, just makes me think about how weak I really am. 

Over the past 6 months, watching my mother struggle with the effects of diabetes really hammered home for me just how frail the human body is.  For anyone who has tried to open a jar and couldn't, or lift something that was too heavy, or do something that your strength just wouldn't allow you to do... the feeling you have is something akin to impotence and to powerlessness.  And if your day to day life is plagued with those feelings of weakness and lack of strength, you could get lost in the abyss of negative emotions (doubt, sadness, depression).  But o troubled soul there is a God.

Thinking about my own weaknesses makes me feel sad and inferior.  I'm not the smartest, not the wittiest, not the funniest.  But you know what... I have decided to embrace those things.  I embrace my weaknesses because they make me humble.  They remind me that my strength does not come from me.  My strength comes from God.  My weaknesses remind me that without God I would be nothing; that I would be able to accomplish nothing; that my life would be worth nothing.  As a child of the Most High God, I have enjoyed success that I did not earn, blessings that I did not deserve, happiness that should not have been mine.  And since I know my own limitations, since I know my own weakness, I know for myself that these things were not created by my strength of hand.  But rather, by strength of hand, the LORD brought me out. 

--Lady S.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Daily Bread: Prosperity


The children of Israel, all 70 of them, came to Egypt to escape the famine in the land of
Canaan. (Exodus 1:5). Joseph, as you’ll recall was already there. (Exodus 1:5). In any
event, as time went on the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and
multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was full of them. (Exodus 1:7).

Pharaoh, this king which knew not Joseph, was uncomfortable with their number. (Exodus
1:8). He worried that if there was a war; that the children of Israel might side with the
enemy against Egypt. (Exodus 1:10). So he says, “Come on, let us deal wisely with them.”
(Exodus 1:10).

You know what happens next. The Egyptians set up taskmasters over the children of Israel
to afflict them with their burdens. (Exodus 1:11). But still the children of Israel continued
to multiply. (Exodus 1:12). So Pharaoh recruited the midwives to get rid of the male
children when they were born (Exodus 1:15-16). But the midwives, because they feared
God, would not cooperate. (Exodus 1:17). And the children of Israel continued to multiply
and waxed mighty. (Exodus 1:20).

A few thoughts about this:

1. The children of Israel, who were basically refugees, were prospering in the land of
Egypt. When you prosper people start to notice. Not everyone who notices your
prosperity will have your best interest at heart. They will try to devise schemes to
bring you down. They will try to deal wisely with you to make themselves feel more
comfortable with your success.

2. Multiplying was a blessing given to the children of Israel by God. God tells Abraham in
Genesis 12:3, “I will make of thee a great nation” and in Genesis 17:2 “And I will make
my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” God tells Isaac
in Genesis 26:24, “fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed
for my servant Abraham’s sake”. God tells Jacob in Genesis 28:14, “And thy seed shall
be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east,
and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the
earth be blessed”. The point is that the children of Israel were fulfilling their blessing.
No wise dealings can stop, block, or undo a blessing that God intends for you. It doesn’t
matter who is uncomfortable with your prosperity. It doesn’t matter how they try
to limit your success. If God has promised it to you and you hold up your end of the
bargain, you will inherit your blessing.

3. When I read Exodus 1:10 “Come on, let us deal wisely with them…”, I could help but
think of Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord of Hosts..”.
The ability to think wisely and reason well is a powerful tool and can be used to achieve
both good and bad results. Pharaoh reasoned with bad intentions and the end result
was that, in spite of his “wise thinking” he could not overcome the blessing God had
bestowed upon the children of Israel. Compare that with what happens when you
reason together with God. When you use your rational mind with the intention of being
who and what God called you to be, when you infuse His word, His commandments, the
guidance He has given us for daily living, the result is salvific: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Final Thought: Don’t be ashamed of your prosperity. Be determined and confident in
the blessings you have been given. Adversity will only serve to test and strengthen your
determination. So it doesn’t matter who is trying to deal wisely with you, as long as you are
reasoning together with God.

--Lady S.