Don't Let Them Sway You

To my fellow Follower of Jesus Christ,

As I was cleaning the kitchen this morning, I felt a very strong tug on my heart to write this blogpost. I didn't want to, as it may offend or be hard for some to hear. However, it is never the easy things in life that help us grow and raise above. I want to be very clear, this is not a rant session.  I want to be challenged and sharpened and if you do too, continue to read. It is not my heart to condemn anyone, but instead call us to a higher standard and speak truth into our minds through the power of Jesus Christ. We need to see above all that is around us. 

Yes, I know all about Target and their bathroom/changing room policy change. Yes, I know about countless young, young girls being sold for sex RIGHT IN AMERICA! Yes, I know about the drama of the election coming up. The list can go on and on. As Christians we are definitely not called to bury our heads in the sand on these issues, yet we also aren't called to let our emotions get the best of us and then lash out, posting our opinion all over the internet while we still do nothing except debate over social media. I keep asking myself truly, what would Jesus do in these situations if He were still on this earth? I got frustrated trying to think it through and come to an answer. Then the Lord spoke to my heart. Here is what He said...

Don't let this world and the brokenness of it pull you down and get you focused on the sadness, frustration, ridiculousness and so on. Your emotions can lead you to a place you do not want to be and can take your eyes off what truly matters. You then forget that I love EVERYONE, even those making the decisions you don't like. You are called to love them. Speak up for justice sure, but love them. It is a tricky balance and you will not understand how to do this apart from Me. You need to be spending more time with Me to be able to accomplish this. When you state your opinion over and over, most of the time your emotions rise with it. Don't be swayed by these emotions. Surrender your thoughts and emotions to Me first, then ask Me how to walk forward. This will not always be easy because it requires you rely more on Me and less on yourself. People will make their own decisions regardless of how you feel, but your reaction in your emotions will also speak louder to them as they make further decisions. Stop posting and start praying. Let me give you insight which you haven't had and see the hope in these situations. (2 Timothy 2:7... I will give you understanding in everything.) You can only get wrapped up in Me or the world, never both. With me there will understanding, hope, love, freedom, and wisdom; with the world there will be frustration, anger, bitterness, hopelessness and foolishness. You cannot stop these things from happening (2 Timothy 3), but you can change your own outlook and bring hope and change. You need to "avoid worldly and empty chatter, as it will lead to further ungodliness (anger, bitterness, hatred)" (2 Timothy 2:16). This then will lead you to harden your heart to a world who is in desperate need of My love and truth. Don't let Satan sway you by grabbing ahold of your emotions and taking you for a spin. Now that you are aware, come to Me and I will help you. You can do this. You can change the world, on your knees.  -God

There it is, a call to a higher standard. Guard your mind and heart today. Focus on the truth of who God still is. Ask Him what it is He wants you to do, and do it. If He is calling you to speak up, speak up. If He is calling you to close your mouth and pray, close your mouth and pray. If He is calling you to bring justice, bring justice. The catch is though, 'if He' in these statements. We need to be in tune with Him like never before so that we do not turn people away from His love, but draw them to Himself because He loves ALL PEOPLE, as should we. Believe me, I am just as challenged by His words as you are. No fingers pointed at anyone, just speaking the truth of Jesus in love and praying for His power to manifest stronger in me that I may do all that He is calling me to do and may you do the same whether regarding human trafficking, the election, suicide, abortion, or the Target drama. 

So, in short...

Seek Him (pray)

Surrender (give your emotions to Him, all of them)

Speak up or Stay Silent (do what He is telling you to do)

Serve Him (love those around you, all around you)

The Journey to Decision Making

Decisions, something we all have to make. They can be extremely tough and the pressure to make the right decision can eat us alive. If you are like me, you get consumed by the 'what ifs' and try to your hardest to think clearly yet your thoughts seem to be choked out by your emotions. It can be overwhelming if you want so badly to make the right decision, but aren't sure which that is. Then for those of us who love Jesus and desire to follow Him, we are faced with the question of what decision does He want me to make?

The tension begins.

I want to give you a glimpse right now into my life lately. Not to prove to you that I have this all figured out. No, I seriously do not have anything "figured out". I have had to make some hard decisions in the past few weeks, hard decisions and I found myself wrestling with myself and ultimately wrestling with God. However, God has been speaking to me about this area in my life, decision making, and I want to share with you the hope and truth He has so sweetly spoken to me. If this is applying to you too, I pray that it will help all of you in the tough position of making the "right" decision. Who doesn't want to make the right decision, right? and if you haven't experience this yet in your walk with God, I promise you one day you will, so I pray that this will speak you now and prepare your heart for when you are in this position.

Sometimes, and I know I do it all the time, we can over complicate things. When it comes to decision making and the journey it takes us on, sometimes we get distracted by the journey itself. Really we need to focus on why we are on the journey in the first place. God is desiring to speak to us and show us the way, but our own desire to control and understand come barreling in with a wave of emotions.

When you boil it all down, here is what it comes to...

1 Thessalonians 4:1
"Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more."

"Live in a way that pleases God". Seems pretty simple. It is.
If you love Jesus and want to follow Him I guarantee you that you also desire to live in a way that pleases God. Maybe your mind forgets that sometimes, but that doesn't mean its not true. Are you always thinking about how to breathe? No, but it is happening. "You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more." Paul is saying this too as he addresses the people in Thessalonica. They desired to please God and were living in that way, but Paul was telling them, pleading with them, to do more that pleases God. He was telling them, I believe, to focus more on how to please God more than anything. I am sure that the Christian people of Thessalonica had to make decisions, sometimes hard decisions, and it wasn't easy. The same is true now a days, which then usually upsets us and send us into a wrestling match with God. Why do we wrestle?

Wrestling with God happens when you aren't willing to please Him above yourself. Maybe you don't even want to please yourself, but you want to please others above pleasing God. If you are close to Jesus and have a relationship with Him you will feel this tension because your spirit wants one thing and your own mind wants another thing. This is not a bad thing, it is reality. It is what you do in your wrestling that can lead you down a bad or good path. God wants to use your wrestling to lead you to Himself, so that He can speak to you and bring you to where you need to be.  The question is, what do you do about it? This is what the Lord so clearly spoke to my weary heart.

ASK: HOW CAN I PLEASE YOU, GOD?
Then>>Listen.
This requires laying aside your desires and accepting what He says. We don't ask because we don't want to listen. We don't want to lose our "control" (although this a false sense of control because the Lord is always in control above us). We forget God is a good Father and only has our best in mind. (It just might not look the same in the process).

So, go ahead. Ask God how you can please Him and listen to what He has to say. Trust in Him. Trust in His love for you. Trust in His promises to take care of you, finish what He started and give you a hope and future. Let Him speak the truth to you in His sweet loving way. Then may you obey what He says, make the decision and walk into all that He has for you with no fear! It's not meant to be complicated at all, but requires trust in your Creator God and an open heart and ears.

I will leave you with this promise from your good, good Heavenly Father...
Isaiah 50:7 "Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. THEREFORE, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame."