STEP OUT ON FAITH

I truly believe that God would rather have you do something you believe He's telling you to do than to continue to make one excuse after another for doing nothing. 

Trying is an act of faith.  In trying, even if you make a mistake you can learn valuable lessons for your life that you can use and pass along to others.  Being paralyzed by fear gets you nothing and nowhere. Wait a minute...isn't that the same thing you had in the same place you were this time last year?

Step out on FAITH. It's not brave if you're not scared.  It's not faith if there is no reason for doubt. Faith is only activated in the dark. You may be receiving one confirmation after the other, but you still may feel uncertainty.  Don't follow the feelings.  That's not your faith.  Follow the word of God and trust in what He continues to show and confirm to you.  Let those things fuel your faith, and act beyond your feelings. If you continue to wait until you feel comfortable in your emotions before you act, you will probably never make a move. It may be that you won't feel good about it until after you're in it.  But trust me, even then your emotions will continue to flip flop.  This is why we walk by faith, not by sight, and certainly not by our feelings.

Come on.  You got this!  And God's got you! 

My website with book excerpts
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My books on Amazon in paperback and Kindle
Order my complete poetry collection ebook

WEEPING AT CLOSED DOORS

We've heard it said so many times that, "When God closes one door He'll open another."  If you're like me, whenever you've heard it, you agreed with it. 

My pastor did an awesome illustration about how we tend to stand in front of a door that has been closed and grieve that loss instead of turning around and discovering so many more that are wide open to us and waiting for us to enter. One thing in our life can go differently than we'd hoped or planned and if we aren't careful we'll waste many other opportunities because we can't stop grieving over one lost one.  It's often easier to say that God has something better than it is to actually believe and act on that truth.  

What makes us cry at a closed door is the fact that is it usually a door we thought would be opened, or hoped would be opened.  And we won't even talk about the ones that appeared to be opened, but slammed shut just before you had a chance to walk through it!  The problem with the closed doors is the fact that we are usually emotionally attached to whatever we wanted to be across that threshold. Who cares about a closed door when I'm not interested in what's on the other side anyway?

I was recently "weeping at a closed door" when the Holy Spirit reminded me of that illustration my pastor did. I love how the Lord lets you get your hissy fit out of the way, wear yourself out a little, and calm down before He moves in to kill that fleshly mindset that's trying to take over.  He reminded me of things that have happened in the past and pretty much just gave me a different way of looking at things.  He reminded me of a surgery I had to have some years back and how heartbroken I was that I wasn't able to sing like I used to.  He reminded me of how he revealed to me even back then that it was necessary for things to happen the way they did because had they not, I would have found myself persuing and travelling in the wrong direction in my life.  I would have missed destiny,  and not discovered my true passion. 

He had to remind me...again..to trust Him with how He works things out.  What I had hoped for way back then was never His perfect will for me.  It was just what I assumed was His Will based on only ONE of my gifts.  And so now, I am again being reminded that what I assumed would be the outcome, based on...whatever...is not necessarily the way He has it planned, or ever had it planned. And so I have to turn from this closed door that I understand now was never opened, and focus my attention on every other door that has always been opened to me.

I often say that God does not play with our emotions.  He doesn't dangle blessings in our face to get us to come after them and then snatch them away just before we can lay hold of them. That's how the enemy does us!  But the Word of God says that He will withhold NO GOOD THING from those who walk uprightly, and that it is His GOOD PLEASURE to GIVE us the kingdom.  The Lord delights in us. He rejoices over us.  We His people, are the apple of His eye.  He does not play games with us, and I'm sure that it grieves Him when we accuse Him of such.

There is a whole world out there.  There is a whole world inside of you!  Please don't make the mistake of focusing all of your attention on one gift, or talent, but begin to seek out all those open doors waiting for you to enter.  Be careful not assume how God will bring His will about for you.  Unless He has told you exactly how and what He will do, you cannot assume anything.  If He gave you all the details there would be no need for Faith, and we know that the just will live by his Faith. 

Open your heart up to God so that He can show you how to use ALL of your gifts for Him.  You may be amazed at how all those pieces will come together. Your mouth may fall open in wonder at how smart He is.  We serve a brilliant God! Allow Him to adjust your attitude about the way He chooses to take you.  Decide along with me, that you will waste not another day weeping in front of a closed door of any relationship or opportunity but that you will from this moment open your life to Him and give Him permission to show you just how much He can accomplish through you.

I say to God, "Show me how to use everything you've given to me.  Not just my voice.  And even with my voice, show me how many ways you can use my voice.  Let me live my life and use my gifts in a way that when I stand before You, I'll stand before You completely exhausted, because I have used everything You've given to me!"

My website with book excerpts
My other blog with more excerpts
My books on Amazon in paperback and Kindle
My complete poetry collection ebook