Do You Believe In God Encounters?

 

 

 

My question is, "Do you believe in God encounters?" I most certainly do and wanted to share a recent encounter with you.  If it doesn't give you chills then I don't know what possibly could.

 

Just yesterday I experienced a sneak attack from Satan.  The experience was personal and not important to share.  What I can share is that I was overcome with intense panic.  Thoughts flooded my mind and I could not seem to push them out. Many emotions welled up, one of them was anger and the desire to "give up" on my current situation.

 

Earlier that morning, I read a very encouraging quote from Beth Moore.  It read, "God is for us in the battle.  He knows if we don't have to fight to take the ground He wants to give us, we won't have the muscle to keep it."

 

Hours later, I found myself in battle. I cried out to God in my distress.  Questions went flying from my mouth until I was a heap of misery.  A sweet angel, whom I will leave nameless, texted me with, "Take it to God, right now. God knows right where you are. Just bring it to Him." I started to pray. In my prayer I heard nothing from Him. 

My Bible was sitting next to me on my bed.  I should mention that this particular version (Application Bible) had been shelved for ten years.  I had recently brought it out as just another resource. Once again, I decided to just open it randomly (I understand that is not an encouraged practice, but it's the Bible, something encouraging should appear).  It opens to Ecclesiastes 11.  The title of this chapter reads, "The Value of Diligence." I begin to read and am moved by these words, "As you do not know what is the way of the wind or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything." Ecc. 11:5 The chapter continues on about the importance of diligence.

 

At this time, I wonder how my favorite and well-worn Bible (NIV) interprets this passage.  I reach for it expecting to flip through many pages to find this passage. I open it and out of all 1,352 pages it opens to Ecclesiastes 11.

 

My response was quite juvenile, to be honest. My words went something like this, as my eyes looked upward to my God, "Are you freaking kidding me, right now?  Did you just do that?" And then I cried. My body trembled in disbelief.

What are the odds?

 

The NIV version reads, "As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in the mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well."

 

 

God encounters are for everybody. He is alive and moving at great speed even though we may not always think so.

 

He calls me to be diligent.  What is He calling you to be?

The Great I AM

 

In my despair, You satisfy me.

In darkness, You cover me in Light.

In sorrow, You comfort me with gladness.

When I am empty, You fill me up.

When I think I am nothing, You tell me I am everything.

When I need more strength, You give an abundant supply.

When I'm all out of love to give, You challenge me to give love, anyway.

When I feel numb, You speak life back into me.

When my thoughts conflict with your truth, You gently remind me, again.

When I'm tempted to give in to defeat, You beckon me to the rich blessings ahead.

Who is able to love like this? Who is able to satisfy like this? Who is able to heal the brokenness?

The Great I AM

What I Know To Be True

Illinois

 

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

 

We doubt.  I know I doubt.  "Can He really do what he says he can do?" Sometimes I wonder.  In those moments of doubt, I hear the Enemy say to Eve, "Did God really say...?" The first seed of doubt was planted in that garden.  And to this day, we still believe the doubt more than we do the truth.

 

It was only a few days ago when I sat at my desk in an attempt to pray when I asked God, "Did I hear you right?  Did you really say....?" The rest of that sentence was left unspoken. In that moment the Holy Spirit had me take notice of those words.  I shuddered when I realized my words were first spoken by the Enemy.  My eyes welled up when I heard God say to my heart..."Yes, I did say." Even now, I'm moved by this truth.

 

I wonder why it is that we find doubting much easier than believing.  Do we forget who this God of ours is?  Do we forget His ability to paint the most majestic sunset you've ever witnessed? Do we forget that He designed every intricate detail of our being?  Do we forget that He spoke all things into existence?  Do we forget that He is without flaw? Do we forget that His love for us is deeper than any love known to man?

 

We must.

 

Sometimes, I forget.

 

I desire truth.  I need it.  I want it.  I must live by it.

 

In my despair, I listen intently...waiting for that truth.

 

This God, the one that tickles our senses with all things beautiful, can do no other thing than offer the truth.

 

His truth: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

 

We must stop doubting His ability to get things right. We must rest in His promises and truth.  Only then, will we experience all that He has prepared for us.

 

He did say. I heard Him say.

I will no longer doubt what I know to be true.

I Want Evidence

Rancho Cortez, Bandera, Texas
 

" I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.  These things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

 

When my faith fails me, I feel like a failure.  We hear, walk by faith, not by sight but argue how that premise is easier said than done.  I want evidence. I want something tangible. But that is not His way.  Why does He make things so complicated?  Why can't He just tell us exactly what to do? The truth is, He does, we are just "blind" to it.

 

The path I have chosen for myself has been a rocky one.  In my stubbornness, I trudged through the rocks and boulders of life doing things my way.  In my darkness, I stumbled over and over not realizing that I was the real cause of my stumbling.  Yes, we have an adversary and yes, he will trip us up...but we let him. By our free will, we let our adversary play by his rules.  We crumble in a heap and wonder how we got to this place. We try, by our own strength, to get back up never realizing that our own strength is no match for the one setting up the rocks. And once again we find ourselves in darkness. 

 

The promise is this, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These things I will do; I will not forsake them." 

 

The road ahead, the looming future, is an unfamiliar path.  I have no idea what is in store for me or the ones I love.  What I do know, with full certainty, is that the God I serve...does know.  Because God is not a liar and because God never breaks a promise, He will guide me and lead me, making the rough places smooth. 

My evidence is this: What God says He will do, He will do.  

 

.



Worth The Wait

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8

 

 

 

 

How did I get here?  This season in life was far from anything I had imagined. I questioned God's ability to step in and save the day.  Where was He?  Did He not see my brokenness, my weeping, my desperation?  What was keeping Him from coming to my rescue?

 

Days crawled into weeks and still no deliverance from my Savior.  I stayed diligent in my prayers and waited.  The waiting is hard.  As I write these words, I'm still in the waiting. Some days are easier than others but most days, like today, are brutally impossible. 

 

His patience is nothing I will ever understand. His "slowness" is incomprehensible.  Does He not see the urgency in my pain?  But still, He waits.  Me? I have very little patience.  Not willing to wait any longer, I set out to give Him a piece of my mind.  Not wanting to show my angst to my family, I drove into the dark of the night.  I had no destination.  I had no plan.  I just knew it was time. It was time to release all the pent up sorrow and confusion. The tears spilled quickly and my body shook with each uncontrollable sob. "Why?" I shouted.  "Why are you letting this happen to me?" "Why me? Why did you pick me? What did I do to deserve this?" There was a moment of silence as I waited.  I knew I wasn't going to hear a loud declaration. But I still waited.  And then, that small still voice said, "Because you were wrong and you need to fix your wrong."

 

I had no words to say.  I had nothing to interject.  He, the God of the universe, is never wrong, but me, I was wrong and there was no hiding from it or denying it.  My sobs slowed to a sniffle and after gathering myself I asked, "What now?" He didn't answer me at that moment.  His answer came later after I returned home and I sought the comfort of my Bible.  "God, I'm going to open my Bible. I'm going to open it randomly and I ask you to give me some kind of encouragement." I close my eyes as if that will somehow make it more magical and slowly open His Word. The highlighted words on the page read, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm32:8

 

Minutes later, His instructing began and my confidence returned.  The Living God sees me. He knows me. He watches over me.

 

I wait for His instruction and trust that His teaching will lead me to the deliverance I'm seeking.  It may not come today or tomorrow. It may not even come next month.  But it will come and when it does, I will be new.  And that, will be worth the wait.



Finding Strength

         I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

 

It has been an emotionally draining week.  But like many obstacles in life, lessons are always learned, so for that, I am thankful.

 

I want to be useful.  I want my life to be worthy of breath and existence.  I step out in life welcoming tasks that I can feel good about and then flop in a heap from emotional exhaustion.  I wonder how I got myself in this state and how do I get out.  I know many have experienced this realization.

 

I found myself overwhelmed with responsibilities and began questioning my competence.  Homeschooling my oldest was much "easier" than it has been with my youngest.  Realizing that my youngest learns differently and trying to find the most suited learning techniques has been quite the challenge.  I should mention that my daughter is coming along well with her education and I don't foresee any distressing future issues.  With that being said, we still struggled this week and I sat exhausted and in question. 

 

Along with my feelings of incompetence in this homeschooling area, I beat myself even more trying to balance photography and church responsibilities.  "I'm going to disappoint people." "Why did I sign up for this?"  " Why did I say, 'Okay' to this?" "I don't think I'm good enough for this." Again, I sat in total emotional exhaustion.

 

If those feelings were not enough, a discrepancy (that I did not ask for) with an extended family member would certainly push me over the edge.

 

Why? Why am I feeling overwhelmed and incompetent during this season of life? Why am I questioning myself?  How do I succeed in all of these areas? Is it even possible? Or do I just "throw in the towel"?

 

And then I read this:

 

Nothing is impossible for you

because all things are possible for the God who lives within you.

There's no obstacle too great, no wall too high, no valley too low.

You can get through it, over it, beyond it together.

With Him, you have more than enough...

you have everything you need

and you're everything you need to be

for His purposes to prevail in your life.

Holley Gerth

 

I sat in wonder and amazement that my God would reassure me that my purposes will be fulfilled with Him.  And that reassurance is enough to pull up my bootstraps and charge forward.

And so, I begin my day feeling revitalized and very much competent!!

 

Let's Do This!

 

I Need Courage...

Time for a revelation.

The other day I was contemplating how I would answer when I was asked to take photos for a Senior photo shoot.  My first impulse was to say "no."  I thought of many reasons why I couldn't or why I wouldn't.  I'm just a mom; a mom who enjoys taking photos of her own children. I wanted nothing to do with the responsibility of taking photos of others. At the same time, there was an overwhelming excitement.  That excitement was fleeting; fear took over and I decided to not give an answer right away.  I needed to pray about this.

I'm not sure what I prayed, I just remember thinking, 'Is this what you want me to do?' I thought of my responsibilities of being a stay-at-home-mom and how I would prepare for my future plans once Alayah was enrolled in public school and once Alexa was in college.  I called it, The Two Year Plan.  In the meantime, I would take as many photography classes as possible and really hone in on technique.  Maybe then, after two years, I might be ready for something more "serious." Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?  It did to me.

'It's now. The time is now.' This was the thought running through my mind.  Why am I so afraid?

In an instant, I thought of my daughter Alexa and all the things she has accomplished because she 'gave it a chance.' I remembered the time when she was five years old and asked if she could go play with the new neighbor.  I said, "But you don't know them." She quickly answered, "I will go and say 'hi' and then I will know them."  Motherly wisdom took over and I let her go meet the neighbor, not wanting to attach my insecurities on to her. I remembered when she played soccer for the first time.  She ran.  That was about all she did.  She just ran; back and forth, and round in circles.  I remember thinking, 'She is way more courageous than I am.'  I remembered the time she asked, "Why am I not in dance?" And so, we put her in dance.  She went on to join a competition team and danced her heart away in front of hundreds of people! She also joined a softball team for a few years all because I asked her if she would be interested.  In middle school she joined Literary and again found herself in front of people and judges waiting for critique!! Really? Her courage continued with school plays and speech team.

It was her high school fall play, Letters To Sala, that did it for me.  My brave girl gave an outstanding performance with a strained voice.  I sat beaming and amazed, once again, at her courage.  I then hear my voice speak to her, "Just do your best! You will never know what you are capable of if you don't give it a chance."

And so I say, "Yes." I say yes to the photo shoot.  Not because I think I'm amazing, but because I need courage. I need courage....like, her.