Yesterday I fasted. Sometimes a fast can be hearing Holy Spirit in a direction in which He wants you to fast. In my case it has been for a few days now of not eating anything during the day until after 5PM. No matter how much my stomach may grumble during the day I overcame it and just drank tea, water, orange juice on one day and on a few other days it was tomato juice. Holy Spirit knew in advance that yesterday HE would put the desire in my heart to want breakfast, of all the meal choices to eat a little before 7PM last night. I knew where to go for breakfast and truly did enjoy that meal. Have you ever tried decaf coffee without sugar and creamer and opt for using honey as the sweetener and milk for the whitener? It is quite good and IHOP always obliges me with this, the service at IHOP is always very good and did you know they use fresh ingredients? I am fussy when it comes to places that serve dishes with mushrooms in them because I am not really a big fan of canned mushrooms. They use fresh mushrooms in their dishes yay for that.
Early in the day God opened up an opportunity to bless someone. It seemed to be such a struggle yesterday and all I can say is I had to battle in the spiritual realm to stave off things that were trying to come against me. Guess who won that battle? God did. For you see there are many angels around you if you are sensitive to this sort of thing, God's protection. In the midst of this battle I would sing in my mind silently praise songs. It is amazing that when one is in such a struggle/battle not every praise song you know comes to mind it seems to be that the very particular one needed for that very particular moment comes to mind and that is the silent weapon that the enemy just hates. So words of wisdom to you today, never slack off in listening to praise/worship music or closing your mind off to it for the very song you heard for the first time today may be the very song you need to keep resonating in your spirit on your day of battle. Let me tell you this, do not be fool enough to think that you will never have battles in your life for that is false. Maybe you are not fighting one today but I can surely guarantee you that there is one just around the corner and words of advice...be prepared. When you are in the battle satan tries to bombard your mind with thoughts of failure and defeat that is why you must have the arsenal already inside of you to fight off these thoughts. You are great in the kingdom of God and do not let him tell you otherwise, that you are a failure. You are not, you are mighty and great in the eyes of God. Do not ever settle for lessor thoughts OK.
I was so glad to relax after a long day yesterday. Another thing that I find helps me to re-coop in the midst of a battle is a creative project. Instead of whining and sulking I took time yesterday, I felt led to seek out stationary to send a few notes to people. I could not find anything that I really liked at TJ Maxx or Ross. I think their buyers may be changing or something because I use to be able to buy unique and good quality stationary and note cards there and lately, the variety just does not seem to be there. I just may have to search out another place for future purchases of this kind. Guess what I did find though, very good second best prize I must admit. It is called Create Your Own Paper Quilt Cards. That is what I did last evening, I created three different cards. I followed their direction on 2 of them and after looking at them I tweaked the design and then it became my own design. On the third one I was a little more creative and followed some style and then added my style. Now, this is not a project that you can produce a card in a minute or two for you do need precision to create these cards.
They supply good quality card stock and a decent envelope too. I hate when you have a beautiful card and a cheap envelope to send it in. If you ever need a really nice quality card you can also go to Target and purchase a card from the "Papyrus" line of cards. You will spend a few extra dollars on the card but they are well worth it.
Back to the story at hand. You have to really pay attention when my mind starts to flow with creativity. I will make a sudden turn in the story and go with the flow. For you see, maybe someone needed to know about creativity in the midst of a battle or just needed to know where they could go to get a good quality card. The waiter at the restaurant was extremely polite and attentive. I happened to notice that his family may have been at the restaurant too. I felt Holy Spirit nudge to ask if that was his family, he acknowledged that is was and I told him to let his family know that they did a great job of raising him and then I asked if he was going to go to college. He told me the name of the college he was going to attend and I felt to encourage him with simple words that Holy Spirit put in my heart to share. You do know that sometimes they are the simple words He gives to you that may impact a persons life much more than long dissertations. I just knew in my heart to bless this waiter with a generous tip. I heard Holy Spirit and obliged Him in this.
Let me share with you the Scripture verse that has been on my heart for several days now...1 John 2:10 "Those who love other believers live in the light. Nothing will destroy the faith of those who live in the light." You see, on the very first day when I was seeking God about something I heard this verse to look up specifically in response to what I was seeking Him about. If you read the verse either before or after this verse they are talking about those that hate believers. My God is a God of precision and He knew exactly what I was talking to Him about that morning in prayer, you must train yourself to hear the voice and direction of God. The very thing I was seeking Him about could have been destroyed if I read the wrong verse that day.When you have an experience like this you must give praise to God for I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Him speaking to me that very day. Amen.
One more thing I need to share with you today and then this writing will be done. I will share my daily devotional excerpt with you....taken from Connection With God by Jentezen Franklin
"June 4 HE'S THERE!"
"God is...a very present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1
"In a dream a man saw Jesus approach three praying women. He knelt beside the first with great tenderness and love. At the second He simply placed His hand on her head and gave her a look of approval. He passed by the third without even stopping.
Sensing the man's bewilderment, Jesus explained, 'Without constant assurance, the first woman would stumble and fall. The second woman's faith is stronger; I can count on her. The third, however, is being trained for the highest calling of all. She knows Me so intimately that she doesn't need signs of My approval. No circumstance discourages her because she knows that ultimately, she can trust Me.'
Being sinful, we fail. Being prone to sickness, we hurt. Being mortal, we die. Pressure wears on us. Anxiety gives us ulcers. People intimidate us.Criticism offends us. Disease scares us. Death haunts us.
What's the answer? 'God is...a very present help in trouble' (Ps 46:1.) Never doubt in the dark what God tells you in the light, for He's with you day by day on your pilgrimage. His unsearchable mind works in concert with His unfathomable will, carrying things out under His sovereign control.
When we hit rough spots, our tendency is to feel abandoned. Yet, the opposite is true, for at that moment we are more than ever the object of His love and concern. Yes, even when our vision gets blurred, out thinking is foggy, and we look up and can't see Him clearly-He's there."
Be blessed today and enjoy life!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment