Laced With Grace

Mary didn’t wast any time, she went with haste. The definition of the word haste is; to move with speed, or in a hurry or a rush.

As a Christian woman, who is your Elizabeth? Who do you rush to in a hurry? Who do you seek for your Godly counsel? If you don’t have an Elizabeth of your very own, ask God to put one in your life. I have included below a few characteristics to look for in your Elizabeth.

“And he said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.’And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” ~ 1 Kings 19:11-12 (ESV)

We live in a fast-paced world. We strive to be connected to our family and friends 24/7, 365 days of the year. I would say that 80% of Americans have cell-phones. We like to communicate while driving, shopping, eating. I even have seen people text messaging each other in restaurants (that is taking it to the extreme – I think)…

As we are rushing through our days, being well connected to the world, we often forget to take time to refresh, rejuvenate. We have no time to rest. Even our Sundays are full of functions – either at church or with family.

The other day, as I was driving to work, I was thankful that I don’t have a cell-phone. That I have 60 minutes every day where I can tune out the world, tune in to God. I need that. Otherwise I could not survive my hectic days.

Sometimes we feel that God is not there – especially when we are going through some hard times. We rather busy ourselves, try to work out things on our own, than being still before the Lord. Although I have never heard God speak to me in a loud voice, I have felt His whispers in my heart. His whispers have been full of love, compassion and comfort. What sweet communion…

I like to challenge you in the upcoming weeks. If you find yourself unexpectedly alone, turn off your cellphone; let your calls go to voice-mail. Listen to the whispers of our Lord. I can guarantee you that you will be refreshed after an ‘unscheduled’ meeting with God…

Lord of Heaven and Earth. We often look for Your presence in earthquakes, thunder, or fire. Often You come to us in unexpected moments – You whisper to our hearts. Lord, give us ears to hear You low voice. Give us comport, peace, refreshment during those unscheduled meetings with You. In the precious name of Jesus ~ Amen.

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My oldest son had a big football game a week ago. Winning would mean playoff’s and conference champs. Our league has not won conference for over 5 years. My oldest wanted it so bad he could taste it. This was discussed all week along, he made sure he practiced; he was nervous.

But they lost. They played hard and the team gave it their best shot but the other team was just a little bit better.

As a Mom I prayed that my son’s team would win, I wanted him to know what it felt like to be on top. I don’t care for football, but because it was so important to him, it was important to me. And when they lost my heart broke.

When my son came home after the game there was tears and questions why?

Why, when we gave it our best we didn’t win?

Why, when we had the home advantage did we not win?

Why do other teams seem to always win but not us?

Why, indeed.

How many times while living the Christian life you feel like you are giving your all, but all you come up against are obstacles that keep knocking you down? Why when you try to do your best, your best sometimes does not seem good enough? And why do others always seem to win?

Christ warned us this would be true in our Christian walk:

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24).

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27)

The first passages tells us in order to gain our life we need to lose it. Basically it is telling us that to grow into Christ, to become his disciples, be expected to pay a price. Just like my son being with his teammates day in and day out, they are growing and developing. There is comfort in a group. They are becoming a stronger football team. But even if that is the case there will be pain, there will still be disappointments, there will still be losses. This is true for the Christian life also, there still is a cross to bear. We can stomp or feet and say it is not fair. Or we can use our cross to bring glory to his name.

His is glorified through our weakness.

Heavenly Father, thank you for being there in our success and in our losses. If I have to admit it, I believe I have learned more about you through my losses. I learned of your faithfulness, I relied on you always being there, and I based my life on your truth. You told us in your word, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Cor 4:7-9) Thank you Lord for these lessons and may we take the one thing that knocks us down and turn it around to bring glory to your name. Amen