Laced With Grace

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

Picture Of My Beautiful Mother

I awoke late Thursday morning with plans to write my devotion for today’s Laced With Grace Blog along with some much needed household chores. Instead, the dishes from Wednesday night are still in the sink, the bills I was going to pay are not paid, and my chores are still not done. Guess what? I really don’t care! Does that sound crass?

Yes, Thursday I had plans but the Lord had other plans. Around noon I received a phone call from my mother. As I answered the phone, my mom replied, “Michele, what are you doing? (now without a break waiting for my response she continued), I was out this morning for my foot doctor appointment and the sun was shining and as I came home I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I have bookshelves that need dusting, but they will be there tomorrow but at 87 years old I might not, so I will call Michele and we can take a ride and eat dinner at Cracker Barrel’. So Michele, what do you think, can you be ready in 30 minutes and I will pick you up?”

I thought to myself, ‘Oh she is so good! How can I say no to her after that?’ So I told her to give me an hour because I’m not dressed yet. We had such a lovely drive and afternoon together. Mom shared how she and Chris (my step-father) used to take a drive in the country and then eat out together. When my husband called me after school to tell me that he is coming home, mom interrupted and said, “Tell Jim to meet us at Cracker Barrel and I will treat you two to dinner.” Oh mother now I know why you choose the Cracker Barrel near Jim’s school!

I could have stayed on course with my plans for the day and told my mother another time would be best; but I chose to allow the Lord to determine my steps (Proverbs 16:9); I chose to honor my mother today (Ephesians 6:1-3) and store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21); I chose something better (Luke 10:41-42). I chose to make an old woman happy and lay up memories that will last a lifetime.

This is not the devotion I had planned to write today, but it is what the Lord had planned!

4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. 6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds.[c] His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield. 1 Samuel 17:4-7 (NLT)

We all have giants in our lives, job related stress, overdue bills, family turmoil… and the list goes on. Looking at them in the natural we sometimes wonder how we can possibly overcome.  We want to stand, to trust, to fight but it appears as if the odds are stacked against us.  It seems as if the fight is fixed but not in our favor.  So we stand at a crossroad, fight or give up. ..  Can we overcome? How do you become a champion when the fight seemed fixed?

Let’s see what David did that caused his victory.

 45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!  1 Samuel 17: 45-46 

1. He had total belief in his cause. When you believe in something you will fight with all your might. You will give it everything you’ve got. You can even get others to give you a chance to prove yourself because you’re so passionate about your cause. In David’s case Saul reluctantly agreed to let David fight Goliath. He also decided to give David his armor to fight Goliath in.

2. He knew his strengths (David knew he would never have won against Goliath in hand to hand combat) He knew that Saul’s armor was not right for him. However he knew his slingshot and he was comfortable with that. We have to know what works best for us. What works for friends as they face their giants may not necessarily work for us.

3. He trusted his God. At that moment in time it seemed as if Goliath had the advantage over David. But David stood firm in his belief in God. He trusted not in himself but in his God and the abilities he had given him. Sometimes in the midst of our troubles it seems as if God is not there. It seems as if he’s forgotten us. However, God had a plan to deliver us.

⁴⁸ As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. 1 Samuel 17:48-49

“Focus on giants – you stumble.  Focus on God – your giants tumble!” Max Lucado

You will never know what you can do until you step out and do it. You will never know how strong you are until you stand up for something in the face of adversity.   There are times in life when the fight will seem fixed but I strongly believe that these are the times when you simply have to give it all you’ve got.

Don’t give up!

Even when it seems as you are fighting a losing battle, fight on. Cry if you must but don’t give up.  Yes, the fight is fixed, but it’s actually fixed in our favor. So in the end, we win, we are the champions if we don’t give up.

God bless,

Bernadine

This is a rewrite something I wrote years ago.  I was reminded of it after reading Max Lucado’s Facing Your Giants, recommended by Iris.

Do you ever face a challenge?  Has anyone told you to give up and just “accept it”- it’s just “the way things are?”

Sometimes,  as Christians we can “roll over and play dead.” We start believing that THIS is all there is, or THIS is just how “it is.” We forget to fight- to stand firm and put on His armor. We forget to be strong in the Lord and His mighty power and to take our stand against the enemy’s evil schemes. We just accept our circumstances as “the way things are.” We just sigh, and say, “This must be God’s Will, His plan.” (And sometimes it is! There are times that He is refining us or our circumstances are a result of sin or our choices- but that is a whole other blog post!!!)

Did you ever see the movie, Babe, about a pig who refused to accept that things were just “the way things are?” All the animals in the barnyard tried to tell Babe that it’s “just the way things are” and Babe would have to accept that he was going to be Christmas dinner.  But, Babe refused to accept it.  He believed that he was destined for something greater.

There are times when God is calling us, as Believers,  to dig in our heals, to refuse to accept “the way things are” and turn to Him in prayer and faith.  God wants us to speak His Word… His Truth… BELIEVE it, walk in it and walk BELIEVING it!

God reminded me of an example of this that happened not too long ago.

I was NOT feeling well- I had a “bug” of some kind. But, I had so much to do. While I was praying with my mentor and prayer partner, I had a “woe is me” attitude and was resigned to an attitude of  giving up.

I started to speak this belief over myself.

“I am sick today.  I won’t be able to do all things I need to do. Oh well.”  I even said, “God must be slowing down.” (And He, does do that, too- but that, too, is a whole other blog post!!!!!)

The more I wallowed in my “feeling bad” and kept telling myself how sick I was, the worse I felt!

But, my prayer partner didn’t just accept that I wasn’t feeling well.  She didn’t join my “poor me” pity party- which I wasn’t too happy about at first.  I wanted  her to feel sorry for me- I was sick!  I wanted to “wallow!”  But, she began to pray for healing. We began to take our authority in who we are in Jesus and what He has already done for us.  As we prayed, my faith began to rise. I knew it was God’s will for me to get up and accomplish the things He had called me to do that day. We talked about the time when Jesus healed Peter’s mother from a fever and she got up to serve them. Immediately after we prayed I felt better. I still had my cold, but my attitude had completely changed.  I had energy to get up and do the things I needed to do. Once I finished, I felt God say, “Rest now.”

I felt so much better!!!! I rested without worries of my tasks.  I was so thankful and praised Him over and over!

Lord, thank You that You are constantly calling us to exercise faith and to call to You…expecting You to extraordinary things in our “ordinary” lives.  Thank You that You care for each of our needs.  Help us to be more like “Babe”, not just accepting things the way they are, but going to You, believing You will change them.  And, even when our circumstances don’t change, give us faith to keep looking to You with an attitude of hope and belief. We love You, Lord!  In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen.

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