Encouragement from Him

From Philippians 2:1-4...
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

I was just thinking how this is the purpose of the blog...if we are united with Christ, we should not be bogged down in the sorrow of sin, but we should be shining as lights for Him and be encouraging to others! Someone spoke to me today about how rehashing my sin to others is not an encouragement, but is in fact discouraging and can even be a stumbling block.

So I want to renew my purpose for having this blog be an encouragement to one another--ya'll are admins, so feel free to edit or delete my posts if they are not glorifying to God! But girls, look at how much the verses say we have received--encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness and compassion...how can we not be filled with gratefulness and joy for what God is doing?? Let's purpose to seek Him wholeheartedly!!

Minor testimony, but still wanted to share it...I had an interview on Wednesday for an events planning training program, and one of the parts of the interview was to fill out a personality survey. On the survey, we had to rank ourselves 1-5 on various categories, then the interviewer asked about them. So, near the end, there were 2 categories of "how religious are you?" and "how politically liberal are you?". I ranked myself, then waited for the question on those. I had to pray though, because I could just imagine myself rationalizing, 'well, I put a 5 but really, if something falls on a Sunday, I could make an exception. And I'm not very politically liberal, but what does that mean anyway? If you have a gay wedding to do, I guess I would just quietly not do it. Not really a big deal.'--I tend to try to please people at any cost. So I prayed God would help me be bold and non-compromising and when she went over the categories, she said "Oh ok you're very religious and conservative. That's actually good to be on that side of the extreme" and kept going. Anyway, just a little praise for God preparing my heart to stand for Him.

From Our Reading...

This morning in Isaiah 45:9...

"Does the clay say to the potter, 'what are you making?'"

So right before this, there is a woe to those who quarrel with God. But I wanted to apply it to me. I realized there are several ways that I wrongly ask this question. It sometimes is in the form of an argument with God--"God, why are you making me like this? I wanted to be THIS. I wanted things to turn out this way." It would be as if the clay spoke to the potter saying, "A brown vase, really? I wanted to be a blue teacup. I think I would be much better suited for something delicate, pretty, and attention-grabbing. Brown vases are just functional and boring. No one looks at them or compliments them, and they don't have any fun. You're obviously doing this wrong!"

Or what if the clay is constantly questioning the potter? "What are you doing NOW? Are you done yet? What's next? What detail are you going to carve right there? Are you sure you wanted to make that cut?" Constant questioning of God's plan and God's will is mistrust in God. I need to be quiet and do what He commands and trust that He has a plan for me that He will work out for my good. Instead of always trying to see what is around the next corner, I need to focus on God's will for me now. Glorify God in the mundane!

My other thought on this is how the clay could be asking the potter about other pieces of pottery. "What about that lump? What are you making it into? I only see a lump of clay, I don't think it can be made into anything beautiful. Or that cup. It's starting to come together, but I don't see it ever changing anymore. I think it'll just have to stay undone." Do you ever question God's work in others? Especially during this revival, when we are hearing the encouragement to not quench the Spirit's fire. Don't stop someone else from being moldable for Him! Encourage them in their walk! Be excited at the change in someone else! This is really difficult for me, but we are called to trust Him, not people.

Is there a right way to question our Maker? I think so. We are to "work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling"(Philippians 2:12). We are to ask Him which way He wants us to go. God, how can I be more humble and moldable for Your purposes? Please give me that humility and help me to be totally bendable according to Your will. Show me Your purpose for me today, and help me to live in a way that pleases You. I don't know exactly what You have for me, but I am trusting You that You will fulfill your good plan in accordance with Your will."

And lastly, a verse we all know but a good friend shared with me at church yesterday:

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)

Let's start our week out trusting God!!