Standing on the Promises of God

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.   How simple to repeat and how difficult to follow! Lol!  I mean, how many times have you questioned, “God what exactly are you doing?”  Even though the Word refers to us as "His sheep," I don’t think that many of us, if any of us, make very good ones.  If you could imagine a herd of sheep pestering the shepherd asking, “Where are we going?  What are we doing here?   Why did you bring us this way? ...”  Eventually, wouldn’t the shepherd get fed up?  How annoying would a journey be if all the sheep ever done was complain and hassle the guide for reassurance that they were headed in the right direction and that they were all going to be okay?   In reality, sheep don’t talk back and aggravate shepherds like that.  I’m thinking that we, as the Lord’s sheep, ought not to as well.

I often think of the Israelites on their journey toward the Promised Land and how they seemed to always get snagged with the same old doubt.  All they had to do was remember back to every time that God came through.  Really, just remembering how God led them out of Egypt in the first place should have been enough to keep them in perfect peace.   God proved from the very beginning that He loved them and that He was enough to handle even their toughest enemies.  But there were many times that they forgot about His goodness and about His strength.  They chose to accuse Him and they chose to complain.   They acted as if they had never even met God or received any of His provision and care.  They made a huge mistake not believing that God was faithful to what He had promised.  Instead of standing on the promises of God, many got stuck in doubt and never went any further.

How is your conversation going with God lately and where do you stand?   Did you spend time thanking Him for all His goodness and wonderful work concerning you and your future?  Or was your time with Him more about you asking where, when and how?   The truth is that God’s promises don’t come with an outline nor will He schedule an appointment with you.  If God shared His schedule and timed His promises with us then we would have no need of faith; and without faith it would be impossible to please Him.  Here’s my stand… If God promised it then He will surely bring it to pass.  Not when I want it or when I think that I need it, but in His perfect time.  I shall remain in perfect peace as I keep my mind on Him.  I choose to remember every time that God came through for me and I expect Him to do it again!  How about U?    Loving U like A sister, Regina

Next week, look for my new teaching series, “Hannah’s Heart.”   The teaching text will be from 1 Samuel chapters 1 & 2 (you will be surprised at how much truth and revelation can be derived from these two chapters).  You don’t want to miss a single blog!  Sometimes women feel left out and left behind; but I’ve learned that those who sit on the back burner the longest are usually the ones with the greater destiny.   Learn more about how God wants to give you a future and fulfill your desire.   He has always had a good plan in mind for you.  God’s not deaf and He’s not a liar… He’s listening and He cares.   There’s definitely more in store for you but you’ve got to learn how to live into it.  Log in soon and find out more about it and Him!

Esther - Upon My Honor - Ending

The last segment in this series is “the honor of not having to be first.”  No doubt about it, we live in a “me first” society.   But today, how many of us understand that society’s way of doing things and God’s way of doing things are totally different?  The world says, “Push your way through and look out for number one!”  But God says, “Look out for one another and the first shall be last.”   Being second is the main idea behind Christianity, even though sometimes the concept is easily forgotten.  In the daily routine of living, we can easily turn the focus back onto us.  Many of us need reminding from time to time (myself included) that a “me first” attitude rarely prospers and seldom turns out well.  Esther showed honor by living a life that unmistakably relayed the message, “Me second.”

Because of God and a few honorable people, the book of Esther has a great ending.  Esther saves the Jews!  Well… God saved the Jews, but He used Esther to do so.  It’s very interesting to me that the story doesn’t end with the focus on Esther but on Mordecai’s promotion.  Her risk and sacrifice helped move Mordecai into a new position right next to the king.   Even though she was queen, Mordecai’s advancement placed him ahead of her.  It’s worth mentioning that his new position was considered second as well (only second to the king).  Do you mind being second no matter how much you labor or how much sacrifice you have put into a thing?  In the natural, I believe that it would bother most people to labor for someone else’s promotion and that the whole idea of being second would be disheartening.  But Esther shows us that being second can be very valuable and offers its own reward.

Helping to promote one that you are in a close relationship with, well, that’s just wisdom!  Their success will ultimately mean yours (great message to wives).  And helping to advance or promote people who are godly and filled with godly ideas…  Well, how can that be anything but honorable?   Sadly, many people pass up awesome opportunities to be a part of something successful all because of not being the one who gets to be “number one.”  And the reality is that relationships will die, marriages will fail and families will fall apart where there isn’t at least one person who is okay with being second.   The definition of second: Next after the first; inferior; one who supports another; to follow next in place; to support; to join with in proposing some measure.

In my opinion, Esther is one of the most honorable women in the Bible.  Everything that she was a part of prospered and grew.  None of her relationships were divided, broken or dead.   She showed worth and value to everyone (not only to those who were considered to be great).  She was in “it” for more than just herself.   Her trust was in God and not in her own ability.  She showed discretion and cautiously waited for God’s timing.  And she seemed pleased and content to help promote others.   She made “being second” look good and helped us see that “second” is very important to God.   The first mention of Esther was her being brought into the kingdom with many other beautiful women.  But she had much more to offer than just her outward appearance.   Even though she was young, she had somehow learned a very valuable wisdom along her journey.  She exemplified a profound wisdom that every woman, no matter where she’s from, needs to know… Beauty may very well move a man or even a king… But HONOR will move the hand of God.    “Upon my Honor” reveals that she knew which one was the greater.

Loving U Like a Sister,

Regina