He's enough

This was one of those mornings when I couldn't hear a thing. I'm out of town and therefore off of my normal schedule and routine. Even though I got in a quiet place and prayed, I just couldn't seem to hear what God was saying. The only thing I kept hearing over and over was a line from a Charles Jenkins song, “Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.” The problem was that I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to get from that. There was no instruction or catchy phrase that came along with it, just that line on repeat. I’ll admit it, I was starting to get a little stressed. Finally, I heard the Lord say, “That’s enough.” What do you mean, God? That’s enough thinking, praying, trying to figure it out? What are you saying to me? Then I heard that still small voice say, “My name is enough.” And there it was! I was looking everywhere for a deep word to come when the name of Christ was and is enough.

The Lord took me to John 20 and it all came together what God was saying to me. He showed me the section when Mary Magdalene was at the tomb mourning after discovering Jesus’s body was not there anymore. She is in great distress when the angels speak to her. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).”(John‬ ‭20:13-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Sometimes life can distract you so much that you miss what is right in front of you. It happened to me this morning. I was looking for God to give me this amazing word for you and He did but I let what I'm used to distract me from what God wanted me to see and that was Jesus. I don't care what is happening in your life, Jesus is enough. He is present and He is willing. He is your great Advocate and your constant Intercessor. He bore stripes for your healing and took on death, hell and the grave so that you could live. His Name causes demons to flee and everything to bow in worship. He is right where you need Him to be. Mary Magdalene was so caught in the distress of her current situation that she failed to recognize the answer to her needs hen He was right in front of her. I want to encourage you today to know that Jesus is enough. He is present and He is willing. Don’t miss Him because your situation looks impossible. Don’t miss Him because you're expecting something else. And please don't miss Him because you’re so distracted that you don't recognize Him when He shows up.

Isn't it good to know Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God is enough for everything you face?

Amen

Even when you can't see...

I have one sentence playing on loop in my head. “He’ll make everything alright.” I’m not sure why but I can testify that it’s the truth. God can turn your mourning into dancing and your sadness into joy. He can make what looked to be disaster turn into one of your greatest victories. He can take your little and create much. He is a limitless and all powerful God. He is quite simply and yet complexly everything. And maybe that’s at the root of what I’m supposed to tell you today. Your life may be a complete jumble of circumstances and situations that you haven’t quite figured out how to navigate through but God is the answer and the key. He is, in the words of Christ Himself, “the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Rev. 22:13) I say all of that to say, trust Him.

I’m not sure why but God brings me back to the idea of trusting Him every few weeks or so. Maybe it’s just me, but I need reminders. Sometimes I will get so caught up in what I see that I forget that God is in control of it all. I forget that as Colossians 1:16 says, “He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see.” I take that back, I don’t forget, but rather I allow what I see to get in the forefront. Have you ever been there? You know when the stress says give up and the frustration says quit? Yep…that’s why He has to remind me to trust Him. That’s why He has to tell me that He can make everything alright and to share it with you! He knows His people! He knows that you are a control freak that wants everything to line up perfectly. He knows that you are a worrier that replays everything a million times before moving forward. He knows that you can’t let go of that anger because you’ve had it so long that you can’t separate it from your real personality. He knows you and so He says “Trust Me!” He says trust him in your vulnerable place. Trust Him in your weary place. Trust Him in your sad place. Trust Him!

Friends, this life is always going to have challenges. There will always be things that attempt to distract you from the path that God has laid for you. But can I just remind you that God is the Master planner and everything starts and stops with Him? There is no battle that He can’t win because He is Jehovah Nissi, the God who waves the victory banner! There is no sickness that He can’t heal because He is Jehovah Raphe, the God who heals you! There is no storm that can overtake you because He is Jehovah Machseh, Our Fortress and Refuge! The problem is that we tend to put conditions on those titles. If He doesn’t use the battle plan that you would have chosen, you aren’t satisfied. If the way that He chooses to heal is through death, you are mad. If the shelter is not in the place that you like, you sulk. Tough, huh? I know! I’ve had these thoughts. I’ve had these struggles and conversations with God about why He took me down a particular path or didn’t answer the way I wanted Him to and He always replies the same way. TRUST ME!  

And so I say to you, trust Him. Please don’t let what you see mess up where you’re going. Please don’t give the enemy room to slow down your process. You see, God has such an amazing and well thought out plan for your life. He has divine connections and opportunities down the path that looks awkward and uncomfortable. He has revelation and wisdom stationed in places that are outside of your tradition. He even has provision stored up in dry places. So when He sends you…Go! When He calls you…Answer! And when He speaks…Listen! “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”(Rom. 15:13 NLT)

Amen

Live in your right now!

This morning I literally have a “right now” word for you! It’s probably not exactly what you’re thinking but it’s what the Lord encouraged me to share with you. As I was praying, He said to me, “Tell them how to live in their right now.” I had to pause because I wasn’t sure I knew how to do that. How do I tell you when my right now isn’t exactly where I pictured my life being? God’s response was, “Exactly. Tell them how to live in their right now.” I know that some of you are in the best part of your life and you are pushing forward in what God has told you to do. I also know that some of you are facing major challenges in your family, your job, and your ministry. Some of you are looking at your life and don’t recognize it at all. I want to encourage you today to keep living, keep dreaming, keep pushing in your right now, no matter where that is. So here goes…

The definition of right now is at the present time. It’s where you are currently, what you face and what you are overcoming. It’s the place that you can’t necessarily change but it’s where God has you. As hard as it is, it’s a necessary place. It’s where God is perfecting you and challenging you. It’s where He is stripping you and building you back up. It’s where He is stretching you and focusing you. It’s uncomfortable and tight but it’s the place that you will take off from. It’s the place that you didn’t choose but you understand. It’s your right now. God wants you to live in this place instead of fighting so hard against it. He wants you to see what you’re supposed to learn from it instead of allowing it to frustrate you. He wants you to pray more and complain less. He wants you to listen and obey instead of running ahead and doing. You see, there’s a lot that’s happening in your right now. So live in it. Embrace it. Grow in it.

You see, it’s really all about perspective. How are you looking at your right now? Paul gives some key advice in how to do that in Philippians 4. In case you haven’t figured it out, I love Paul! He was real and he kept Jesus at the forefront and let Him lead the way in how he saw things. I believe this portion of scripture will encourage you in how to live in your right now. Paul said,

 “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.  Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Phil 4: 4-9, MSG)

Do you see what Paul was saying? If you make your right now about who God is instead of where you are, you will reap great rewards. He says further down in the chapter that he “can do all things through Christ who strengthens [him]. (Phil 4: 13) You see that verse is not just a way to motivate you to achieve goals, it’s a reminder that no matter what you face, you can handle it through Christ’s strength. You can handle the unemployment. You can handle the marital issues. You can handle the financial problems. You can do it all through Christ that gives you strength. So today, I encourage you to live right where you are. Worship, dance, sing right where you are. Learn, grow, and build right where you are. God will meet you there. As a matter of fact, He’s ahead of you! He knows where you are and the outcomes that He wants to see. Please don’t miss the lesson because you’re looking at the problem! Instead, go ahead and LIVE in your right now!

Amen…

You win!

Is there anyone reading this that started this year with a word from the Lord about 2016? I mean, you had a vision of what this year was going to be and it involved walking in what God said, obedience and moving forward! Anyone? Ok…so as we begin the month of May, how many of you have been hit by every weird attack, distraction or foolish thing that you could have ever imagined? Isn’t it crazy? Well, I’m here to remind you to keep going! I’m here to tell you that God’s plan is not changed by a distraction. If He said it, He will do it. If He set it in motion, it has to be accomplished. If He showed it to you, it has to happen. Here’s the thing though, you have to trust Him through the challenges. You can’t lose your focus or jump in with your own ideas…NOPE! You have got to stay with what God is saying and He will direct your path! I feel a shout, y’all!

I’ve been hit this year with some hard things. My household is enduring some challenges even right now but can I tell you that God is still God? Can I tell you that God can take that huge attack that the devil meant for your downfall and turn it into your elevation? He’s God and He’s a good, good Father! So as I was thinking about the idea of distractions, God took me to the words of Paul in his first letter to the Church at Corinth. He spends a good portion of the letter focusing on the difficulties in the church, from division to immorality to problems with worship. He took me to 1 Corinthians 10: 13, which reads like this in The Message translation, “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” The verse is in the midst of a reminder to the church not to fall prey to the same distractions that the Old Testament saints fell victim to, like complaining and sexual immorality, and lust. As a matter of fact, Paul tells them a couple of verses earlier that the sins and challenges that the Israelites went through happened to warn them and us not to do the same things!  It is an encouragement to the church that God is faithful no matter what temptations come against them. But it really hit me as I thought about the struggles that some of you are facing. This same word applies. Why? Because what is a distraction? According to the Google dictionary, It’s a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else; an extreme agitation of the mind or emotions. It’s main goal is to throw you off course, to make you sin or doubt God. Isn’t that a temptation?

I need for those of you that are being hit particularly hard right now to know that God is faithful. The word says that He will not let you be pushed past your limit. So that job challenge, God is showing you where your provision really comes from. That adoption delay, God is reminding you that His timing is perfect. That death that took you by surprise, God is proving that He alone is enough. That family dysfunction, God is saying I can handle it, I can make all things new, I am capable.  These are hard things! Struggles that you would have never volunteered for or agreed to but they are building your character and strengthening your faith. They are distractions that God wants to grow you through and use to carry you to your next destination. What you saw at the beginning of 2016 has not been set aside by God, it just may not be presented the way you imagined. I’ve seen God do what I’ve been praying about for years in the midst of difficulty and challenge. So I say this to you! Be open, be flexible, be obedient and be willing and watch God take that distraction and turn it into assurance. Just see what God has to say about it…

If a nation marches against you, know that I am not behind it.
    Anyone foolish enough to challenge you will fall to you.
I have created the blacksmith
        who readies the fire and forges weapons for wars;
    And I have created the destroyer to ravage and ruin.
   But no instrument forged against you will be allowed to hurt you,
        and no voice raised to condemn you will successfully prosecute you.
    It’s that simple; this is how it will be for the servants of the Eternal;
        I will vindicate them. (Is. 54: 15-17, MSG)

In other words, you win!

Amen…