Monthly Archives: May 2012

But there’s a God in Heaven.

May 31, 2012

Hmm. I need a new bible! A large print Dakes for days when I am too pooped to get out of bed and put on my contact lenses.

Oh well, thank Jesus for Bible Gateway.

This morning, I was up at 5…am. It seems to be quite the norm for me ever since the encounter weekend, so today I embraced it. I started my devotions at 5 am and I was led to read the book of Daniel. Wow!
(I think this new heart of mine has a new found love for the Word of God!)

There’s a lot in the first 4 chapters of Daniel that I can talk about. But I’m going to dwell on one point, cuz I’m very much into fathoming the greatness of God right now.

You’d have to read the first few chapters, but in chapter 2, the King found himself disturbed by a dream that he could not interpret. He called a whole bunch of magicians and soothsayers to interpret, and if they did not, they would all be killed…dead…dead. (King’s got issues I tell you).

Anyway, all of the magicians in the palace could not interpret his dream. It wasn’t that they couldn’t cook up some story, but the King wanted them to tell him what his own dream was about. Since no wise man could do that…they were pretty much all destined for their coffins. including Daniel and his 3 friends.

Now how many know it was time for Daniel to pack up his suitcase and get on the next flight out of there? But he used wisdom. This is what he did:

Daniel 2:

¹⁷Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.¹⁸He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.

Basically Daniel put God in a spot here. He said ‘God of heaven. We’re your kids. If you don’t answer, we’re going down with these other ‘wise men’. Be glorified. God gave him the dream that He gave Nebuchadnezzar.

You have to understand how incredibly impossible it would have been for anyone to receive the dream that Nebuchadnezzar received. I mean, any fake can look at your eyes and kind of piece a bit of information here and there (think the Mentalist). But Daniel had been given the exact dream and the exact interpretation of the dream.

He later told one of the King’s men “tell the King I will interpret his dream”. Why? Because of the certainty of His God.

His response to the King?

“There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. ²⁸But there is a God in heaven…

From time to time, I think it’s important for us to slap ourselves in the head (yes! Slap ourselves in the head…gently though) and remind ourselves that there is a God in heaven. Something goes wrong… our first response might be to panic. But as soon as we catch ourselves panicking, we need to take a step back.

We need to see the big picture. See the God who created heaven and earth.

Take account of all the things He has done for His children.

And say ” Now wait a minute! But there is a God in Heaven!!!!”

Think of the most impossible situation in your life…then think “but there is a God in heaven”. It’s the only “but” that matters.

This God in Heaven will never see the righteous forsaken. He will never feed his children to the slaughter. He will never leave you in the valley of the shadow of death. He is strong and mighty. And He is purposed to being glorified at ALL times in your life.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized

Elephant in the room.

May 30, 2012

Doin’ my devotions as I sit in the waiting area of the clinic to get blood drawn…

I’m tempted to think for some reason, of a mouse and an elephant in the same room. One is a giant, the other,…virtually impossible to see when your focus is on the elephant…unless you’re told that it’s there and you force your gaze on it.

I equate this metaphor with the challenges (I am realizing that the term ‘problems’ just sets us up for defeat when we say it. It’s too negative) that we face. So often we get bogged down by little challenges. While God never promised us a happy go lucky joy ride on earth every day, I wonder if the challenges that we go through negatively affect our days simply because we give them too much focus.

I am about to be stuck by a needle, you see. And I know it’s going to sting a little. But if I focus too much on that needle, I know it’s going to hurt way more than it should. Why? Because I’m focusing on it. If I don’t focus on this needle and I focus instead on ‘my breathing’, as I’m sure the technician will tell me, what would happen? I bet, it won’t be as painful, because my focus is somewhere else. It’s not on what I’m going through. It’s on me breathing…me realizing that I am bigger than this stupid needle! Believe it or not, that requires much more attention and focus.

How would our little ailments compare to the grandiosity of our God?

It really depends on how much focus we give them.

We could do either of two things. We could look at the challenge that we have all day long,every day, all week, and lose sleep over it. Or we could focus on God…the great, big, God.

Jeremiah 32:17 says

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

I love this scripture. Because no matter what the situation at hand was (you can go read Jeremiah chapter 1-32 to understand it), Jeremiah focused on the God that was greater.

When you find yourself looking at the mouse of your situation, it’s probably because you’ve taken your focus off of the ‘elephancy’ of your God. Turn your eyes back on Him, keep them there. Worship and magnify Him as the God who is bigger than your circumstances. If you would keep your focus on Him, you’d realize that there is nothing too big, nothing too hard, nothing too wrong…that He cannot fix.

Posted by schadah in How Great is our God, Uncategorized Tags: God, greatness

1 comment

How Great is our God?

May 29, 2012

I have a question!

How big do you think God is?

Have you ever stopped to think what He would look like when you got to heaven?

How tall? How wide?

Okay,so obviously that was more than one question.

Last night, there was a lot of thunder in my neighbourhood. Angry thunder. Loud thunder. Fierce…thunder.

I realized that I wasn’t going to get much sleep with all of this going on. So I started to hum a song. “How Great is our God”.

It’s a song, I’ve sung over and over, meaningfully. But I don’t know if I have ever or will ever truly grasp the intense greatness of God.

As I lied in bed, I thought of a few things. See, David exclaimed that “the mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord” (Psalm 97:5).

And when Isaiah saw Him, He exclaimed “I see the Lord, high and lifted up and His train fills the temple! (Isaiah 6:1)

When Moses insisted on seeing God, he received enough tan to completely change the colour of his skin (Exodus 33:18-23).

Whenever the elders saw Him they couldn’t help but continually exclaim “Holy Holy Holy, is the Lord God Almighty” (Rev 4:24)

But there is still more to this God that we call Father.

I am forced to think about the wonders of this world that He created. The stars in perfect array that if they were any closer would have been destructive to our planet.

The planet that we are on that is rotated on an axis so that at His perfect time, each part of it is exposed to enough of the sun to enjoy Light, and enough of the darkness so that we can rest.

I am forced to recall all the other planets that have been discovered in the solar system and how they manage to stay in their location without colliding with one another. So many planets and orbits that scientists keep discovering more, and more and yet, they still can’t fathom all of the wonders that God put in the galaxy.

I also think about how each of these planets, orbits, stars, whatever are so many light years away that it would take almost an eternity for us humans to get to them. And yet, they exist at the same time as the earth, but in some other realm.

I wish I could stop there. But I am also thinking about my body. And yours too. And how each part of our bodies is so intricately designed that it works in synchronization with other parts. Hormones regulating functions…functions maintaining organs, organs….facilitating instructions so that we can keep walking, thinking, typing, reasoning.

I think about how I will collide with others at some part of this day in an appointment that God condones so that I can either learn a lesson, receive a blessing, or something. And how God places each and every person on this planet in a Master plan that He designed. Can you imagine a blueprint with almost 7 billion people in their locations? Each location having millions of doorways and roads that are strategically designed so that at least two lovebirds will cross the same path sometime in their lives?
And then I think of myself in comparison to all that God has going on…in the galaxy, in the other planets, on earth, in my country, in my province, in my city. He has wars to handle, families to mend, people who will be placed in serious danger in the next 5 secs, people who are continually crying out for help every minute and whom He promises to answer, and yet despite all of that, He could tap me on the shoulder and minister personally to my own need.

How Great is our God? How Great is our God who covers the earth, holds every single planet, both large and small, in the palm of His hands? How Great is our God that He can manage this galaxy, and those that we have not yet discovered and yet maintain each entity in its original time zone? How Great is our God that He could hear every sound, large and small across the earth and also in heaven and yet, He can hear my voice when I cry out for help.

How great is your God?

…TBC

Posted by schadah in How Great is our God, Uncategorized

God of Heart Transplants

May 28, 2012

Old things are passed away. Behold all things become new- 11Cor 5:17

I had a fantastic weekend! I cannot possibly tell you all of the amazing things that God has done for me over the last three days! But in sum, last weekend was the Encounter weekend at my local church. An encounter weekend is an opportunity to have what I call a “run-in” with God. When you encounter God your life is truly changed. I mean…really! You would not want to go back to the old you. This was my first Encounter experience at the church. I went because there were some areas in my life that I needed God to address and I desperately needed to see Him move in my life. …When I got there, God had other plans. As I said, I cannot tell you all of the things that God has done for me on this encounter. And truly, the Encounter weekends that we have at my church, are experienced differently by everyone who comes; it is no doubt that people come from across Canada and the US to be a part of this experience.
But I feel led to tell you about one of the miracles that God has given to me this weekend.
See, I am not this big strong macho woman that I am always perceived to be (No way!! Really?). Like many of you I have a past. My past was painful. Really painful. And many times, no matter how much I purpose to let it go, I remember things. Or at least my memory is triggered by things that send me into a stupor. It could be something as simple as passing by the almond chocolate bin in bulk barn, or driving by a lake,…looking at a photo. Simple things. But they would really get me down at times. Other times, it would be trying to develop new relationships, but remembering that almost every relationship I’ve had (friendship or intimate) has ended for little or no reason. I became indifferent to people. I’d meet them, do stuff with them, but deep in my heart, I didn’t care to hold on to them. I purposed in my heart, that I wouldn’t. No one ever stayed around long enough, so why bother opening my heart.

What I had was a closed heart. And over the weekend, God revealed this to me. It wasn’t just closed. It was stoned. There were cracks all over it. No one could see them, because I wore a smile as best as I could. More than that, I stopped talking to people-family, friends, everybody about what was going on in my life. They never seem to understand anyway. My heart was broken, more than once, more than twice, more than 10 times in the lifespan of a 29 year old. It had become worn, calloused and cold. It had been that way for a while….and I was a Christian.

It was on the encounter weekend that I felt my Surgeon come up to me. See I had totally forgotten the power of the cross and what Christ endured to qualify as my Physician. I laid myself at the symbolic cross that was in the room and as I poured out whatever little drop of blood was left from my stone cold heart, He came up to me and said “I’m going to give you a heart transplant this weekend”. It was a rare and precious moment, because I literally saw with my spiritual eyes someone dressed in a white robe with stethoscope telling me this. Once I received that word, I got up. But that was my first encounter that weekend.

The next day was a 15 hour day of what I would call “intense unscrewing of nuts and bolts”; all the ministers shared on different things that can mess someone up. And every time a message was shared, it was as if my Surgeon would tap me on my shoulder and tell me the exact experience that contributed to the state of my heart. Mind you, no one was given any prophetic words or anything. They were just sharing. But God was always speaking to everyone there at different times about their own lives.

That afternoon, we had a deliverance service. I’m thinking “I’ve done this before. No biggy”. I was clearly wrong. I can’t share everything that God did for me that night. But what He did do was show up and delivered me from a broken heart.

“S, what do you mean? How do you get delivered from a broken heart?”

During my deliverance, my Surgeon said, I am giving you a new heart NOW. In a split second, I felt a sharp cool pain in my chest. It was like putting on an ice gel. I felt melting, and within a split second, I felt a new heartbeat. NB: I am so not talking about my human heart! I am talking about the heart that you can’t see that makes you ‘feel’ the way you do. I saw (in the spirit what had happened. My surgeon took out the heart that was jacked up in the past and He gave me a new heart. When done, He said “it’s finished”.

The next day (Sunday), my Pastor told us that we’d all take a stone and let it serve as a memorial to us of the encounter. I casually took a stone. Then the Holy Spirit said to me “look at your stone.” I did. The stone I picked was in the basic shape of an organ heart, with a septum and all. Even the back had the impressions of a real organ heart. He said “this is what I took out of you. A stoned heart. Let it be a reminder to you, that I am the God of heart transplants and I have given you a new heart”. Here’s the stone I picked. (Won’t share what the real heart looks like. You’d be grossed out. So if interested, you can google it:

Why am I sharing my story with you? As I said, I live in a human form just like all of you. And I will not pretend as if I am perfect. The truth is, had it not been for the grace of God, I wouldn’t have lasted so long. The whole story is yet to be told, but bottom line, my heart was in such a state from past experiences, that God decided that there was no point mending it. So He gave me a new one.

But for those of you who have been/are where I was-those of you who carry a smile around, yet on the inside there is turmoil in your heart. Those of you who have pasts that haunt you everyday, and you don’t know how to move on from it and you wonder if things will ever be normal on the inside. Those of you who go through every day, mundane, and bland, just hoping for something to change, but at the same time, you don’t want to get your hopes up because you’ll be disappointed and then that’ll just break your heart even more… YOUR GOD IS THE GOD OF HEART TRANSPLANTS. Many times we hear that God will ‘fix’ it, He will mend a broken heart. God’s healing is perfect. He doesn’t just ‘mend’. He’s not a ‘patchwork’ God. He is more than able to give you a new heart. Lay your old heart at the altar, and cry out to Him. He will renew you.

So I got up this morning with my new heart and all. And for the first time in forever, I woke up laughing. New day. New heart. New life.

PS: If any one wants to come to the next Encounter, I will talk about it close to time. The next one is in September I think. $80 and they feed you like it’s no one’s business! I think I’ll do a give away! But if you want God to do something grand in your life, think about coming out.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: Brokenheart, God, healing, Heart, pain

Loving the troubles that come

May 25, 2012

How many of us can say “Man, I love troubles”?

I mean, you wake up every morning, excited for all the crap that will come your way, and you readily tell Jesus “Bring it on!”?

If you’re sane, then I’m guessing that you’re among the majority that can say “No, I don’t like the tests and trials part of life”.

I find it a bit hypocritical (me, being candid again) that people always tell other people that they should ‘go through’, but when life hits them personally, they complain “God why is this happening to me?”. Worse than that, when they ask God this question, they don’t even wait for Him to answer! If they did, they would hear His response: Character building.

I’m still meditating on Paul’s content attitude and I am in awe of how much this man remained calm and peaceful when things went wrong. But as I was thinking about Philippians 4: 10-13 again, another thought crossed my mind.

The Lord disciplines everyone he loves. He severely disciplines everyone he accepts as his child. Heb 12: 6

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Cor 10:13

Let’s ask God this minute why we have to go through ____________ right now. Read the scriptures above. Ask again. Read the scriptures above.
Usually when God allows stuff to happen in our lives, it’s not to torment us. But most of the time, He allows things to happen to show, foremost, that He is God and He will get the glory out of the situation. The other thing is that He wants us to learn something from the experience. He wants us to be built up in our character for a future purpose.

Here’s an example: For the longest while, I have been facing a challenge where nothing seemed to be going the way it should. It didn’t necessarily have to go the way I wanted it. It just had to go the way it should. I found myself getting irritated quite often. Very irritated. One day, I said to myself, I think God is trying to teach me patience. He apparently overheard the conversation, because He responded “Yuh think?” I smiled.

Once I became aware of what the lesson was, I welcomed the challenges. Yes I said it. I welcomed them. I expected them to come, because unless they come, I will not perfect what God is trying to do in me right now or in the future. I’m going to have to deal with all sorts of people who will try me. So, now I (like Paul) am learning to be content whatever the circumstance. And I am ready to master anything.

Herein lies another opportunity to be content. When trials and tests come, don’t see them as a burden. Don’t see them as punishment. God will not give you more than you can bear. And what He is allowing you to pass through is for a reason. Think. If God doesn’t give me more than I can bear, then I can handle this. I know that He is trying to discipline me in some area here. So what is it?

Once you’ve gotten the area you’re being asked to develop in, begin to anticipate situations where God wants to teach/discipline you. Here are a few things He likes to discipline in:

Patience
Anger
Trust
Faith
Love
Your mouth

I can elaborate more on these. But I believe that once you are open to His ‘Rod’, He’ll convict you of the area. Also, you’ll know it because it’s likely that it has been something that keeps recurring. e.g. Waiting in a long line…tendency to get angry. You’ll keep being faced with ‘long lines’ until you don’t get angry.

Having challenges in life is a sign that God wants you to grow. And unless you face them, you will miss the opportunity. When Paul went through all that he did, he could boldly say that he was content. Because, he knew that God was training him for something. It’s through his experiences that he learned to be the most eloquent writer of the day and even now, we benefit from his work. So when things come, don’t sigh, moan, groan. Just step back, say “Lord what’s the lesson” and then embrace the challenge. It’s in embracing it and accepting that God wants you to grow, that you will learn to be content whatever the circumstance.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: content

These things called ‘feelings’

May 24, 2012

Human beings have these things called…’feelings’. They are lovely things…sometimes. They let you know when you’re in love, they let you know when you’ve done a good job and they trigger general reactions to things that happen on a day to day basis. Because of how you feel, you will laugh, cry, jump up and down, or rant about things that no one else cares about or understands.

I’ve always been one to say that it’s not fair to get involved into someone’s story when you don’t truly understand how they ‘feel’. Well, this morning, I’m tempted to change that perspective.

As I am still meditating on how to be content in all circumstances like Paul, a scripture came to mind.

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity (Prov 18:14)

Here it was the wisest man Solomon that was ranting things based on his experience. But I began to challenge what he meant by this.

If you can recall, Paul said in Philippians 4, ” I’ve learned to be content in whatever circumstances. I’ve learned how to be okay, whether I have or I haven’t”. Have you realized that when we get the things that we want, or have things go our way, we have one set of emotions? I’ll call these “happy emotions”. But when things don’t go our way, we have another set of emotions. I’ll call these “unhappy emotions”. I’ve noticed also that there are many more unhappy emotions than happy ones. Happy emotions include ‘happy’ (that’s as far as i got thinking about it). But unhappy emotions include ‘sad’, ‘upset’, ‘angry’, ‘bitter’ and a host of others. Altogether, these emotions are our feelings.

That’s when I began to meditate, God is not driven by emotions/feelings and He doesn’t want us to be either. NB, I did not say that God doesn’t want us to HAVE emotions, but that He doesn’t want us to be DRIVEN by emotions.

My proof? If God were driven by emotions, we’d all be six feet under by now for all the wrong things we do on a regular basis. He hates sin and as humans, we sin daily. We’d make Him so mad on a daily basis that we’d be shot on the spot. But…His grace prevails.

More proof. God is Spirit and everything He does is governed by His spirit. He made us like Him, so we too have a spirit component (in addition to a body and soul). He wants us therefore to operate by our spirit man and not our emotional man. Ever thought for instance why we are to manifest fruits of the spirit and not of our emotions?

To me then, what Solomon says makes a lot of sense. “It is the spirit of a man that sustains him.

So how does that fit into us being content. All the while, I’ve had it that Paul was content because he ‘felt’ it. But feelings can change at the drop of a dime. And given his position in jail, if he were governed by how he felt, he would have needed a shrink on a regular basis.

No, Paul didn’t make this statement about being content based on his emotions. He made it based on his spirit.
See, when the spirit of a man takes a stance, it becomes his disposition. Being content is not an emotion. It’s a disposition. When something is your disposition, come hell or high water, you don’t change. You won’t be crying here, bitter there, happy here, sad there (that’s what we call an emotional roller coaster). No. being content means, you’re filled with joy and peace (nb, these are spiritual gifts, not emotions) ALL THE TIME.

So when Paul says that he has learned how to be content, he really meant it. Can you think of how many times in one day, we allow our emotions to govern us? In traffic on the way to work, when we get a bad report, when someone doesn’t do what we ask…and so on.

What would it be like if we didn’t allow emotions to govern us, but instead allowed our spirits to sustain us in our weak moments? What would happen if we would learn to have a spiritual disposition of contentment despite the circumstances that come?

I think we’d show some of these:

…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

That’s what being content is all about.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: content, feelings, fruits of the spirit, peace

“I try so hard”

May 23, 2012

Hmmm. This came to mind this morning. I was talking to one of my girlfriends recently who was having a really hard time in the ‘boy department’. She had such a hard time understanding why every relationship she had in the last few years had ended ‘unresolved’. I totally felt her pain and frustration, as it is one that I have seen so many other women go through. As she continued to pour her heart out, I realized the ‘common fatality’- “I try so hard”.

I knew this phrase all too well, because like her, I use to ‘try so very hard’ to make things work. Not just in relationships, but in everyday life. I even ‘try so hard’ with my darn thesis! I know many women could agree to this. It’s something that we can’t help doing. You men on the other hand, sometimes women think that you don’t care. Because unlike them, it appears that you don’t ‘try so hard’. You like simplicity. Lol. In some ways I wish women were like that. But this is not a relationship blog… so… moving on.

Whether you’re a guy or a gal, when you ‘try so hard’ to make things work out, it can get really frustrating when they don’t. But the ironic thing is God doesn’t want us to ‘try so hard’. He wants us to ‘trust so hard’.

What do I mean? In a way, if all that’s happening in the situation is “I” try so hard. There is no room for God. It’s all just “I”. The “I”ness in this issue is what leads to discontentment (i.e. frustration). But remember when Paul said in Philippians 4?

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹²I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Well there is a reason that he said that. He had a secret to his success. He finished up with I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

See. It’s not just “I” that makes things happen. It’s “I” in Christ.

There are some things that we face that we ‘try so hard’ to accomplish on our own. God doesn’t want us to try so hard on our own. He never did. So He added someone to the equation to help. We are to trust Him.

Whenever you find yourself resorting to “I try so hard”, take a step back. You’ve left God out of the equation. You’ve stopped trusting and gone overboard with the trying. When God’s in it, He will tell you how hard to try and whether you should try or not. Without Him, you make these decisions on your own. And you’ll end up frustrated and feeling defeated. But with Him. You’ll make decisions based on His Wisdom and most of all you’ll have peace in your heart. That’s contentment right there.

Posted by schadah in How Great is our God, Uncategorized

Being content…whatever the circumstances.

May 22, 2012

Philippians 4: 11b-12.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.

I love what Paul denotes in this scripture. He lets us know that no matter what, as Christians we are suppose to be content. It doesn’t matter what comes our way, we should have a countenance that is joyful.

I used to think this was quite hypocritical before. I mean, it would be like something out of the Stepford wives if as Christians we were all ‘jolly go merry’, won’t it? But as I began to meditate this morning, I thought differently.

Let’s examine Paul for instance. This dude didn’t have it easy. Do you realize that this man, the most prolific speaker and eloquent writer of the bible wrote most of his letters behind bars. He was beaten, cussed out, made a mockery, got bitten by a snake. He went from scholar to zero, and for most of the time he was preaching, he was broke! …And yet, you would never know that he went through all of that. He says “I have learned to be content”. What nonsense is that? How could someone confess that they are “okay” when going through all that?

That’s when I began to consider his disposition.

See, to be content means to be full. In fact, the word “content” means to be self sufficient. It is mostly officiated with God because He is the only one that is truly self sufficient. Being content is more than being happy. It’s understanding that you have need of nothing. It is not being covetous because of what your neighbour has and it means knowing with certainty that whatever you want, is made available to you. So how on earth was Paul content?

I believe Paul got the revelation that He was in God. In God. Being content doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t have trouble or difficulties. It doesn’t even mean everything around you will make you happy. “Contentment is that sweet, quiet gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition” (I have that written in my notes, not sure where I got it from).

That’s why Paul goes on to say “I’ve learned how to abase and abound”. That is, if I have the perfect life, or if I have the not so perfect life, if things go my way, or if they don’t go my way, I’M OKAY! Why? Because my spirit bears witness with the Holy Spirit that God is in control. And really, what is it that He can’t fix? Or make right? Is there anything too hard for Him? (Jer 32:27).

When you look at it that way, what could really make you grouchy, miserable and unhappy? Nothing. :)

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: content, happiness, joy, peace

Being content

May 21, 2012

Philippians 4:

¹¹Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. ¹²I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. ¹³For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Recently, while I was driving, it dawned on me that the radio station I was listening to was playing some rather depressing music. Well, it wasn’t really depressing. But this was a Christian radio station, and so I expected to be uplifted. I had passively noticed however, that the music that was being played for the half hour that I was in the car, was all about people’s problems. Permit me to be candid: Why would I want to sing about my problems? For me, if I sang about all of the challenges I face on a regular day, I’d be pretty depressed. I just don’t want to be reminded about ‘all my haters’, ‘ being in the valley’ or ‘the bills on my table’. They are there! That’s the reminder! So I don’t want to hear about it anywhere else. Instead, I want to be reminded of the Problem Solver. And I don’t want just two lines in the song reminding me. I want at least 80% of the song to tell me how great He is.

I realize that this is my own opinion. So don’t chastise me, lol. But as I read Philippians this morning and last night, I saw something:

We need to learn how to be content.

What do I mean? When we focus so much on our problems, it’s difficult to be content. Why? Cuz there’s a constant reminder of how miserable life is! Have you ever had a problem for instance, that you woke up with every single day? Like, EVERY SINGLE DAY?? As soon as you wake up, the thought of this issue comes to your mind? And as much as you would want to be bouncy and happy, the thought of the problem just sits there on the bed with you? It’s annoying. And so you are forever waking up glum, sighing, angry. At best, you’d fake a smile, but you’re not really happy. And throughout the day, no matter how many positives come your way, your thoughts always seem to gravitate towards the bad things that happen. Can’t explain it. It’s just the way our flesh works.

But if we are to truly master what Paul told the Philippians about being content, we’re gonna have to learn it. Why? Because we’re so used to being discontent about stuff.

I can’t talk about all that God has laid on my heart today about contentment in one blog. But one thing stands out to me right now:

Women, if you’ve ever sent your partner to the grocery story (without a list), it’s likely that he’ll come back with large quantities of things that are totally not necessary. Let’s say you tell him that you want lemons for your recipe. He’ll come back with a bag of them. You only needed one. So now you’re stuck with a bag of lemons. You’ve got three options:

1. Cuss him out, throw the bag at him and ask him what you’re suppose to do with all of those lemons.

2. Use the one lemon needed and then throw away the rest, counting your losses.

3. Use all the darn lemons! Make lemonade, lemon meringue pie, lemon cookies, lemon chicken!

I have learned (and I continue to learn) that when ‘life hands me lemons’, I need to make the best of them. There’s no point in being discontent about things that have already happened. Once they have happened, grieve for a period (a short period!) and then take those issues and decide that you’re going to make the best of them. God always has a positive solution for things we consider problems. But we’re wired to think of the negatives first. So when a problem comes, or comes to mind, be prepared that your first reaction will be one that provokes you to discontentment. BUT, you can override that! Instead of going along with it, begin to think of how you can make positives out of that problem. And then implement your positive reaction.

E.g. you may be tempted to cuss out your partner for buying you all those lemons. Let that thought go. Instead, smile at him, and say “thanks Sweety! I’m going to make you the best lemon meringue you’ve ever had. Shoot, let’s invite friends over, I’ll make pies for everybody!”. When you can do that, you have begun to learn how to be content.

Posted by schadah in Thanksgiving, Uncategorized Tags: Christianity, content, depression, encouragement, God, happiness, peace, relationships

God doesn’t show up at certain parties.

May 18, 2012

A few days ago, I noticed that one of my contacts had the phrase “disappointment after disappointment” as her BBM status message. I messaged her to inquire what was going on. She was only voicing how she felt inside. It seems the last few months have brought her nothing but upsets and disappointment. I began to console her as best as I could according to the word of God. But I don’t think that’s what she wanted to hear. lol!

Have you ever felt like nothing is going right in your life? Like…nothing? Even if you tried to boil a cup of water, the kettle would break! We’ve all had moments like these. I know I certainly have. When it happened to me, I found myself in a “woe is me” pattern. You know. “Oh God, what have I done that you would do this to me?”. “Oh God, you know how hard I’m trying to be a good Christian…” “Why do these things always happen to me? (Sob. Sob). Usually when I got like this, of course God had nothing to say. He would just stay quiet and let me enjoy my pity party.

After a few hundred times of being like that over the years of my existence, I realized the pattern. God doesn’t show up at certain parties.

Here are a few parties that God doesn’t like to come to.

Pity parties

Anger parties

Hate parties

Ingratitude parties

I can’t think of anything else right now. But you get the picture.

When I say that God doesn’t “show up”, I don’t mean He’s not there. He’s omnipresent. It’s His promise. But “showing up” means He doesn’t come through the gate and join the fete with you. “Showing up” means that He can’t move on your behalf to help you when you’re like this. It’s just not His “Scene”. He’s a GOOD God, and there’s nothing “Good” about what you’re doing at that time.

As of late, whenever I start to throw one of these parties, I hear Him in the background saying “Either put a sock in it, or you’re on your own!” (I kid you not. That’s what the Holy Spirit says!)

There is another option to such parties.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1Thess 5:18.

I have learned that whenever I feel a need to throw one of those parties. I need to calculate the cost. It’s much more expensive to throw one of those parties. Cuz no one shows up to it. And you waste a whole lot of time, energy, sweat, emotions and tears preparing for it. So instead, I throw a thanksgiving party. Everyone loves a celebration. And God does too. And when He shows up to your thanksgiving party, He takes it to another level. Because He shows up with blessings unbelievable.

When the world seems like it’s going to suck you dry and lead you into a pity party or one of the others, Don’t succumb to your emotions, Instead, begin to thank God. He says in EVERYTHING, give thanks, for that is MY will. There is no situation too messed up that you can’t give thanks. Even if it seems that way, find something totally out of left field to give thanks for. Your water bed! Your kettle! Your orange shoes! Thanksgiving to God changes the atmosphere completely. And when you give thanks, GOD SHOWS UP!

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: Christianity, God, party, praise, thanksgiving

Monthly Archives: May 2012

But there’s a God in Heaven.

Elephant in the room.

How Great is our God?

God of Heart Transplants

Loving the troubles that come

These things called ‘feelings’

“I try so hard”

Being content…whatever the circumstances.

Being content

God doesn’t show up at certain parties.

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