I write as Holy Spirit leads, being obedient to my calling as a Scribe for the Lord. The calling on my life is to write, and then it is the responsibility of Holy Spirit to use the words He inspires me to write for His glory… I write a lot about what I have personally experienced, the posts I write concerning those experiences, are shared to help show others how VERY personal a relationship you CAN have with the Lord. He has called You to experience a personal relationship with Him. Each one of us who has chosen to be part of God’s called Remnant, those who are followers of Christ – accepted Him as Savior, made Him Lord OVER our lives enter into a relationship with Him that is as unique as a fingerprint. What I mean by that, is that what I experience in my relationship with Jesus, may be different from your experience because we are different individuals. Think about it – the relationship that you have with one person, may be different from that of someone else, because each relationship is uniquely divine and special. That is how it is with you and the Father (and with me and the Father), we have different areas in our lives that He is touching, teaching, healing, moving, changing – this year for me has been one where I have been having to work on trust. At the beginning of this year, the Lord asked me:
“Kelly, do you trust Me?”
I was going through a battle, and I was confused why He would ask me that (after being in a personal relationship with Him for 34 years). I THOUGHT I had trusted Him, but the battle waring all around me was one where the only way I could keep my sanity, intercede for those I love and continue in my walk with God was to re-examine my faith in Him. Holy Spirit showed me the areas within myself where my trust was weak. I won’t say it wasn’t painful to see this area within me that I needed to work on, in order to move forward to the next level in Him, it was extremely painful – but sometimes God uses the pain of this world to draw us nearer to Him. I HAD to determine that I would grow my trust, growing your trust in God means stepping out in faith. It means walking outside your comfort zone all the while trusting in the One God has called to BE your Comforter – Holy Spirit. Trusting God IS a process – a growth process and in order to go DEEPER with Him, we have to push BEYOND the pain of our situation, BEYOND any “safety net of rational worldly thought” and step out in what the Bible tells us to do. Examine our hearts and look at our lives to see if we are really walking in FULL trust in Him or if we are only wading up to our knees in faith. So I ask you as you read these words:
What IS your trust level with God? How DEEP are you willing to go in your walk? Are you settling for mediocre or do you want more?
Are you willing to go in deep? Allow your life, allow your attitude, allow EVERY part of you to undergo full submission? Or are you settling for a surface-level only relationship with God? Free will always dictates the deepness of your relationship with Him. You always get to choose… If you choose surface only faith, you settle for less than what God has in mind for you. Jesus DIED for you. God left the comfort of Heaven, came down in the form of man to MEET YOU where you are at, lived a sin-less life and DIED on the cross for forgiveness of sins He didn’t commit (your sins and mind) in order for a way to be made to restore you to experience a right relationship with Him. He gave HIS life for YOU so that YOU could have eternal life with Him. He didn’t hold back! He gave His ALL. Will YOU give YOUR all to Him by trusting Him in ALL areas of your life? The story of the rich man tells of a man who sadly refused to go deeper with Jesus. Take a look at Matthew 19:16-
Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?”
Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked.
And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
You determine how deep you will proceed in your walk with God. Whatever you settle for, will be exactly that – a settling.
HOW DEEP DO YOU WANT TO GO WITH GOD?
When Holy Spirit told me this year in the midst of what I now call my “Job” period in my walk, I had to push back my fear, my hurt, my pain and LISTEN to what God was saying to me. He was asking me:
“Kelly, in spite of ALL the turmoil surrounding you, will you TRUST me?”
When I tell you that this time in my life was like being in the eye of the tornado, I am not exaggerating, EVERY area of my life was being attacked – there was not ONE area that was not being hit. I HAD to willfully choose to keep my eyes on the Lord and NOT the storm raging around me. I’m going to be very transparent here, and some will balk at what I’m saying, but I have to testify to my experience, because someone else NEEDS to hear this word, God NEVER gives me a word to write that is not for someone else. It’s the reason WHY I write and it is my responsibility to write what Holy Spirit dictates I should. (I WILL stand before God and give an account for my writings at the end of my life, and that is something I take EXTREMELY seriously). Holy Spirit told me, I want you to be like the woman in Mark 12:41-44:
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
What are you giving God? Are you using your talents that He has created you with to glorify Him? Are you more concerned with the opinions and thoughts of others than of what God is telling you? Are you reading His Word? His love letter to you on how you should live? Are you walking by faith and not by sight – some would say that they walk “rationally” that they walk in the “reality of their situation” – REALLY? God tells us to walk BY faith, the world does not walk BY faith – and the reality of those that don’t is that they are being deceived by the Deceiver, the Accuser – the one who would keep them blind to the truth of God. Listen reader, for I write of what I know:
GOD’S WORD IS REAL. GOD’S WORD IS TRUTH.
God inspired men to write the Bible for a reason, that reason was FOR YOU. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Listen, if you don’t believe that – than you TRULY are stuck at surface level faith. Isn’t it time you went deeper?
One of the areas Holy Spirit showed me that my trust in God wasn’t what it should be, was in the area of my tithe. Now I know this is a wincing, sensitive topic – but I have to share this with you because I can personally testify God’s truth in it… The storm that raged around me was one that was so fierce, it attacked an already weakened part of the structure of my life – my finances. Ol’ slewfoot and his dominions know you. They study you. They know the areas within you that are weak and the areas within you that are strong… They know this NOT because they can read your mind (they can’t), but because they see how you respond to different attacks. They so to speak, “poke the bear” in you and then study your reaction to the poke. They know what annoys you, what makes you mad, what makes you sad, what pains you – and because they HATE you (because God loves you) they focus on those weaknesses that they think will pull you down, or better yet – cause you to sin in thought, deed and action against the God (if you are a Christian) YOU profess to love.
When Holy Spirit brought to mind the story of the poor woman, I can transparently, honestly tell you – I was envious of her faith. I realized that MY faith in God – though strong, NEEDED to be STRONGER. Think about it this way:
Have you ever gone to the beach and slowly waded out into the water? First you allow your toes to go in, right? As you walk into the ocean, you are trying to get your bearings, right? The lapping of waves around your feet indicate that you have to make sure as you wade out farther, that you can withstand the power of the waves, the farther out you go, the stronger the current and the more you have to focus on withstanding. THAT is how it is with our faith.
Where are you standing in your faith? Are You trusting in God or in self?
If you find you are trusting in “self” than you can bet there will be a wave in life that will knock you off your feet! But when you trust in God, HE CARRIES YOU.
Holy Spirit asked me:
“Kelly, are you willing to go deeper?”
Once He showed me the area within myself that needed improvement, needed strengthening I had the choice to listen or to stay at the level of faith I was at… One thing I have determined in my head is the fact that when my days are over, and I stand before the Lord, I don’t want to hear Him say:
“Well done my good and faithful servant – you completed this, this and that that I had for you to do – BUT there was MORE.”
And then show me the MORE that I COULD have done for Him, but in settling for “mediocre” I missed out on… The growth process in Christ can be painful – but if you think about it, anything WORTH anything IS painful… Think of childbirth – PAINFUL, but the rewards? A beautiful precious baby. Exercise – PAINFUL – but the results? A healthy body! Reading the Word of God that is described in Hebrews 4:12:
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
I didn’t trust God with money… I once was cursed by someone I love who told me (and I didn’t know it was a curse at the time), “no matter how much money you make, it will never be enough.” (Now, I know this person said it to me exasperated, and because they are not saved, didn’t realize even in good intent that it was a curse. Did you know you can speak curses over yourself or loved ones with your words? Not realizing that you are cursing them?) I have since rebuked that curse at its root and with the blood of Jesus, pled the blood over my finances. But money has always been a very difficult thing for me. Why? Because while I had made Jesus Lord OVER my life – I had NOT made Him Lord over my finances. I did not entrust what I made to Him… (This is true transparency). I began to wonder if this area of my life which was always under constant attack was because I did not put God first with finances that HE provided me with and that really belonged (as all things do) to Him? That is when I read Haggai 1:6:
“You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.”
My faith in God did not extend to the area of my finances, and when Holy Spirit showed that to me, it was my decision, my choice, whether or not to work on that area of me. The spiritual storm I was under, was one where I needed to do EVERYTHING I could to put my trust in God. Sometimes, our answers are delayed because we have not chosen to ALLOW God to work in areas that need His touch. I decided to submit. That is when Holy Spirit gave me the scripture way above about the poor woman and her two small copper coins. I determined in my head, in my heart that I wanted to walk in trust with God over EVERY area in my life. There was too much I was praying on, too much I was combatting, too much I was believing God for – I needed to go ALL in in my faith. TOTAL SUBMERSION of faith.
DO YOU WANT TO BE TOTALLY SUBMERSED IN YOUR FAITH?
What areas in YOU is Holy Spirit speaking to? LISTEN TO HIM. Please listen. When we die to ourselves and listen to what God is saying to us through His Spirit, prayers begin to be answered. Sometimes we can be our OWN stumbling blocks in our faith. So many of us have spent so much time in the world that changing to have a “God-view” instead of a “world-view” is so difficult – but that is why God gave us Holy Spirit to help us.
Here is my praise report – when you walk in obedience, it allows God to open doors that were not previously opened. It allows God to work in ways within you that allows YOU to be a stronger vessel in Him! It increases your faith and causes you to have a deeper more intimate relationship with God. Our confidence is NOT in ourselves, it IS in HIM! In Him we live and move and have our being! And in my case – in the area of tithing – I have become obedient! I will tell you that I STILL have to HURRY UP and give to God QUICKLY when I get paid, FIRST THING because ol’ slewfoot tries to trip me up and whisper: “Seriously? You still are behind in A,B,C, especially in the situation you just went through and you are doing WHAT with your money?” to which I quickly throw down my tithes before the Lord, praising Him for the provision and believing Him that ALL needs will be met. I do it quickly before I lose my nerve (that’s being honest) and oh let me TELL you! This is the area where the Bible says in Malachi 3:10:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Do you see that God has said, “TEST ME IN THIS” ? Let ME tell YOU I HAVE tested God in this – and He has opened doors for me that have caused my jaw to drop to the floor in surprise and pleasure. He IS straightening out the mess I have made of my finances – how? Because I have determined to TRUST HIM in THIS. And not only THAT, my obedience and my walking in faith is answering prayers that I have prayed and waited for answers for in OTHER areas. WHY? Because I have determined to walk BY faith. I have determined to NOT let ANYTHING get in the way of what I am believing God for! It is NOT about works – oh no! Don’t mistake it for rewarding works – it is about FAITH. So I ask you, what is it you are bringing before the Lord in prayer? Is Holy Spirit speaking a word of what He wants YOU to work on in order to have a “fully submersion” type faith? Maybe it is not finances, maybe it is a different area that you have not wanted to examine closer? I pray whoever reads this becomes sensitive to the prompting of Holy Spirit and determines within themselves that they WILL walk by FULL faith and not ever settle for less than what God has for you. And that in the process you will remember – that as long as we have breathe in our bodies, should we choose to – we will be learning and growing and transforming into ALL it is Christ wants us to be, so be patient with yourself and recognize that God is allowing Holy Spirit to do a GOOD work in you. And we should be glad and praise His name for it! It IS good. GOD IS GOOD. He TRULY is!
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