I am quick to remind my children to say, “thank you,” in response to kindness. I am not a happy mom when they take the blessing and keep it moving without expressing gratitude. My heavenly father wants the same from me, a heart to come back and say thanks.
In Luke 17 we have the story of 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus and only one came back to say thank you. The others received their healing and went on their merry way. By not coming back to say thank you, they missed out on something of greater value than their physical healing. You see, when they first cried out for healing, they were at a distance because as lepers they couldn’t come close to others. However, the one leper who returned after being healed found himself at the feet of Jesus. His leprous state initially kept him distant from Jesus, but His heart of gratitude after receiving healing brought him to the feet of Jesus.
I have learned that having a heart of gratitude and coming back to say thank you, helps to pave the way to Jesus’ presence. Some years ago, I began a habit of waking up and jotting down in my journal ‘thankful moments’ from the previous days. I realize that the more I focus on saying thank you and praising God, the more aware I became of all that He has done. There are so many blessings I have overlooked in the past because I was more focused on what was wrong, instead of coming back to tell God thank you for all that He made right. Which of the lepers are you most like, the one who came back to say thank you or the nine who did not?
Be Blessed
Anika
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Psalm 107:1 (NLT)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
Not only did I want to present a perfect image for others, but I also wanted to present myself as perfect before God. I used to beat myself up when I would make mistakes, wondering if I would ever be able to get it ALL RIGHT, ALL THE TIME. God has had to remind me repeatedly that He knows that I am not perfect but that I am a work in progress. A work that won’t be completed until I see Jesus. The work that God is doing in me does not end the day that I accept Him as Lord, it is continuous! It’s not just any work that He is doing in me, it’s a GOOD WORK!
A good work that brings pride, jealousy, unforgiveness and all the like to the surface. I don’t have to lament because they are present but rejoice in knowing that they don’t have to remain IF I YIELD TO THE CONTINOUS PROCESS OF BEING PERFECTED. I love that God finishes what He starts, so I can be confident in knowing the work He started in me will be completed when I see Jesus. Take a moment and soak it in-talk about something to look forward to!
But wait, there is more! Ephesians 2:10, reminds us that we are also God’s masterpiece, a great work of art, God’s beautiful poem. I dare double dare you to daily look yourself in the mirror and declare, “ I am God’s masterpiece, created new in Christ Jesus for good works!” LISTEN, you better meditate on that scripture to knock insecurity back to the pits of hell where it belongs. Let the church say “AMEN!”
Be Blessed
Anika
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Philippians 1:6
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
I didn’t trust God. There I said it. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it is true. At the time, I didn’t realize that was the case, but looking back, that was exactly it. I would often blame my impatience on my impulsive personality but I realize that it went a lot deeper than that. My impatience came from a place of mistrust. I didn’t trust God would work on my behalf if a prayer took too long to get answered. I would then ditch the waiting on God scenario and concoct dead-end ways to answer my own prayers.
For today’s lesson, I have learned to be patient and wait on God! When I don’t, the results are often a hot mess! Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds me that I must trust in the Lord with all my heart. Not some of my heart, but all of it. In all of my ways acknowledge Him-not some of my ways but all of them. Are you seeing a pattern here? God is really into this TOTAL surrender thing. After I have surrendered my all to God, I must then learn to be patient and allow Him to direct my path. The directing may not come as quickly as I would like or in the direction I want to go. However, I must learn to trust that God’s timing and wisdom are always the best option for me. How about you? Do you find that you are impatient or is it easy for you to be still and trust God? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.
Be Blessed
Anika
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.
I have some breaking news to share with you. Ready for it? Here it is, we all make mistakes! We have all done things that we are not proud of. That’s a fact! But, what do you do when the mistakes from your past seem to constantly haunt you and you struggle to live in the here and now? What happens when past sins are constantly on replay in your mind and the shadow of your past is always present. I am very familiar with the mental torment, the regret and the shame attached to past mistakes.
However, one of the things that I have learned on my road to being forty is that I AM FORGIVEN SO I MUST FORGIVE MYSELF. I don’t have to carry my baggage from the past into my future. I don’t have to live condemned. IF (and this is a big IF here) if I come to God and sincerely repent, He forgives me (1 John 1:9). If God has forgiven me, I must also make the choice to forgive myself. The scripture tells me that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus(Romans 8:1) and that I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)! The game changer in all of this is JESUS! He makes it possible for me to unload all of the burden and shame of past sins, but again I must first come to Him. I love how Jesus is about making all things new, so on my road to being forty, I have made the choice to join Him in this newness movement. I am living in the reality that I AM FORGIVEN! How about you? Do you find that you struggle with receiving forgiveness from God and yourself for past sins? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you. Below are some scriptures to encourage you in this area.
Be Blessed
Anika
Isaiah 43:25
“I–yes, I alone–will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
Psalm 103:12
AAs far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
1 John 1:9
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
2 Corinthians 5:17
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Romans 8:1
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
It’s easy for me to tell the world that I am a Christian, but showing them, well that’s a totally different story. Jesus says something striking in John 13:34-35, He tells His disciples, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
That’s a hard kind of love
That love that I can’t give in my own strength because I am human with many frailties. My feelings are hurt easily and I am sometimes tempted to turn off my love. But I tap into the grace of God and ask Him to fill me with the ability to love even when it’s hard and I just don’t want to. Yeah that Jesus love.
A dedicated & patient love
That kind of love that says I am dedicated to walk life out with you. I am willing to pray and fast you to victory, when you fall. I am here to cry with you when life gets hard. I won’t abandon you and condemn you at your weakest moments, but I will be there to help you. And when you win, well I will be the loudest one cheering! Yeah that Jesus love.
A forgiving & merciful love
When you hurt me in the same way you did last week, and I am willing to be merciful and release you of the continued offense. I won’t seek to slander you by constantly repeating to others the things you did to hurt me. I ask God to help me to forgive you as many times necessary and I chose to love you anyway. Yeah that Jesus love.
A serving love
I am willing to ask, “how can I serve you?” I listen to your answer and I follow through. When I am done serving, I expect nothing in return and I don’t look for ways to tell others what I did for you. Instead I serve with a joyful heart knowing that in my service, I am imitating Jesus. Yeah that Jesus love.
An inconvenient love
Like when I don’t want to give up my free time to be there for you. Watch your kids for you. Help you clean your house. Listen to your problems during the time that I had planned to listen to that powerful sermon on loving my brothers and sisters. Come visit you when I really want to take a nap, but I know you need the company. Yeah that Jesus love.
That accountability love
That love that tells you the hard things even though I know you will be mad at me. I tell you the truth because I love you and I am concerned about your soul. The love that asks you the hard-uncomfortable questions. The love that convinces you that I am trustworthy, and you can confess your sins to me knowing I will pray for you instead of condemn you. Yeah that Jesus love.
That encouraging love
I am not jealous of you. Instead I find ways to sincerely encourage you in your gifts and calling even if you don’t encourage me in mine. I listen as you giddily share the BIG dreams God has given you. I pray more than you may realize that these dreams will indeed come to pass. And when you become discouraged because fear and doubt creep in, I am right there encouraging you with the word of God. Yeah that Jesus love.
Our actions should always speak louder than our words. Let us show the world that Jesus kind of love in the ways we love each other! What aspects of the Jesus kind of love is hard for you to live out? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.
My word for this season is PROCESS and I am not always overwhelmingly excited about it. I have noticed an interesting pattern in my life. God speaks, I get excited and I initially pursue what He tells me. However, with time, that excitement diminishes. I was looking through my blog and realized that I had a lot of unfinished blog post in the draft section. Why is that? I get excited about writing a piece and just like that I walk away and never finish it. My unfinished blog posts are reflective of my impatience with the process and my desire to always start something new if the old is taking too long to be completed.
I am uncomfortable with waiting and being patient. For example, at times I become impatient while waiting for my children to become more independent, for my hair to grow, waiting to lose that baby weight from almost five years ago, and on and on. I love the idea of getting to the end and receiving what God promised me. I am often in a hurry for the process to end, but God allows the process to continue because He is trying to do a deeper work in me. I can’t be so quick to move on to another script if the end of my current season doesn’t come as quick as I would like. I leave so much on the table and miss the valuable lessons God is trying to teach me. My prayer is to be more focused and patient while going through the process that is before me. I can relax in knowing that God won’t hold out on the promise that is waiting for me at the end of all of this. What a great comfort! How about you? Do you find that you have patience in the process or are you always looking for it to end? Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.
Be Blessed,
Anika