Satisfied in Him

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." -John Piper

I have this quote written out on a piece of paper on a corkboard in my room, and I reread it last night. It's one of my favorite quotes, and it struck me once again.

I realized that lately I haven't been satisfying myself in God. I haven't been doing it intentionally, but I've been letting myself focus on other things. As a result, I've noticed that I've been restless lately, discontent and downhearted. I think I've been looking for fulfillment and peace elsewhere, without even realizing it at times.

There's another quote I really like by Michelle Graham from her book Wanting to be Her. She writes that "God did not put him in my life to fulfill my needs. Otherwise I wouldn't need God anymore," (Wanting to be Her, page 96). By "him" she means a boyfriend/fiancé/husband, but I also think it applies to any person in your life, or really anything at all, for that matter. God did not put my family, my boyfriend, my church, my school, or anything else, in my life to fulfill me or my needs. Anytime I try to find fulfillment or peace or satisfaction in anything other than God, I will be let down.

God designed us to want HIM, to desire HIM. And only He can fill that place in our lives, that hole in our hearts. We can find true satisfaction and real peace in Him alone. The part I think is so awesome is that when we are satisfied in God, He is glorified in us!!

Father, forgive me for looking for satisfaction and peace elsewhere. You alone can satisfy, and You alone can give us peace. Thank You for Your love and faithfulness. You are so faithful, so good. Help me to keep my eyes on You, satisfying myself in You alone. I pray that You will be glorified above all else!

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14

No Need for a Sin-Eater

Yesterday I read The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers. I didn’t mean to read it all in one day, but it just kinda happened. It was that good! It’s a fictional story based on a real tradition in England, Scotland, and Wales that lasted up into the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The tradition actually came to certain portions of Appalachia in America, as well. I don’t want to give any of Rivers’ novel away, but the gist of it is that a “sin-eater” was a man, usually either a beggar or someone chosen by lots, who would “take upon himself” the sins of someone after they died. He would be cursed by their sin, so that the deceased man or woman could rest peacefully.


It’s an interesting tradition, isn’t it? I had never heard of it until yesterday. Imagine having to choose lots to pick a man who would “carry” all of the sins of a community. He would be shunned and left alone, an outcast of the society. I think the saddest part about this whole tradition, however, is that people really believed that their sin would be taken by the sin-eater, and the sin-eater truly thought he was helping his town or village by “taking” their sins. He thought he was doing God’s work, but instead he was actually just a way for Satan to blind people from God’s truth.


It made me start thinking about and remembering how blessed we are that we don’t need to designate a sin-eater, because Christ came and took our sins upon Himself! We don’t have to try to find a human scapegoat, because the Son of God became the sacrifice for us.  


He died, so that we might live.


I know that I take this for granted all too often. It is amazing, absolutely amazing, that God gave up His own Son as atonement for our sins! We don’t have to try to find a way to get rid of our sin on our own, because if we accept God’s gift to us, our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus. Amazing!!


We don’t need a sin-eater, because we have something so much better… We have true hope in Christ.



(By the way, if you’re look for a novel to read, I definitely recommend The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers!)

Planning or Following?

I am a planner, always have been and probably always will be. Planning is a good thing, definitely. But it needs to be in moderation; otherwise it can easily become an idol in your life. That is something that God has been teaching me over the past year or so, and it is a lesson that I think I’m going to have to keep learning again and again.

 See, planning itself isn’t bad. In fact, planning can save you a lot of time and trouble when done right. The problem arises when you plan everything out so much, that you don’t leave room for God, and/or you don’t allow Him to guide you through the day.  

 Sarah Young, in her devotional Jesus Calling, writes from the perspective of Jesus talking to you and me, His dear friends. Many times Young talks about the need to release our plans so that we can focus on the Lord, and allow HIM to lead us through each day.

 “Come to Me with your plans held in abeyance. Worship Me in Spirit and in truth, allowing My Glory to permeate your entire being. Trust Me enough to let Me guide you through this day, accomplishing My purposes in My timing. Subordinate your myriad plans to My Master Plan. I am sovereign over every aspect of your life!

The challenge continually before you is to trust Me and search for My way through each day. Do not blindly follow your habitual route, or you will miss what I have prepared for you. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” –Sarah Young, Jesus Calling pg. 145 (Bold mine)

These paragraphs were so convicting to me, because I tend to go through each day blindly following my normal route. I also definitely fall into the sin of allowing planning to be an idol in my life. It takes a deliberate effort to stop and search for the Lord in the midst of a busy day, and it takes even more effort and prayer to strive to follow Him through each day wherever He leads. Exodus 20:3 says bluntly that we are to have no other gods before the One True God, our Father. For me, planning is something that I have to deliberately think and pray about, frequently, asking God to lead me rather than trusting in my own plans. I have to again and again affirm my trust in Him, not because His trustworthiness changes, but because I forget to choose to trust. He is trustworthy, always. His plan is so much better than mine, in the long run and in the simple day to day things.

 Thankfully, no matter how many times we choose to follow our own plans for a day, we can always stop and allow God to lead. He is our Loving Father, and He is always beside us, with us, and He will guide us if we ask.

 • “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48:14

 •“Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.” Psalm 31:3

 God doesn’t want you to walk through each day on your own and in your own strength, but walking WITH Him is a choice. Choose each day to allow Him to guide you, moment by moment. Make plans, but hold them in abeyance. Take God’s hand and follow Him through the day, focusing on Him and His glory. Choose to trust Him, rather than in your own plans.

 “Instead of trying to create a mental map of your path through this day, focus on My loving Presence with you.” –Sarah Young, Jesus Calling pg. 123

Choices

Choices.

The Christian walk is full of them, daily and hourly. Moment by moment we must make choices.

Lately God has been teaching me just how important my daily choices are. It is imperative that I make wise choices for the big decisions, but recently God has been showing me how important the small choices are. These are the choices that you might not even think about. These are the things in the little moments, such as:

Will I choose to trust the Lord, or will I take matters into my own hands?

Will I trust Him, or will I let myself worry and fret about whatever is going on rather than placing it in His hands?

Will I choose to hope, or will I despair?

Will I choose to give in to sinful anger, or will I release it into the Lord’s hand?

 Will I choose to focus my thoughts on things that are pure, true, noble, lovely (Phil. 4:8), or will I allow my mind to wander wherever it wills?

 Will I allow myself to indulge in self-pity, or will I let it go and refocus my thoughts on the joy that is found in Jesus?

 Will I choose to be patient, or insist on having things my own way?

 Will I choose to be thankful, or to grumble?

 Will I choose joy?

 The list of choices could go on and on.  Every day is filled with them. In each moment we can choose to live for ourselves or to live for God. God has been gently reminding me of these choices over the past few weeks.

 Last week I was anxiously waiting for news of a decision, but I continued to have to wait, and wait, and wait… I was nervous, and a little worried about what the outcome of the decision would be. For the full first day of waiting, I’ll be honest, I would pray asking God to give me peace about the situation, but I didn’t relinquish my worries to Him. I was still clinging tightly to them, as if I had control over what the outcome would be if I worried about it enough (HA!). God kept reminding me through my quiet times and through prayer that I needed to give it ALL to Him. And finally, I did. I released the situation, the upcoming decision, and my worries all to Him. I chose to trust Him. The peace that came after that small choice was wonderful; I knew that God had everything under control. And you know what the wonderful thing is about our God, our heavenly Father? He doesn’t withhold His peace or ask, “What took you so long?” No. He gives His peace willingly, lovingly. He caringly takes the situations, the worries, the stresses out of our hands once we give them over to Him, but we have to CHOOSE to give them over in to His open and waiting hands.

 Just yesterday, God reminded me of another choice that I can make every day, the choice to be thankful, rather than whiny and upset. I was at the dentist, one of my not-so-favorite things to be honest. In past visits, I have definitely not been the nicest or most thankful patient. Instead, I start thinking about all the places I’d rather be, all the things I’d rather be doing, and so on. Yesterday I started in that habit, thinking about the better things I could be doing, when God started whispering, Be thankful. That’s when the choice came in, whether I was going to keep on whining or start thanking God. This time I chose to be thankful, and surprisingly when I got started I was able to think of quite a few things to be thankful about being at the dentist.

I know that in coming days I’ll make the wrong choices, but it’s my prayer that I’ll start thinking more about the little, right choices I can make every day to follow Christ, and that I’ll keep making choices that will draw me closer to God.

 Francesca Battistelli said in her song “It’s Your Life,”

 “The world is watching you

Every day the choices you make

Say what you are and who

Your heart beats for

It's an open door

It's your life”

 The choices were making say a lot about us. So today, choose to trust. Choose to hope. Choose to be joyful, and choose to be thankful.

Better than any "Aha!" Moment

When I was younger, I always thought that I’d reach a certain time in my life where I’d know what I was doing. For example, when I was 8 or 9, I thought that surely by the time I was 15 I would be so much more knowledgeable and know more of who I was. Or when I was a freshman in high school, I thought that by the time I graduated I’d know what I would want to major in and where I should go to college. In my naivety, I thought that one day I would have an “Aha!” moment, and suddenly my confusion and uncertainty about the unknown future would go away.


That “Aha!” moment never came.

 

But the more I’ve thought and prayed about it, I’m glad. I may not know the future, but my heavenly Father does. My uncertainty causes me to depend on Him, which is the way it should be.

 

And God, in His loving care, has not left you and me alone to walk blindly through this journey of life. He has given us His Holy Spirit, the ability to talk with Him anytime and anywhere through prayer, and the Bible.

 

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet,

            And a light unto my path.”

                        Psalm 119:105

 

God’s word is a lamp for our feet, and a light for our path! We are not left to stumble in the darkness. We have been given a light.

 

A devotional I read a few days ago describes this perfectly:

“When it comes to God’s plans for our lives, we like to know where God is taking us, the steps we need to take to get there and all of the wonderful details of how He is going to do it.  However, we find that God doesn’t reveal everything to us, but only what He wants us to know and what we are ready to receive.  No matter how in the dark you feel about God’s direction for your life, there is always a light shining on a particular task He wants us to do, even if that task is to spend more time with Him in prayer and study of the Bible.  You will find that as you walk in obedience to what you know to do, God will begin to reveal more in time.  He always will give us direction and light, just maybe not in the areas we want it in.  In Biblical times, night travelers would tie clay lamps to their ankles so that they could see the path right in front of them.  Their path didn’t blaze with light showing the entire road.  They only could see the steps right in front of them to take.  God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and is a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).  His Word shows us what we need to do step by step.” (From Daughters of the King, daily devotional “One Step at a Time”)

 

As much as I would like to know the big picture and what God’s plan for me is, I’m thankful that I don’t know all of it. If I did, it would be too easy to live my life independently from God, instead of in dependence on Him. I also think that it would be way too overwhelming. Our God, in His loving-kindness, leads us day by day, moment by moment, if we choose to follow Him. He reveals a little bit of the picture at a time, all in His perfect timing.

 During the times when the uncertainty of the future is daunting and overwhelming, my Father whispers His promises…

 

“I am with you always, to the very end of age.” (Matthew 28:20)

 

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

 

“My peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

 

I may not know the future, but I know Who holds the future.

 

And that is better than any “Aha!” moment.

The Potter

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”  So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” Nehemiah 18:1-4

 

“Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.”  Isaiah 64:8

 

He is the Potter. We are the clay.

 

The Potter has a vision for what He is forming. He has a specific purpose in mind for the clay in His hands. It is His choice whether he turns the clay into something for “special purposes” or for “common use,” (Romans 9:21) both of which are important and essential. Who is the clay to question its Potter? The Potter knows best, and knows how the formed clay will be best used.

 

He is the Potter. We are the clay.

 

The Potter chooses how He will form the clay, whether through reshaping, pressure, or through fire. It is His choice. It is also His choice whether or not to break the clay back down into a soft lump, in order to reshape it for His purposes.

 

It’s that last thought that has been on my mind. It hadn’t really occurred to me, until my pastor spoke about it. When I would read the verses above, I would always think about God being the Potter, meaning that He is the One who formed me and the One who is shaping me into the person He wants me to be.

 And that is all true.

 However, I hadn’t thought about the fact that God, being my Potter, has the power and the right to break me down so that I can be remolded in to something of greater use in His Kingdom.

 Then I started thinking… have I ever prayed that? That God would break me down, to make me into whatever and whoever He has in mind?

 

Honestly, that’s a scary prayer to pray.
But I’m going to start praying it.

 

I remember playing with play-doh when I was younger. The best play-doh was the soft, moldable clay. I would always choose to play with that over the hardened playdoh. The soft clay was so much better and so much more useful.

 

That’s what I want to be. Soft, moldable clay. Able to be shaped into whatever my Potter wants. And if He needs to break me down to get me to be the soft clay, then so be it. I pray that I’ll be open to whatever my Potter wants to do in my life.

 

He is the Potter. I am the clay.

 

“Take me.
Mold me.
Use me.
Fill me.
I give my life to the Potter’s hand.
Call me.
Guide me.
Lead me.
Walk beside me.
I give my life to the Potter’s hand.”
                                    -Hillsong United

My Good Shepherd

Yesterday morning I read Psalm 23, and God opened my eyes to the truth contained in that short chapter in a new way. I’ve read Psalm 23 countless times before, so when I began reading it that morning I wasn’t necessarily expecting to learn something new, but God wanted to remind me Who He is.

“The Lord is my shepherd,” David writes at the beginning of the chapter. I started thinking about shepherds, and how they tend to their sheep with care. They care for them, making sure that they have what they need to live and thrive.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, and he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”

God is my Shepherd, and He will provide what I need. Like the shepherd tends to his sheep, leading them to green pastures (providing them with the nourishment they need), God provides what I need. The shepherd leads his sheep to quiet waters (so that the sheep would not be frightened by rushing water, and so that they would actually drink from it). God is leading me, He is providing what I need, and calming my fears. My Shepherd restores my soul!

“He [My Shepherd] guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
God is guiding me along the right path. Like a good sheep I need to keep close to Him, following Him wherever He leads. Sheep don’t know where they are being led, but they follow their shepherd anyway. Sheep go astray, need to be found and led back to the right path. Sheep are dumb animals, and need someone to guide them to the things they need (like food and water). I don’t think it was a coincidence that we are compared to sheep many times in the Bible. We are sheep, and because of that we need a Shepherd!

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way” Isaiah 53:6

“I have strayed like a lost sheep.” Psalm 119:176

“Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

The Bible compares us over and over again to sheep, and calls Jesus our Shepherd. In John 10, it says that “he [the Good Shepherd, or Jesus] goes on ahead of them [the sheep], and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Did you catch that last part? The sheep follow him, because they know his voice. They recognize that He is their shepherd. They know his voice, and therefore know that they should follow Him.

Psalm 23 goes on to say that “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Because my Shepherd is leading me, I don’t need to be afraid. There is evil in the world around me, but my Shepherd is guiding me, so I need not fear.

As I read Psalm 23, especially the first four verses, God reminded me that He is my Shepherd, and that He is in control.

Daughter, you are just a sheep, but fear not the evil that surrounds you in this life. I am your Shepherd, and I am leading you. I am guiding you along the path of righteousness, for My Name’s sake. Times may seem troubled, but I am leading you to quiet waters. It is not for you to determine when you will get there, for I know the right time. Trust me as I lead; I will provide what you need.

Trust Me. I am your Shepherd, follow My voice.