When God says “Wait”

Throughout October, I’ve been touching on how we get so caught up in the “right here and right now” of the world we live in, that we forget to seek out God and listen to Him. This week, I want to discuss what it means to wait patiently for God’s responses.

“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”  - Psalm 27:14

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning – Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.”  - Psalm 130: 5-6

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.”

 - Lamentations 3:25

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

  - Romans 8:25

Sometimes we need to wait on God to answer our prayers. Other times, God answers our prayers, but does not give us all of the details. This doesn’t mean God is ignoring us. This simply means that God is still preparing us, or the people around us, for His answer or His plan.

            I cannot count how many times I have waited on God for something, only to realize at a later time, that He was working out the details while I was waiting. It is impossible for us to know all that God has planned. We just need to know that we can trust Him with everything and that He will provide us with what we need, when we need it.

          Waiting on God is one of the hardest things to do. It takes a lot of patience – especially when we know God is up to something. The best thing to do is focus on where God has us in that moment, or season, of waiting. If He is asking us to wait, there is a reason why. We merely need to continue growing closer to Him and doing the Will He has for us at that time! If we do not know what we are supposed to be doing while waiting, then pray! God is passionate about us and desires close relationships with each and every one of us. The more we seek Him, the more He will reveal about His plan. Philippians 4: 4-7 says:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

            While we are waiting for God, we should be rejoicing. God has blessed us with so much! We may not know all of the details of His answers or plans, but we do know the amazing things He does for us every day. We should be praising Him and thanking Him for the everyday things He does for us.

            While we are waiting on God, we should not be anxious. God tells us time and again to Trust him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. We are protected in His hands. When we trust Him and go to Him in prayer, His peace will guard our hearts and minds.

          When we incorporate these things into our season of waiting, patience is much easier to obtain. Then, before you know it, your season of waiting will be over.

His timing is perfect.

~ Cassandra Whitworth

Hearing God

In last week’s post, Seeking God Every day, we discussed how important it is to seek out God. Our relationship with God depends on spending time with Him – time that we set aside each and every day. We bask in the beauty He has created, read His word, worship Him, praise Him, and talk to Him. However, the most important thing we can do when we are spending time with God, is listen to Him.

We often go to God with decisions we need to make. We go to God for guidance. We ask God questions… Then we forget to listen.

Listening to God can be hard. There are so many worldly and fleshful things that prevent our ears, minds, and hearts from hearing God. There is no doubt that God answers our prayers:

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” 

 - John 15:16

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

 - Matthew 7:7

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.” 

 - Mark 11:24

            However, sometimes when God answers our prayers, and we do not hear His responses. We become too distracted with everything that is going on. With Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Vine, and every other social media site there is out there, it is very easy to get lost in a whirlwind distraction. Television, movies, and video games also bring us distraction. Am I saying we should avoid these things at all costs? Not at all! I definitely enjoy a good movie or TV show every now and again. However, everything should be done in moderation. If we are always consumed with the things of today, when are we leaving time to hear God? 

This also applies when it comes to work, volunteering and even family. These things are important to us and we always need to put our best foot forward, but we cannot let these things overwhelm us to the point where we are unable to hear our Heavenly Father talk to us. We get so caught up in the “right here and right now” of the world we live in, that we forget to listen to God.

            Because God has created each and every one of us differently, He speaks to us each in different ways. Sometimes He speaks through His word or through time of worship, sometimes He speaks through other people, and sometimes He speaks through the circumstances we are in. God can use dreams or visions to speak to us – or we can even “hear” the Holy Spirit within us. There will even be times where God will use every way possible to assure us that we are hearing Him and what He is saying to us!

            Last week, I wrote about how we should set time aside to seek God every day. We should be showing Him how much our relationship with Him means to us. However, God does not always speak to us right then and there. As we walk into our busy schedules this week, let us keep this in mind. God could be using anything and everything around us to speak to us – we just have to be open and willing to hear what He has to say!

           

~Cassandra Whitworth

Seeking God Every day

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart.”

- Jeremiah 29:13

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

 - Deuteronomy 4:29

“I love those who love me, And those who seek me out diligently will find me.”

 - Proverbs 8:17

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

- Matthew 6:33

            God desires a loving relationship with each and every one of His children. He also wants us to be happy and to always be praising Him for the amazing things He provides for us through the everlasting love He has for us. He tells us time and again to “seek Him” and when we do, we will not only find that relationship, but we will find our heart’s desires. We serve a God that loves us more than anything else on this planet and He wants us to be reminded of that every single day.

The only way to have this amazing relationship with God is to seek Him out. But what does that mean? How do you seek out God?

You spend time with Him: bask in the beauty He has created, read His word, worship Him, praise Him, and talk to Him. However, spending time with God is more than just giving God a few minutes here or there. It is more than talking to Him during the drive to work or doing the dishes. Seeking out God means you are devoting time to God every day - time where you are not preoccupied with the world and time where distractions are limited. Seeking out God means you are putting Him first in your life and you are diligently seeking Him with all of your heart and with all of your soul.

Seeking out God means you are longing to be in His presence. Every part of your heart and soul is consumed with Him. You cannot seek out God while holding things back from Him. He wants all of you, not just the parts you are willing to give up. Seeking out God means you trust Him completely. You are showing Him that He is just as important to you, as you are to Him. Seeking God is depending on Him and not yourself or the World. Our God is willing to give us anything and everything we want or need according to His will! How amazing is that? All that He asks of us is a relationship. He asks us to seek Him out and to rely on Him.

God has so much He wants to say to us and so much He wants to give us. There are so many gifts and talents that He has given each and every one of us. So much potential to do great things for His kingdom. If we do not put God first and seek Him out diligently with all of our heart and all of our soul, we will miss those opportunities for Him to share those things with us.

Set aside time today to seek out God – you will not regret it!

 

~Cassandra Whitworth

Spiritual Warfare

 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. There take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13 KJV

 

 

From the moment we are brought into this world, the enemy is working to keep us from knowing our God. We do not often think of our “every day” circumstances as opportunities for the enemy to work against us. However, the enemy will use anything and everything to keep us distracted from Jesus. He will dangle earthly things in front of us to the point that we are no longer looking for ways to share the Gospel or grow closer to God. The enemy will distract us with jobs and working more hours to make more money. The enemy will use financial struggles and family issues to distract us from God. The enemy will continue to corrupt the world we live in, hoping to create more and more chaos.

The more we seek out God and His kingdom, the more the enemy works against us. The enemy does not want to see us succeed in God’s plan. Last week Sheauxtime Ministries, Bobby Williams "Sheauxtime" posted a beautifully written blog about the spiritual gifts that we each have and how we should use them to ultimately bring Glory to God. When we “offer all we have to Jesus”, the enemy is furious. The enemy will work hard to bring you down and stop you from pursuing those gifts and using them in the way God intended. The sole purpose of the enemy is to win us over. To deceive, tempt, and intimidate us – to prevent us from reaching our spiritual potential through Christ Jesus.

 To fight against the spiritual warfare we are faced with each and every day – we need to wear the armor of God. The enemy cannot and will not win the battle if we are immersed in God’s word.

 

While the Armor of God will protect us from the spiritual warfare we experience every day, we must not forget how important it is to PRAY. Prayer not only opens the channel between us and God, but it allows us to receive encouragement and direction when we are facing these spiritual battles. The enemy is cunning and deceitful. There may be times when we question ourselves. However, if we are in communication with our Heavenly Father, He will steer our thoughts straight. He will remind us of those spiritual gifts He has given us and how they can be used to defeat the enemy by bringing Glory to God. If we are steadily in the word and praying, then the enemy cannot work. We serve a God that is more powerful than anything and everything. The enemy is nothing compared to Him. As long as we have God on our side, we can overcome and concur all that is in His will for us.

 

-Cassandra Whitworth

The Gifts You Have..

     God has given each of us specific gifts. Skills, talents and abilities that make each one of us unique. Each and every one of those special skills you possess, was specifically selected by God for you. He took time and thought in creating those gifts you have. Making up the full uniqueness of who you are.
 
James 1:17
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

The talents that make you shine.
The skills that build your character.
The abilities that define your purpose.

All of these gifts and more boost you to that higher place of God's perfect plan for your life.

     These gifts however, were not given to us for our pleasure alone. God did not design and hand pick our gifts for the sole purpose of making us unique. He did so for us to harness the uniqueness given and propel what we have received into ultimately giving glory to Him.. Every time you work in the gifts God has given you, you automatically show the world just how mighty He is. Sometimes, without actually realizing it, you become a walking testimony of His wonder and artistic craft. However, because of how familiar the world has become with everyone having a uniqueness about them, we sometimes miss and forget why we have those talents in the first place. We take for granted what we should be praising God for everyday. That is where we have the opportunity to take ourselves to the next level and with purpose, give our all to Him with our talents and skills.
 
Hebrews 13:15-16
"15 Therefor by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

     Every gift we receive from God, carries with it a responsibility. That responsibility holds the core reason we have them in the first place. God wants nothing less but our all. At the end of the day, what we have, was His to begin with. When we truly grasp the understanding that everything we have belongs to God first, we begin to act more selflessly. Resulting in giving God the glory in all we do, everything we have and everything we will receive. It is our responsibility to take the gifts God has given us, and direct every bit of that gift back to Him.

 

     Take those skills that God has blessed you with. Think about the talents you posses. Now with everything you have, find ways to point all of those gifts to God. Hillsong United said it best in the bridge of "With Everything":

"With everything
With everything
We will shout for Your glory
With everything
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise"

 

 

     With everything you have inside of you. Every part of your being. Every skill, talent and ability you own. Go out into the world, shout forth His glory and shout forth His praise! Make the "shout" your relentless effort to show the world why you are who you are and what makes you unique. Allow your life to become a living reflection of His mighty power. That is the purpose of the gifts you have.. The gifts given to you from God.

 

 
 
     "Beloved, you are a true blessing to this world. You are of such great significance and value. Never forget how much God loves you. He has you here on this earth for a purpose, and has made you a gifted, talented and skillful individual that has the ability to move mountains. Make use of your life and offer all you have to Jesus. Do great! Be great! Because you are great!"

~Bobby Williams III