Lie Two: You Are Not Enough

Women, we are plagued by this lie from very early on in life.

I once taught a sixth grade female student. Let’s call her Anna. She was a sweet-natured young girl of 11 years. She was tall for her age and had the build of a string bean.

Her other teachers and I noticed that she wasn’t eating much of her lunch – for several days in a row. We urged her to eat but saw little change. Then Anna nearly fainted during class, and we promptly contacted her mother.

What had happened? A gaggle of sixth grade girls at school had been comparing how much they weighed. Anna weighed the most, due to her height. She thought that eating less would help her to rise to the top of the totem pole. Anna was twisted into believing the lie that the lightest girls were the most popular, the prettiest, and the most liked.

The message she heard: You are not enough the way that you are right now.

Do you have a similar story?

I was a theatre major in college. During much of my time there, I fell into the trap of comparing myself and my talents with those of others:

"If I could ONLY sing that song the way SHE does, I would have gotten that role…."

"If I were more outgoing and could perform THAT scene in class like HER, the professor would certainly see that I’m destined for professional acting…"

"If I were two sizes thinner, I would be pretty enough to be noticed at auditions like SHE is…."

Ladies, we are only setting ourselves up for disaster when comparing ourselves to others becomes a regular activity.

The message I believed: You are not enough to be of any real merit.

You hear it all the time. Commercials telling us what we need to buy in order to have perfect skin. Celebrities and models telling us we have to be a size zero to really succeed in the world. Even our colleges and universities can trick us into thinking that the accumulation of degrees and worldly knowledge is what will fulfill us in life, and that you aren’t worth anything without great academic success. I have also heard plenty of grown women criticizing their peers who chose not to work outside the home after they had children, as if they were not worth anything to the world unless they were contributing to the corporate work-force.

When did this all begin? Where did this come from?

From the book of Genesis (3:1-7). With the first woman who ever lived (Yes, these roots are THAT deep!):

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths."

Poor Eve. First woman ever created, and she was told that SHE wasn’t enough.

The Devil is so crafty in the way he TWISTS the truth: "You will not surely die! For God knows that when you eat it you will become like him! Surely God is holding out on you! Don’t REALLY believe what he says! You CAN have it all, right now! Wisdom, pleasure, it’s all yours! Just take things into your own hands!"

I was listening to a radio program recently. The ladies from Revive our Hearts ministries were talking about this very thing – how the Devil delivers FALSE messages. This is what they said:

Erin:　Then he says, "You can be like God." I think maybe one of the reasons he went to Eve as a woman [is] because　that's another way of saying, "What you are isn’t quite enough." And don't we as women all sometimes have that sense?　So there’s this moment in Eve’s mind, like, "Maybe I’m not enough. Maybe I need to do or be or say more to be more like God."

Nancy:　It was the first sense of inadequacy.

Erin:　Insecurity

Karen:　Or how about this: He comes to Eve, and she's perked up because maybe now she has something her husband doesn't have. So she has one up on her man.

Carolyn:　Someone paying a whole lot of attention to her. And can’t that be dangerous?

Mary:　Well, it’s very attractive, certainly. Scripture tells us that she was pulled in by it. She didn’t go, "Oh, I’m going to sin." She was just tricked by it. She was led along into the sales pitch, into buying something that she thought looked really great. And she swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

(*taken from https://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/falling-lies/#transcript*)

So, we know that the LIES are about our seeming inadequacy, but what about the TRUTHS?

Ephesians 2: 8-9

"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

TRUTH: We do not have to EARN our way to Heaven by DOING deeds, GAINING more worldly possessions or outwardly LOOKING any certain way. We just need to believe and trust in Jesus!

Psalm 28:7

 "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song I will praise him."

TRUTH: The Lord alone gives us strength and protection. Relationships with men on this Earth can be a true blessing to us and a gift from above, but the Lord is our one, true, first love and joy.

2 Corinthians 5:2

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become

 the righteousness of God."

BIG TRUTH: We are enough because GOD is enough for us. God brought Jesus to die on the cross so that we may no longer be inadequate. Our sins have been paid in full. We are made WHOLE through Jesus!

I want to end with this fabulous quotation:

"Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! His child, forever, I am".

– Fanny Crosby

And by being His CHILD, dear sisters, you are enough.

Dear Lord,

Help me to remember that I am enough. You have given me unique talents and abilities that make me uniquely me. I pray that I can use these things to bring glory to your name. I am sorry for the times I have fallen into self-pity by believing that I am not adequate. Thank you for reminding me that I am your child, and that you are my loving Father in Heaven. You have made me enough. Thank you for sending your Son to redeem us.

Amen

In what areas of your life have you struggled to believe that you are indeed enough? What truths will you focus on today?
　
　

Lie One: You Are Alone

Last summer, I sat on my bed and cried unto exhaustion.

 

Never had I felt so alone. So low. So completely and utterly tired from feeling so wayward. Yes, I was walking with the Lord, seeking His face, going to church, and spending time with community--but never had my sense of loneliness been so apparent.

This was about eleven months into my time in New York City. So many aspects of my life had changed abruptly. A long relationship ended. Auditions resulted in continual rejection. The four jobs I worked left my energy spent. My left knee was injured. And I was thirteen hours away from the people I loved the most--my family.

Above all, I felt that I was not being used for God's glory. That all my gifts were being wasted. And that I had no understanding of His path for me.

All seemed darkness at that moment.

I cried and cried until the tears went dry, feeling utterly defeated and alone. I wept a simple question to the Lord: "God, what do you want from me?"

To no response.

Have you ever been there? That dark, lonely place of isolation and defeat where God seems so far away from you? Where the enemy has influenced your soul with eerie whispers of "You are alone"?

I would not be surprised if you have been in that place of darkness. It is a very real battle we fight in this imperfect life. The one where we believe the lie--even if just for a moment--that God simply does not care enough to intercede on our behalf. And we succomb to the untruth, even blindly. We do not realize that it is being used to destroy our hope. Our one hope in Christ.

Ladies, this lie is so heavy on my heart today because I, myself, have been blinded by its attack. If we do not expose it, it will threaten to seep its way into our minds, changing the way we view God's character. And God wants us to see through its deceit because it simply is not true.

Let's break down the lie YOU ARE ALONE. There are actually a few components to this lie, as well as several truths on which we must dwell to gain victory over it:

The LIE: "Where is the good in my situation?"

When the enemy tricks us into thinking that God has abandoned us, our circumstances seem unbeatable. Now, there are some of you enduring extremely rough times, and this is not to discount their difficulties. But when we believe that we are left alone, even the smallest, most daily of blessings are overcome by attitudes of defeat.

The TRUTH: GOD IS GOOD.

He never leaves our side. His character is trustworthy, and his faithfulness stretches to the skies. Because He is good, we can trust that he uses even pain and loneliness for our sanctification. We must expose the lie by trusting that God is indeed good in all He is and does.

The LIE: "I have to figure this out for myself."

We are blinded into believing that the outcome is up to us. Satan plays on our fleshly inclination to be self-sufficient: "If God won't, then I will!" Just like Eve chose to take matters into her own hands in Genesis, so we rely on our own ability to alleviate the present darkness. I spent weeks toiling over the logistics of my circumstances and weighing my options...and it only confused me more.

The TRUTH: GOD IS SOVEREIGN.

You need not figure it out alone because He has it already solved! Psalm 26:3 says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you." Praise God for who He is, and stay your mind on Him--instead of thinking you have to solve the problem alone.

The LIE: "There is no hope in this place."

The lowest place of doubt is when we feel there is no hope left. Once the enemy has gotten us to this place, if allow ourselves to stay there, he will devour us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour".
 

The TRUTH: GOD IS HOPE.

Because death itself was defeated on the cross, we have the power of Jesus to defeat our adversary! We are told to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23). It is finished! Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.

My sisters, let us dwell on the truth that GOD IS WITH US. He is "I AM", our ever-present Father whose very nature is to BE! You cannot be anywhere that God is not. In fact, Jesus promised to be near us always in Matthew 28:

"And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Let us expose this lie each and every time it tempts us to blindness. Let us hold fast to the hope that we are never alone!

Heavenly Father, You are good. You are sovereign. You are hope. We ask that You would reveal any lies that we have been blinded into believing lately, especially the lie about You abandoning us. We confess that we have doubted Your presence in difficult times. But we hold fast to our one hope in Jesus, and we proclaim victory over our circumstances! Show us the truth.

Amen.

When have you believed the lie that God has abandoned you?

Blinded by the Lies [Series]

Ladies, we have permitted the lies to go too far. Much too far.

A series on our blindness to lies has been on my mind for a few weeks. The more I talk to other women, the more pressing the issue becomes. Some of the words I have heard lately:

"The hurtful words she said really affected me...and now I'm starting to believe they are true."

"That particular sin was just too strong for me to overcome."

"I feel like God has completely abandoned me. I am so alone."

And on and on and on the lies go. Penetrating our souls, sinking our spirits, and altogether twisting our identities into an ugly image we can no longer recognize, let alone face with dignity. How does this happen? It breaks my heart to see such lovely, purposed women--created in God's own image--believing such lies.

And yet, one of those women is myself. 

During the next few weeks, we will be writing on being Blinded by the Lies. Let's face it; we all struggle with believing things about our self-worth, our beauty, our accomplishments and our very lives that simply drag us down...and that can only be the enemy's defeating work. To grant us a Biblical framework about the lies we believe, as well as how we are to overcome them, let's take a look at John 10:

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”...

Before Jesus utters these words, we see in John 9 that He heals a blind man by granting him sight. The Pharisees, religious leaders of the law, attempt to condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. They continuously badger the healed man with questions about how Jesus healed his blindness, only to get the same response: “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” (9:27).

The Pharisees refused to see the truth. They allowed themselves, in their own selfish ambition and law-based righteousness, to be blinded by the truth set right before their very eyes. In response, Jesus says, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains" (9:41). 

How could they be so blinded to the truth when a healed man stood before them?

And yet, we are like the Pharisees much of the time. As I began praying over the lies I believe, I honestly could not pinpoint any specifics for some time. It took me a good deal of introspection and prayer to begin seeing the lies for the falsities they are! The lies are so interwoven into the fabric of our days that we can hardly even recognize them as impostors. 

But recognize them we will. How? Read John 10:4-5. We will follow Jesus so closely--His words, His actions, His life, His truths--that we will learn His distinct voice and be able to recognize the counterfeit voice...the voice of the enemy doling out lies, misdirection and falsehood. 

I have heard it said that the way to recognize a counterfeit bill is to start by carefully learning the intricacies of an authentic bill. Once a person has spent enough time, energy and focus examining the real thing, they are much more likely to expose the counterfeit. 

Let's expose the counterfeit, ladies. Let's look so closely at Jesus and Scripture that we can begin to tell when a foreign, false voice speaks lies into our days. Let's put off the blinders and let's being to truly see. 

Who's with me?

Stay tuned this month for several posts about specific lies to which we become blinded:

What lies do you believe? How can keeping your eyes on Jesus and learning Him heal you of your blindness?

What It Means To Be Blessed

I received an unexpected gift the other day.

http://follower-of-christ.tumblr.com/post/40402437776

And it came in the form of a hug from a complete stranger--as well as the words he spoke to me.

I was working at church and, as I made my way to the stairwell, I encountered a man attending our community care program. Before I could even utter a greeting, the man reached out, put one arm around me, and asked brightly, "How's your day going?" 

I responded, "Not too bad--it's been a great day...and how are you, sir?"

His response filled me with awe and, honestly, shocked me with its boldness: "You know, I'm going through some really hard times right now, but I could not be happier because I have Jesus Christ. Times have never been harder, but Jesus has freed me!"

With that, he strode confidently out of the church, leaving me utterly speechless. 

What did this guy have that I did not? The joy of his salvation was overflowing, outpouring onto me, as well as onto many others I am sure. And I guarantee you that he did not own half the material comforts that I do--yet, his soul was content in Jesus alone. He was truly blessed!

The fact is, we both know Jesus. But this man, despite his dire circumstances, was focused solely on the blessings of Christ, and not at all on the things of the world. And it seemed that Christ was altogether magnified and glorified in him because of it. 

This man was blessed. I am blessed. You are blessed. All because we are in Jesus Christ. But what is the deep essence of blessing? In what exactly do we find our blessings?

Psalm 84 describes a person who is truly blessed:

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion...

...10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

According to Psalm 84, a person who is truly blessed:

DWELLS in the Lord and praises Him.

Finds STRENGTH in the Lord and focuses solely on Him.

TRUSTS in the Lord and chooses Him.

The attributes of the blessed person in Psalm 84 remind me of the man I encountered the other day. And I cannot help but wonder, do I see and understand what it means to be truly blessed? Do you?

Do we soak up our Lord, dwell in His presence and praise Him simply for who He is?

Do we focus singularly on the Lord, knowing that every battle and hardship is worth it because it leads us to Himself?

Do we trust the Lord and choose the treasures of heaven over those of earth?

If this is true blessing, then I want to be blessed! What about you?

Gracious Lord, Blessed is the one who dwells in You, who finds strength in You, who trusts You. We want to be truly blessed! Teach us to linger in Your presence, to find true contentment in You, and to store up treasures in eternity. We long for Your courts, and we delight that You have given us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. When we focus on Your face, all else fades away in light of Your radiance. We bless Your name!

Amen.

What blessings can you focus on today? What aspects of God's character make you truly blessed?

Healing For Our Sickness

I caught the bug.

http://bitsotruth.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-10-27T10:11:00-05:00&max-results=200
 

I went to bed several days ago with the cranial sensation of being hit by a train. I hoped it would depart before waking the next day. No luck. I proceeded to stumble to the kitchen, hoping that breakfast and some needed caffeine would boost my health. But no go.

"Take a sick day", my roommate suggested. "That's what they're for, you know."

A bit of background: Before this year, I worked as a freelance performer, auditioning in the city while working four different jobs to make ends meet. There was no such thing as a "sick day". If I fell ill, I either took the pay dock, or sucked it up and worked anyway. I never knew such a thing until recently.

And now, though this gift of a sick day was being offered to me, I was ready to refuse it and push onward in my own strength. I convinced myself that there was no need to stay home, that I could "get through". I actually felt guilty considering a sick day at all.

Seriously, though, what a silly conclusion! After mulling it over some more, I finally decided that I would accept the offer of a day to heal, instead of trying to push through on my own strength. And I immediately felt a rush of relief and deep gratitude that such a burden would be lifted from my shoulders.

Jesus freely grants us something of a similar nature--but in light of the gospel, we needn't even accrue "work hours" to earn it! God extends the gift of His grace to everyone because, quite frankly, all of us are spiritually "sick" without it. Our hearts are selfishly bent, prone to desire the things of the world. And no matter how hard we work, we cannot achieve goodness by ourselves. We mess up every day, making mistakes, poor decisions, and hurting other people and ourselves.

But God sees and knows our selfish hearts--and He loves us the same. His grace is the answer to our sickness of heart.

Ephesians 2 reads:

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 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.

 

Just as a day off was given to me for healing purposes, so God's grace is given to the spiritually sick to restore our very souls to Himself. Paul tells us that grace is not something we work to attain; we cannot take any credit for it. We do not have to put in hours "on the job" to be gifted the grace of God.

 

God, in all His perfect love for you, desires to give you the best gift--Himself. Grace grants you a restored relationship to God, eternal life with Him, and adoption into His family...simply because you believed in faith that only God can make your heart good, clean and whole. If you take a few moments to consider what God has given to you in grace, it is truly mindblowing! Almost unfathomable for human understanding because we are foolishly determined to save ourselves, by our own strength.

 

Humans love checks and balances, an economical mindset, and interaction based upon equal exchanges and fairness. Our flesh even operates on selfish ulterior motives at times. "If you do this for me, then I'll do that for you." But God sees you as His masterpiece, His beloved creation. His ways are not our ways--instead of giving us what we deserve, He offers us grace instead.

 

What will you choose? 

Just as I could have chosen to opt out of a sick day despite my sickness, so you can choose to refuse God and live independently of Him, despite your need for healing. God will never force His healing upon you because He wants you to choose Him freely. God has no ulterior motive. He loves you purely. He wants the best for you. In fact, He loves you enough that He would even give you the option not to choose Him.

What will you do with your sickness? Let us turn to the Healer, and realize the enormity of His grace. He longs to shower us with it!

Gracious Father, Your perfection and love are unfathomable to human understanding. But we long to know the riches of your grace, to understand how deep is Your love for us. Soften our hearts to admit that we cannot do right by ourselves. Humble us to accept Your free gift, knowing that only You can truly heal us and restore us to Yourself. We don't want to live like we have to earn Your love. May we live in freedom because of Your love. Thank You for creating us as Your masterpieces!

Amen.

What is God challenging you with today? When have you tried to heal yourself?

Spending Problem?

Imagine this scenario with me:

http://pinterest.com/pin/119908408799274965/

 

You’re just sitting down to dinner on an ordinary week night.

Your doorbell rings.

When you answer, there is a man standing outside with balloons and a gigantic check.

"CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are our contest winner!!!!!" this man exclaims.

"What?!" you shout.

"You have won $86,400 from our company. But not just this once. You will receive $86,400 every day for the rest of your life!"

You cannot contain your excitement. What LUCK!

"HOWEVER, there is one catch," the man explains. "You will receive this money each day at dawn. Yet when midnight strikes, if any of the money has not been spent, it will be entirely withdrawn for that day."

"So, I have to spend the entire $86,400 every day or it will be taken away?"

"That is correct," the man replied. "Good luck and congratulations!!"

What would you do? How would you spend your money each day? I can think of hundreds of things I could buy and donate to…..

Guess what else is significant about the number 86,400?

That’s how many seconds are in every day.

We have exactly 86,400 seconds every day with which to DO something. We have 1,440 minutes every day to SPEND wisely.

How are you going to spend today’s precious moments before they are gone in the blink of an eye?

Perhaps you can speak to someone about the love of Christ and the joyful, wonderful promises he gives us.

This past week in church we continued to study from the book of Colossians. We read Colossians chapter 2, verses 2-6.

I’d like to focus on verses 4 and 5:

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

 

Hmm…this passage led me to ask myself questions:

How do I act towards non-believers?

Do my actions reflect Christlikeness?

Am I always ready to give an answer for the questions people ask me about my faith?

To be honest, when I have been asked about my faith, I have become quite frightened.
I have gotten scared of what that person might think, and I think too much about the judgements possibly being made about my decision to follow Christ.

In short, I do not think that I share the JOY of Christ when asked about Him. I take myself too seriously and forget the wonderful peace and happiness I feel because I am a child of God, with hope for an eternal future. And that should make me joyful.

JOY.

That is what I desire to show to others in my 86,400 seconds every day. I desire to answer the questions of others with grace, truth, and JOY. For joy is contagious.

I am a big fan of comedy. I love to laugh. Take a look at this video by Christian comedian Tim Hawkins. It’s truly one of my favorites.
<sup>This guy is really good at reminding us Christians not to take ourselves too seriously. And I’d like to be a little bit more like him.

Now, I’m not saying that we need to all become comedians in order to share Christ’s message - far from it - but perhaps we can admit that we often appear to take a staunch, pious, unwelcoming approach in sharing what we believe.

And perhaps that seriousness is a barrier that Satan uses to keep us from sharing His word with JOY.

Colossians 2:5 tells is to "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity."

Yes! Let us remember that every day we are forced out into a world full of sinners just like ourselves. Let us remember that those "outsiders"are folks who just haven’t received their Free Gift yet. Let us remember that we are no greater than our neighbor. We are an undeserving, simple people, sent to be messengers of His joy.

Be wise.

Spread truth.

Share HIS JOY.

Lord,

I truly desire to spend my precious moments wisely while I am here on this earth. You have put me here to bring glory to you, and my prayer is that I can bring others to you, that they too may share in your gift of everlasting life. Forgive me for my selfishness and lack of trust. Help me to share your story with wisdom, grace, humility, and a joy that only you can provide.

Humble your servant, Lord.

Amen.</sup>

[Authored by Julie Gernand]

What You Truly Need

State the difference between a "need" and a "want".

http://pinterest.com/pin/80853755781507300/

Sometime in the course of our lives we have wondered about the difference. Here are their respective definitions, according to Dictionary.com:

WANT: Something desired, demanded or required: A person of childish, capricious wants.

NEED: A requirement, necessary duty or obligation: There is no need for you to go there.

I think most of us would agree that there is, indeed, a clear difference in the two terms. Surely, I do not need that extra pair of shoes--but I do need my health. Truly, I do not need that vacation--but I do need financial stability...right?

Right???

The other week, I enjoyed my lunch hour by meeting with the women's ministry director at my church. I admire her greatly, and we quickly dove into deep discussion about our families, faith walks and recent struggles. I began to relay to her a struggle of mine that extends back a few years. It originated from the summers that I performed at theme parks, singing twenty-some shows a week. Long story short, those summers took a toll on my vocal chords, showing me that what I thought would always be in my future may not be a given accomplishment after all.

And singing has been a struggle ever since. A battle of the mind and, I believe, a battle the enemy sincerely desires me to lose by lack of faith and fear. 

As I was telling my dear sister of my struggle to trust God in my recent singing, she listened and responded with deep empathy. And then she said something I will never forget: "You know, Kristen, sometimes what we think we "need" is not actually what God knows we need. He wants to give you everything--but perhaps He has other things--better things--in mind right now."

I was stunned. What did she mean? Of course I know what I need! I need my voice to be healthy and strong, flowing with ease once more so I can praise God at church. That is what I need! 

Isn't it?

Isn't it?!

My dear sister very clearly stated the obvious truth that our human minds struggle to fathom: That God, in all His Sovereignty and knowledge and power is the only One who truly knows what is best for us all. 

What we think we "need" may actually be a "want". Only God knows what we really do need. And those eternal needs are more important to see unto completion than any others we may desire.

Read what Jesus says in Matthew 7 about praying to the Father:

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

For so long, I have struggled with this question: "God, if I am asking, seeking and knocking Your door down with my requests, why haven't you healed me?"

Does this sound familiar? Perhaps you have a broken relationship that you pray God mends. Perhaps it is a sickness of another sort. Or maybe it's a past wound that seems unbearable. We pray and we pray for what we "need"--yet no healing comes. 

Unless--

Perhaps the healing is brought to us in another form--a blessing of God, the fruit of the Spirit, more eternally important in His grand scheme to make us like Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23):

 

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!



God grows in us patience, even as we await a full-time job offer. He grows in us kindness, even as we toil with a difficult person. He grows in us joy, even as our health deteriorates. He grows in us peace, even as our financial state declines.

God longs to give us good gifts, my sisters! No good thing will He withhold from us, whom He loves. Therefore, let us trust deeply that His good gifts are truly what we need for our sanctification. They may be the very blessing through which God accomplishes His best eternal work in us. 

So when you think you know what you need, ask God what He knows you need. And praise Him for not withholding anything good from you!

Heavenly Father, I pray this for myself right now, and for every woman who struggles with some seemingly unending suffering. Fill us afresh with Your Spirit. Reveal to us Your deep desire to bless us and turn our struggles into good. What we endure seems so hard in this life, and we thank You that You understand all we suffer through. We never go alone. God, I pray healing over our struggles but only in Your will. If you have more to bless us with, as we endure the race and fight the good fight, then we choose those blessings eternal. God, teach us to trust You as we take leaps of faith, pray in boldness and venture forth in light of eternity. 

Amen.

What particular "need" of yours can you surrender to God today? What other heavenly needs do you see God supplying?