Found: God's Will

These are the things that stuck out to me after reading the book, Found: God's Will by John MacArthur:

• "You say you do not know what God's will is, but I'll tell you what it is. Above all it is that you know Christ and then that your neighbors hear about Christ. That is His will. So often we sit around twiddling our thumbs, dreaming about God's will in some distant future when we are not even willing to stand up on our own two feet, walk down the street, and do God's will right now."
• "The question is, has He ever been able to release that power, to fill your life so that you can become what He is?"
• "When he got separated from Jesus, he was a failure." - (In reference to Peter walking on water). "Apart from Jesus, he was nothing".
• "Do you know what the Spirit-filled life is? It is living every moment as though you are standing in the presence of Jesus Christ."
• "Spirit filled life is nothing more than living in the conscious presence of the indwelling Christ."
• "We are to be under the control of the Spirit rather than under the influence of wine."
• "The curious thing is that Colossians 3 has the same list: submission, speaking in psalms and spiritual songs, wives submitting, husbands loving, children obeying, parents not provoking, servants, masters."
• "Do you see what the Spirit filled life is? It is being saturated with the things of Christ -- with His Word, His person."
• "Planned neglect: plan to neglect everything that was not related to her goal."
• "To be Spirit-filled is to live a Christ conscious life, and there is no shortcut to that. You can't go and get yourself super dedicated to live a Christ conscious life. The only way you can be saturated with the thoughts of Christ is to saturate yourself with the Book that is all about Him. And this is God's will, that you not only be saved but that you also be filled with the Spirit."
• "We ought to keep our bodies in subjection to ensure that are honoring God. That includes controlling the way we dress and the things we do with our bodies."
• "Don't act like the rest of the world -- they are guided by their passions."
• "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise for those who do right. For such is the will of God."
• "For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men."
• "Live an exemplary life in society."
• "For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong."
• "Evangelism isn't just the preacher's job, it is yours."
• "Evangelism involves living a godly life in the face of an ungodly world."
• "Satan doesn't really know what he's getting into. God is sovereign."
• "Pray to God that he will give us more boldness."
• "People have been living their whole lives in offense to God; let them be offended for a while."
• "God's will is that you be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive and suffering."
• "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" Psalms 37:4.
• "If you are living a godly life, He will give you the right desires."
• "Then trust that it is God who planted it. God out of here."
• "He had the right idea, God had a different city."
• "He likes to use people who are already moving."
• "He never told them till they had proved their faith and persistence and couldn't take another step."
• "They need to start moving so God can steer them to that area of service He has planned. Knowing God's will may mean pushing down a narrow line until you hit a dead end."
• "You see, the will of God is not primarily a place. The will of God is not, first of all, for you to go there or work here. The will of God concerns you as a person. If you are the right you, you can follow your desires and you will fulfill His."

Go Wherever God Leads

I feel like a lot has happened these past couple of weeks, just a busy season. One of the biggest transitions recently is the idea of transitioning to a new church family by the end of this summer. The other and I have been praying about it for quite a while and recently, it seems that God has been opening the doors for this to happen. There's a lot to pray about and so far, everything's going pretty smoothly.

It seems like the prominent theme that keeps occurring the past couple of weeks in my life is: "Go wherever God leads". I mean, he's led us thus far, why be anxious and worried about where we are going to go next? This has given me a lot more peace of mind since I'm the type of person who's always concerned about what my next step should look like.

Recently, I read a book: "Found: God's Will" by John MacArthur. It's a random book I decided to pick up and read because it was only 75 pages. The book encouraged and reminded me about what it means to be "spirit-filled" and that as long as we are walking full of the Spirit and being faithful to his Word, everything will fall into place. (Will blog about this in another blog)

Then, a couple of days later, I met with a friend who just came back from Russia and she was sharing all her crazy stories of the things that happened to her the past 6 months there. And over and over again, she kept talking about being full of the Spirit and how every step she took, she relied on the Spirit.

Then, a couple of days later, we had a work picnic, and there was a man who shared a very heart-felt and honest testimony of his battle with the brain tumor that God healed him of after 9 months. Now, the "Praise You in The Storm" song by Casting Crowns means that much more to me after he sung it. As he was sharing his testimony, he used his personal experience of saving a bird after he dove into a pool, it was pretty amazing. It's crazy because when we got back to work the next day and debriefed about the testimony, God couldn't have used any other man than him to display his power and glory. Since he was in his youth, he has always been radical for God, very smart and set an example in faith. It wasn't shocking that it was a brain tumor and it wasn't shocking that he was able to overcome it because of his faith in Christ.

During the picnic, I spoke with one of the higher ups because she was a missionary in Ecuador for 14 years before she started working in the college. Her life in itself is very encouraging, she says that the only reason she transitioned off the missionary field was because that's where God was leading and she will go wherever God leads her and her family to.

Another one of our coworkers was going to be a long term international worker in Palestine at the West Bank, and he said something very profound that had a lasting impact on me: "The call is there, we are just waiting for the assignment." A lot of times, we feel that God is calling us to something more, something bigger, and then in the season when nothing spectacular is happening, we feel that we're not hearing from the Lord and we question if there is more to life than this. He reminded me that there is a season of preparation and God was growing our faith to fully rely on Him. That's definitely how I'm feeling in this season of my life. We are being put in a position to learn to trust Him. In the meantime, while we are stuck at where we are at and positioned in the certain areas of life, be a good steward so that when we leave, leave it well so that we can miss the relationships that were established. For me, in this preparation season, I feel like I've definitely failed many times in the sense of my lack of trust and impatient-ness towards God. I have a long way to go. But I'm continuing to learn to trust God and trust that this is what the Lord has for us in this season of our life. Life can change and anything can happen overnight, and I must be prepared for it. Just like one of our coworkers said, he said "this is the pattern that the Lord has always used in our lives", I feel the same way. We have no control of anything and He makes us sweat things out a bit, but all we are called to do is be faithful.

Lastly, my boss prayed a prayer and said: The Lord's vision is not complicated like the things that are complicated in our lives. It's not, God just calls us to be faithful in whatever we are doing.

In the midst of all my worries and concerns, one thing that gives me peace of mind is that the other and I are surrendering it to God and just walking by faith and in the meantime, serve faithfully wherever we are until we receive our next assignment. We trust that God will lead us wherever when the time is right.

I'm Grateful For...

Sometimes, I lose site of the many blessings God has given me, so here's an activity for myself.

Think about the things you're grateful for. Make a list of 10 of them. Tell someone why you're grateful for each, and praise God for all that He has given you. 

In no specific order:

1. God. I'm grateful that God has chosen me to be part of his family. I did nothing to deserve it and I can do nothing to deserve it. I'm grateful, privileged and honored to be able to serve this God who is way higher and bigger than anything I can possibly think or imagine. 

2. Husband. I'm grateful to God for such a loving and patient husband. He is a man who strives to honor God with his life, he is servant hearted, is continually being sanctified, and goes out of his way to love me and the people around him as Christ loves him. 

3. Family. I'm grateful to God for amazing parents, in-laws, siblings and extended family. I'm grateful that they are always supportive and that we are able to rely on each other in all circumstances. 

4. Job. I'm grateful to God for my current job. I have coworkers who work hard, a boss who is wise beyond his years, and an environment where believers can edify each other even in our work place. I'm grateful that my boss allows me to work at my own pace, that he trusts me and doesn't micromanage, and that we all have a great working relationship. 

5. Community. I'm grateful to God for awesome friends who are there through thick and thin. I'm grateful for people in my life, both the ones that are easy to love and the ones that are hard to love. I'm grateful for the new friends I continue to make and the old friends that have been by my side through the different seasons of life. I'm grateful to know that there are people I can count on and those that will always test my patience. 

6. Food and Shelter. I'm grateful to God that I have a place to call home and no matter how much financial problems I'll have, I'll know that God provides always  more enough for us to be able to have food on our table on a daily basis. I'm thankful for electricity, hot water, clothes to put on my back. I'm thankful to have enough. 

7. Church. I'm grateful for my old church community and new church community. I'm thankful that I get to walk into a church where there are people who can be frustrated because not enough people are being saved and more revival. I'm thankful that God moves in all circumstances whether we see it or not. 

8. Gifts and Talents. I'm thankful that God has made me unique, he blessed me with the talents that go in line with the things I'm passionate about. He's given me just enough so that I will remain humble and dependent on God and others rather than mysfelf. I'm grateful that he's put people in my life who have their own unique skill set so that when we come together as a body, we can share and strive in our strengths while assisting each other in our weaknesses. 

9. Health. I'm thankful to God that I am very able bodied and that I am capable to do many things because I am an overall healthy person. I am thankful that I can breathe & have two legs to walk, I have site to sea, I can taste and enjoy food, I can smell the fresh summer breeze and flowers blooming. 

10. Education. Im grateful to God to be continuously learning and obtaining knowledge. I'm grateful to be given the opportunity to apply what I learn and be challenged in what I know. I'm grateful to be around like minded people who want to help others because they want to make a difference.