Perspective- it's a noun

Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full kind of person?  Does your cup runneth over with blessings or do you see the excess as stress?  Our Pastor in Savannah, GA once asked our congregation to read the book, One Word that will change your life by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, and Jon Gordon.

I'm not sure if you are familiar with this particular book so I'll give you a brief overview.  Each year, resolutions are made, goals created and rarely given a second thought, or kept.  But One Word sticks.  The idea being you spend time reading through this book all the while, God is prompting you with One Word that becomes your word for the year.  Then that word becomes part of you.  You own it, live it, and allow it to impact your life.  So me being the rule follower that I am, I read the book when our Pastor assigned us

homework. 

I spent time in the book.  I prayed with the book.  I took time to jot down thoughts and concepts that I felt God was speaking to my heart.  I prepared my "action plan" preparing for my word.  I committed to relying on God, to not allowing the "it's all about me" thoughts to enter my mind, and letting go of my ego.  And then all the sudden, words started flowing onto the page.  Words like,

                                                  Humble

                                                  Reliance

Commitment

Servant

And then I prayed.  I asked God to reveal my word to me so that I could keep that as my focus.  And after some time, my word appeared.  Clear as day.  And I smiled because I knew in my heart, this word was from God.

Perspective

 

noun- the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship

Perspective

And immediately I realized this was my word because I knew if you have the right perspective, everything falls into place.  If you have the right perspective, you won't sweat the small stuff because you know that God already has the big stuff handled.  Perspective.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday it can be so easy to lose your perspective.  When you world gets caught up in the craziness of the day, you need to slow down and turn your thoughts to God. 

 

One of my favorite scripture verses is Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God.  I don't know about you but far too often I forget to just slow down and  be still. But, it is in those quiet moments that we have the opportunity to truly spend time with God.  We have the privilege to give our worries over to him, and to hear him speak to us through His Word.  When we take the time to be still and listen, we are blessed with the presence of our Creator.  When we allow the busyness of the day to rule our lives, we deprive ourselves of the pure joy that we could be receiving.

 

Barbara Johnson once wrote, " Attitude is the mind's paintbrush; it can color any situation".   I have to ask, what color are you painting?   

 

Instead of being overwhelmed by every detail of our day, we need to take it to the Lord and ask Him to give us His perspective. If we take the time to see our lives through the Lord's eyes, what a difference that would make.  Colossians 3:1 tells us, Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power.

I have to remind myself to carve out quiet time each day so that I can keep God's perspective and not mine.  When I take time with God, I am given the gift of contentment and joy.  My perspective becomes that of peace, happiness, and I can see how truly blessed I am. 

So today, as I spend time writing out what God wants me to learn for today's struggles, I am given these verses...

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,

declares the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8

Perspective- noun meaning the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc.,

in having a meaningful interrelationship.

What is your perspective today?  Are you feeling overwhelmed by the demands of the day?  Are you allowing your perspective to be skewed by the evil one who loves nothing more than to tempt us and create chaos within our lives?  OR, are you spending time with God allowing His eternal perspective to control your thoughts? 

As for me- I will continue to walk in faith with God.  I will continue to trust my God will the details of my day knowing that He is good, loving, faithful and a God of promises.  I will walk in the light of the Lord knowing that my perspective will control the outcome of my emotions.  I will look upon all the circumstances of my day with gladness, joy, and peace because that is the perspective God wants me to have.

Heavenly Father, please give me wisdom and perspective.  Keep me mindful that Your will and truth is forever and that when life gets busy, I just need to stop and look up to You.  Guide me according to Your plans for my life so that I may have the time to be still with You.  Amen

Fear is NOT an option

Seven years ago our world was shaken.  Fear gripped our family and Satan held the power.  Or so we thought.  We lost everything.  Our home, Chris' job, Matthew's opportunity to continue in private school....and the list goes on.   Fear took over and I truly thought we'd done something to upset and offend God.  And then Chris secured a job.  After over four months of searching, he was hired...in Indiana.  And so we went.  When you begin to see a glimmer of hope, you act on it. 

I know I've shared this story so many times to so many people.  I think God has me focusing on it now to remind me, Fear is Not an Option when you are His.  After we moved to Indiana, I started BSF.  I had never been in a Bible Study before and to study with over 500 women was just jaw dropping.  I thought I knew my Bible, but I had so much more to learn.  My first year we studied Isaiah.  Whew.  You want to see God's wrath and then spend time in God's glory then study Isaiah.  I think because this was my first official leap into truly studying God's Word, Isaiah is near and dear to me.  It's my "go to" whenever I need a reminder, a pick me up, or to refocus my thinking.  So today, as I'm writing out what God wants me to see, I'm taken to Isaiah 12:2.

Surely God is my salvation;
    I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2

I love how God always gives us what we need to hear.  Seven years later, I'm feeling a rising of fear, anxiety and just a constant overwhelming in my heart.  But God never leaves us.  But God never punishes us.  But God is constant.  When we feel we have lost it all, and that the battle has been lost and Satan has won is just when God proves us wrong.  Jesus tells us in this world we will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.  Why can't we live in that?  Why do we allow ourselves to get tangled up in the web of lies Satan puts in front of us? 

Charles Stanley has a quote in one of my devotionals, "Adversity is always unexpected and unwelcomed.  It is an intruder and a thief, and yet in the hands of God, adversity becomes the means through which His supernatural power is demonstrated".

God wants nothing more than our obedience and love.  And when we fail, He doesn't leave us, He picks us up and carries us until we have the strength.  When we are discouraged and finding life difficult is when we should trust God even more.  God gives us hope.  Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrews 10:23.

When life is spiraling our of your control, then grip onto the hope God gives His children.  How blessed we are to have complete and utter access to God at all times, in all places, and in all ways. 

This year in BSF we are studying Romans.  When we first started the study in September, I just fell into my normal BSF schedule not really giving Romans much thought.  But God (there's those words again) is showing me that as my circumstances continue, He is constant.  As I feel out of control, God has complete control.  It still amazes me that every time I face a challenge, God has a response for me in my study.  You would think that after watching what God can do after everything was lost that I would never question God's love for me.  But I am human, and I try to fix things in my way and my time.  But if my every human calculation fails, then it's time to release it all to God.  Hope.  Hope is trusting God with every detail, every event of my life and knowing that He is loving, He is faithful, and He is capable. 

And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:2-4

God gives each of us trials.  It's not a punishment.  It's not an opportunity for God to show you how much you've disappointed him.  NEVER!  Our God uses our trials, sufferings, and circumstances to remind us He has it.  To remind us to stand in the promises He has given us.  To allow us to trust Him in all things.  To draw us in closer so that we stand in that trail and persevere through it.  It isn't easy.  Nope, never is.  At the time we, always allow the circumstances to take control of our emotions.  But think for a second how peaceful it would be if we just raised our arms and gave it to God. 

I'll be the first to admit, more often than not, I have to be thunked on the head before I truly raise my hands in praise for God's trials in my life.  I need to draw closer to God in my sufferings rather than allowing Satan to control my thoughts and fears.  If I fear God, then I have nothing else to fear in life.  And I have to live in the truth that I learned in an Ann Voskamp book,  "God is always good and I am always loved".  That my friends is the true step of faith.  Trusting God with it all.  Trusting Him through every trial and all my circumstances because He is in control.  He will never push us too far, give us too much, or leave us.  He is true, and faithful, and a God of promises.  I do not need to live in survival mode but rather I need to walk in the sunshine with God holding firm to the peace only He can provide.  I was reminded this week, Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  Oh glorious day!  What love God has for all His children. 

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.  Psalm 31:24

So my take away is this...I will NOT let fear be an option.  I will NOT allow my circumstances to dictate my emotions.  I will NOT walk alone through my sufferings.  I will NOT be overwhelmed for I know that God has control.  God is faithful. He's got His hand on the thermostat. The fire will not

get too hot. He's watching the depth gauge; this trial will not get too deep. God puts up the boundaries to my trials.  God protects His own. He will not allow me to be tried beyond what I am able to take....and I will raise my hands in praise and live in the hope and peace that only God can provide.

Father, make me a woman of hope.  When I feel discouraged, let me turn to You.  When I am weary, let it be Your strength that carries me.  When I am disappointed, remind me to seek Your will and trust in You.  In every part of my life, let me trust You so that I may be filled with faith, hope, and praise.  In Your name, Amen.

I started blogging seven years ago when we moved from Virginia to Indiana so that my family had a life line as to what the Evoy's were up to.  Since then, my blogging has evolved into more than just an update into our life but rather a glimpse into our walk in faith or more specifically, my walk in faith.  As our lives have changed, so has our walk.  Blogging to me is like journaling.  I love being able to look back and see God's hand in my life, in my family, and as part of our journey.

 Living in God's will isn't easy.  Trust me, I've questioned it, argued with God over it, stomped my foot and said NO, and yet, God waits and His Will ultimately wins.  Isn't it amazing how  God allows us to have those emotions of frustration and concern, even allowing us to think we have the option to say No.  Ha!  God is in control.  God is patient and loving beyond anything we could imagine.  He lets us have our little tantrums but in the end, He knows His children.  He knows our hearts.  He knows we will inevitably submit to Him who knows what is best for us.

God has a plan for your life.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

How on earth could we ever question a God who has plans to prosper us?  If you truly desire to live in God's Will for your life, you will spend time in His Word looking and being watchful for His signs.  It's interesting to me how often times, God will lead us through a wilderness experience before He shows us His plan and walks us up the mountain for that mountain top experience.  And I am here to say, I've walked many walks through that wilderness, but never alone.  God may send us through the wilderness but He never sends us on our own.  He is always with us, aware of what is coming next on the path. Each of us has our own plan for our life that God alone prepared. Each of us has our own.  No plan is identical.  Marinate on that for a minute.  God's plan for your life is yours and yours alone.  How remarkable is our God?!?!

We have made many moves across the country.  From Virginia to Indiana, then Indiana to Georgia and Georgia to Minnesota, to finally landing in Tennessee.  With each move, the more light shone onto what God was doing in my life.  Where I thought there was nothing I could bring to our new homes, I was wrong.  I brought my joy and my love for Christ and I let that light shine.  I had no idea my light was needed, but God did and God used it regardless of where he placed us.  God used it in the churches we attended.  God used it in my leadership with BSF.  God used it as we served Him.  Sometimes the simplest things to us are the big things for God to use.

People may make plans in their minds, but the Lord decides what they will do.- Proverbs 16:9

If we are to be dutiful disciples, we are to follow Him, trusting Him completely.  Until God's perfect plan is made known, we must walk in faith, never losing hope.  His ways are not our ways and His timing is not our timing. 

So as the tides of change are ebbing and flowing in our household, I'm forced to rely on God and His perfect plan for my life.  I know that He has already gone before us and paved a path.  I need to resist the temptation to do things "my way" and rather submit to my Father and allow Him to lead.  "With God, it's never "Plan B' or "second best".  It's always "Plan A." And, if we let Him, He'll make something beautiful of our lives.". Gloria Gaither.  I need to keep my eyes turned upon Jesus, not giving into the doubt, frustrations, fears or anxiety that Satan churns up within me.  Satan is a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorist. 

God has a wonderful and abundant plan for our lives.  The time to start trusting God and looking for that plan is now.  Don't waste another moment just living life your way- start living His way, today!  Start praying that God would reveal His plan to you.  Start praising God for the plan He has created just for you.  Stop fretting on your next step, but rather start trusting that your  next mountain top experience is right around the corner.  Get out of your boat and step out on the water, just like Peter, trusting God to keep you afloat.

 As I step out of the boat with Jesus and look out over what the next several months hold for me, I have to just breathe, smile, and trust.  I have to trust that God has all the details of our new home we are building in control.  I have to trust that as Matthew turns 18 and graduates from High School, God has His hand over that child.  I have to believe and remain faithful that God has great plans for Matthew as he steps out into his plan and purpose in life.  For He knows the plans He has for my family.  Plans to prosper us, to give us hope and a future.  Oh how sweet to be loved by a loving Father in heaven who has all the details within His capable hands!

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,  You have a plan for me that I could never fully understand but You completely understand.  I praise You, Lord, for the way you work all things for the good of Your children.  Today I will trust You with the details knowing that You have my life in Your perfect plan with Your perfect timing.  Thank you Lord.  Amen