The past year God has been repositioning and stretching me in NEW ways.
I know God is preparing me for higher grounds.
How about you? feeling stretched? overwhelmed?
or perhaps confused?
Sometimes in order for God to prepare us more for a certain ministry...He allows for our boat to get tossed around by a huge uncontrollable wave.
How has your 2012 been thus far? Off to a rocky start? Not any better then last year?
Try to picture this story and see what God may want you to apply to your life today.
All kinds of waves come into our lives. A blog friend of mine put it this way "Waves can flow from a tide of blessings or come out of a storm" Happy or hard, they can overwhelm us if we end up treading water in our own strength.
TODAY I ZOOMED IN ON THE PASSAGE BELOW:
Matthew 8:23-27 presents a story of Jesus and the disciples getting into a boat and then suddenly a GREAT wave or eruption covers the boat. The disciples panic with great fear crying out "Lord, save us we are perishing!"
Jesus then asks, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Jesus then brought about a GREAT CALM and stilled the wind and the waves.
Strong waves are produced by God to rock our boats so that we discover His presence in our lives!
God loves when we call out His name...when our boats are rocking, LEARN to call out His name before you get sea sick trying to find all the answers and solutions to every problem.
I was very good at being strong , resourceful and cunning. But my boat never settled and that wave kept me covered in shame, fear, anxiety and a very low self confidence.
The whole time Jesus was sleeping in my boat/ circumstance and DREAMING about my future. Waiting for me to CALL OUT HIS NAME "Lord, SAVE ME!"
Matthew 8: 24 tells us that the boat was covered with the wave but Jesus was asleep. He was peaceful and undisturbed.
God is always Dreaming for us and ready to calm our storms when we lean on His strength and presence. When we call out His name things change!
When Jesus DREAMS He understands the Wave in our life.
The wave is tossing around the DREAMS of God.
D irection
R ealization
E xamination
A lignment
M otivation
All dreams are outside our comfort zone and will rock our boats.
It's much more dangerous to dream than most people dare to believe.
Saying you believe in yourself will not guarantee your success, but saying you don't believe in God will
guarantee your failure.
I love that perspective!
If you started the new year with plans and resolutions and made NO room for God, don't be surprised if your boat is being tossed.
If the plans did not involve the desire to ask God for His help, He may be using the storm to get your attention.
I truly believe that a wave that covers our boat opens our eyes to receive the perspective from above.
If you already have that perspective maybe God is asking you to search and seek deeper this year in that relationship. That means a little more time with God then your scheduled Sundays.
If a wave has come over your boat then Thank God for Dreaming during your storm.
He has a plan for you friend
New direction, something new for you to Realize, a deeper Godly explanation, new alignments for us and fresh motivation to help us through the storms.
You need to fellowship with Him during the storm and trust Him in the storm.
Remember with every great wave comes a higher ground. Allow God to move you to higher places this year!
Do not let the wave of discomfort, disappointment and displacement keep you from reaching the top. God will take you to a place of rest, comfort and beauty. But remember only if you CALL on his name. That was key in today's reading.
I am calling on His name today for certain areas in my life. How about you friend?
Don't wait till the Wave comes over your boat to call on His name because sometimes the waves we experience are not waves of blessings but waves of punishment.
Remember Jonah and the Whale in the bible? Yes, that is a true story of a man that walked away from God and jumped out of the boat he was in!
Remember, God will use a wave of punishment to purify us and bring us back to God. A great picture is of the story of Jonah in the bible.
Yesterday I received so much feedback and emails on the Blog called CAN GOD HEAL MY MARRIAGE?
Many marriages are going through storms with huge waves. The boats are tossing! I am praying for you friends. I encourage you to NOT jump out of that boat but to stay put and call on Jesus. He will calm the storm in His time.
I encourage you to journal today, start with a PRAISE, PRAYER and a PLAN. If this spoke to you apply what God wants to tell you today. If you sit still after reading God will give you the words to write! Try this application today and experience God friends!
Blessings,
If your new to the blog leave a comment and let me know your around! I would like to build a community this year and will be adding and changing to this blog as we go!
