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If you design a plan with the goal of obtaining physical health for yourself, and follow the letter of your self-made law, you build a security based on false righteousness and self worship.

If you rightly decide that God's love is to be the focus of your life, but then with the intent of creating your own opportunities make a list of your idea of ways that you can serve Him, you once again fall to the deception that you can become righteous through a plan of your own making.

You are to be God's love in the midst of the circumstances in which HE has placed you. Your opportunity to serve the Lord does not wait for some future time in which you plan to be more fit, have more energy, or to have obtained opportunities to serve Him according to your own ideas of what constitutes great deeds for the Lord . Be His voice, His hands, and His heart today, in the circumstances that you are in.

Don't underestimate your Lord. He is more powerful any life decision you have made that you now view as having been "good" or "bad." His is the hand that has guided you to the exact place you find yourself today. Begin now, this instant. Fall back into His arms, and then press forward in His Name.

Scripture: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8).

Crime and Punishment vs. Beauty from Ashes

In the face of hardship, you may feel that you are being punished. This is a common error of reasoning and it occurs because the Lord uses all things for the good of those He loves. The error occurs as you see blessings begin to flow from grief or pain; flawed human logic deduces that the sorrow was inflicted in order to bring the blessing. Because He is able to use even painful events to work His will and to remind you in whom your faith rests, you assume that you are being reprimanded for some wrong. This is not so. He knows your heart. He knows you. The Lord’s ability to bring beauty from ashes does not reflect upon your weakness, but upon His strength.

Scripture: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpse" (Romans 8:28).

"and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting for the display of the Lord's splendor" (Isaiah 61:3).

The Lord is With You

When your emotions are in turmoil it is difficult to act upon what you know to be true rather than railing out at others from grief or fear. You may rest because the Lord is your help. You may release fear because you know that He is with you and He will help you.

Do not be afraid, Little One. The Lord has not departed from you. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart...(Psalm 73:26)". This means that although your flesh may become weak, that by the power of the Holy Spirit in you that your flesh will be strengthened. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit..." (Zechariah 4:6).

Beloved, He is sorry for your pain, but think of how you feel when a child expresses great anguish over a wound that is not very deep. The Lord knows that your heart hurts, and He is with you--do you hear? God is with you! The Lord makes all the difference. Human beings can't destroy you when He is present in you. This wound does not go deep not because it is not grievous, but because He is. Don't look at the hurt, look at Him.

Do not be afraid to lay down, the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid of lack of sleep or even of no sleep; He will provide for you. Do not be afraid for your loved ones, everything is in God's control. Trust Him. It comes down to this, trust Him.

Scripture: "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes" (Psalm 118:8-9).

The Work of Our Hands

The Lord will not allow you to become an accessory to another’s life and ministry at the expense of your own, but you must not give way to fear or strike out in anger.

It is not entirely possible for another human being to comprehend your perspective and to understand your burdens (or you, theirs), but the Lord is able to work in your relationships through His love. It is possible to love while simultaneously refusing to sacrifice your anointed work and your anointed rest.

Other people are not able to rob you of blessings that God has ordained. No one can deliver out of God's hand (Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 43:13). Do not be afraid. The Lord's purposes for your life will be fulfilled (Psalm 138:8).

Scripture: "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).

Blessed Brokenness

The heartbreaking compassion that you feel on behalf of your fellow human beings is not an indication that something is wrong with you. You are who you are because of who the Lord is through you. You have seen with His eyes and have spoken with His words; you have reached out to others with His compassion.

The Lord desires you to rejoice in this blessed gift of sharing His heart. Do not view this as a mandate to serve but rather as an opportunity to bless. This is opportunity, not threat; blessing, not burden. When your heart melts, when your compassion flows, when you reach out with Holy hands, you gladden His heart.

The power that has fueled the acts of compassion you have committed in His name has been His love being expressed through your hands, your heart, your eyes. When you meet Him face to face you will find that the dross has been swept away by the Holy Blood and that those acts of love will stand.

The question is not how you can keep your heart from breaking, but rather, how you may be broken in a way that glorifies Him.

The Lord spoke this word to me after I watched Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath at Youtube

Scripture: "...this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV).

Time Versus Eternity

Ultimately, none of the enemy’s plans succeed, but in the short term we do not yet perceive everything as being under the Lord's control. When a marionette is being pulled into a standing position, there is a moment when a still photograph would show it being neither up nor down. One might conclude that it is falling. Inhabiting time is like looking at a photograph rather than watching a movie. Because you inhabit a specific point on the temporary line of time, you risk drawing inaccurate conclusions when you look at the way things are.

God will help you but first know this. He is with you where you are. He is able to bring about His will despite you, if necessary. All of His promises are good. He has not abandoned you. Do not be afraid.

Scripture: "In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias" (Joel 3:18).

"Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her." Isaiah 48:7.

Just This...

Self imposed discipline kills. Christ centered obedience liberates.

The above was a direct word from the Lord that I've questioned a bit in the weeks since I recorded it here. The word "kills" seemed a little strong. Self-imposed discipline, if I could only attain it, doesn't seem so bad. But this morning (11-4-08) I've found this Scripture:

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" 2 Corinthians 3:6