On the Giving End of Hope

I don’t like to ask for help. I like handling things on my own, especially if asking for help would be putting me in a place of vulnerability. Yes, I still tend to be prideful in this way and worry too much about what people will think.

Recently, however, I’ve been reminded of the beauty of reaching out and asking for help.

I’ve been on the giving end of help. And hope.

We often think that having a need and having to ask for help shows weakness. In reality, however, asking for help is a sign of incredible strength. It shows humility, authenticity, and trust in God to meet our need. Beautiful.

When we are without hope, we turn our eyes to the only true Hope-giver: Jesus Christ. And we also look to the people in our life who are instruments of God’s hope. If it weren’t for people with us in the hard times, loving and caring for us, and showing us the hope we have in Jesus, where would we be?

I’m so thankful for the people God has put in my path to help me when I’m fallen.

Here’s to those special people in my life. Thank you for being there for me in my hardest times.

And here’s to those special people who have reached out to me for help and hope. Thank you for reminding me that true strength is in reaching out for help!

May God continue to bless us with special friends who laugh & cry with us, speak Truth over our lives, pray for us, and let us borrow their faith when ours is so little.

“More Than You’ll Ever Know” by Watermark

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

CHORUS:
'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken the Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be...

You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn't your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold, oh yeah...
A hundredfold, oh yeah...

The Kingdom of Heaven ... and Hundreds of Birds

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches."
Matthew 13:31-32

Yesterday morning, I was taking the dogs out and not only saw a beautiful sunrise but also heard the sound of hundreds of birds chirping, perched in the trees beside my neighbor's house.

And I mean literally hundreds.

I tried to capture them with this picture, though my camera phone isn't the best for taking pics. If you look hard you may see black dots in the top of the big tree past the neighbor's house.

It was such a beautiful image to me of what Jesus meant when He spoke about the growth of His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God started as a tiny mustard seed, but it is growing and will continue to grow until the end comes and the Kingdom has reached its fullest capacity. Then, millions of birds will fill its branches.

God never ceases to amaze me.

Distracted or Discouraged?

Have you ever found yourself distracted or discouraged but can't quite put your finger on why?

I've been there recently. Ministry has been going really well, and I've seen God's power in awesome ways as He's used me to share truth and hope with others.

At the same time, I also recently found myself distracted and discouraged. I went to a small group (that I lead) and found it challenging to focus, to listen as people shared their reflections, and to respond in a way that seemed relevant. In a haze. Distracted.

Dis*tract*ed : mentally confused, troubled

But what was I distracted by? I can't even tell you.

Not only that, by the end of the small group meeting I also found myself discouraged. Not feeling joyful. Wanting to leave and go far far away.

Dis*cour*aged : deprived of courage or confidence

What's up with that?!

My conclusion: I was under a spiritual attack. I believe the devil was trying to take me off the track that God had me on and was trying to take away my courage and confidence to continue speaking up and stepping out for Christ.

The Bible talks about spiritual attack: "We are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world..." (Ephesians 6:12) and "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith..." (1 Peter 5:8-9)

I'm aware of how the devil likes to work in my life, and distraction and discouragement are some of the primary ways he's used in the past.

Thankfully, I shared my feelings with a friend, who immediately prayed for me and reminded me of truth. Distraction and discouragement are not from God. Instead, they're the devil's plan to keep us from God's path and from being powerful and effective for the Kingdom of God.

God is so incredibly good, and the devil is just a liar.

With that, I'm praying the Lord's Prayer (personalized for this situation), asking for God's intervention. If you're in a place where the devil is trying to distract or discourage you, you may want to pray this prayer too, personalizing it for your situation. And together, let's remember this: "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2). It's his truth that drowns out all the distractions, discouragement and lies of the enemy.

My Father in Heaven, may I always honor and adore you with my life. I praise you because you are such a good, loving and gracious father.

May your Kingdom come and your will be done in and through my life here on earth, just as your will is done in Heaven. Use me as an instrument in your Kingdom breakthrough in people's lives.

Give me today everything I need, including recognition of the truth and the ability to walk in it, focus on your priorities for today, and the ability to live confidently and courageously for you. Thank you for my friend who spoke truth and encouragement to me when I needed it.

Thank you for forgiving me for my sins. Help me know the extent of your forgiveness and mercy, and help me to extend that same forgiveness and mercy to others.

Guide me away from temptation and its distraction, enticement, deceitfulness, and condemnation.

And protect, shield and deliver me from all evil.

Father, please do all these things because the Kingdom, all the power, and all the glory belong to you forever.
Amen.

Spiritual Battles

Lately I have been so aware of the spiritual battle that we face as Christians. I feel like I've been under attack from the unseen forces of evil in the world. I have to say that I didn't always understand or believe these forces of evil existed. But as I've grown closer to God (which is only only by His grace) I have seen just how much the devil and his helpers do not want me to get closer to God because that means they are losing their power in my life and the ground I had previously surrendered to them.

So, what does this mean? It means the devil will do everything he can to pull me away from God. We all have weaknesses or areas of vulnerability. The devil loves to jump in and attack us there. For me, my greatest areas of vulnerability have to do with what I believe about myself, others and God. So, to get to me, the devil in the past has lied to me, deceived me, and accused me about myself, others and God.

For instance, I was meeting with a friend the other day, and as we talked, in everything my friend said I heard something else. It caused me to feel really hurt and not trust this person. (The devil was accusing me and lying to me about who I am and trying to deceive me about who my friend is... Essentially I heard, "Kristen, why are you even trying? Why don't you just quit now? You don't have anything good to offer. And by the way, your 'friend' does not really care about you or love you. You can't trust them.")

HOW DO WE COMBAT THE LIES OF THE ENEMY? With the TRUTH. Where do you find the truth? In the Bible. The Bible tells us what God says is true about ourselves, about other people, and about Himself. God also reveals and reconfirms His truth through other means - including Christian friends and songs.

In the midst of my meeting with my friend, God knew my heart was hurting. I was wounded on a deep level. But God is so amazingly good. Because He was right there at the point of my pain, listening to the lies the devil was spewing at me and speaking the truth to me. "Kristen, I am with you dear one. I love you. Let me hold your heart. What you're hearing is not a true reflection of reality. LOVE your friend despite what you feel they are telling you. Stop running from where I've called you. Quit trying to run from pain; quit trying to always 'play it safe.' Step out in faith. You are beautiful, I love you and I've called you to do these things for me. I'm right by your side and I will help you and will complete everything in your life that I have planned."

I first heard these truths in the Bible. Then God stepped in and assured me that these were indeed true (He just gave me an unexplainable assurance and peace inside that what the Bible says is true and I can trust it and I can trust HIM). He also reconfirmed these truths to me by repeating them to me through a few songs on the radio.

Ephesians 6 says,
^"10 ... Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

What's God's plan for dealing with these spiritual forces of evil and darkness?

"¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

One more story (and joy) to share from this week ...
Recently I was faced with a temptation, one that is very familiar to me. Temptation is another one of the devil's many schemes to draw us away from God.

This temptation is something that in the past I have always caved into. Well this time, I was able to resist this temptation!!!

I can't take any credit for it. I totally give God all the praise for this because it is Him in me giving me the desire AND POWER do do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13).

The Bible says to "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7b)

Luke 9 says: ^"23 Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ²⁵ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?'"

If we want to see God's power in our lives, we must be willing to surrender to Him and let Him direct our steps every single day. It's a daily "dying to self." One of my favorite songs about this is "Crucified with Christ" by Philips, Craig & Dean. My favorite line is "His cross will never ask for more than I can give, for it's not my strength but His." If God asks me for a complete sacrifice of myself, He will make it possible ... not by my strength, of course, but by His.

I have read the Scripture multiple times that God won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. When temptation comes, He will provide a way out for us (1 Corinthians 10:13). Yet for such a long time, I longed for the day when I would see this promise fulfilled in my own life. I wanted to believe it was true for me, and yet every time I faced a particular temptation, I felt powerless to resist it. I felt like I didn't have a way out. You could say I felt enslaved to it. This is a place where I believe the devil had deceived me in the past. He wanted me to truly believe that there was not a way out, that God does provide a way out for some people but not for me. The devil wanted me to feel discouraged and defeated. He wanted me to not believe and to even forget who God says I am - His dearly loved child, who has been given victory over my weaknesses and temptations through His power (1 John 3:1, Ephesians 3:18-21). Though there may be more times in the future that I cave into temptation, today is a new day. God is doing something new. I pray that God would complete this good work that He has begun.

The devil is such a liar and deceiver!! I'm praying that you would see God's power in your life in whatever you're going through. And I'm praying that we would all be able to distinguish God's truth from the devil's lies, and believe the truth and walk in the truth!

"... You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

Love & blessings,

Kristen

Today I posted a devotion on the Radical Revolution site (teen ministry site for Proverbs 31 Ministries). It's about experiencing dry, "desert" times in your spirituality.

To read it, visit http://radrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/01/dry-times.html

Have a beautiful & warm weekend!

~Kristen

Caribou, Coffee, and Conversations

Yesterday, I got the blessing of beginning my day with coffee with my friend Teri (we work together at Proverbs 31). I'm totally loving Caribou, coffee, and conversations with Teri!! We have some great spiritual conversations and she's such a great listener and encourager!!



"...Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." (Proverbs 11:25, NLT)

Thanks for refreshing me with your friendship, Teri! :-)

More Power!!!!!!!

One thing I want to experience in my life this year is more of God's power. I want to see more of Him, I want to feel His presence more strongly, I want to experience His empowerment to do big things for Him.

As I've been thinking and praying about this for a few months now, I've been trying to understand how to experience more of His power and identify the things that keep me from experiencing it. I attended a conference recently at which the speaker said if we want to see more power in our lives, a good formula is what is used for current: I=V/R (Current, or power, = Voltage / Resistance). Voltage is the Holy Spirit's power and Resistance is our level of surrender, submission, or yieldedness to His power. So, the more yielded we are to God, the more of His power we will experience in our lives.

I concluded about myself that the things that most keep me from seeing God's power in my life and ministry are busyness, exhaustion, and disobedience (or not being yielded to God). Even my busyness and exhaustion are a result of not being yielded to God, because I'm trying to essentially "be God" by doing everything and trying to be in control of it all, rather than trusting Him to show me what I need to do and doing only that.

So here's a song which is my prayer that God would empty me of all of myself so I can be filled with Him. Please pray this along with me. Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." He also said, "My power is made perfect in your weakness."

“Empty Me” by Chris Sligh

I've had just enough of the spotlight when it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood.
And I've tasted my share of the sweet life and the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough.

I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change.

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with You.

I've seen just enough of the quick buys of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away.
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change.

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with You.

‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to You, compared to You.
‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to You. So, I surrender all!

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with You.
Oh, filled with you.
Empty me.