by Stacey | Dec 5, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
What happens when God fails to live up to my expectations or when He says no? It’s a heavy thought. Why doesn’t God fix things?
This train of thought chugs downs a track full of questions. If faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, does a stationary mountain depict a lack of faith? Does God require faith that He can or that He will?
For many, this is where the locomotive goes off the rails. The freight cars hauling faith, trust, and hope pile under the uncomfortable question: What will I do if God says no?
Enter: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are three regular guys from the days of old. They are not super heroes, just normal guys desiring to live a life of great faith that honors their great God.
Just like me and you. Normal people desiring to live a life of faith.
When they refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue they were condemned to execution by fiery furnace.
Have you been there my friend? Knowing that God can redeemed your situation, but also knowing that He might not?
These guys respond to the charge against them without hesitation. “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.”
These guys speak straight to my heart. Can God save them? Yes. But would He? They had no idea. God can – you bet He can – but He might not. They leave us with a better question to ponder. What will I do if God doesn’t answer the way I want Him to?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego declared before entering the furnace that even if God didn’t save their physical lives they would obey Him. God’s possible inaction in no way implied He was unable. They understood what many of us potentially miss, just because God doesn’t answer the way we expect, doesn’t mean He is not acting.
“If you have a God great enough and powerful enough to be mad at because he doesn’t stop your suffering, you also have a God who’s great enough and powerful enough to have reasons that you can’t understand. You can’t have it both ways (Timothy Keller, King’s Cross).”
*first posted Sept 5th, 2011
by Stacey | Nov 7, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
I love how the black night gives way to a burning force edging over the horizon. How light floods the surface of the earth.
You can’t miss it. You can’t deny it. It just is.
Everyday
It gently eases over the edge. Melting. Warming. Inviting. The cold night surrenders to the blaze and newness occurs.
New day.
New growth.
New heart.
A daily surrendering to blazing love. A yielding to light. Exposing the darkest corners. A throwing back the shutters and tilting my face upwards into the heated love of the Son.
A melting of hardness. A warming of cold. A breath of new life into this tired body. A birth of new prayer.
Prayer dependant upon the Light.
O God, my perfect and good Father, may you continue to develop Godly character in me, a humble heart, and a tender spirit. May life’s difficulties produce growth. A deeper dependence on You. A giving over of my will and desire to Yours.
May the lost dream make way for a new dream. A dream that is more than I could ask for or imagine. I plan my steps, but yield the path to You, O Lord. You determine my way.
My big prayers:
An affordable house that meets our family needs in Brantford, Ontario. For hearts ready to receive what God provides.
For God to give wisdom to the people making decisions for Harvest Brantford. For all ministry roles to be filled with the person God has specifically chosen and equipped for that role, and that our personal preferences and ideas will not get in God’s way.
For a favourable response from the publisher regarding my novel—soon! For a future in teaching and encouraging others to use their talent and passion for writing to glorify God.
Would you pray with me? For me? These are my big prayers. I want God’s way over my way, and far too often I get in the way! May I surrender my dreams and desires to Him. This does not come naturally. But it is what I want. Please pray with me.
by Stacey | Oct 31, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
The wet and heavy air banged at our back door. But the storm brewing outside was nothing compared to the storm brewing inside the little heart entrusted to me.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
I want so much more for my kids then time outs and consequences, but correction and discipline is part of my job. I am called to help them through the hard work of growing up.
I do it because I love them.
Love corrects. Love forgives. Love does what is right, not what is easy.
Sound familiar?
God corrects me because He loves me. He disciplines me because He loves me. I believe He wants so much more for me, but I settle for less because settling is easier than doing the hard work of growing up.
But, it doesn’t have to be this way.
I can do what I pray my children will do. I can grow up in my faith and accept God’s discipline and instruction as right, as a gift from a loving Father to his daughter. I can invite God’s Holy Spirit to change my heart and accomplish His will in me.
Hebrews 12:5-6
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Oh Lord, please teach this stubborn heart of mine to yield to Your good and perfect will.
by Stacey | Oct 24, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
I’m a mess.
Really.
I’m overflowing in sin. Scattered. Self-absorbed. Over-eager. Prideful, just to name a few things.
God has done such a tremendous work in my life, in my marriage, and in my family over these past few months that I had begun to feel like I was finally getting it. God had taught me so much about not boxing Him in, that I didn’t notice that brick by brick I had done exactly that. Again.
So God blew the walls out.
Again.
It made a mess. Really. Made me a mess.. At one point I sat in my seat at Harvest University with quiet tears rolling down my face as God freshly revealed the true state of my heart. My pride-filled, unrepentant, self-absorbed heart. My I-want-my-way toddler style tantrums. I saw my tendency to justify selfish choices, to withdrawal, to escape tension in how I parent, how I relate to family, how I handle stress.
Such.
A.
Mess.
But a beautiful mess.
Only God can take a mess like me and build something beautiful. Only God redeems regret, defeat and history. Only God. And He has given me glimpses of who He wants me to be, of who He is shaping me to become. I know I can’t do it on my own. That’s the beautiful part. It’s by His strength and His power that it is accomplished in a humble, willing and desperate heart. Day by day. Hour by hour. Minute by minute.
I am so thankful for His grace. His amazing grace. That takes the old away. The new has come. I am a new creation.
I am a Child of the One True King! I hope Matthew West’s video encourages you as much as it encourages me. What a great reminder of who we are, and WHOSE we are!
by Stacey | Oct 10, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Dance in wonder and awe of your King
Dance in worship and with abandonment
Dance freely, offering all of you
Don’t see the mess, the mundane, or the mountain
See the creativity, the productivity, and the miracle
Dive deep
Submerged in the Word
Be real, flaws and all
Share your story
Show your scars
Tell of the Savior who rescued you
Live in the messiness of life
which brings you to your knees –
where you’re meant to be
Live dangerously transparent
Close to God
Trudging through
Anchored in His Word
Be real
Be honest
Be ever-seeking
Be on your knees
Always
Always
Always
on your knees
Dance
*First printed August, 2011
