"A confident heart is found in a woman who knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is loved NO MATTER WHAT. A confident woman trust this truth: Even when she falls, she doesn't stay down. Instead, she reaches for God's hand and rises again." (Proverbs 24:16)~ Renee Swope
How many of us struggle with finding confidence? I know I have often and still struggle with my confidence as a woman, daughter, sister, mother and friend. My confidence sometimes seems to come and go based on how I feel at the moment or what I have done or what has been done to me. I struggle with it so much so, that at times I have felt like I am not worthy, useful or wanted; let along needed. But I have learned that I'm not alone in my struggle. I have also come to realize that I and many of you may can relate to looking for lasting confidence in other people, positions and possessions. BUT, our confidence should be found in God alone! God gives us blessed assurance. He gives us lasting confidence.
We can sometimes get caught up into self criticism, being our own worst enemy. We find ourselves comparing what we have to other women because of what we think she may have going on. God does not want us to have the spirit of jealousy or covetousness. He wants us to be content with who we are in Him. Each of us were uniquely created. God had a plan for each of us before we were even born. In Ephesians 2:10 NLT it states: "For we are God's MASTERPIECE. He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us LONG AGO". The "long ago" in this verse really stands out to me because it gives an assurance to me that my God's got this! Even though I fall short, and I will because I'm human, God already knows before I mess up. In fact He knows every "mess up" before I do it. But it's up to me to reach for His hand and try again. Never give up! For He has assured me that He will complete the work that He started in me. And that makes my heart smile. That gives me inner peace. It encourages me to press my way on in this life. So this is why I stand before you today my sisters in Christ and walk with confidence because I know WHO I am and WHOSE I am. For you and I are daughters of the Most High, why wouldn't be confident? :)
Blessings,
~Liz~
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
What are you desiring?
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" ~Psalm 37:4
Do you have a desire(s)? To desire means to long or hope for; to express a wish for per Merriam-Webster.
My next question is, what do you find yourself delighting in? For Merriam-Webster defines delight as a high degree of gratification; extreme satisfaction; something that gives great pleasure... hmm...
Well, I know I have some desires that I have been longing for. So much in fact, that at times I begin to wonder if God has forgotten me; I question why haven't you answered me yet??!! Last night in Bible Study, we were discussing that God is ETERNAL; meaning He always was, is and will be. Our feelings change, but God's stays the same. His love for us stays the same.
But what I have noticed about desires is, a true desire will be constant. It won't change according to how we may feel at the moment. So I say that to say this, we have to be careful of what we desire! Whoa... really, as my brother would say, lol. But yes, REALLY! If we are not careful we will focus on things that we make into small, idol gods. For the Lord our God is a jealous God; He tells us we are to "have no other gods before Him". (see Deuteronomy 5:7, 9) We have to have the desire within ourselves to want Him first. Not if we get what we want. We also have to be careful that we are not just saying we desire Him, just to see if He will give us what we want...for Matthew 4:7 says "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test". This can be scary. In fact it scares me as I write this, as it runs through my mind. So my prayer is, Lord help me to desire you fully. Help my soul to crave you. Help me to long for you. Help me to wake up in the morning eager to spend time with you in your word like when I first started studying and had that excitement in my heart. Help me to delight in you and your promises for me. Lord help me to seek you with all my heart, not just to receive a reward, but just because of who You are! Yes I want you to fulfill the desires of my heart, but I want to be complete in YOU so that when I do receive the reward I will know how to appreciate it and how to handle it. In Jesus name, Amen.
Ladies I hope this helped someone. It surely helps me to write it more than you know. It really does my soul good. Please fill free to comment if you'd like, if not just know I appreciate you stopping by. :)
Blessings,
~Liz~
Do you have a desire(s)? To desire means to long or hope for; to express a wish for per Merriam-Webster.
My next question is, what do you find yourself delighting in? For Merriam-Webster defines delight as a high degree of gratification; extreme satisfaction; something that gives great pleasure... hmm...
Well, I know I have some desires that I have been longing for. So much in fact, that at times I begin to wonder if God has forgotten me; I question why haven't you answered me yet??!! Last night in Bible Study, we were discussing that God is ETERNAL; meaning He always was, is and will be. Our feelings change, but God's stays the same. His love for us stays the same.
But what I have noticed about desires is, a true desire will be constant. It won't change according to how we may feel at the moment. So I say that to say this, we have to be careful of what we desire! Whoa... really, as my brother would say, lol. But yes, REALLY! If we are not careful we will focus on things that we make into small, idol gods. For the Lord our God is a jealous God; He tells us we are to "have no other gods before Him". (see Deuteronomy 5:7, 9) We have to have the desire within ourselves to want Him first. Not if we get what we want. We also have to be careful that we are not just saying we desire Him, just to see if He will give us what we want...for Matthew 4:7 says "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test". This can be scary. In fact it scares me as I write this, as it runs through my mind. So my prayer is, Lord help me to desire you fully. Help my soul to crave you. Help me to long for you. Help me to wake up in the morning eager to spend time with you in your word like when I first started studying and had that excitement in my heart. Help me to delight in you and your promises for me. Lord help me to seek you with all my heart, not just to receive a reward, but just because of who You are! Yes I want you to fulfill the desires of my heart, but I want to be complete in YOU so that when I do receive the reward I will know how to appreciate it and how to handle it. In Jesus name, Amen.
Ladies I hope this helped someone. It surely helps me to write it more than you know. It really does my soul good. Please fill free to comment if you'd like, if not just know I appreciate you stopping by. :)
Blessings,
~Liz~
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