Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
January 2014, I began to pray about what one word or phrase God had for me in the year of 2014. As I prayed, the word that God spoke to me was JOY. Joy, God? What does that mean? I thought about my life as it pertained to joy and I felt like I was lacking joy, zeal for life. The next few months passed and I ended up sitting at a table in Jason's Deli (of all places) across from my dear friend sharing with her the frustration I was experiencing with the lack of joy I was feeling in my life and the unsuccessful job I was doing at "finding joy". I poured out my confusion as she quietly listened. After I was finished, she so lovingly said, "Bri, I don't think joy is something you have to find or strive for, the Holy Spirit has given it to you as a gift." Right there, it hit me. I discovered the lesson that God had in mind to teach me all along. Joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control...they are all fruits of the Spirit. They are not fruits of Brianna (substitute your name). They are not characteristics to be obtained or searched for, they are offered, given to me, living in me as I operate out of the Spirit that is living inside me. I was so freed by this revelation because it was then that I stopped striving for joy and I was able to accept the gift of the Spirit that is living in me, with me at all times. I think it is so common to feel like we need to search for and find the things that we lack, but some things can simply be found by accepting the gifts that God has offered us through His Spirit living inside of us. Have you been feeling a lack of joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control? Maybe it's time you stopped searching and accepted the gift of the Spirit living in you.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Pressed But Not Defeated
Have you ever been in a difficult season of life and thought back to a previous difficult season of life and now that previous difficult season seems easy compared to this more recent season of difficulty? That was a lot to think about in one sentence, but read it again and think about it. The days when children think it's hard being a kid, the days when high schoolers think that the drama they're involved in just might be the end of the world, when college studies seem like they'll never end (and I can't speak much past that, because that's where I'm at). As I've been learning, growing up comes with new responsibilities, new difficulties and it can make you long for the days when your biggest problem was figuring out what to do with all your free time. However, growing up has also made me realize how precious and valuable time really is, what a gift it is. It's SO important to enjoy the seasons as they come and to see those difficulties as things that will soon pass. They are but a vapor. I want to suggest that while we may not be in a season that is particularly easy right now, it will get better. The dawn comes with the morning. We are pressed but not defeated.
There's also something to be said of the way our trials look easier in hindsight. It's a sign of growth. Our trials make us stronger, they refine us and shape us to be better versions of ourselves than we thought possible before walking through a difficult season of life. While you may not want to repeat a certain season of life, you made it through. You came out victorious on the other side and that is what matters. If you're facing a difficult season of life right now, remember those other difficult seasons and remember that you are still here, you are still fighting and you're going to make it through this one too. Don't give up, don't lose ground. Take one step at a time and keep your head up high. You are pressed but not defeated.
There's also something to be said of the way our trials look easier in hindsight. It's a sign of growth. Our trials make us stronger, they refine us and shape us to be better versions of ourselves than we thought possible before walking through a difficult season of life. While you may not want to repeat a certain season of life, you made it through. You came out victorious on the other side and that is what matters. If you're facing a difficult season of life right now, remember those other difficult seasons and remember that you are still here, you are still fighting and you're going to make it through this one too. Don't give up, don't lose ground. Take one step at a time and keep your head up high. You are pressed but not defeated.
Friday, September 19, 2014
A True Apprentice
Matthew 10:41-42 "This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing."
Legend. Chances are, you hear that word and think of a name, you think of someone whom you may admire or aspire to be. Have you ever thought of all that someone else has accomplished and felt that your accomplishments paled in comparison? It's so easy to get caught up in all that other people are accomplishing and doing that we forget about the little things we do on a day-to-day basis that make a BIG difference over time. Today we see all the accomplishments that others are achieving through social media and even as we are surrounded by those people whom seem to be the modern day Mother Theresa, and let's be honest... it can be downright discouraging. You may feel like you will never measure up, you'll never accomplish as much, you'll never make the New York Times Best Seller list, you'll never be an inspirational speaker traveling all over the country speaking to crowds of thousands, you'll never have the best selling song on the ITunes chart (Ok, I'm probably fueling your overwhelming feelings of "I'm not enough") BUT let me encourage you with this: YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE (even if in the little things) and YOU ARE USABLE. God is in the business of lifting us up out of our brokenness into the glorious work of drawing others into His family. Just like it says in the scripture above, "The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice." Every little thing you do matters, it counts. Don't be overwhelmed, don't be discouraged- moms at home with your kids, students in school, business men and women in the workplace, grandparents in retirement...you all are making a difference. Let us run the race set before us and stop comparing what others' accomplishments look like next to ours. "The smallest act of giving or receiving makes YOU a true apprentice." YOU. ARE. USABLE.
Legend. Chances are, you hear that word and think of a name, you think of someone whom you may admire or aspire to be. Have you ever thought of all that someone else has accomplished and felt that your accomplishments paled in comparison? It's so easy to get caught up in all that other people are accomplishing and doing that we forget about the little things we do on a day-to-day basis that make a BIG difference over time. Today we see all the accomplishments that others are achieving through social media and even as we are surrounded by those people whom seem to be the modern day Mother Theresa, and let's be honest... it can be downright discouraging. You may feel like you will never measure up, you'll never accomplish as much, you'll never make the New York Times Best Seller list, you'll never be an inspirational speaker traveling all over the country speaking to crowds of thousands, you'll never have the best selling song on the ITunes chart (Ok, I'm probably fueling your overwhelming feelings of "I'm not enough") BUT let me encourage you with this: YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE (even if in the little things) and YOU ARE USABLE. God is in the business of lifting us up out of our brokenness into the glorious work of drawing others into His family. Just like it says in the scripture above, "The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice." Every little thing you do matters, it counts. Don't be overwhelmed, don't be discouraged- moms at home with your kids, students in school, business men and women in the workplace, grandparents in retirement...you all are making a difference. Let us run the race set before us and stop comparing what others' accomplishments look like next to ours. "The smallest act of giving or receiving makes YOU a true apprentice." YOU. ARE. USABLE.
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