What's Blocking Your View?

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Isaiah 6:1 (NLT)

The sixth chapter of Isaiah is a wonderful peak at the glory of God, and I am sure you've heard it preached time and time again. Let's take a moment to focus on just the first verse, and explore it a little bit. What I love about the Word of God is that He will give you a new revelation for the same passage of scripture every time you read it. The Word is truly alive and active.

Why did Isaiah see the Lord in the year King Uzziah died? King Uzziah must have been in the way! He must have been larger than life at the time, and had too much emphasis placed on himself and/or his kingship. Any time we place all of our attention on anything or anyone else, we lose sight of God. He is still there, but we allow smaller, less important things to block our view of His majesty and glory.

We get sidetracked with the cares of this world (i.e. jobs, houses, cars, education), when our primary focus should be on Christ, the solid rock. Matthew admonishes us to be kingdom minded, and everything else will fall into place (6:33). Those high places in our lives need to be brought down, so that we can see God's glory. God has not and will not change. He is still holy! His very nature demands our reverence, and our undivided attention. What in your life is keeping you from focusing on the everlasting God? What is blocking your view of God's throne, high and lifted up? It's time to evaluate and purge those things hindering your relationship with your heavenly father. Uzziah must die in order for you to see God!

Give Him Glory!

Revelation 4:11(KJV) "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

Sometimes we should praise God just because!  We praise Him for this and for that, but how often do we just give Him glory merely because He is worthy?  I am challenging you, as well as myself to do just that this week.  He does what He does because He is who He is ("I am that I am," as God so eloquently put it to Moses).  We say we are seeking His face, and I believe we honestly try, but sometimes we just fall short of that goal.  We seek His stuff or His blessings, rather than just giving Him glory and honor.

Sure, we all have needs that we must bring before the Lord because He asked us to cast our cares on Him.  I am suggesting that we come to Him for blessings and miracles more than we come to Him to bless His name.  There should be a balance between our prayers of supplication, intercession, praise, and thanksgiving.  We need to be more mindful of how much we are requesting versus how much we are giving.  How dare we come before God to ask Him for anything before we have honored Him with the fruit of our lips!  Why do we ask for something ELSE on the heels of some miracle He has worked in our lives without first thanking Him for what He's already done?

Take a moment to consider your current prayers.  If you are doing more praising than asking, praise God all the more!  If like me, your prayers are unbalanced, make a conscious effort not to ask God for anything for at least the first half of your prayer time.  Come to Him with words of praise and adoration.  Call out His attributes to Him.  "God, you're worthy; Lord, you're awesome; There's none like You; Father, I love you; Jesus, I thank you!"  Take this challenge with me, and I'd love to hear your testimonies of how it worked out!
 

Sometimes Overwhelmed by Life?

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.(Psalm 61:1-4 KJV)

These words never fail to comfort me when faced with adversity. It seems sometimes I would faint, but God strengthens me to stand. I encourage you today to relax under God's wings. He loves you, and wants only the best for you. Occasionally God has to forceably remove harmful things from our lives, and it may hurt at the time. Fire purifies, not only destroys. Trust that God has your future in mind, and He knows best.

You will look back on what you thought was the worst time in your life, and you will discover how much you've grown from that time, how venomous relationships ended, and how more beneficial things landed in your path since then. Choose to seek God with all your heart, and He will strengthen that heart. Please understand that brokeness is what God uses to bring wholeness.

When your heart is overwhelmed, cry out to God to lead you to the rock (Jesus). Spend time in prayer, praise, and worship. God wants to take you somewhere, but you have to surrender your desires, your plans, and yourself. Yield to God's direction for your life, and get out of your flesh. Stop looking at your reality, and look at God's ability. It seems I say that a lot these days, but there really is nothing too hard for God. We get overwhelmed, but He doesn't. We get surprised by life's happenings, but He doesn't. We get discouraged, but He doesn't. Take comfort in the words penned in Psalm 61. God has His hands on you!

Anointed for a Future Season

1 Chronicles 10:13-14(NASB) So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

In I Samuel Chapter 16, we learn of the anointing of David to be the next king.  Saul had the job for the time being, but I must make note that in verse 13 we see "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward." (NASB)  It's also important to note that in verse 14 we see "the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul." (NASB)

David knew he had been anointed by the prophet Samuel, but he didn't force his turn.  He waited patiently, did his job(s), and maintained his heart for God.  God's plan is always perfect, and He knows the perfect time to bring about a change.  It wasn't that David couldn't have been king at the time of his anointing; it's that God had a plan to handle Saul's departure before David's appointment.  Just because the Spirit of the Lord has come mightily upon you, and the anointing is fresh and strong with you, doesn't mean that your season has arrived.

Allow God to create the circumstances of your season.  Don't force your turn; prepare while you're waiting.  Seek God's counsel, read His Word, be after His heart, and TRUST HIS PLAN.  You can't set it up better than He can anyway.  He sees the end before you ever see the beginning.  He knows what steps you need to take to walk into your season with every blessing He has promised you.  Enjoy where you are on your journey, and understand that God knows the plans He has for you.

You Are the Majority!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31 NASB)

It is often said that the majority rules. Well, I just stopped by to tell you today that it doesn't matter if the so-called "majority" is against you. There are people who just do not want you to succeed. There are people who will make up lies about you to get the "majority" on their side and off yours. There are still other people who will just go along with the crowd (hive mind). These people may outnumber your supporters, but they are NOT the majority.

If you are walking in God's will for your life, doing all you know is right, He is on your side. God cannot be outnumbered! Earlier in Romans chapter 8 (verse 28 specifically), it talks about everything working together for your good. All the naysayers, all the hatred, all the lies, all the attacks, all the negativity are working together to make you better. The trials are what prepare us for the next level of glory. The tribulation strengthens our resolve to live for the Lord.

Trust that God knows what's best for you. He is preparing you, developing you for what He has in His perfect plan for you. Have faith that the wicked only appear to win for a short time. God will not forsake or abandon you; He promised that. Keep walking with Him, and He is for you. And if God is for you, YOU ARE THE MAJORITY! YOU RULE!

Don't Waste Your Time

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. (Psalm 37:10 NASB)

The 37th Psalm starts off by telling us not to worry about evil people. We spend so much time worrying about what devices and schemes wicked people are plotting against us, that we miss out on enjoying the abundant life God has given us. You have absolutely no control over the actions of another person. It's time that you turned that enemy over to God.

We all have that one person that we let get under our skin. Everything s/he does is a personal assault to us. Sometimes it's just our imagination, and sometimes we are really being attacked. Guess what? It doesn't matter. We have to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. If we can focus on our Savior, our enemies will matter less and less, until one day, we will look around and wonder where they went.

Jesus Christ must be the center of our universe in order for our priorities to align themselves accordingly. Everything we do, everything we say, everything we are should have Kingdom motives. Wickedness can't live in the Kingdom; therefore wickedness can't remain around you if you are focused on the Kingdom of God. It will disappear if you don't feed it. Hang in there for yet a little while.

It's Only A Test

"The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3 NASB)

No matter what you are facing right now, know that you can have perfect peace if you put your trust in the Lord. We often fret about our tests and trials, and obstacles that the enemy drops onto our paths. If we believe that God is omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful), then we must also believe that He knew we would be facing that difficult situation and has already made a way through it. We just need to trust in Him.

There is calm during the storm, if we can only believe all things are working for our good. We may not like it, we may be uncomfortable in it, but peace is a state of mind. As Job stated in chapter 13, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him...". Can we trust God in the fire? Can we trust God during the storm? Can we trust God in foreclosure, illness, unemployment, persecution, repossession, etc.?

Keep your mind stayed on Jesus through the good times, so you are prepared to do so in the bad times. It really is the only way to find peace. VaShawn Mitchell wrote a song several years back called "It's Only A Test", and that is what that menacing situation is for you: only a test. Keep the faith, don't give up; it's only a test!