A Bigger Plan for Paul

July 26, 2016 by 2 Comments

arched doorwayWhen Paul, the apostle, was imprisoned in Rome I can imagine the disappointment and confusion he must have felt. Why would God let him languish in prison when the world needed to hear the good news about Jesus?

Paul’s desire was to travel around the known world, evangelizing everyone within the sound of his voice, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.  But instead, he was sent to prison, where very few were within the sound of his voice, and all he could do was . . .

. . . write letters!

His ambition, his dream, his goal, and I’m sure his prayer was to travel to different cities in the known world so He could bring people to Christ. These were good goals. They were meant to honor and glorify God. And yet God prevented him from doing so.

Why was this?

Because God had an even bigger plan for Paul.  God wanted him to write letters to the churches, whose influence and power would extend far beyond the times in which he lived. The epistles he wrote would become the foundation for the scripture of the New Testament so later generations would reap the benefit of his wisdom and anointing.  If Paul had had his way, only one generation would have benefited from his insights and revelations. His words would have been short-lived, only reaching the ears of whomever he encountered physically.

Instead, God had a bigger plan for you and me to hear his words, so they could produce eternal, lasting fruit for centuries to come.  When God denied Paul the answer to his prayer, God was thinking of us—you and me. Although Paul would never have been able to comprehend it, God’s plan was way larger than Paul’s. His plan was perfect.

God knew what He was doing. He did then, and He does now. He always does.

We nod our heads today and look back to see this clearly in the life of Paul, but can we see it in our own lives as well?  When things don’t go the way we’d like, when our prayers aren’t answered in the way that seems logical for us, how do we react?  Do we still see God at work in our lives? Do we still acknowledge that God is a big God with plans that are above our own? Or do we fuss and complain that our prayers have gone unanswered?

I have to confess that I am writing this for myself. I am most guilty of second-guessing God.  When I write something that glorifies God, but it doesn’t get published, I ask, “Why God?”  But I fail to realize that the God I want to glorify is a God beyond my limited understanding. His ways are higher than mine. His purposes are beyond anything I can presently comprehend.

And so I need to surrender.  I need to be still and let God be God. I need to rest in His arms a little longer and let Him guide me onto the perfect path where my desires are subservient to His glory. Where His love and grace stir my heart and fuel my passion into walking wherever He leads. Maybe down known paths, maybe unknown, but perfect because they lead to His throne and His glory to fulfill His purpose.

Perhaps you, like me, need to surrender your desires, your ambitions, and your dreams to God so He can fulfill the bigger plans He has for your life, plans which are far beyond our own imaginations, plans that bring blessing to us and others in ways that only a creative God can bring about, plans that have glorious and eternal results for His glory and His kingdom.

If you want to see His bigger plans unfold in your life, please pray with me as I lift these things to God:

Everything I have is yours, God. You know how my small offerings can fit into your bigger plan, and I give them to you. Let my prayers become a sweet smelling aroma to you as you transform my desires into manna for your perfect purposes and your everlasting glory. Amen.

 

“I know the plans I have for you . . .plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth,     so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9

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Filed Under: Desire, disappointment, Doubt, God's goodness, Surrendering to God, Trusting God, Trying to understand, unanswered prayers, Where is God? Tagged With: , , , ,

What To Do

November 2, 2015 by 5 Comments

Sometimes You Just Don’t Know He’s There – Key Discoveries About God’s Presence

2015 - summer 001Sitting with Lana over coffee a few days before Halloween, I listened as she poured out her heart about the chaos happening in her marriage.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said, “if God would just show me what to do, I’d do it, but I don’t hear anything from him.”

We talked about God’s silences and how God often uses these times to help you grow stronger while you persevere and wait on Him.

“But He is with you,” I said, “whether or not you hear him speaking to you, He is with you.”

“Then why don’t I feel his leading?” she asked. “Why doesn’t He show me what to do?”

Taking a sip of coffee, I savored the delicate pumpkin flavor as I thought about how to answer her. “Are you spending time in the scriptures?” I asked. “What are you reading in the Bible?”

She told me about opening her Bible recently and reading a scripture she’d never read before—a promise that God would release the captives from prison. “I started crying when I read it.”

“See, He is speaking to you.” I said. “He is with you. One of the main ways He speaks to us is through His Word.”

She sighed. “I just wish I knew what to do.”

I chuckled. “Yesterday, I had a vivid illustration of how God is with us all the time, even when we aren’t aware of His presence.” I smiled as I began telling her my story from the day before.

My Story

“I had a doctor’s appointment at noon, an important one because it was a follow-up to surgery. Wanting to make sure I was there in time, I carefully planned out my day.

“The one thing I wanted to accomplish that morning was to put some seedlings of romaine lettuce in pots. So I went out to my car, got the bag of potting soil out of the trunk, then carried it around to the back yard. I had my keys in my hand and thought to myself, I want to be careful not to put these down anywhere or I might forget where I put them.

“I collected some pots, poured in the dirt, transferred each of the sprigs into their respective pots, and watered them.

Afterwards, I showered and got ready for my doctor’s appointment. When it was time to leave, I grabbed my purse and reached down inside for my keys.

“My keys weren’t there.

“I dug around in my purse some more, beginning to feel a little panicked. The doctor’s office was 30 minutes across town, and I needed to leave. I removed my wallet, looked in all the corners and each of the pockets. But my keys were definitely not in my purse.

“I ran upstairs to my bedroom and looked around on the dresser, then ran downstairs to the kitchen, the dining room, went up to the bathroom, all through the house. No keys. I went outside and looked around the porch, out in the dirt where I had been working, then back inside and ran around the house two or three more times.

“’God,” I said, “help me find my keys! I don’t know where they are.” And ran through the house one more time.

“By this time I was desperate. The time was slipping away, and I didn’t want to miss my doctor’s appointment. “God,” I cried again, “You say that when we are weak, then you will be strong, and you know I’m weak, Lord. I need you. I need to go to this doctor’s appointment, and I can’t find my keys. I need you to help me find them!”

“I ran up the stairs again and was just entering the bedroom, when, like a lightning bolt in my mind, I heard a distinct voice—not audible, but as clearly in my mind as if my husband had been standing behind, talking to me. “What were you wearing?”

“I stopped. What had I been wearing? The pants – I had put them in the laundry basket. I ran to the basket, grabbed the pants, held them up, and as I reached down into the pocket, felt the hard metal of keys. There they were! My keys!”

“So,” I said to Lana, “God was with me all the time.”

“But he made you aware of His presence. You heard his voice,” she said. “He spoke to you and showed you what to do.”

“Yes, he did,” I laughed, “but I had to run through the whole house four or five times first.”

We laughed together and drained the last sips of coffee from our cups.

He Was With Me

God had been with me the whole time—before and after I lost my keys. He saw me when I put them in my pocket out in the backyard. He saw me while I was running through the house and when I called out to him. He allowed me to search on my own until I was desperate for His help. Finally, at the last minute, he gave me direction. And I was amazingly on time to the appointment.

God is with us. We must always remember that. And his timing is always perfect. Days, weeks, and months may pass without any tangible sign of His presence. He may not intervene when we think he should. But as you press into him and persevere, at just the right moment, He WILL guide you and tell you what you need to know.

***

For a biblical example of someone who waited in limbo without seeing God answering his prayers, read the story of Joseph from Genesis 40 – 41:45

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Filed Under: Knowing God, Marriage problems, Prayer, Trusting God, Trying to understand, unanswered prayers, Uncategorized, Where is God? Tagged With: , , , , ,

Interview with Kathy Collard Miller, Author of Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries: Finding Peace in All Kinds of Weather

May 14, 2014 by 8 Comments

Partly Cloudy With Scattered Worries - Kathy Collard MillerWhen I scheduled this interview with Kathy Collard Miller for early May, I didn’t connect the appropriateness of her book title with our Florida weather.  But as I look out the window at the gathering clouds and intermittent rainstorms, I find the timing of my interview about her book, Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries: Finding Peace in All Kinds of Weather to be extremely fitting.

I believe Kathy’s topic about worry and anxiety will resonate with many of us.  In the midst of life’s storms, how do we keep from worrying?  Speaker and author Kathy Collard Miller has an answer for us. She has published 49 books and has carried her message of hope, faith, and encouragement into eight countries throughout the world and thirty U.S. states.

I feel honored that she is sharing with us today.

Linda:  Kathy, what is really wrong with worry? What is the biggest problem that worry causes for us?

Kathy:  The answer to both those questions is that worry steals our ability to acknowledge God as the God of our lives. I have no trouble calling worry sin because we are disobeying God’s command to “Be anxious about nothing…” (Philippians 4:6). We have a big problem when we fight God’s control of our lives. We’re on our own and we try to control and manipulate people and circumstances to get our needs met. And it’s so subtle. We may not even realize we’re worrying—we call it other words like concerned, mulling, thinking or planning, but we’re not seeking God.

Anxiety is currently the number one emotional problem of American people. Panic anxiety is the number one mental-health problem for women in the United States, and in men is only second to substance abuse. Worry causes relationship problems, physical illness, loss of faith, and stress. No wonder! We’re trying to play God.

Linda:  I’m sure we can all admit that we worry at times. But I’m curious. How did you happen to write a book about worry?

God was working and tranforming me to trust Him more and I wanted to share what I had learned. My desire is to help readers trust God more by being convinced of His greatness, sovereignty, power, love, and involvement. We can say we trust God but then we give in to anxiety, people-pleasing, controlling others, regrets, fear, and trying to provide for ourselves when God says to wait on Him. Our responses actually reveal that we don’t trust God as much as we think we do.

For instance, if a woman is wondering whether her husband still loves her, or is worried that he’s being unfaithful, she may try to manipulate or control her husband. She may react in anger out of anxiety or withdraw her heart because she is taking his behavior personally. Her eyes are on making her husband meet her needs rather than trusting God to meet them. But Philippians 4:19 says God will provide all our true needs. Worry won’t make our spouse respond; it’ll only cause us to react in ways that may push him away more.

I was once in that very situation and my worry made me bitter and needy. It only caused my husband Larry to want to work more so he could be away from my nagging. But when I committed to trusting God to be all I needed, even if Larry never changed, I became more peaceful. Then Larry wanted to be around me. Now we’ve been married almost 44 years.

Linda:  Tell us a little about the concept that began to transform your thinking about worry.

Kathy: I heard this concept at a conference: “If I’m worried, think of the worst possible thing that can happen and then think of reasons why it wouldn’t be so bad after all.” The speaker quoted Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (NASB). I realized my worry indicated I didn’t think God had the power to bring good out of bad and I worried that something bad would happen. But quoting that concept and verse began to give me a different perspective. It helped me relax and allow God to be in control.

 Linda:  Why do you think people worry?

Kathy:  Of course, there are many reasons but here are a few. We may have experienced some hurtful things in childhood and blamed God. So our hearts are fearful of turning control over to Him. We may think that worry gives us power in another person’s life. I remember worrying when my teenage son had to fly across country by himself to a Christian golf camp. I worried he would miss his connecting flight until God whispered, “You’re worried because you want him to need you. Let him need Me.” Oh, how revealing. I could then release that worry and let God show Himself strong. Additionally, people worry because they really do think worry does some good. One woman told me, “Well, of course, worry works; after all, what I worry about doesn’t happen.” I’m sure she was joking (I think!), but in our hearts, we can think it does some good. Unfortunately, worry only makes us tense and then we react in ways we regret. Plus, God isn’t honored.

Linda:  Many of those reading this blog are going through serious storms in life. The worries they have are based in substantial life traumas that have already disrupted their lives. They worry about the future, about what will happen with their children, whether there is hope for their marriages, etc.  What do you have to say to them?

Kathy: I am sad to think of those going through hard times. I can relate. After being married seven years, I hated my husband and took out my anger on our two-year-old little girl to the point that I abused her. I worried that I would actually kill her in one of my rages. I almost took my life to prevent that from happening. But God intervened and as I turned my life over to him little by little, I saw how He wanted to use my struggle for His glory and my good. God healed our marriage and the relationship with my daughter. He gave me a ministry of sharing my story and writing about it. Then that blossomed into the ministry I have today. And my daughter is a happy adult who calls me her best friend.

I understand life seems impossible, but God is still God and He wants to help us. And worry doesn’t accomplish a single positive or helpful thing. It only motivates us to respond in hurtful and damaging ways. Worry is impotent but God is powerful. There is always hope with trusting God.

 Linda:  Tell us a little more about your book.  What are you trying to accomplish and how is it formatted?

My book helps people, primarily Christian women, to trust God more and thus worry less. It is filled with stories from my own life and the lives of others who learned how to do that very thing, along with biblical principles and practical instruction. I’ve also included Discussion Questions that a group or an individual can use. Plus, every chapter highlights a woman from the Bible who either struggled with worry or one who overcame her worry. Every chapter ends with a “Letter From God” which speaks to the reader about what she learned in the chapter.

 Linda:  Are you available for speaking, especially on this topic of overcoming worry?

Oh yes, I love to speak on lots of topics, including overcoming worry. I especially love speaking at women’s retreats because I can have extended contact with the women. I can be reached at Kathyspeak (at) aol (dot) com.

 Linda: Where can people find out more about Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries?

Kathy:  It is available on Amazon for either Kindle reading or print:
http://amzn.to/18SUUHM

Or to get a little preview, you can view the book trailer at http://bit.ly/1czUhKh

My website/blog is www.KathyCollardMiller.blogspot.com


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Filed Under: BOOKS, Depression, Desire, Doubt, Fear, Feeling unworthy, How to win, Interviews, Marriage problems, New Directions, Prayer, Surrendering to God, Trusting God, unanswered prayers, Uncategorized, Worry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Ring of Power and Letting Go

February 19, 2014 by 18 Comments

SONY DSCRecently I sat at a table having dessert with four women who are presently in different stages of transition after marital crisis, some in recovery, others experiencing continued uncertainty and/or upheaval. One of the women whose marriage had made tremendous progress toward healing, began talking about the importance of “letting go,” a subject I also talk about frequently.

The young woman beside me knit her brow with a perplexed expression and frowned. “I get right to the point of being able to let go,” she said, pinching her fingers together as though about to drop something, “and then . . . I just can’t do it.”

The woman next to her nodded. “That’s right. Me too. That’s how I am.”

An Image from The Lord of the Rings

My husband Marv and I had recently watched all three DVD’s of The Lord of the Rings movie, and as my friend spoke, my mind immediately conjured up the image of Frodo standing on the cliff at the end of the movie.  He holds his hand over the edge of the precipice with the ring dangling at the end of the chain. Beneath, is the raging fire which has been his destination all through the movie. It is the one place where he can release the ring, see it destroyed, and with it destroy the evil that is taking over Middle Earth. All he has to do is release the ring, and freedom can reign once again.

“That reminds me of the ending of The Lord of the Rings,” I said.  “All through the movie Frodo has been besieged by the evil that the ring has brought to Middle Earth. He has witnessed again and again the destructive power of the ring and how it corrupts those who lust over it.  He’s seen the damage, the death, the devastation that it causes.  And with amazing strength of character, he has persevered through all of that. He’s survived the struggle, the hardship, the temptation.  He’s been willing to traverse the darkest lands and oppressive terrains and he’s endured the threats of horrendous creatures in order to get to the mountain where he can destroy the evil.  But when he gets to the very end, when he’s finally there, he stands at the edge of the cliff, dangling the ring at the end of the chain. He stares at it, but can’t let go.

Sam yells to him, “Let it GO! Just let GO!”

But he can’t.

The seductive power of the ring has taken hold.”

The Trouble with Surrendering

As we continued to talk that evening, I shared with my friends how The Lord of the Rings presents a perfect visual image of the struggle we have with surrendering everything to God.

Like Frodo, we don’t want to lose control. The ring of power holds us captive. Even though it means the sinful nature will reign instead of God’s will, we can’t put it all in God’s hands. The desire to be in control holds sway over us—especially when we’re afraid that if we let go, God might not do what we want Him to do.

How many times have I seen or heard from a woman or man whose greatest desire is to reunite with their spouse? They’ve gone through the anguish, they’ve suffered hardship to get things to change. But they are unable to surrender to God to let Him take care of it. We want to do it by ourselves, even though our own methods have already failed. We somehow think if we think about it enough, talk about it enough, remind our spouse enough times, things will somehow change. We’re locked in a pattern where we keep repeating the same actions. We’re traveling in circles, or worse, we’re pushing our spouse further away.  We’re afraid if we put it n God’s hands, He’ll do something we won’t like. The fear of losing control, the desire to do it our own way keeps us in bondage. We can’t let go.

But God, who created us, who created our world, who is omnipotent and sees everything . . . understands what is happening; He has answers we don’t have. He knows our spouse inside and out, just like he also knows us.  He can “work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose*” if we can surrender it all to Him and let go of having to control it ourselves.

First, however, we have to summon the inner strength to follow through so we can let go and trust Him. He is the Good that will banish evil. He is the Light that will shine in the darkness. He is the Word of God who will enlighten our understanding and point us in the right direction.

So as we stand on that precipice, holding that ring of power, we have to have the will, the faith, the strength to let it go.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3: 5-6

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Mathew 6:33

*(Rom. 8:28)

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Filed Under: Doubt, Fear, How to win, Letting go, Marital separation, Marriage problems, Surrendering to God, Trusting God, unanswered prayers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Interview with Sharon Jaynes, author of Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe

February 5, 2014 by 8 Comments

Praying for Your Husband_Page_1I feel honored, privileged, and excited to interview Sharon Jaynes, author of her new book, Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe. Sharon Jaynes is the former vice president and co-host of Proverbs 31 Ministries and author of 16 top selling books. In past years, two of her books, Your Scars are Beautiful to God, plus I’m Not Good Enough…and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves, were Retailer’s Choice Finalists. Sharon travels worldwide as an international conference speaker. In fact, when she did this interview I was fortunate to catch her between her return trip from El Salvador and another trip she was to take a couple of days later.

But what a terrific topic! Particularly as we head toward Valentine’s Day., which is a happy day for some, but a hard day for others.  I pray that in whatever situation you find yourself, you will be blessed by Sharon’s insights.

The Significance of Praying for Your Husband

Linda: What stirred you to write Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe

Sharon: The vast majority of the e-mails I receive through my ministry center around marriage problems. Some have marriages that have fallen apart or are seemingly falling apart. Some are just going through a rough patch. But regardless of where a woman’s man or her marriage falls on the continuum of terrific to tolerable to terrible, there is always room for improvement. Prayer can make a bad marriage good and a good marriage great.

Linda: When did you realize prayer would be an important part of your marriage?

Sharon: About 2 minutes after I said, “I do.” No, seriously. I remember sitting in front of the mirror on my wedding day thinking about how happy I was. Then I had the thought, “Doesn’t everyone feel like this on their wedding day? What could possibly go so wrong that so many end up in divorce? I decided right then and there I was going to do everything in my power to make my marriage a success. It didn’t take long to learn that “in my power” was a problem I had to become a woman of prayer who depended on God’s power.

Linda: Why do you think prayer is so important?

Sharon: A spiritual battle is going on all around us, and Paul urges us to be prepared, spiritually armed and physically alert. He emphasizes this again in his second letter to the Corinthians: “Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3–4).

While we don’t have authority over our husbands, we do have authority over the Enemy who seeks to harm him (Luke 10:19). Through prayer, the Enemy’s plans are intercepted; the principalities and authorities are defeated. Through prayer, the power and provision of God flow into the lives of His people.

God is not hoarding His blessings, waiting for us to say the right words to pry those blessings out of His stingy hand. He longs to lavish us with His goodness! (Ephesians 1:7–8) And yet He often waits for us to ask. I am not saying I understand it. Prayer is simply how He chose to engineer the flow of His power and activity from the spiritual realm into the physical realm. Prayer is the conduit through which God’s power is released and His will is brought to earth as it is in heaven.

It is not that God cannot act without the prayers of His people. He can do anything He pleases (Psalm 115:3). However, He has established prayer as the gate through which His blessings flow. James reminds us: “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2).

Linda: Why do you think so many tend to wait until things get so bad before we turn to prayer?

Sharon:  The humanness in us wants to think that if we try hard enough, we can fix our marriage and our man. But that’s simply not true. How many times have I heard those words, “Well, I guess the only thing left to do is pray about it.”  How many times have they slipped past my lips? But what if we looked at prayer from a different perspective…God’s perspective? What if we viewed prayer as our first course of action rather than a last resort?

Impacting Our Marriages

Linda: How has praying for your husband from head to toe impacted or changed your marriage?

Sharon: I don’t have a big bad story of how God took our terrible tumultuous marriage and miraculously transformed it into a storybook romance filled with white knight rescues, relentless romance, and rides into the sunset as we left all danger and darkness behind. Even though we’ve had our share of both tumult and romance, our relationship is no fairy tale. Our marriage reads more like a daily journal, one page after another, one day after another. Eleven thousand, six hundred, and eighty at the time of this writing.

The truth is, for most couples, life is just the daily one-foot-in-front-of-the-other journey. However, the accumulation of small struggles can nibble like termites to undermine the foundation of what appears to be a healthy structure just as surely as an earthshaking rumble of sudden disaster.

And while my marriage has not miraculously come back from the brink of disaster, I have held the hands of women who have experienced exactly that. Beth’s husband was addicted to pornography, but because of her intercession he sought help and found deliverance. Jona’s husband filed for divorce, but because of her intercession fell in love with her all over again. Patty’s husband was consumed with work and financial gain, but because of her intercession, he turned his heart back toward home. Miriam’s husband was bound by pain from past abuse, but because of her intercession, he experienced the freedom of healing and forgiveness. I have held their hands. I have heard their cries. I have joined in their prayers. I have witnessed their miracles.

Linda: How has the way you pray for your husband changed over your 33 years of marriage?

Sharon: In our early years of marriage, my prayers for Steve were more conflict oriented. I tended to pray for him when I felt he “needed” it. When a difficult situation arose, when work was hard, when finances were strained, when relationships were messy, when stress had us both tightly wound. And yes, I did see God’s hand respond to those prayers of intercession on my husband’s behalf. But as my understanding of prayer matured, so did my intercession for Steve. My desperate cries to God in difficulties grew into daily conversations with God in the ordinary. I prayed for God’s protection and provision for my man in the one-step-in-front-of-the-other dailyness of life.

Putting Flesh on Dry Bones

Linda: What if someone feels her marriage is too far gone to even pray? Sharon: Oh Linda, I LOVE that question. Our God is a God of miracles. A God of resurrection power. Someone may be reading this today and wondering if her marriage is too far gone. Too much pain to patch. Too much hurt to heal. Too many mistakes to mend. Too much resentment to remedy. Too much bitterness to make better. Too much brokenness to rebuild. Too much betrayal to forgive. Too much. Too much. Too much. But as Gabriel told Mary, ““Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:26–38).

I love the story in Ezekiel 37 when God told the prophet to prophesy to a valley of old dead bones. I am sure he felt silly as he began. And I am sure some women will feel silly when they are praying for a marriage that is like old dead bones. But what happened when Ezekiel obeyed God and spoke over those bones? God raised them up, put tendons and flesh on them, and breathed new life into each one. He raised up an army from those long dead dry bones. And if He can do that, then He can certainly take a dead marriage and breathe new life into it as well. I get excited just thinking about it!

Linda: How is the book set up?

Sharon: The book has 2 parts. Part one is a short teaching about the power and purpose of prayer and the landmarks of prayer. I am so directionally impaired, and do best with landmarks. Don’t tell me to go north or south. Tell me to turn right at Wal-Mart and left at the Firehouse and I’m good to go. So this book teaches us how to pray using landmarks. We start at the top or our man’s head and work our way down.

His head: What he thinks about

His eyes: What he looks at

His mouth: What he speaks

His ears: What he listens to

His neck: His decisions that turn his head

His shoulders: His burdens and worries

His back: His protection

His arms: His strength

His hands: His work

His ring finger: His marriage

His heart: What he loves

His side: His relationships

His sexual being: His purity and health

His legs: His stand

His knees: His relationship with God

His feet: His walk

The book includes 30 days of prayer. There is a scripture for each landmark, followed by a prayer that prays that particular Scripture over your man.

And here’s an extra bonus. I have a 30-Day Prayer Dare on line. Women can sign up at www.sharonmaynes.com and join women all around the world for this challenge. And if someone would like to watch a video, download a free chapter or learn more about the book, they can visit www.prayingforyourhusband.com or www.sharonjaynes.com.

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Filed Under: BOOKS, Interviews, marriage, Prayer, Prayer, spiritual warfare, unanswered prayers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Whose Battle?

January 29, 2014 by 3 Comments

BATTLES ARE AN INHERENT PART OF OUR LIVES. We often seem to be in one kind of struggle or another. Maybe it’s a financial battle, or we may be fighting for our health or our very lives. Perhaps we’re fighting to save our marriage or to find peace and resolution in the midst of a chaotic situation or hostile relationship. Maybe it’s a battle to save ourselves from depression or addiction. Right now I’m battling my computer that wants to gobble up my email files and leave me without the resources to communicate with my readers. Technology seems to be a persistent battlefield for me.

                How do we fight these battles?  More importantly, how do we win them?

Natural Inclinations

                Instinctively, we want to lash out, to fight the battle in our own strength. That is our default mode—our natural inclination, or what God calls our “flesh.”

                In Jesus Calling, we hear God’s voice through the words of Sarah Young who pens, “Give up the illusion that you deserve a problem-free life. Part of you is still hungering for the resolution of all difficulties. This is a false hope!” And then she refers her readers to John 16:3 where Jesus told his disciples, ‘in the world you will have trouble.’”

                So how do we deal with these troubles? How do we fight the battles?

                Before David defeated the giant Goliath, he declared, “The battle is the Lord’s.” (1 Samuel 17:47)     When King Jehosophat was forced to do battle against a vast army, the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

                Time and again we read stories in the Old Testament where God-fearing kings and leaders were triumphant in battle despite enormous odds against them. Not only Jehosophat, but Hezekiah, Asa, and others were each besieged by armies much larger than theirs, and yet they easily won the battle.

                Why?

The Winning Strategy

                Jehosophat fasted and prayed to the Lord. He called his people together, and they praised God for the splendor of His holiness, proclaiming that “His love endures forever.”  “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Sier who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22)

                Hezekiah’s first act as king was to purify the temple and call the people to worship the Lord. Afterwards, when an enormous army from Assyria came against him, he “cried out in prayer to heaven . . . and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king.” (2 Chronicles 32:20-21).

                When the huge army of the Cushites came against king Asa, he “called to the Lord his God and said, “’Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let men prevail against you.’ The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah.’” (2 Chronicles 14:11)

            Last week, in Janet’s story of victory over a dying marriage, God called her to fast and pray before she had even a glimpse of how the story would end.  She was obedient, and throughout this time the Lord told her to continue to hold on. She praised God—even when her situation looked increasingly hopeless. She did spiritual battle—not against her husband, but against the spiritual enemies that were trying to destroy him and their marriage.  She acknowledged that the battle was the Lord’s. She humbled herself to surrender the situation to God.  Instead of trying to understand what she should do or what God would do, she left it in the hands of her mighty God whose “ways are higher than” our own. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

                And God prevailed. The enemy lost. Her husband’s heart returned to her, and her marriage was restored.

When we find ourselves locked in conflict and nothing is resolved, it may be that we misunderstand the nature of the battle. While we run skirmshes with bows and arrows, the enemy of our souls is shooting missles. War rages in heavenly places, but we engage in futile maneuvers that simply move the conflict from one turf to another. God’s powerful weapons can demolish Satan’s strongholds, but we, as His children, need to give Him the reins of power so He can do it. He won’t take them from us; it’s up to us to relinquish them freely into His hands.

  If the battle is truly the Lord’s, it makes sense to do as these righteous kings of Judah did, surrendering everything to God, obeying even when it doesn’t make sense, and praising God when our situation seems hopeless and victory looks impossible. Most of all, we need to lay our hearts out before Him with whole-hearted humility and trust. 

               If you would like to understand more about spiritual warfare, check out the 100 Huntley Street interview segments below, in which Moira Brown interviews Neil T. Anderson, author of The Bondage Breaker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ESddXkBAfg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0HVd7iQ-vk

Let us shout our praises to God. Let us come into His presence with singing. Our God holds victory in His hands.

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Filed Under: Battles, Conflict, How to win, Marital separation, marriage, Prayer, spiritual warfare, unanswered prayers Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

God’s Unhappy Children

January 15, 2014 by 3 Comments

I LOVE THE WAY EVERYDAY LIFE often allows us to peer into the more eternal truths of God.

When I was a new mother I remember one afternoon my two-month old baby fell asleep in my arms while I was nursing her. I was overjoyed to see her finally slumbering because our biggest struggle as new parents had been getting our newborn to sleep. The doctor had recently told me she was only getting about half the amount of sleep she needed, and I was concerned for her health.

After holding her a few minutes longer, I carried her into her bedroom and laid her down for a nap. Pulling the blanket over her small body, I tucked her in and smiled at the sweet face with eyes closed in sleep, peeking out from beneath the top of the blanket.

I sighed gratefully.

Fifteen minutes later I heard a wee cry and went to investigate.  She was awake.  I patted her, gently rocked her bassinet, and carefully placed the pacifier in her mouth.  However, increasingly irate because I was not picking her up and only patting her, she began to cry louder and louder, shaking her little head back and forth.

I tried to soothe her and spoke to her in my most understanding, new-motherly way.  “You need to sleep,” I said, “you desperately need more sleep. Mommy loves you and I’m right here, but you need to sleep.”

Of course, she could not understand my words.  She only knew that she wanted to be picked up, held, and loved, and this was not happening.  She was not getting what she wanted so she continued to knot up her little fists, kick at her blanket, and cry.

Later as I stood over the sink washing dishes and trying not to feel guilty about letting her cry, I thought about how my unhappy child was so like all of us. As God’s children we cry for Him to do something, and when he doesn’t do it the way we expect, we continue to cry out, ignorant of His presence beside us and all the while thinking He doesn’t care.  Even though He tries to calm and soothe us with Words of assurance, we don’t understand that what we want is not what He, in His sovereignty, knows is best for us at this time.  He asks us to dry our tears, to trust Him, and try to understand why He has put us where we are.  But we knot our fists and shake our head, questioning him again and again as to His indifference.

Isaiah 40:26-31 says:

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?” Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

And Philippians 4:5-7 goes on to remind us:

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

 

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Filed Under: Doubt, Fear, God's Word, unanswered prayers, Uncategorized, Where is God? Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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