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God’s sovereignty during COVID
“I am the Lord and there is none beside me,” Isaiah 43. This is one of the most wonderful chapters in all of scripture. (Of course, I say that about a lot of chapters.)
But what draws me to this particular chapter is how many times God draws attention to his own lordship. God is not capable of arrogance as these words would sound coming from human lips.
He’s doesn’t repeat this time after time for his own benefit but for ours.
He is reminding us that he and he alone deserves to be called the one and only Lord.
He goes on to recount his creation of all living things on this earth, we humans in particular. Paul quotes Isaiah 9b, “Will the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing?” In Romans 9: 20-21, it states that we are his to shape and mold as he sees fit without question.
Giving up control isn’t easy
To give someone else control isn’t easy. Giving our government control over our actions right now isn’t easy. None of us like being told where we can or cannot go.
But maybe we can use this restriction on our lives as a way to remind us that this is how we are supposed to place ourselves in the Potter’s hands to do with as he wishes.
Think of this portion of scripture the next time you bristle about your restrictions and confinement. Let those feelings of irritation remind us ,remind me, that we are usually wrangling with God over these same control issues.
God’s molding of us will only draw us closer to him and his purpose for our lives, no matter how much we dislike being squeezed.
Right relationship with God important
If we are not in the right relationship with God, he will have to continue taking us back to that starting point as a rough lump of clay. We will have to remold us all over again, many times over. There is an optimal time to be molded.
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Doesn’t it make sense to cooperate with him the first time around?
Let’s allow God to really shape us during this shut-down. Let’s think through our reactions about giving up control and try and determine if we treat God this way sometimes. Is there a correlation? Can we learn from this how it feels to give God control?
I wonder why we are all looking for something to do. But I wonder, why are we trying to occupy every minute?
Taking time to reflect
I’m guessing it’s because we’re scared and being busy helps. But I’m not sure that’s so good. So while I, too, am getting bored and want to fill every moment, I’m also trying to make sure I have plenty of contemplative time. I want to think about this crisis and how it can make me stronger in my faith walk.
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Yes, it’s probably our way of dealing with this pandemic. But maybe now is the time to sit back and just reflect. We need to speak those word out loud, “I am the Lord and there is none beside me. “
What about you? Are you taking time during this quarantine to simply think?
I know I am. I can truthfully say, COVID has promoted some good changes in my life.
God bless and stay safe.
The post,”I am the Lord and there is none beside me”appeared first on faithsighanddiy.com.
More about prayer and importance of obedience
Prayer and obedience go hand in hand.
Here’s E.M. Bounds again:
Connecting prayer and obedience?
“What is obedience? It is doing God’s will. It is obeying his commandments.
Nothing short of obedience to God’s will satisfies God, and the keeping of his commandments is the demonstration of it that God demands.
Love
Obedience is love.
Thank God, it is possible for every believer to please their heavenly father. It is actually easier than pleasing one’s fellow man. “
E. M. further states that we really do know when we are obeying God’s commandments. We discern this through the inner voice of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit or our guilt?
I think that is true. Don’t we all have that nagging feeling when we know we are not living as we should? If not, then that can only mean we have not trained ourselves to hear voice of the Holy Spirit.
Some of us, however, can be too sensitive and confuse the voice of the Holy Spirit with our own over-developed conscience. In those cases, I think we must investigate our feelings and stack them against what the Bible teaches. If there is no evidence we have been disobedient, then we must leave it alone.
How to know
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As a result, when we disobey and continue to carry guilt.
We tempt satan (No, I don’t or should I say, won’t capitalize his name.) to attack us. He finds that crack in our souls and weasels his way in to take that guilt and builds on it to make us feel even guiltier, even though we have confessed.
God bless and have a great day.” Obedience to God is really important” appeared first on faithsighanddiy.com/UnderHisWings.
God’s call to more may feel really awkward at first.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
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When God Calls Us To More we find new freedom.
God’s call to “more” may feel really awkward at first.
That’s because when we are called higher we also experience more freedom. We are uncomfortable in our newfound freedom.
We will look at these feelings and examine how God’s call to a higher relationship with him might feel uncomfortable and awkward at first. But too often confuse our moods with our spirituality.
Good and Bad Moods
Never assume that just because your mood is better, it means you are walking closer to God. Our mood can be elevated in all kinds of ways. Things are going right. We’re having a trouble-free day. Some good news just came our way. Someone said something kind to us.
We place way too much importance on our moods anyway when it comes to our relationship with God. We often think a good mood indicates all is right in our relationship with God but all kinds of things can elevate our mood that has nothing to do with God. Just like a bad mood doesn’t indicate anything is wrong with our relationship with God either. We often bring those on ourselves as well.
An uncomfortable mood may mean that we are being called to examine ourselves a little more. And by bad mood, I am talking about the feeling we get sometimes that something is bugging us; we found ourselves out-of-sorts and don’t know why.
Examining Our Moods Can Feel Awkward
Could it be that this mood of ours ” is really God saying, “Come up higher. There is more? (Hint, my new book is all about the “more.”)
Maybe that nagging uneasiness means we need to examine something in our lives. Are we spiritually the same place we were yesterday, last week, a month ago, and year ago? If that’s the case, God is most certainly calling us higher.
When God calls us higher, our freedom might well feel uncomfortable. Accordingly, we might indeed feel out of sorts. We mistakenly assume that if we are feeling somewhat uncomfortable, it always means there is something wrong. But it could also mean, God is drawing us closer to him. He is calling us higher and just like with any change, it might feel uncomfortable.
It seems to me when I read scripture, it indicates that when he calls people closer to him, they are usually uncomfortable in the beginning. The peace, the joy, came later after they were obedient.
When God calls us higher, it’s to change our fundamental character, and character development can feel awkward, like when you’re trying on clothes that are ill-fitting.
A Call Higher Means More Freedom.
God’s call to higher will often result in more freedom. That seems strange at first but the closer we walk with God, the greater freedom we experience. We throw off those things that have hindered, like others’ opinions, our own restrictions. It’s a great place to be but it certainly takes some getting used to.
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. I Corinthians 6:12
But for those who are used to wanting everything laid out for them, to know the details in advance, this place of freedom almost feels restrictive because we don’t see God’s direction. What do we do with all this space, this freedom from worry and anxiety? Much like slaves who were set free and didn’t know what to do with their freedom, when God sets us free, we might well flounder a bit before we gain our footing.
But higher may mean more responsibility
However, when God calls us higher, though it may well bring more responsibility, it also brings more freedom.
We are always freer when we are constrained by God. Let me say it another way. God’s constraints bring us freedom. E-v-e-r-y time.
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So, if today, you are feeling uncomfortable about something and you don’t know why at least consider if it’s God calling you higher in him.
God bless and have a wonderful day.
I found some really great items this last weekend.
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RED
I found some really great ITEMS this past weekend. The items below were one of those fill-a-bag for $1.00 sales. Not bad, huh?
accent with red
Now in case you think I have a lot of red in my home. I don’t. But I do use red as accents all the time. Colorful napkins add such a “kick” to tablescapes. My house is decorated mostly in black and white so any color works. The hat is just for me. I think these “finds’ are great.
red hat 
red hat 
red napkins 
red place mats
RESTRAINT
neutral rooms with red accents
one in, two out
I love finding great items especially when they’re also good bargains. But with everything I bring home, I, correspondingly, eliminate at least one or two items for each piece. Because of my own self-imposed rule, I don’t usually buy anything unless I can think of something to give away. Consequently, it keeps me from buying “just because”.
Also, I’m also very careful anymore about buying anything that I’m going to “redo”. However, if I find a collection of things that are very interesting, I do buy them.
While garage sale shopping is a lot of fun, I’m very selective anymore.
it’s God’s money
Furthermore, I like to think I’m being careful with God’s money. In conclusion, the truth is that even while bargain shopping we can be financially foolish.
Enjoy your day and God bless.
