A peek at the enemies plans

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As I was praying today about all of the events going on around the world, particularly in the Middle East, I felt like the Holy Spirit reminded me of a scripture passage. I want to share this with you today and hopefully you will join me in praying!

I was praying for President Obama and other leaders of the world to have Godly wisdom in dealing with the evil of ISIS. I understand that many people, including myself, have frustration with political leaders many times. It can be frustrating when we want them to do certain things and feel like they are dragging their feet or worse, aren’t concerned.  The truth is that we are most effective in influencing those in government/political positions when we pray for them. We must pray for our leaders. God can work and his will be accomplished through leaders of the world regardless of whether or not they actually call on him as Lord. Pharaoh was certainly used by God to deliver the children of Israel though antagonistic, he was still used for God’s purposes.

So, back to the scripture I mentioned. As I was praying today I specifically asked for God to send wise counsel to our leaders and frustrate the evil enemy. That is when I remembered the scripture passage from 2Kings 6:8-12

2 Kings 6:8-12New International Version (NIV)

Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans

8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”

9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

I love the last phrase in this scripture passage which points out the fact that Elisha – COUNSEL TO THE KING of ISRAEL – was literally hearing the plans of the enemy even while they talked in the King of Aram’s private bedroom. The king of Aram was doing everything he could to defeat Israel but even when he was making his top secret private plans, God was revealing those plans to Elisha as if he was sitting right in the room, hearing the plans directly from the mouth of the enemy!

The devil is limited but we are not.

We have access to the all-knowing all-powerful God. The Holy Spirit moves and works in ways that we cannot even understand. I am praying today that the Holy Spirit will revealed to the leaders of the free world in a supernatural way what are the detailed, specific, strategic plans of the enemy. Even as the evil spirit behind ISIS is plotting and planning their mission to advance through & destroy the free nations of the world, I pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal these plans to our leaders (and those who counsel them) as if we are sitting at the table listening in to their discussions. Wherever they go to bring destruction, let a wall of defense be in their place before they even arrive. Frustrate the enemy, oh great God, Father, Lord Jehovah!

A Mountain In The Way

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1454865_10151979078934536_1008051561_nI was honored to be the guest for an online video blog today with a dear friend in ministry, Michelle Sarabia. Michelle’s ministry slogan is,“Beyond Brave” and she asked me to talk about VMM/Good Deeds International, sharing a little bit about my journey in “bravely” stepping out into this new adventure with God.  I knew this would be the general discussion topic and I had my usual talking points ready but the Holy Spirit pointed out 2 specific things from my journey that I had not planned on sharing. I thought I would share ONE of them in this blog and hopefully encourage someone today who may be dragging your feet or ignoring the nudge of the Holy Spirit, gripped by fear of the unknown or other things on your long list of objections to God.

A MOUNTAIN in the way:

In 2008 I found myself stuck.  Stuhh-UCK.  I had been involved in music ministry all of my life and owned a successful marketing/merchandising company that allowed me to have a steady income while still working as a professional singer & volunteering in the music ministry at my local church. I was a homeowner, owned a vehicle and even somewhat of a landlord with renters living in my home. I was starting to feel change coming and that God was calling me back into what we traditionally refer to as “full-time ministry” but I couldn’t see HOW that was going to happen.

The truth was that things in the US economy were changing and my once successful marketing business was disappearing rapidly (most of my clients were in the music industry & closed/changed/disbanded as artists).  The other truth was that I didn’t actually own anything. I had credit card debt from trying to keep my business afloat in the declining economy AND my home & vehicle were fully mortgaged/financed. Any time I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me in the area of entering full-time ministry again, I immediately had a list of reasons why that wouldn’t work and lack of money was always at the top of that list.

  • Why would people invite me to sing/minister if I don’t have my own music to sing?
  • I needed to record a new solo project:  But God, I don’t have money for that!
  • How will I pay my bills?  I can’t just stop what I’m doing to start something with NO assured income! (which was a crazy argument because I was already dealing with loss of income but fooling myself by leaning on more and more debt.)
  • Isn’t that a little prideful or self-centered to think people want to hear me sing or listen to what I have to say?  No one is knocking on my door asking me to do this (but, you, God).
  • I’m not skinny, God.  Have you noticed?  “People listen with their eyes.”  No one is going to want to HEAR me because (in my head) they don’t want to SEE me.
  • I am a woman.  Most pastors are men and have varying views on women on the platform or behind a pulpit. Will I be accepted?

These are just a few of the objections I had for God.

1656177_10152176828924536_1086319787_nI won’t drag this story out for you but I will say that eventually I stopped listing my objections and reasons why God couldn’t work it out for me and I just said, “YES” to God. In all my attempts to make life work, I had made poor choices and tried to “help God” by doing whatever it took to pay bills each month… not truly giving Him room to do it HIS way. I prayed, cried, laid in the floor, moaned, groaned, ugly-cried, praised, worshiped, studied the Word and kept that pattern on repeat.  I made a list of ALL my debt (mortgage included) and it was about $275,000.  I gave that MOUNTAIN to God and TRULY took my hands off of it.  If this debt was going to be removed, I had to speak to it (as the Word says in Matthew 17:20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”) and then let God work out the details.

It didn’t happen how I thought it would.  The things I had held on to so tightly, thinking I could work it out eventually, were slowly lifted out of my hands. My hands were no longer clasped but stretched out with palms up and open.  God took EVERYTHING I gave him. I handed that list of debt to Him and He took it.  It was often painful but I knew it was temporary pain for greater gain.

I did the same thing with the rest of my list of objections.  Palms open…. He took the objections away and began to replace them with passion & vision.  It didn’t take long for me to see changes…. in ME!  I took my hands off the details and the timeline and God miraculously delivered me from the MOUNTAIN that was in my way.

Today, I am debt-free, praise God!  All that I have is a gift from God. If there’s no money in the bank, then no money is spent (no credit cards!) I am still learning to submit my own desires & natural concerns to the faithful, loving Father who has cared for me so well, all these many years. It’s a daily decision to walk by faith and not by sight. Now, I train myself to speak of the goodness & greatness of God and not the largeness of my need.  He is more than enough!72659_10152097531304536_487186985_n

I started making this little statement several years back:“I am fully, wholely, completely, utterly dependent & leaning on God and Him alone.”  

It’s still true today.

I speak to the mountain…because nothing is impossible with God.  

 

Let your light shine

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The past few months I have felt strongly that there will be rapidly increasing persecution of Christians in America. If you choose to follow God’s word and do so in love and truth, you will still face persecution. This is not because you are not doing something right. It is because of the spiritual battle that is growing in intensity as we see the day of Christ’s return growing closer.

A soft answer turns away wrath.”

As followers of Christ, we don’t argue and throw stones at each other. Our answers to questions or accusations should be carried by someone who walks with their feet soled with the gospel of PEACE. Even so, Jesus walked in peace and his words of truth stirred up hate and anger in those who disagreed with him… so much so that ultimate solution of those who opposed him was to silence Him with death.

Our human nature is to desire to be liked. Even if we are not a social butterfly, a loner wants to be liked by at least a few people! The bully who picks on others and spews insults typically does these things to cover up a deep desire to be loved… to be liked. No one wants to be the outsider or ridiculed by “the crowd”. We all want to be liked.

As Christians, we should do all that we can to live at peace with one another, even with those who we have disagreements. This is essential to the two commands Jesus gave us, to love God above all others and love our neighbors as ourselves. As followers of Christ, we seek to live peacefully and displaying love with/to the people around us.

I realize these are just rambling thoughts but I’m getting somewhere!

Choose this day, whom you will serve.

If you choose to serve God and be a follower of Christ, you will be a LIGHT that cannot be hidden. We live in a world of darkness and as we let the light of Christ shine through us, some will be drawn to this light and see it as a beacon of salvation but other will see it as light exposing areas of darkness they don’t want uncovered. We will be a light that some want to put out by any means possible. Remember that is it not flesh and blood that we fight against but spiritual powers of darkness. Never let hate seed in your heart towards a person in the midst of this battle. Always remember that there is a spirit at work behind anything said or done that is an attack against you.

This is not a challenge to you for the future. No longer do we talk about these things and say “one day they won’t tolerate teachings of truth.”

The time is now.

Choose whom you will serve.

Choose who & what you believe and prepare to take a stand. (Joshua 24:15)  By the help of the Holy Spirit, you can do and say all the “right” things and you are still going to be persecuted.

God’s word to you today is prepare yourself  (Ephesians 6),  wrap yourself with right living (breastplate of righteousness), walk in peace (feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace), be filled with the Holy Spirit & knowledge of the Word of God, which is your counselor and defender (use the sword of the spirit) and get ready to

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Salt and Light – Matthew 5:13-14

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Thankfulness Things Part One

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I didn’t do the “30 Days of Thankfulness” postings on social media for November this year. I try to be Thankful 365 days a year!  Still, today I wanted to post a few “spiritual” things I’m thankful for, just to keep in the spirit of this Thanksgiving week.

PART ONE:

1. MERCY.  I’ve been deeply touched during the past few years by the display of mercy in my life. People use that word quite a bit but I think “grace” seems to get a lot more time in the spotlight.  I am so thankful for MERCY shown towards me. When I deserved punishment, when I deserved to painfully reap what I had sown from poor choices I had made…. Mercy showed up like a long lost best friend. “Surely goodness and MERCY shall follow me all the days of my life.” Ps 23

2.  SUPERNATURAL:  Oh, how I am thankful for the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in my life.  I can read the Word backwards and forwards, memorize heaps of scripture, attend bible school, listen to every bible scholar that walks the earth, fill my head and heart with all the teachings of Christ… and STILL, some would not believe unless the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit was displayed.  This was true even in the life of Christ.  It was the signs & wonders that He did that drew the crowds.  Yes, they gathered to hear him speak and teach but they did that because of the supernatural miracles that they saw Him do.  They saw the miracles.  They saw and heard of this man who simply spoke and the winds and the waves obeyed.  One woman simply touched the hem of his garment and she was healed!  Another woman evangelized her whole town after she met him at the water well and He seemed to know everything about her!  The SUPERNATURAL.  We can live naturally supernatural lives.  Yes, we study God’s word and it is powerful.  We also depend on the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot do… to open hearts to receive the Word of life.

3. THE CROSS.  I have written about this before.  It has certainly been a theme of mine for a while now.  I am so thankful for the completed work that was done at the cross of Christ.  Jesus did what we could not do for ourselves. The salvation of mankind was completed that day.  There is no sin that was over-looked.  There is nothing that I can do today that is too big to be forgiven. I don’t pray for forgiveness and hear God saying… “Wow, I didn’t think of that one.  Jesus, you may need to go back to the cross again.  This one did something that we didn’t prepare for. It’s not covered.”  NO!  He paid the debt for all sin.  Forgiveness of our sins is just waiting to be poured out over us simply through our repentance. Oh how wonderful that our debt for sin was paid and we can now have our sin-slate wiped clean, simply confess and repent!!!  I’m so thankful for this powerful work that was done out of love for you and me.

……………… STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO!!!

Take up your cross

Posted on by vanessamaddoux@gmail.com in Blog, Devotions
I’ve been sharing a lot lately with my family & friends about the need for discipleship and the call as a Christian to truly be a “follower of Christ”.  These are simple things that have maximum impact… life-changing impact. When we meet Jesus & start to follow him, we are not the same person anymore.
We change.
We become more like Him.
If we are MORE like HIM, that also means we are LESS like the sinful person we were when we were born into this world.
The Pre-Christ “me” and the Post Christ “me” should be different!
I keep hearing Queen Esther’s words…. “if I perish, I perish.”
Doing what is right in God’s eyes, living according to His word, and responding to the Holy Spirit’s conviction is more important than having all the right friends, being politically correct, or even just trying NOT to make anyone else uncomfortable.
The dark is getting darker.
We must remain the light, even if that leads to being outcast, imprisoned or even to death.
That sounds so extreme but it is absolutely where we are right now in our “free” American society. I’m not trying to be melodramatic. I just feeling the seriousness of the call to truly be disciples, followers of Christ, no matter the cost.
Luke 9:23
Then Jesus said to them all,
“If anyone wants to follow Me,
he must give up himself and his own desires.
He must take up his cross everyday and follow Me.

10 things you don’t need to know about what I’m thinking.

Posted on by vanessamaddoux@gmail.com in Blog, Devotions

It’s Monday and I feel the need to post a truly non-spiritual non-life-altering blog with content that will possibly be completely useless to you and you won’t be able to get the 2-3 minutes back that it took you to read it. I apologize.

We all have thoughts that are constantly being censored by our conscience, convictions and hopefully good manners that we learned from great parents.  The ability to manage those thoughts and filter what is actually spoken or written is something we do rather naturally when we are well-rested and in our full capacities. (The help of the Holy Spirit is also nice but I’m not making this a spiritual blog so I won’t mention it. *wink) If we are wise, we learn to do this better as we grow older.  My father always said “Study to be quiet”.  His intent was less about the quiet and more about wisely choosing when and what to speak.  It’s not necessary or advisable to tell every thought that goes through your head.

Hand over my mouth....
Hand over my mouth….

I was at a party with some friends recently and someone brought up the subject of a rather embarrassing event for me. I had an eye surgery several years ago and was on some strong pain medication that made me quite loopy…. actually, I was completely high. I didn’t realize how “high” this medicine was making me because I had been home recovering for most of the week while I was taking it.  Unfortunately, I attended a wedding at the end of that week and I did so completely high on Percocet. What I learned about that experience is that I don’t like the feeling of not being control of my behavior.  It was both funny and alarming to actually SAY every thought that crossed my mind.  No filter.  Everything just flowed right out of my mouth. (I also felt the need to get extremely close to people when I talked to them, like a drunk girl… but I digress.)

Ok… I can’t help it. I guess there will be a spiritual point to this.

When I think about that experience now, I think about who I really am inside.  The “me” that I am constantly subtly censoring.  Self-control is a fruit of the spirit of God as is the favorite top 3, love, peace & joy.  We should all be self-controlled about the things we say and even the thoughts we have.

  • At what point, though, do we stop needing to censor ourselves so much and actually experience a true transformation inside?
  • When do our thoughts become God’s thoughts?  He says we can have the “mind of Christ”…..
  • If someone looked into my thoughts, would they say they look like God’s thoughts?

I’d like to say that I have grown spiritually and changed a bit since my lovely Percocet adventure. That is likely true, BUT… I sit here today knowing that at my core, my flesh is sinful.  If I don’t spend time feeding my spirit with good things and building up my spirit, my flesh will be the stronger of the two and I will start trying to “be” good rather than letting goodness “be” in me.  (wow… that was profound, and I didn’t even plan that!)

So…. back to random and meaningless.  Here are 10 thoughts that I don’t mind letting come out of my mouth (typing fingers) today but will not change your life or benefit you in any way!  All safely in the meaningless Ecclesiastes category!

1. Why do the little bits at the bottom of a bag of Cheetos taste so good and why can’t they be good for you like an apple?  Why do I want to eat something sweet and Chocolate now too?  (because I’m trying to lose weight and I can’t have either of these things!)

2. Did Jesus ever have accidents?  I always wonder, did he ever accidentally knock over a glass full of water? Did he accidentally hit his thumb with a hammer?

3. Tom Selleck and Mark Harmon.  Not bad thoughts. I think they are both “grandpa-sexy”.  I hope that doesn’t offend you….maybe I should have censored this thought.

4. Occasionally, like today, my face still breaks out like a teenager.  I hate this.

5. I confess, I have an obsession with Bath and Body Works 3 wick candles and Room plug-ins. I have a coupon sitting by my computer as I type this and I’m telling myself to resist this temptation.

6. I really like using Biblegateway.com to look up scriptures.  Still… I also love my stack of Bibles sitting on the table next to me right now.

7.  I still haven’t done my taxes for 2012. I finally have the Turbotax program in my hands waiting for me to do them. Deadline  to submit is Oct 15th. I will probably wait until that actual day to file them. (this is starting to give me stress… and may be an answer to #4 random thought.)

Ahhh... a Coke in Bethlehem, Israel.
Ahhh… a Coke in Bethlehem, Israel.

8. Now that I’ve mentioned taxes, I’m back to thinking about the fact that I need to get a new computer before I can do my taxes.

9. I really like Coco-Cola. The very best fountain drink mix of carb & cola is from the Cookie Company at the mall.  The also serve it on really great crushed ice.   *I don’t drink Coke regularly at all but only because of health & diet reasons….otherwise, I love it!  

10.  I talked with a friend last night who said she doesn’t think she will get married or have kids. I understand the thought but it still makes me a little sad today when I think about it.

Puppy & Kitten
Puppy & Kitten

11.  Puppies and Kittens.  Yeah… I had to add another thought of something sweet that makes me smile after having that last thought.

God can fill your empty vessel

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I’ve read the story many times from 2 Kings about the Widow who was able to fill numerous jars of oil as God did a miracle to provide for her in a time of desperate need. Today, I was challenged to believe for a an “empty vessel” kind of miracle in my own life and the lives of people I know and love. I’m putting my faith into action!

2 Kings 4: 4-7 The Message (MSG)

4 One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to God. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves.”

2 Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Nothing,” she said. “Well, I do have a little oil.”

3-4 “Here’s what you do,” said Elisha. “Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside.”

5-6 She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them. When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, “Another jug, please.”

He said, “That’s it. There are no more jugs.”

Then the oil stopped.

7 She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, “Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what’s left.”

The widow only had one pot of oil… that was it. She had no means of providing for herself & her sons MUCHLESS the money to pay creditors for other debts. She’s already lost her husband, the prophet, and now was about to lose her 2 sons. Elisha simply asked her what she had… and God worked with what she had to bring a miracle of multiplication into her life!

20130815-165055.jpg
My Jar of Prayer Requests

This widow gathered empty pots. What good would empty pots be? God was going to do what she could not do for herself but she had to do what seemed foolish (asking her neighbors for empty pots and gathering them all in her home) before God could meet the need.
.
What a miracle: Having faith over an empty pot.

Today, I searched through my house and found an empty yellow pot that I’ve used to display decorator items in for my home. I emptied it out and started filling it up! I believe that God can meet all my needs. Do we believe He can still fill empty vessels? I started writing my prayer requests on individual sheets of paper from a notepad and have filled the vessel with needs. I have faith that the God of Elisha is the one true living God, unchanging and all-powerful and He can still perform miracles!

I invite you to at least give this a try… or at least do something similar. It’s not about filling a jar or a cup or a bag. It’s simply doing something in the physical, by faith, expecting something supernatural from God. Some say that sounds crazy but I’m not concerned about what people think of me. I have names in that jar of people I love who need healing, salvation, a place to live, broken relationships to be mended, financial needs of missionaries I’m in touch with around the world, my own needs as well… My jar is filled with needs and I’m asking God to meet them all! If you think that’s too crazy, you probably wouldn’t have borrowed an empty pot either, or shouted praises believing the walls of Jericho would come down or let Jesus put mud on your eyes believing that when you washed that mud off, your sight would be restored!

I’ve been making lists for Jesus (Things to do!) for many years. Now, I’m putting those things into this jar. Every day I will pray over the needs in this jar and worship, praise & THANK GOD for filling the pot… meeting the need… doing something miraculous in each situation represented. This is nothing but an act of faith, letting God know I believe in his supernatural intervention.

Write your needs and prayer requests down. Make a list of your lost loved ones that are unsaved. Need to sell land, a house or a car? Put it in the vessel. Need a contract to be signed? List it all and Worship. Shut the world out, cut your phone off, put a do not disturb sign up. Praise God for your vessel being filled.20130815-165140.jpg

  • PRAYER: Talking to God, Earnest or urgent request

  • SUPPLICATION: Humbly requesting help. Gently approaching.

  • THANKSGIVING: Worship and praise for things already done and things that are about to happen.

*This blog was inspired by a post by my friend Karen Harding

GOOD SOLID DECISIONS

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Make your decisions based on the truth of God’s word and you will stand on a solid foundation.

Decisions made based on your own human reasoning can be argued from every direction and no one will ever be satisfied.

#Truth #GodsWord #Psalm1

Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Wait Well

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I’ve been thinking, praying, and preparing to speak at a local single ladies event, SheConnect over Teatime, this weekend. The host of this lovely soiree is a dear friend of mine, Frances Rivera.  She asked me a few months ago if I would do this and specifically wanted me to share some of my testimony.

So many times a ladies “singles” event focuses on topics like

  • How to find a husband
  • How to prepare yourself for the mate God has for you
  • How to avoid temptation in a dating relationship
  • Where to find available Christian men!

Those topics are certainly of interest to single women but if that is all we focus on in life, we can become consumed and defined by an emptiness rather than being filled and destined with purpose.  It is a classic big-picture case of looking at life as a glass half empty or half full.

Yes, I am the 41 year old virgin who isn’t embarrassed about that fact (actually, I think there should be some kind of award for those who “wait” as I have!) so my testimony is clearly not about how I found and caught my husband.  My testimony is more about how to WAIT WELL.

Me and Carol Bryant Hardwick. Love her so much!
Me and Carol Bryant Hardwick. Love her so much!

My dear friend & mentor, Pastor Carol Bryant Hardwick has used that phrase “wait well” many times through the years.  After her first marriage came to a cruel end, Carol spent many years as one who waited well.  She was the very picture of contentment with God’s plans and purposes for her life and as a younger single adult, I was both inspired and baffled by her genuine peace & rest in that area of her life. A few years ago, God divinely lead her into marriage again (quite a fantastic story that I won’t go into today) and she is genuinely as happy and delightful today as a wife as she was all those years as a single woman.  Carol waited well.  She recently said the same thing about ME as she and her husband were praying for my yet-to-be-discovered husband and it felt like the biggest compliment I’ve ever received.

To “wait well” is to wait in faith.

Do I get lonely?  Yes.  Do I want to be loved? Yes.  Do I ever worry about getting too old to get married and/or have kids? Yes.  Do I ever think about past relationships/dates/close friendships and wonder what if? Yes, of course.  I am human.  My mind thinks about all of those things and a whole list of other maladies of the single adult! Waiting well doesn’t mean your mind and emotions don’t go there… it means you don’t allow them to LIVE there.  2 Cor. 10:15 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  All of those thoughts are what the enemy wants us to focus on rather than spend our time thinking about the TRUTH in God’s word about our lives.  We must discipline our thoughts to line up with God’s word and not with whatever emotion we happen to feel that day.  Whatever we rehearse faithfully in our minds is what we will believe.

  • Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  (Hebrews 11:1)
  • Hope deferred makes the heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12)
  • But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.  (Isaiah 40:31)

These three scriptures have become the foundation for my life as a single woman, living a purposeful life to wait well.  I believe that God absolutely will give us the desires of our heart as we seek Him first in all things.  As long as I simply “hope” to be married one day, I will live in a state of deferred hope as long as I remain single, which is what makes a person “heartsick”.  Instead, I must take that hope and move it into a prayer of FAITH.  I pray in FAITH and believe that God has heard me and has already provided/acted/produced… it is already done.  Mark 11:24 “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours”. Now, I am no longer “hoping” that I will get married “one day” but I believe that it is done and am simply WAITING.  Hoping leads to heart-sickness but waiting from a place of faith will BUILD STRENGTH!  This is powerful!  It’s also freeing to understand that if the desire for marriage is in your heart, God is not trying to tease or trick you. Lay that desire before God, ask him to fulfill that desire, know that He has heard you and will provide, and then WAIT WELL, knowing that you have what you have asked… you are simply waiting.

This concept of hope/faith/waiting has truly changed the way I pray about so many things but it truly transformed my mind on the subject of praying for a husband.  Now, I spend my prayer-time thanking Him for what He has already done and worked out for me and I don’t allow my mind to go back into a place of just “hoping that one day…” NO!  God has answered and I am waiting. In HIS time, I will SEE the answer right before my eyes!

I never thought I would live so many years as a single woman but here I am! Truly, my desire for a husband, family and marriage has never diminished or wavered but my confidence in God’s good plans for me is bigger and stronger than my desires about love and marriage. There is never a time when God will fail me. I have a deep knowing, a deep faith, that in whatever stage of life I find myself in, God is working His will in and through me.  Even when I have felt that I was losing everything, He was at work bringing me to a better place.  I want to live a life as someone who is waiting well and that means being about God’s plans and purposes for my life.

Somewhere along the path of walking in God’s will and doing what He’s called me to do, my steps will intersect with those of the man God has chosen for me… the manifestation & answer to my prayer of faith!  I don’t set the time table, I just stay focused on following the path God has laid out for me, living life fully and learning to WAIT WELL.

APPROPRIATE God’s Word. What does that even mean?

Posted on by vanessamaddoux@gmail.com in Blog, Devotions

Growing up in church, I have heard phrases like, “appropriate God’s promises”, “appropriate the blood of Jesus” and “appropriate His grace”, along with many others.  When used in context, I’m sure I understood the general message of what was being said.  That said, I can’t tell you that I would have ever used the word “appropriate” on my own. I just didn’t have a meaningful understanding of it and definitely couldn’t connect any kind of mental image to the word, which always helps me if I can SEE something.

This week that changed.

Let’s start with the general meaning of the word APPROPRIATE in it’s verb tense: to seize for oneself or as one’s right. 

The table is spread before us!
The table is spread before us!

When we say we need to “appropriate” God’s promises, the blood of Jesus, healing, God’s grace, etc., what we are saying is that we need to SEIZE FOR OURSELVES these things and we seize them as OUR RIGHT to do so.  All of these things are available. They are nurturing and delicious foods laid out on the banquet table prepared for ALL mankind to sit, eat and enjoy but we MUST come to the table to eat.  We have been invited to the table so we have a right to be there but we MUST seize for ourselves and appropriate this “food” that God has prepared.

When Jesus, the Son of God came to earth as son of man, He was able to do and be what men could not do and be.  He lived a holy life without sin, overcoming every temptation known to man, and when He humbled himself to be tortured and nailed to the cross, He took on ALL of the sins of the world.  ALL sin.  All sin before and all sin after. Christ’s death and resurrection sealed the victory over sin and death for every person who has ever lived… forever!

Does this mean then that ALL are now “saved”.  (I realized “saved” is a very Christian/Church word to use but it makes sense here.  Christ’s death “saved” us from having to pay for our own sins by death.)

This is where the lovely “word of the day” APPROPRIATE actually came alive to me this week. SALVATION has been provided for ALL MANKIND through Christ but we each have to APPROPRIATE what Christ did for us.  We have to SEIZE FOR OURSELVES the forgiveness and freedom from sin that Christ provided for us as he died the perfect sacrifice and rose again to live forever!  We all must choose to repent, turn from our sin and seize the salvation that has already been provided. We seize or appropriate that salvation by faith. It is as simple as moving from a state of unbelief into belief. There are no hoops to jump through, no incantations to recite, no obstacle courses to complete… just move from unbelief to belief.  Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

We are invited to the banquet table… salvation is there for you to dine.

The Bible says (Isaiah 53:5) that he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, by the stripes he took on his back, we are healed! Does this mean that every person walking the earth is now healed? The healing was provided by Christ through his sacrifice, once and for all.  He took the stripes on his back FOR. EACH. AND. EVERY. PERSON’S. HEALING. There is healing for everyone.  We have to appropriate and seize for ourselves the healing that is already provided.  We appropriate healing by faith, believing God’s word that healing is available.

We are invited to the banquet table… healing is part of the delicious foods spread out before you!

We appropriate God’s promises… too many to even try to list here and they are available to all of his children.  We must appropriate them, seize them by faith.  You may be asking, “How do I do all this by faith? You say this happens by faith but I don’t even know how to get faith!”

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:15-17) God’s Word, the Bible, is true.  Everyone wants to know the Truth so we build our faith by reading what is true.  Faith comes as we read the truths in God’s word and allow the Holy Spirit to help our understanding.  Read the Bible out loud to yourself and let the truth begin to live inside of you.  Your faith will increase and the Holy Spirit will help you as you begin to believe and seize for yourself as your right all that God has already provided for you through Christ!

Isaiah 25:6-10

But here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies
    will throw a feast for all the people of the world,
A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,
    a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish
    the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
    Yes, he’ll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
    He’ll remove every sign of disgrace
From his people, wherever they are.
    Yes! God says so!

 Also at that time, people will say,
    “Look at what’s happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
    This God, the one we waited for!
Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
    God’s hand rests on this mountain!”