Living The Dream Part 2

by Stacy

Read Living The Dream Part 1 here

Picture God saying to you, “There are certain things I want to do with you, FILL IN YOUR NAME.” God has a plan and He is directing your steps. Do you realize how many trials Joseph went through? He was thrown in a pit by his own family and sold into slavery by them. He was falsely accused of rape. He was thrown into prison and spent 13 years in jail!

Get this in your head. Bad things don’t happen to people who are just involved in bad things. That theology is false doctrine and I rebuke it in the name of Jesus. I don’t get how people believe that, but I do see throughout Scripture how the Lord’s children suffer trials and tragedy. Take Jesus for example. God Himself suffered. If the cross wasn’t fair, what makes you think that your life is going to be fair? Joseph went through the bad, yet still knew the promise and dream of God was coming.

God is always directing you. Psalm 37:23-24,

“If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand.”

God tells us in His Word that not even a sparrow falls to the ground that the Lord doesn’t know about. How much more does He love you!

God is always protecting you. Psalm 121: 5-8,

“The LORD watches over you---…The LORD will keep you from all harm---he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

God is always correcting you. Don’t ask “if God really loves us than why do we have these problems?” God’s greatest concern is not what happens to you, but how you respond to it, in it. Psalm 105:17-19,

“and he sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.” 

This is the testing. He went through all kinds of stuff “till the word of the LORD proved him true.” Reading this makes my life look like a cakewalk. I have never been sold into slavery, been thrown into prison in shackles, been in jail for 13 years. Wow. REALITY CHECK.

God is perfecting you. God isn’t so concerned about delivering us out of the mess we’re in, but delivering us out of the mess we are. Joseph went from being a dreamer to a slave worker to a prisoner to a Ruler over the kingdom. And all throughout Genesis in the story of Joseph, the Lord makes it clear He was with him. Genesis 39:2, 3, 23, “The LORD was with Joseph…” “The LORD was with him…” “The LORD was with Joseph…” Even in Acts 7:9 when Luke recounts the story of Joseph in the New Testament, he reminds us that “God was with Joseph and rescued him from all his troubles.” Maybe we need to say that out loud more often to remind ourselves. “The LORD is with Stacy.” Say it out loud for yourself.

In case, you aren’t familiar with the end of the story, Joseph becomes a ruler over Egypt and there are all kinds of other crazy, awesome things that happen along the way. He ends up being given the opportunity to show mercy and forgiveness to his brothers and essentially save his entire family’s lives in the midst of a famine. This is a perfect testament to how God desires us to behave, react, and live. Joseph could have let bitterness and scorn and hatred fill his heart and cut off his brothers from help, but he knew and had always known the LORD was with him. His story gives us a perfect picture into the heart of God. Bless your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Love mercy and walk humbly with God. His story can be found in Genesis 37-50.

Though there are times you may not see Him, feel Him, sense Him, He is:

Directing you

Protecting you

Correcting you

Perfecting you

Following Jesus is making God-given dreams come to life.

See you in the Round,
Stacy

*Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Living The Dream (Part 1)

by Stacy

"Livin' The Dream!" Most of us say this phrase with a lot of sarcasm. We say it to make the person laugh who asked us how we’re doing because we all can relate that life can just be dull sometimes. My husband and I are in a transition period right now. Yeah, you know how fun transition periods are! Lol! Trying to find a house to buy, trying to start a family, trying to find out where God is leading us next. Well, let’s remind ourselves that we each have a dream that was placed inside of us by God. This dream is specifically for us to do the will of the Creator.


Dr. James Merritt, a pastor in Georgia and once the President of Southern Seminary in Kentucky, recently spoke about living out the dream that God has placed in our hearts and how we can fall for things to get us off track.

In this day and age when everyone worships celebrities and desires to look and to act like them, it is easy to fall into the trap of comparison. The pressure is on to keep up with the Jones’. It’s not a secret that our society is teaching us everything contradictory to the Word of God. TV Shows called “Revenge”, “Betrayal”, and “Scandal” just perpetuate this way of life.

I’m not even just talking about a cultural level of comparison, but also a comparison even amongst ourselves as sisters in Christ. You and your husband may have been trying for a baby for years and your best friend just got pregnant. Please do not fall into the trap of comparison or jealousy will rear its ugly head and drive a wedge between your relationships. Our envy of others devours us most of all. God’s relationship with you is just as special as it is with your best friend. He sees you and is with you. God has a plan for your life---through you, with you, for you.

Following Jesus is making God-given dreams come to life. Remember Joseph?? He had a dream. Let’s look at the beginning of his story in Genesis 37:5,

 “Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

Now I have a brother and if he came to me with this dream, my reaction would totally depend on how he presented it to me. lol If he came to me proud and haughty, I would probably call him a punk. But if he approached me innocently and sincerely to tell me that God gave him a vision, I would keep it in mind. Who knows how Joseph presented it. All we know is that his brothers didn’t take the information so well.

It also didn’t help that Joseph’s brothers were jealous because their father favored him over all. But God doesn’t say that everything will be perfect in life. He doesn’t say to behave according to how someone approaches you. I’ve got some work to do over here. He warns that jealousy is worldy in 1 Corinthians 3:3, and that we are not to behave in jealousy in Romans 13:13. The point here is that Joseph had a dream. God showed him over and over that He had a purpose.

Warning: You will be criticized, even mocked, for carrying out the dream God gave you. For example, Alexander Graham Bell’s naysayers said in a Western Union internal memo, 1878, “the telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a practical form of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” Responding to an offer from Alexander Graham Bell to sell his telephone company, the Western Union president William Orton said, “What use could this company make of an electrical toy?”

The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advised Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Co., in 1903, saying, “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad.” Being from a Chevy family, my Dad would probably have a joke or two about Fords at this point.

And Joseph’s brothers mocked him saying “Here comes this dreamer.”

See me next time in the Round for Part 2!

Stacy

*Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Count It All Joy

by Stacy

I am a part of an online Bible study called “Wife After God”. I am very thankful for this study because the older I get, the harder it seems to be able to get people together due to different life issues. Because of technology today, I am able to be in a Bible study with women all over the world online, and that means a lot to me. Community and Growth are super important!!! I urge you to join a Bible study whether online or in-person with a group of believers.


I want to start off by talking about something I have learned and have been working at in my life diligently and that is: JOY. Take a moment to think of all the people in your life. People you come into contact with daily. If you are a Christian, you should look at life differently- with an eternal perspective and with an awareness and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, who is guiding you. This perspective changes your day-to-day activities and makes them His. Every single person all over the world was created by God and for God. And that means you. You are very special. Yes, YOU! And you have gifts to use in this world to be a light and show others the love of God.


When you serve God, it should not feel like total obligation and sacrifice constantly. It should feel like pure joy. You can share that joy with those around you. If there are troubles in your heart, ask God to Psalm 139 you.  Psalm 139:23-24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my thoughts: And see if there by any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Things in life can cause bitterness, as Elaine talked about yesterday.  I could tell you stories of things in my life, ups and downs, disappointments, confusing times, that beg the question "why", things that I did not understand and maybe when I look back still do not, etc.  And there is nothing more that the enemy wants than for that bitterness/confusion/self-focus to take root and cause you to stumble or be paralyzed and unavailable for the ministry of God.  Be aware of that and be on guard.

It takes sacrifice of your time, money, and energy. As a Christian, you are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. You are called to be a light in this world. Being a light is not going to work by shrinking away or by being offended and holding grudges. Get rid of that junk.  John the Evangelist tells us in 1 John 4:4,

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them (evil spirits), because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 

Work out your heart issues and ask God to " Create in me a clean heart and put a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).  He will do it!

Jesus says in John 14:12-14

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” 

Luke 6:35-36 brings us this challenge,

"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

So be liberated by the power of His name and live your life by His promises. You are gifted for great things!  Who is someone in your life that could use an encouraging word?  Have you noticed someone going through a tough time?  How could you be instrumental in lifting their spirits?  I pray your eyes would be open to whom God wants you to bless.  And count it all Joy.


See you in the Round!
Stacy

*Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.