Still Water Moments: The Benefits of a State of Thankfulness

1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 

 Thanksgiving tends to conjure up thoughts of family gatherings around traditional feasts and maybe football.  Sometime during the gathering many may pause so each person can share something they are thankful for.  This can be a beautiful family bonding experience that fosters a spirit of gratitude among the group.  For the Christian, this is a continual state we should aim to consistently be in 365 days of the year.  However, the enemy would have us focus on what we don’t have and if we focus on it long enough, it will lead to a spirit of entitlement which leads to discontent, strife and frustration.  The way to ward off this rabbit hole of spiritual decline is to maintain a spirit of gratitude towards God, Who He is to us and what He has done.  Examples of how this can be done include simply talking and communing with God and telling Him what He means to you and what you’re grateful for; praise and worship; having a gratitude journal, etc.  Your chosen mode of expressing gratitude will come in handy whenever you’re tempted to lament about whatever that thing is that you have been waiting on God for.  That thing you wish you had that may sometimes make you question God’s goodness and love for you.  The enemy is cunning and unrelenting, so when these thoughts come, these thoughts that can be such a slippery slope into the rabbit hole, go into spiritual battle and fight those thoughts with gratitude and focusing on God’s goodness.

God being the ever gracious and giving Father that He is provides benefits to us when we are thankful to Him.  Philippians 4:4-7 states, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  These verses are chock full of benefits! 1) We are told not to be anxious about anything which means God has everything under control.  2) We are told to come to God with our prayers and concerns, that in itself is an awesome privilege to be able to speak directly to the Father without having to perform a bunch of Old Testament rituals first. 3) When we pray with thanksgiving, He gives us His peace and not just any peace.  It’s the kind that doesn’t make sense because we’ll have it in spite of challenging circumstances.  Furthermore, it will guard our hearts and minds in Christ so that worry cannot get to us.

 As we segue into the Christmas season, let us be thankful for having a God that loved us so much, that He Who lived in glorious majesty and splendor, humbled Himself and came upon the earth in human form.  He could’ve  been a man that appeared out of nowhere and we still would’ve been blessed by His ministry, but He chose to enter the world as an infant.  Just imagine all that omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience within a baby!  His earthly life gave us the example of how to conduct ourselves in our daily lives.  He then went on to end His earthly ministry in the most humbling of deaths so that we may have an abundant life on earth and an eternal one in heaven.  HALLELUJAH!!!  Now that is something to be grateful for year-round!

Reflection: What is one way you can institute a daily routine of expressing gratitude to the Lord?

Still Water Moments: How Do I Worship Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…

Nehemiah 9: 6 You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

There are many ways to worship God, the most common being the praise and worship portion of church service.  Then there’s dance, poetry, journaling and playing musical instruments.  There are some less common forms of worship such as interpretive mime and drawing and/or painting a picture in honor of God.  I was recently challenged by my therapist about another form of worship.  I was going through a particularly stressful period in my life, and I was sharing with her that one thing that helped to calm me was watching oceanic life videos.  While I would be in awe of the myriad of fish in the ocean and their habits, I would actually feel guilty that I found this comforting thinking that instead I should be doing something else in those moments like praying and meditating.  While I understand the latter are vital to a relationship with Christ, my therapist shared that we are actually supposed to celebrate God’s handiwork and what He has made.  She went on to share how God tells us in Proverbs 6:6 to “Study the ant…”.  We can actually worship God by being in awe and amazed by the intricacies, details, and creativity in all that He has made.

This may not be news to you, but it was an eye opener for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always acknowledged God as the master artist when it comes to the beauty of the earth but adding it to my own personal list of ways I worship God was a game changer.  I actually had already been doing it, not realizing what I was doing was a form of worship.  My favorite place to go is the shore and it is also my favorite place to spend time with God.  I sit in a beach chair for hours and just stare at the waves and the expansiveness of the ocean itself.  This postures me for worship as I express my appreciation for His artistry of the sea.  Sometimes I listen to worship music while I stare at the water, but mostly I listen to the waves.  It is a beautiful time of communing with Him and hearing what He wants to say to me. 

I also make a point to acknowledge God and see the beauty in my least favorite biomes. I am not a fan of woodsy type landscapes.  The thought of all the insects and furry critters that run around are enough to give me the heebie jeebies.   However, God and I had a laugh about this not too long ago when I was driving to work.  The beginning of my commute is a four-mile drive on a two-lane road through the woods.  One morning I was struck by the lush greenery that surrounded me, and I laughingly told God that I was so happy to experience seeing this enclosed in my car. 

Genesis 1 depicts how God created the different features of earth.  The story of creation truly displays God’s wisdom, creativity, and power through His ability to flawlessly form earth and man over the first six days.  His omniscience and omnipotence were further shown in that within each 24-hour period he created biomes, ecosystems, climates, etc. all with intricate details that are inexhaustible for us to learn about.  Let’s take the time to be intentional about worshiping God by acknowledging the intricate beauty He surrounds us with.

Reflection:  Have you ever been able to sit quietly and spend time with God in your favorite outdoor environment?  If not, would you be open to communing with God in this manner? 

Still Water Moments Worship: The Answer for Everything!

Psalm 99: 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name— He is holy.

Worship is vital to having an authentic relationship with the Lord.  We are told and encouraged to do it in various scriptures and many people in the bible are an inspiration to us because of their exuberance in showing devotion to the Lord.  It is truly one way we take delight in Him, and this pleases Him and draws Him closer to us as He inhabits the praises of His people, (Psalm 22:3).  God, being the graceful and good God that He is, blesses us in many ways through our worship, such as being in His presence.  Another way He blesses us is by elevating our prayers.  Dr. Dharius Daniels of Change Church explained that he worships before going into prayer during his devotional time.  He explained that the worship reminds him of who God is and what He is capable of.  This causes him to go into prayer with faith and hope that his prayers will be answered.  I dare extend this idea by suggesting we create a “worship sandwich” and worship after prayer as well, thanking God in advance for what He is going to do in response to our requests!

Hopefully for you, worship is not just relegated to church and private devotional time.  You can worship at any time, through any emotion.  Worship when you’re happy because you’re acknowledging what He’s done.  Worship when you’re sad because He is nigh to the brokenhearted, (Psalm 34:18). Worship Him when you’re angry as He’ll help you calm down and minister to you about how to assuage it.  I’m not saying it’s easy to break forth in song when you’re enraged, (by the way, there’s many ways to worship and we’ll discuss this in a forthcoming devotion), but I am encouraging you to acknowledge Him somehow as we are told in Psalm 34:1-3 KJV, “I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  No matter the emotion we’re feeling at the time, we’re reminded of who He is when we worship and that encourages our spirit man and fosters hope.

Deuteronomy 31:6 tells us the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. Thus, He is there through every emotion, so we don’t have to “get right” and make sure we’re in a positive mood before we approach Him.  He is pleased because when we approach Him in every situation, through every emotion we feel, we’re expressing our dependence on Him. While we worship because of Who He is and we long to be in His sweet presence, the beauty of it is He wants to be with us too. 

 Reflection: Is there an emotion you experience that makes you feel too ashamed to approach the Lord?  If so, make an attempt to approach Him the next time you feel it, you have nothing to lose and something precious to gain!

Still Water Moments: We All Struggle, We All Need Grace

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Last month, we discussed the need for God’s grace for ourselves as we overcome personal struggles and/or temptations. This month we focus on the need to show grace to others. We all struggle with something; however, we deal with it in various ways. Some go straight to God with the concern; some tackle it in their own strength; some try to manage the situation by turning to a substance to help calm and/or distract them; some are overwhelmed with anxiety, etc.

Those of us in the faith are at an advantage. We know we are not alone and have the ability to go to God with the issue(s) and ask for help, peace, rest, and patience while we wait for a breakthrough. Some of us are at different points in our faith walks and respond in a myriad of ways as explained above. “Seasoned Christians” typically have experience walking with the Lord and have stronger faith and peace knowing He will perfect that which concerns them. Some Christians are babes in Christ just beginning to build trust and some have been a Christian for several years and still have difficulty trusting Him to work things out. The one thing we all have in common is we’re all Christians and should care for each other as siblings in Christ trying to walk the straight and narrow path. Therefore we should pray when we observe someone struggling as opposed to judging them and feeling like they should be further along in their walk.

Titus 2: 11-12 states, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.” Let’s focus on the word teaches in the scripture. As a fourth-grade teacher, I need to differentiate instruction for my students as they all have different abilities and learning styles. For example, when I teach the multiplication unit, the students learn six different ways to multiply. Once they learn them, they differ in their preference of the method used to solve a problem. Furthermore, as they complete the problems, some need scrap paper, some need a multiplication chart, some need manipulatives and some need teacher assistance. Additionally, the students need to practice the strategies before they master them, some catch on quickly while others need more time to grasp the skill. I believe God is the same way with us as He teaches us to overcome our struggles. He needs to differentiate how we each overcome our struggles as we are all individuals with different personalities, understanding, abilities, etc. Some of us need more time than others to overcome certain struggles. This is another reason we should try not to judge others as we do not know all the factors that lead them to the point they are at nor do we really know where they are in their spiritual journey the way Christ does. Moreover, Christ is the only One that knows what specific strategies are best for teaching each individual. The term teaches in the scripture indicates this is an ongoing process.

Those that don’t know Christ at all are in a precarious situation. I honestly don’t know how people make it without Him. It would probably help us empathize with them if we picture ourselves trying to face the difficult situations in our lives without Christ. We probably would feel hopeless, distraught, worried, and the list goes on and on. With compassion, grace and empathy, we can lead an unsaved person to Christ and encourage a fellow Christian to stay the course in the face of adversity.

Reflection: Think of someone that you have had a hard time extending grace to. Can you commit to praying for them every day for 30 days?

Still Water Moments: God Knows the Struggle is Real!

1 Corinthians 10:13a No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.

Our focus scripture tells us we all struggle with something: anger, overeating, overspending, etc.  There are also the struggles people are hesitant to share, such as sexual sins outside of marriage, pornography, cutting, alcoholism, etc.  For the sake of clarity, when I say struggle within this month’s devotional, I am referring to having a particular issue that proves to be a temptation for you and you have the desire to try not to succumb to it as opposed to willingly partaking in the temptation and not caring what the bible has to say about it.  With this form of struggling, when you do fall into temptation, you typically feel convicted afterwards. 

Satan wants to isolate us because he knows we can’t withstand temptation on our own.  James 1:14-16 says, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”  This scripture tells us his ultimate goal is to see our downfall and if he can get us to repeatedly succumb to temptation, he gets closer and closer to his goal.  He is patient and strategic in how he goes about attempting to achieve his deadly goal in your life.  One tactic he uses is to try to isolate you from God using shame.  While God will never leave us nor forsake us, our intimacy with Him can be weakened when we spend less time in His presence.  Therefore, Satan will bombard us with lies that sound like, “Something must be really wrong with you if you struggle like this, your case is hopeless and can’t be helped”, “God’s always angry at you so why talk to Him?”, or “What you struggle with is so horrible, you’re the worst person ever!  Surely God can’t love someone like you!”.  If you start to believe the lies, you’ll begin to think you are the only one who struggles the way you do with this particular sin when the focus scripture says it is common. You will be hesitant to go to God for help with your struggle and you will descend into the depths of shame and embarrassment and eventually avoid going to God because of it.  In time, your aversion to going to the Father grows, as does your isolation.  This is when the enemy will step in with full force because he knows 1:1, we are no match for him.  In this state, it is easier for him to rip us apart as his goal is to steal, kill and destroy, (John 10:10). 

Instead of playing a willing part in the enemy’s plan to destroy us with temptation, let’s tap into God’s promises and provision for us.  Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”  This is one of many scriptures that says God is with us, furthermore He is there to help when we are in trouble, which includes facing temptation.  In order to experience His strength when we are tempted, there are a couple of things we need to do.  First, if we haven’t already, we need to ask for forgiveness for the times we’ve fallen.  Next, when asking for His help, we have to be transparent with God and say, “I want to [fill in the blank with the temptation] but I know that it is wrong.  I need you to help me not succumb to it because I know I can’t do it alone.”  Then, we must follow His instructions.  The remainder of our focus scripture, 1 Cor. 10:13 goes on to say, “And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  This scripture tells us He will make a way for us to resist the temptation.  Taking the action to resist won’t always feel good or be easy.  Strength training is not easy.  While you are lifting the weight, you feel the tension in your muscles as you complete each rep.  Similarly, resisting won’t be easy, but each time you do, He is strengthening your spiritual endurance.  Relying on His grace and help while following His instruction reminds us that we are weak independent of Him.  Most importantly, we grow closer to the Father each time we go to Him when we feel tempted.  This becomes another way we know Him as our protector.

Lastly, having a trusted support system is also helpful in overcoming temptation. It’s understood if you don’t want to share your struggle with everyone, in fact, that is wise as even some Christians do not have the maturity or experience to handle certain issues with the confidentiality and discretion it deserves as it should be someone who will listen without judgment and be a prayer and support while you go through your healing journey.  I am grateful for the saints that are transparent and willing to tell their stories of struggle as it is usually done from a place of victory and have overcome it and/or learned how to properly manage it.  Researching and finding resources, (books, articles, videos), of those that have overcome a struggle similar to yours can be helpful as you take note of what action steps they took to overcome, and you are also encouraged to know you are not alone and that it is possible to be victorious over the struggle.  As you consider who you can confide in and what resources can encourage you, begin by having the conversation with God first.  He is your best friend and the One most equipped to support and guide you through the healing process. 

Reflection:  If God is omniscient, can we really hide anything from Him?  Do I take daily action steps to invite Him to help me overcome temptation?

Still Water Moments: Besides the Obvious, What Can I Learn from Sin?

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Let’s think back to when we were children and a parent/caregiver put us on restriction in response to some form of misbehavior.  We probably responded to the grounding in one of three ways: 1) we fumed and resented the restriction; 2) made a master plan of how to do it again without getting caught, or 3) reflected on our mistake and thought about how to improve our behavior.  When it comes to correction from God, we might as well stick with 3) because 1) is dismissed if we truly believe He loves us and knows what is best for us and 2) is foiled since He sees all and knows all, there is no way to outsmart Him!

Learning from one’s mistakes is a sign of maturity.  It takes reflection and introspection to dissect one’s own part in a mistake.  It takes further effort to recognize what steps need to be taken not to make the mistake again.  Those of us in relationship with the Lord know that we are fortunate that we don’t do these actions alone.  Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (KJV).  Yes, there are consequences to sin but while as children we may have been relegated alone to our rooms as punishment for misbehaving, God promises to always be with us, thus He is with us while enduring the consequences.   Furthermore, the fellowship with Him is sweeter and unhindered when we are truly repentant of our sin.  It is during these times when we are open to the correction that we experience Him as a healer because He may show us the underlying issue(s) that brought us to this point and the work can begin for Him to help us address it. 

Let’s look at an example.  Perhaps you struggle with gossip.  Let’s say the gossip is mainly about a supervisor that gets on your last nerve.  The obvious natural consequence may come in the form of others gossiping about you, given Galatians 6:7 states, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”  You repent and sit quietly with God about it.  Perhaps He shows you that you engaged in the gossip for a couple of reasons, 1) When speaking with others about the annoying habits of the supervisor, it validated for you that you weren’t irrational in your thoughts of them because others are seeing the same thing you do.  This leads to the question of why you needed the validation for your point of view in the first place.  Furthermore, God being the God that He is, He’ll show you some things about the supervisor as to why he/she does these things which will most likely foster compassion within you for this person.  2) God also shows you that you enjoy gossip because pointing out the faults in others helps you take your focus off of your own.  Now that your eyes are opened to these two issues, God helps you deal with the need for validation outside of Him as well as your perspective of your faults.  We improve as we are open to His correction and healing in us and we become testimonies of Him working everything for our good and conforming us more to Christ’s image, (reference Romans 8: 28-30)!

Reflection Question: What issue(s) is God trying to show me as the root of my sin?

Still Water Moments: When in Sin, Run to God, not Away!

1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.

 When we are tempted to sin, have sinned, or are engaging in ongoing sin, our flesh may be naturally inclined to run from God just as Adam and Eve did in the garden.  They hid from God after they disobeyed Him, furthermore, they clothed themselves due to their shame.  You may feel embarrassed and ashamed to keep going to God with the same sin/struggle to the point where 1) you’re picturing Him shaking His head at you and lamenting, “you did it again…” and 2) you’re tempted not to even confess or go to Him because you’ve failed so many times you think it’s impossible to change and think you need to accept “this is just how I am”.  In reality, it’s good we keep going to Him because it’s indicating we know we can’t make it without Him.  It’s actually pride if we give in to thinking “that is just how I am” and give up.  This attitude also dismisses the great sacrifice Christ made for us in His death as He knew we would sin.  It is as if we are saying His sacrifice was not sufficient enough to cover our sins. 

 God is inexhaustible in the ways we can know Him.  For example, He’s our Master, Healer, Provider, Protector and so much more!  He’s also our Forgiver and Grace Giver but we don’t know that if we don’t experience it!

Moreover, John 15:5-6 tells us that we are the branches that must remain connected to the vine, (Jesus Christ), and that apart from Him we can do nothing, including withstand sin.  The enemy would have us think that we can’t approach God until we “get right” but since that can never happen apart from God, it creates a precarious situation of gradually distancing ourselves from the only One that can help us.  John 15:5-6 goes on to tell us that if we don’t remain in Him, we’ll be like a branch that is thrown away, withered, and thrown into a fire: exactly what the enemy aims to see happen!  God knows we are not strong enough to withstand sin on our own and require His help.  Note what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”  We experience that power when we go to Him.

 We were never meant to change for the better on our own, nor do we have that ability.  God is the One who brings positive change in us, and it typically happens over time, what we refer to as progressive sanctification. 

Let’s look at an example.  Let’s say your issue is having a short temper and when you lose it, you say reckless things and curse.  You find yourself in a conversation where you feel yourself getting angry with someone and you quickly mentally pray, “God help me!”  Perhaps you end up losing it and say three curse words when normally you say 5+.  Sanctification is gradual and we will never be perfect, but with the Holy Spirit’s help we will grow and improve!  Every victory in the fight against sin is worth celebrating no matter how small!  Keep checking in with God, confessing sin, and listen to Him.  He will show you how to address the struggle in increments that you can handle.  If he showed us all the ways we needed to change and expected it to happen immediately, we would be overwhelmed.  He is a patient Father, lovingly guiding us step by step to improvement and picking us up when we fall.  This is when we truly experience His unconditional love, proving He is there no matter what!

Reflective Question: How do I picture God responding to me when I confess my sins?  If necessary, what scripture can I use to remind myself that He loves me unconditionally?

Still Water Moments: New Year’s Resolutions Revisited

2 Peter 3:8  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Question: If you made a New Year’s Resolution(s), how is progress towards that goal coming along for you?  According to a survey conducted by Forbes Health/One Poll, “the average resolution lasts just 3.74 months. Only 8% of respondents tend to stick with their goals for one month, while 22% last two months, 22% last three months and 13% last four months.”[1]  You may feel discouraged if you are in the percentage of those who lost course in pursuit of their goals.  Perhaps you don’t typically make New Year’s resolutions, but you presently have disappointment you aren’t yet where you thought you’d be in certain areas of your life.  The spectacular news is we serve a God not bound by time nor significant dates, that would limit His omnipotence!

Think of God as the Composer and Grand Conductor of the symphony of our lives.  Think of the strings, (the main body of the orchestra), as your relationship with God.  The daily actions we make to maintain that relationship should be the “main body” of our lives.  Think of the brass section as your family and the percussion section as your job.  Lastly, think of the woodwind section as everything else, e.g. health/self-care, leisure, etc.  When a symphony is created using these sections, you may typically hear crescendos and decrescendos, soft peaceful legato notes, and dramatic staccato ones.  One section may provide the melody while the other sections support it via the harmony.  All four sections come together to create one musical piece, a symphony.  Now think of all these portions of a symphony coming together to create your life.  If God is the composer, He knows how the beginning, middle, and end of the song are supposed to sound.  Moreover, He knows the form, or structure, of the song meaning the order in which the components should take place.   We do not and if we’re honest with ourselves, that scares some of us.  However, that is a devotion for another day, right now we are focused on timing.  If God knows the form of the song, i.e. our lives, how silly would it be of us to confine His actions to our timelines?  If you read 2 Peter chapter 3 you will note the context of our focus verse, which indicates that we serve a God not bound by time.

I want to be clear, yes, we should have goals, but we need to put those goals in God’s hands to be executed as He sees fit because He is the only one who knows when and where it will fit beautifully in our symphonies.  Habakkuk 2: 2-3 tells us, “And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”  As your vision is written, pray and seek the Lord about what He has to say about it, (if you have not, please read last month’s devotion as it speaks to the importance of listening to what God has to say to us individually).  He will advise you as to what you should be doing in the meantime and this “meantime” strengthens our faith and relationship with the Lord.  While in these periods, take hope in Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Reflection: Were the goals you created for yourself God inspired?  Would the achievement of these goals glorify Him?

[1] https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/

Still Water Moments - Part III

John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

In continuing our conversation about still water moments, let’s reflect on points made thus far.  Part I spoke of the reason why we need to have them.  Part II focused on when we have these moments and challenged us to be intentional about carving out multiple times in the day to acknowledge and spend time with the Lord.  Part III will focus on the conversational piece of these moments. 

Have you ever had a conversation with someone but it’s clear they are distracted and not hearing you?  Or how about the person that just wants to hear themself speak?  They’re just biding time waiting for you to pause so they can interject their opinions on the subject regardless of what you said because they weren’t actively listening.  There are also the times when a person may assume they know your point of view on a subject and overtalk you and take the subject and run with their own narrative.  I personally find these instances annoying and feel the person sees no value in what I’m saying.  It makes me wonder how God must feel whenever I list my requests during prayer but do not take the time to listen to Him.

Merriam Webster’s definition of conversation is: … an exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas.

The theme of conversation is tied up in the word, exchange.  There is a give and take between two or more people when a productive conversation is taking place.  I dare say, when we are praying and having our conversations with the Lord, we should be doing more listening than speaking.  Since He is our Creator, He knows us better than we could ever know ourselves.  He is omniscient, (all knowing).  Thus, He sees every single detail of a situation we find ourselves in, such as the people involved; the effect it would have on us and our family; how it could affect us long term, etc.  Our view is limited, our thinking is limited, His is not.  Thus, when we pray about a situation, His guidance and solution will automatically take precedence over any solution we could come up with.  This is one of the reasons the bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Just as we want to be heard during conversations, so does God and it is critical that we listen for His guidance.  The bible gives us direction about many things we face in life via accounts, parables and commands.  When we take the time to listen to God, He gives us direction AND insight on specific situations in our individual lives.  If we are truly saying He is the leader of our lives, we need to hear what His leading is for our lives.  When we listen to God, we position ourselves to experience and receive great things from Him.  For example, Psalm 85:8 says, “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants- but let them not turn to folly.” In addition to peace, our faith and trust in Him grows, we are encouraged, we feel validated because we recognize He sees us, and we feel closer to God as our bond with Him deepens.  Clearly, we have nothing to lose and much to gain when we listen to God!

Reflection:  How often do I take the time to listen to what God has to say to me?  Is it difficult for me to follow His direction if it doesn’t make sense to me?

Still Water Moments-Part II

John 15: 5-6a I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; (NKJV)

Let’s continue our discussion of “still water moments” that we began last month.  The scripture reference makes it clear we are to be connected to Christ as He is where we get our vitality from. Let’s look closely at the word abide.  Bible Hub explains one of the Greek root words for abide is remain.  What this signifies is being in a constant state of conducting ourselves within Him in everything we do and speak.  This requires “still water” moments with Him throughout the day.  Think of how often you check in with your spouse, child, best friend, etc. throughout the day, how much more should we be checking in with Christ?

These moments will not look the same for each of us as we are unique individuals with different roles and responsibilities throughout the day.  However, what we do have in common is the need to be intentional about having these moments throughout each day, our well-being and that of those we encounter is dependent on it. I’ll use myself as an example.  Each morning when I wake up, I greet the Lord with thanksgiving for allowing me to see another day and acknowledge who He is.  I’m a fourth-grade teacher and Monday-Friday on my 40-minute drive to work, I start my commute while praying using the ACTS model of prayer, (ACTS stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication).  During the supplication portion, I pray about the day ahead and ask God to make me sensitive to what He wants me to learn and observe about my students that day.  After prayer, I listen to worship music to help me focus on Christ as opposed to my flesh which would not help my students at all! 

By the time my lunch break rolls around, I am ripe for quiet and solitude and this is a time I set aside a few still water moments of refreshing.  These are vital for me before re-engaging with the students and finishing the school day.  When I’ve been sensitive to the Spirit during my workdays, He’s shown me the struggles of some of my students, such as the tallest student in the grade who walked with her shoulders hunched because she was ashamed of her height.  The straight-A student who gets anxious during a test.  The straight-A student who wanted to be seen as more than “the smart one”.  The student who hardly spoke for weeks yet opened up when his interest in dinosaurs and bugs was validated.  Then He gave me the words to say to encourage and build relationships with them.  I believe these were instances of the “fruit” referenced in the scripture.  I sometimes wonder what opportunities I missed when I didn’t take the time to refocus and instead taught in my flesh instead of allowing the Spirit to guide me. 

If the workday is particularly trying, I have an additional “still water” moment on the drive home from work and listen to what God may want to show me about that particular day.  I have more “still water” moments in the evening before bed when I try to read something.  Additionally, on the weekend I typically have more time to devote to commune with the Lord and enjoy sitting quietly to take the time to listen to what He has to say to me.  I also love to take occasional trips to the shore, one of my favorite places to be.  I can stare at the waves for hours and commune with the Father while being in awe of His grandeur and handiwork in the movement and sound of the waves.

In closing, we can choose to go through the motions each day in our own strength or live more purposeful, meaningful lives by welcoming Christ into our day and allowing Him to use us.  We must be intentional about having time with the Lord throughout the day for the benefits are endless and vital.  Scripture makes the alternative clear, we dry up and wither as a plant without sunlight and water. Since we are without sustenance in this state, we have nothing to offer others.  Moreover, we are desolate within ourselves.  However, we do not have to remain in that state.  2 Corinthians 12:9 says that His strength is made perfect in weakness and Psalm 23:3 says He will restore our souls, but it all starts with a moment.  A moment in which we humbly come to Him and acknowledge these things.  The beautiful thing about all of our moments with Him is while God doesn’t need us, He loves us and wants to spend that time with us, His dearly loved children.

Reflection: What times have I set aside in my day to commune and refresh with the Father?  Are there specific places I like to go to commune with Him?

Still Water Moments - Part I

Psalm 23: 1-3a The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul. -KJV

Welcome to the very first Still Waters devotional!  It is only fitting given the title, that the first devotional would be dedicated to describing still waters and their benefits.  In various scriptures, Christians are described as sheep and Christ is our great shepherd.  Psalm 23 states that our shepherd leads us beside still waters which could make one question, why specifically still waters?  

  In Hebrew, still waters is “Mai Menochot,” which literally translates to “restful waters”.  In today’s society, “rest” is sometimes looked upon disdainfully.  Hustling and being busy is what is glamourized which is a trick of the enemy to get us to avoid something God created and wanted us to partake in on a regular basis.  He literally modeled resting on the seventh day of creation!  Thus, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the scripture states, “… he leadeth me beside the still waters”, this implies that it may not be our natural inclination to go there.  While God is leading us to these “still water moments”, He is leading us away from the hustle and bustle within busy days that can feel like raging rivers that can cause us to be easily distracted and lose sight of Him.  These moments with Him are valuable because they recenter us to be Christ-minded as we continue to go about the day.  

I want to clarify that still water is not the same as stagnant water.  Merriam Webster defines stagnant as, “not flowing in a current or stream; not advancing or developing”. It implies being stuck, no movement and decay.  Stagnant water stinks, point blank period.  However, still water provides a healthy refreshing exchange for the partaker. 

We know that physically rest/sleep restores and refreshes our bodies.  Psalm 62:1 supports that our souls need rest as well as it states, “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”  When we take the time to rest, reset and refresh with God each day, not only do we feel spiritually recharged, but it reminds us of the why behind what we do.  It reminds us that we are to be reflections of Christ to those we interact with and rejuvenates us to carry it out in our actions.

Reflection: What type of waters am I mostly in? Still, raging, or stagnant?