June 10, 2012 ~ The Deuteronomy Road

It is the Lord who goes before you. 
He will be with you; 
He will not leave you or forsake you. 
Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8

Thoughts~

Have you ever traveled The Deuteronomy Road? It’s a spiritual pathway that takes you on an amazing journey to the deepest relationship that you could possibly imagine with the Lord. Ever possibly imagine.  It's life changing!

If I were to have created a perfect path for my journey as a new believer, I would have designed it full of flowers along the borders, trees with spiritual fruits for the picking, birds singing, waterfalls flowing and dogs running beside me in happy merriment. There would be encouragement signs along the way with meaningful Bible verses that would propel me into “Spiritual Gianthood ” My life would be easy and carefree without troubles. And my version would have been something right out of a Walt Disney movie. However, God does not promise fairy tales, but help in our real life, every day dramas.

If God had allowed me to create a perfect path that would lead to spiritual growth, I would never have made it full of the bumps, valleys, and walls that I was constantly climbing out of, or over. 

And yet, God took an extremely bumpy path, and used it for His glory to bring me to a deeper spiritual walk with Him.  Every bump taught me to look to Him and no one else. Each of the valleys along the way taught me to trust Him with all of my heart. And the many walls I climbed over taught me how to pray for His will, not my own, when I came to something I thought was insurmountable. He showed me that nothing is impossible when He is in charge. Nothing.

Today, perfect peace for me is knowing that the path I take every day is the one where the Lord is in the lead, not me. It is knowing that no matter what, God will not forsake me, but watch over my every step as I walk along the way. I no longer have any fear, and feeling dismayed is no longer part of my vocabulary. That’s my Deuteronomy Road. A path where I follow Jesus.

Action~

For a minute or two, join me on The Deuteronomy Road. There is no need for a suit case; all you’ll need is one verse: Deuteronomy 31:8. Let’s dissect this amazing verse:

*Allow the Lord to go before you.

*He will be with you every step of the way.

*He will never leave you, not even once.

*He will never forsake you.

*You do not ever have to fear again because you will place your complete trust in Him.

*Dismay (to be shattered in the Hebrew) is no longer part of your world, because you know that God is in charge and has a better plan than you could have designed.

The secret to experiencing the fullness of God’s grace and love on The Deuteronomy Road is to stop listening to the enemy of God who wants you to fail/fear/stumble/panic/be anxious/feel shattered/be dismayed/worry/and give up.

When satan’s evil voice whispers into my ear I simply say out loud “Be gone, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Protector and my Truth!” I do not engage in any deeper conversation with the enemy, and I personally don’t feel more words are needed.  The Holy Spirit protects me from the enemy, so I do not need to quote lots of scripture to him.  He knows the truth and the Truth will make him flee: “Be gone, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Protector and my Truth!”

Please, as always, feel free to print the images out and use them as reminders. I truly want for you, my friend, to be blessed as you experience The Deuteronomy Road.

Pray~

Lord, thank You for the most amazing journey You have planned for my life. I trust You 100% to lead me onward, and I place my trust in You.

Trusting in Him,

Becky

June 9, 2012 ~ Encouragement

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another,

just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Thoughts~

My father was a radio announcer and he had a lot of funny stories to share at the dinner table.  But sometimes he would become pre-occupied and one evening I said something crazy to see if he was listening to me. “Yes, today I walked to the grocery store and was the 100,000 customer so won $10,000 worth of groceries” I said one time.  He didn’t hear me, but all of the kids and my mom joined in my laughter. After that, it became our little joke to get his attention. If he heard laughter, he wanted in on it too.

We humans need encouragement and attention.  We actually thrive on it. Without receiving this amazingly free gift that we can offer to anyone, we would most likely shrivel up inside. We can change someone’s day with just a little kindness, a smile, a pat on the back. We can also do the opposite by rushing by, ignoring, and being simply too busy to care.

I have noticed for many, many years how people walk by others and say “how are you” without waiting for an answer. They don’t make the time to engage with others. I am guilty of it too. I want to slow down and listen to the responses I get and check if the person is needing a little bit of extra time from me. Even if they are a stranger, that person may need one minute of my time to feel important, to feel worthy. And you never know when one little word leads to another and before we know it, we are aware that this encounter was a divine appointment set in our schedule by God. When He wants to send encouragement and love to someone, He uses us. We are His messengers of love.

Action~

Slow down and listen to the voices around you with an intentional ear. Is someone needing encouragement or that extra attention from you?  Can we be part of making someone’s day brighter or life easier? Can we be a link in the chain to sharing Jesus with them? Let’s encourage and build up one another.

Even if you are the person that needs the encouragement, step outside of your own needs and look to those of others and before you know it, you’ll be feeling encouraged just by being the encourager!

Pray~

Lord, please help me listen more intently to the people you bring into my path.  Give me an ear like You have and send me the perfect words to encourage and build up those that come into my life.

Trusting in Him,

Becky