Stand on the Promise!

A story in the bible that intrigues me is the story of Abraham and Sarah.  I'm pretty sure most people have heard or read their story.  In a nutshell, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that his wife Sarah would give birth to a son despite the fact that Abraham and Sarah were advanced in years.  Eventually, Sarah did give birth to a son when she was about 90 years old and Abraham was about 100 years old.  I would suggest reading it if you haven't already, it's a good story with a couple of twists and turns.  You can find it in Genesis.

What was most intriguing to me about the story was not the fact they were able to have a baby despite their advanced ages.  I was mostly intrigued by the faith of Abraham.  Romans 4:19-20 states "without weakening in his faith, he (Abraham) faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about 100 years old and Sarah's womb was dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised."

Abraham was an awesome man of faith.  He basically said that I know me and my wife are so old that we are close to the grave but I'm not gonna focus on that because God gave me a promise and there is nothing too hard for him.  So I'm gonna believe God and praise Him in advance for the promise that is on the way.  That is exactly what Abraham did and God saw him as righteous.  

It took MANY years for the promise to manifest, but Abraham did not waver in his faith.  He stood right there on his promise and he waited patiently for God to move.  He didn't consider his circumstances nor did he complain about how long it was taking.  He just stood on the promise and praised God.  Abraham was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He promised to do. That means that he completely believed God.  There was not a doubt in his mind and he didn't struggle with unbelief.  I imagine it was like having tunnel vision.  He blocked out everything around him such as naysayers, doubt, worry and unbelief and he looked straight ahead focusing only on the promise of God.

Anybody out there want to be more like Abraham? I know I do.  I would like to get to a place where I stop wavering, stop doubting, stop being impatient, and stop allowing unbelief to steal the hope and joy of the promises that I know God has for me.  I want to get to a place where I can praise in spite of how long it's taking instead of complain.  God honors faith not complaints.

So, let's be more like Abraham.  Let's get rid of  the doubt, worry and unbelief and begin to praise God in advance for the promises that are coming our way.  Stand strong in faith on the promises that you know God has spoken to you.  I would even suggest writing them down and during those times when you're feeling like nothing is going right, pull out those promises, praise God for them and become strengthened in your faith. God is not slack concerning his promises. 

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.

How I Was Blessed By A Plant!

A few months ago, my husband made a hobby out of growing potted plants.  He loves his plants and he takes good care of them.  He even named a couple of them lol.  I think he has a "green thumb" because his plants have been flourishing.  A couple of months ago, he decided to grow a plant for me.  He ended up naming the plant "Teeter" because it was the smallest of the plants that were growing at the time.  Within a few weeks, Teeter shot up and is now the tallest of all of the plants. About  3 weeks ago, we noticed that Teeter had a bud at the tip of tallest stem.  We had no idea what would be blooming or how long it would take because they were wildflower seeds.  But we have been watching it with anticipation over the weeks.

This morning, I didn't wake up in the best mood.  I woke up feeling a little discouraged and a tad bit stressed about a couple of situations that are going on.  I didn't feel like getting up to do my daily devotional, I just wanted to lay in the bed and sleep until it was time for work.  I decided to get on up and have my devotional time.  I'm so glad I did because the lesson was right on time.  It talked about overcoming worry through praising God.  Although, I still felt a little discouraged after reading the devotional I decided that I would put into practice what I just learned.  I began to take my eyes off what was wrong and begin to focus on what was right.  I began to pray and thank God for everything that I could think of and my spirits were immediately lifted.

Before I began my devotional I got up to determine if I was going to turn the light on in the room or use the natural light.  I decided to go with natural light so I opened the curtains. We have sliding doors in our bedroom which leads to a balcony and that is where my husband keeps his plants.  I opened the curtains around 9:15 a.m. I glanced at the plants and there they were all doing fine, nothing had changed.  Teeter still had the bud.  I didn't think anything of it and went ahead with devotion.  During the time that I was praising and thanking God, I was also getting ready for work.  My mood had completed changed and I was feeling great.  My gospel music was playing and I continued to just thank God.  I came in the room and sat on the bed to put on lotion and I happened to glance over to where the plants were and to my surprise Teeter had bloomed just that fast.  I was so elated when I saw the beautiful purple flower.

As I was sitting there staring at the flower and taking pictures to send to my husband, something dropped in my spirit.  I heard the words "that's just how God works...quickly and suddenly."  I became even more excited.  When I first opened the curtain at 9:15 a.m. Teeter was still a bud and when I looked back out around 10:40 a.m. there was all of a sudden a beautiful purple flower.   I felt like God was letting me know that I don't have to worry because everything is going to be alright.  If we keep our eyes on Jesus He will SUDDENLY change our situation.  He has the power to do it.  The fact that the flower was purple was a double blessing because that it is my favorite color.  I believe God orchestrated all of the events of that morning.  I believe that since I chose to PRAISE instead of have a pity party, that he decided to bless and speak to me through a plant.

If you find yourself worrying about situations that you have no control over, give them to God and choose to PRAISE.  There is nothing too hard for God and He has the power to turn your situation around at a moments notice.  He is a God of SUDDENLY!

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly. II Chronicles 2:29.

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.
   

God Has A Plan!

Have you ever sat, pondering over your life and felt that where you are in life was not apart of your plans?! This has often been a struggle for me.  I would sit and think about all of the grandiose plans I made for myself when I was a young adult and compare those plans to where I am now.  My life currently looks nothing like the life I planned all those years ago.  But, life happens and things don't always go as planned.  As I sat and thought about things, I would be discouraged and begin to have a pity party.  One day, God led me to Jeremiah 29:11, which says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse has been very encouraging to me.  It tells me that just because my plans didn't work doesn't mean my life can't still be great.  God has plans for me and His plans are far greater than anything I could have ever imagined.  He has a purpose for everything that I have been through and all of my shortcomings, for all of my accomplishments and all of the things that I didn't accomplish. God can take what I see as failure and turn it into something amazing.  "Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. according to the power that works in us" Ephesians 3:20.   

All I have to do is put my trust in Him.  Trust that regardless of  how it looks, I am right where God wants me to be at this time.  Trust that as long as I am in God's will doing what He wants me to do, in due time I will reap a harvest.  I have learned that God does not do things the way we may think he should.  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" Isaiah 55:8.  God doesn't always take us in a straight line to get us from point A to point B.  He sometimes takes us through hills and valleys.  In our eyes it may seem like things aren't working out or falling into place.  But in God's eyes, we are right where He wants us.

If you're struggling today with where you are in life, just know that God does have a plan.  Even if you may have fallen off and gotten off track in your walk, God can meet you where you are and get you back on course.  Seek God and Trust His Plan.  It will all work out in the end!

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.