empty

weakness, weak, strength, empty, grace, emptiness, enough, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Weak: When We are Empty, God’s Strength is Enough

DevotionalsJune 23, 2019June 23, 2019

When we feel weak, Christ is the strength we need to serve out of our emptiness. He is enough especially because we are not.

Perception

I love giving feedback especially when it is good. Recently, a few of us threw a wedding shower and it was so beautiful. The decorations were lovely, the games were a ton of fun, and the atmosphere was relaxing and cozy.

I texted both of the girls I had worked with and told them what a fabulous job they had done. One of them quickly replied that she was sorry for the mess her house had been in when we got there. That she truly felt like her efforts were just being drug out of an empty well with a too full season. But, she was wrong.

Am I Weak?

What does living out of emptiness look like? I mean, let’s be honest, none of us is really looking for that kind of serving. We would rather be serving out of plenty, fullness, more than enough.

I am often drawn to the stories in scripture of the widow’s mite or the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair. These women used what they had and it was lavish. Jesus does not say that the mite wasn’t enough because the offering was small. He knew that is all she had and it mattered to him.

I had a similar experience…

I spend a lot of my day thinking and praying for people. It really is a gift and I don’t take it for granted. I was driving by a friend’s business and was prompted to pray and text her. Weeks later, I heard the rest of the story.

It was a difficult day. A difficult hour. It was right on time to point my friend to Jesus. Now, let me set you straight right now. I am not special. In fact, if my friend had not shared this with me, I would have kept on feeling pretty useless.

Right now, I could not be more depleted, more emotionally empty. I really don’t have much…

He is Enough

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NLT

But, Christ does not expect me to work out of my own strength. Am I the only one who feels that way? I think I have to have all the answers and all the ability. I’m pretty sure the Gospel verifies that I do not have any answers for myself.

He Knows Me

I gently texted my friend back a reminder: When we think things are falling out of our control, that is when we can serve in our own emptiness. We can know that He fills us and uses us through His own strength.

I, myself, need this reminder.

I am so tempted to believe that God wanted me because I was worthy or useful. When the opposite is true. He loved me when I was an enemy. And He loves me now when I think I need to have it all together. His desire is for me to rely on His strength because He knows I am weak. He knew that then, He knows it now, and His opinion is still one of grace and love. That is who He is and for that I am grateful.

God desires us to rely on His strength in our weakness. He knows we can't and don't have it all together but His opinion is still of grace and love. Click To Tweet

Annie Spratt

empty, God’s word, God’s love, flawless, purpose, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Empty: Supplying Everything We Need from Our Limitless God

DevotionalsMay 20, 2019May 20, 2019

If you constantly run, you’ll grow tired. If you’re always running out of gas, but never filling back up, you cannot go anywhere. Why choose to be empty when we can choose to overflow with the love of God?

Running On Empty

Lately, I’ve been living from moment to moment. What’s next? What am I looking forward to? I don’t need to tell you this, but it’s exhausting. Always looking forward to whatever’s coming up instead of living for Christ, is no life at all.

I know how much it sucks to feel empty. Why then, do I continue doing the exact same thing? That’s insanity! We cannot live off of momentary pleasure. Instant gratification ultimately leads to death…

Where do we go once we’ve reached a goal? We make another one. Then another and another. We’ll run out. But with Christ there is no end; we can’t “use Him up” or reach His end because He has no end.

Free Refills

We’ll never be able to wrap our minds around the vastness that is Christ. God is so infinite and wide which includes His love, mercy, and plan for us. We will not just be filled in Christ, but we will overflow! Why live on empty if all we have to do is believe and love the One who first loved us?

It’s so simple, so straightforward. Accept Christ, you’re saved. Love the God who turned His back on His Son to bring you home, you’ll overflow. Why is it then, that I choose to turn my back? Who am I to walk away from Christ?

Well, I’m no one. But God has given us the choice between Him and our own plan because He loves us so much. How, though, do we choose life over death when death is so enticing?

Choose Life

The hardest part of this, for me, is actually doing it. What does it look like to live for and like Christ? I haven’t been in the word for one. I guess I don’t realize how utterly vital it is to be reading the literal word of Christ. How can you be in relationship with someone you know nothing about? You can’t!

Another thing that makes it impossible to be in relationship is not TALKING TO SOMEONE! We have to be in constant communication with God otherwise we grow distant. Emphasis on we. God knows us and wants all of us so we cannot blame any faults or shortcomings on Him. He’s so graciously given US the choice to live and live with Him. There is no flaw in Him. He is full; He is not empty and He will never leave us empty.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Romans 6:4, NLT

Flawless

If you’ll allow, I’d like to go off on a little tangent…

I mentioned there is no flaw in Him. That means the things He creates are flawless as well. You are flawless. Tainted by sin yes, but you are no mistake. No accident.

This is something else I’ve stumbled upon in these season of emptiness…

Self-esteem. A battle I’ve been fighting for a while is finding the balance between, well, I am a sinner, but I am also saved and a part of Christ’s perfect plan. So, I really can’t question any part of myself. God made me the way I am on purpose. God made you the way you are, on purpose.

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20, NLT

Full

What a beautiful picture. Nothing to prove and nothing to lose because He lost it all so we could win. So He could win. We don’t have to spend our days waiting for the “next big thing” because He is always filling us up. We overflow. With Christ, we are no longer empty. With Christ, we are full.

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
2 Corinthians 5:15, NLT

We don't have to spend our days waiting for the next big thing because He is always filling us up. We overflow. With Christ, we are no longer empty. With Christ, we are full. Click To Tweet

Annie Spratt

faith, steps, stretching, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Stretching: Walking by Faith Deepens Our Trust in The Lord

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 12, 2018September 8, 2019

When the Lord is stretching our faith, we begin to more fully trust Him. Looking back, we can see how He has ordered our steps.

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a scene that could easily describe the beginning of a bad horror movie: It’s evening as an unassuming housewife drives along the highway to run a mundane errand. She sees a young man on the side of the road carrying a gas can. Feeling sorry for him, she pulls over to give him a ride. Disclaimer: I really dislike horror films and never actually watch them! But I’ve seen enough scary movies to know that this is the perfect setup for things to go really dark, really fast. But don’t worry, this plot takes a positive turn and ends on the bright side!

Stretching

Now, before your natural mind starts listing all the reasons why we should never pick up hitchhikers, please know that I share your concerns. I’m not trying to convince anyone to pick people up on the side of the road. But consider this: have you ever felt the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something that’s a little, or perhaps way, outside of your comfort zone? Do you believe the Lord calls us to do things that don’t seem to make sense in the natural but make complete sense in the spirit? I believe the Lord is always stretching my faith to deepen my trust in Him.

He might not stretch your faith in the exact same way that He did mine because the stretching looks different for each one of us. For some, it might be a nudge to simply smile and say hello to a stranger. For someone else, it might be to adopt a child from another country. And for another, to forgive someone who has hurt her. But I believe that the Lord is in the business of building our faith by stretching us beyond our own natural strength. And if we’ll trust Him, we’ll see that He is ordering our steps perfectly.

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Proverbs 16:9, KJV

I believe that the Lord is in the business of building our faith by stretching us beyond our own natural strength. Click To Tweet

A Testimony to Share…

So, as it happened, I picked up a hitchhiker and have a testimony to share. The young man looked to be in his early twenties. When he got in my vehicle, he thanked me and even said, “Wow, ma’am. I don’t know too many women who would pick up a guy on the side of the road. I really appreciate it.” To which I replied, “Well, I have the Holy Ghost, so to tell you the truth, I’m really not afraid of anyone!” He said that was good to hear because he was a believer too.

As we made our way to the gas station, his speech was coherent, but his eyes kept sort of rolling back in his head. When I asked him if he was feeling ok, he said he was really exhausted. He explained that he was working two jobs–one at night and another during the day–and that he had already put in 36 hours in the past three days.

Out of Gas in More Ways Than One…

When we got to the gas station, he started rummaging through a little bag he had with him and was getting upset. He said he had left his wallet in the console of his car and didn’t have his debit card. I said it was no problem and paid the few bucks it took to fill up his gas can. When we got back in the car, he continued to thank me and said, “You really have no idea how much this means to me.” I said I understood what it was like to be out of gas physically, emotionally, spiritually, and every which way, and that I was happy to be able to help. And that’s when the young man began to weep.

I tried to console him, reassuring him that we all need help now and then. Between sobs, he said he had really been struggling recently. His dad had been a preacher and left his mom for another woman. He had moved back in with his mom to help pick up the financial slack since his dad left, and he was also helping take care of his other siblings. As he was talking, his eyes kept doing the rolling motion I had noticed earlier. At the risk of being intrusive, I felt like I was supposed to ask about his eyes. I said I understood that he was tired, but was he really doing ok physically? At first he repeated that he was sleep deprived and exhausted from working outside in the heat all day. And he claimed that he was sober, but then he admitted that he had struggled with addiction.

The Lord Had Let Him Live…

As he shared, I learned that he had been addicted to heroin and had actually overdosed a number of times. He said he didn’t understand why, but for some reason, the Lord had let him live. No matter how many times he had given up on himself and gone back to drugs, he knew that God had never given up on him. I told him how the Lord had saved my life when I was on the brink of suicide. By this point, we were almost back to his car, but he was having trouble holding it all together. So, I asked him if I could pray for him, and he said yes. I pulled off the highway onto a side road and into a neighborhood. And that’s when the Holy Spirit began to move.

I’m not even sure what all I prayed as I laid my hands on that broken young man. The Holy Spirit took over my words, and I prayed in the power of the Holy Spirit for quite awhile. He was buckled over in his seat weeping, moaning, and crying out to God. He was repenting. Thanking the Lord for saving him. Praising Him for letting him live. When it was all said and done, I believe that he was delivered of a spirit of addiction, and I know that his faith was restored. As the prayer was winding down, he said, “I can’t deny that Jesus is real because things like this keep happening to me.”

Our Steps Are Ordered…

So often I go through my days wondering when the Lord will really use me. I have grandiose visions of what an impactful ministry might look like. And I feel discouraged when my daily life doesn’t seem to measure up to the image in my mind’s eye. I can worry whether I’m taking the right steps so that I’m in the right place at the right time to do what He’s calling me to do. But as He stretches my faith, I am learning to trust that He is leading and guiding me perfectly.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Psalm 37:23, KJV

We mustn’t let ourselves get discouraged in this daily walk with Christ. The mundane things: loads of laundry, dirty dishes, unfinished to do lists…these are just part of life. They cannot separate us from the love of Christ or the plans that He has to prosper us. His idea of ministry does not always involve a pulpit, a stage, and an audience. He is showing me that the stage for His ministry is my everyday life. And each day is not just a warm up for the main event. It’s a daily stretching of my faith.

How has He stretched your faith? Can you look back and see how He has ordered your steps?

Andreas Selter

rest, stillness, meditation, Oh Lord Help Us, women, ministry, encouragement

Stillness: Creating Oneness with God in Quiet Meditation

Devotionals, Stay SaneApril 3, 2018September 8, 2019

Stillness can be a daily habit to insure our whole being aligns with God. Creating oneness with God in our busy lives, becomes easier during quiet meditation.

Life is a whirlwind of happenings, appointments, activities, stuff. The world yanks us in many different directions and the multiplication of all of life’s intricacies, create huge “energy stealers”. In busyness, it can be incredibly difficult to focus in on God. At the extreme, it paralyzes our ability to even experience God. So, how can we overcome these pulls?

I recently wrote about rest and how rejuvenating our souls in the Lord gives us true energy. But, what should we do with that energy. Yes, the normal daily things come to mind… cleaning up messes would be a great use of it. However, I want to suggest one more step before we head off into our worlds of schedules and tasks… stillness.

Confused Stillness

I’ve touched a bit in previous posts that I tend to be more reserved and introverted. For a long time, I thought stillness and quietness were one in the same. That may be true in the worldly realm, but spiritually, they are quite different. I am quiet and also distracted. Yes, I can pray while I do the dishes, or contemplate God while folding laundry, but that is not stillness. That’s multitasking.

Stillness can also be confused with rest. Stillness uses energy. Whereas, resting causes you to gain energy. When you seek rest in the Almighty, you are trusting Him to fill you with supernatural energy. Oppositely, stillness uses that energy to zoom in on God within us, to provide peace, clarity, and joy.

What Is Stillness?

Not to get all Hippie-Dippie on you, but it’s a tranquil activity which produces serenity and calmness within. Stillness is a complete focus on God inside of us. Our bodies, minds, hearts being completely still before the Lord. Stillness insures we are hearing God’s voice, feeling His presence, and His goodness is filling us. A meditation if you will. In order to truly meditate on something, you must have energy. Just like in any activity, you need the power to do it.

Now, meditation can be a taboo word in the Christian community. It’s usually has association with other religions or practices. However, in my research, I learned that meditation is not linked to any religion, at all. There’s actually science behind what happens. Our bodies physically benefit from this activity, and, ultimately, our souls.

Quiet Meditation

Yes, messes are all around us physically, but our minds are no different. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God didn’t have to push through all that clutter in order to speak with us? To have an unadulterated oneness with the Lord, could you imagine? We are humans, so, this isn’t possible. However, we can create habits that drive us towards oneness.

I’m not a yoga teacher and I have no schooling in the art of meditating. All I can give you is what I have personally learned…

Clean Space

I noticed that when I need meditation most, is when there’s the biggest mess. So, finding an uncluttered, completely clean part of your home may be difficult, but it’s vital. Yes, our eyes are shut, but our minds are not fooled.

Breathe

We all know that a few deep breaths can bring calmness and clarity, but slowed, controlled breathing for periods of time, really brings a nice detox to the blood stream and the mind.

Posture

I am a sloucher. If I don’t change this habit, I see back issues in my future. Sit up straight. Really be mindful of the posture of your body. Sit in a comfortable position that allows for pristine spinal posture.

Shut Out

One part of meditation is the practice of completely shutting out the world. This is really important. As a child of God, I have a calling to not be OF this world, but to allow God to transform me. If I don’t minimize myself in meditative habit, I cannot be changed.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2, NIV

Thinking

This is the hardest for me; to combat human nature… I think all of the time. It’s so important to push out all our thoughts and really focus on God. I try to focus only on one thing about God: the cross, a specific characteristic, God’s work inside of me (physically or spiritually), specific scripture.

Hope for Stillness

Again, this oneness in the Lord is something only hoped for. However, stillness thins the line between hope and achievement.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

John 15:4, NLT

Jesus came to earth, lived as one of us. He saw our struggle then, and sees our struggle now. The world pulls us in so many directions; most dragging us away from our Father. Jesus knew this truth when He spoke those words. We cannot flourish in all we do, aside from God. Making stillness a daily habit insures our actions, attitudes, thoughts are saturated in God.

We cannot flourish in all we do, aside from God. Making stillness a daily habit insures our actions, attitudes, thoughts are saturated in God. Click To Tweet

Rest: Five Ways to Rejuvenate and Give Your Soul Rest

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 15, 2018September 8, 2019

We often rush to convenient measures to cope with tiredness, instead of practicing rest in our Father. God has promised all who are tired will be given supernatural rest for their souls.

Picture it: You get comfortable on the couch, turn off your brain, and watch a few hours of Golden Girls. Yep, hours. “Thank you for being a friend[…]” harmoniously sounding. You are genuinely thankful for their lack of judgement. You can tune out, not think, let those four friends whisk you away to some retirement-aged fantasy world. All the while, reality surrounds you. Messes, finances, relationships…

Welcome to my world…

Most recently, my daily routine consists of: Taxi-cab driver for my kids. Looking at half-done chores. Questioning the unknowns of life. Thinking, thinking, thinking. Shutting down. 🎶 “Thank you for being a friend[…]”

Disguising Rest

Like many people, most of my exhaustion happens in my brain. I internalize almost everything. Questions about life’s unknowns bounce around in there sucking bits of energy, little by little. Sometimes for weeks, or until there’s an answer to the question. My mind races around “ifs”, “whens”, and “hows”. I ultimately shut down; turn off completely.

Unfortunately, life is a great big ball of unknowns. So, as you can imagine, I’ve watched through Golden Girls and other mindless shows, more than once. Recklessly abandoning reality. I’ve found myself on the couch more often than I’d like to admit.

For some reason I believe “checking-out” brings refreshment. “I’ll have more energy, later.” Of course, this is a lie. This routine just puts important items on hold. They don’t go away. One could say this is a major procrastination habit. It is.

False Energy

Another way I disguise rest is in actual rest; sleeping. Now, I’m not sure if you are aware, but motherhood has a funny way of screwing up sleep habits. When I say screwing up, I mean turning sleep on it’s beautiful head and shaking until unrecognizable. “I can sleep when I’m dead”, has been stated five times, this week alone.

The weekends usually allow for some extra z’s. However, I am still tired. How much vitamin B do I have to take!? How many cups of coffee do I have to consume?

Ahha! There’s that glorious word. Coffee. If life had a beverage of choice, coffee would be very high on the list. If not #1. “Come here you beautiful cup of coffee, and lie to me about the things we will get done today.”

That’s just it. Another lie. Coffee is a bandaid for tiredness. I drink coffee all day. It helps me pretend I actually have the energy to finish the laundry, run errands, be taxi-cab driver. Pretend. I lie to myself and those around me that I’m operating on a full tank. Just one more cup will top me off.

Come here you beautiful cup of coffee, and lie to me about the things we will get done today. Click To Tweet

Soul Rest

We can’t pretend with God. He sees our empty tanks. He sees our check-out’s. Our lies. “Why don’t you intervene, God? Don’t you see this mountain of stuff? Don’t you see how tired I am?” Is that for real?? Did I really just say that to God?! I sat on my bum for three hours, watching fictitious characters and I’m questioning Him? No wonder I’m tired. My soul is tired.

God can’t energize me when I continually usher Him out the door. I allow convenience and tangibility to trump God. Worldly “rest” is easier than waiting on the Lord. But Jesus says…

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30, NIV

It’s my own fault I am tired. I procrastinate, lie, ignore God. Yet, He still invites me to lay it down and seek refuge. I can’t emphasize enough how GOOD our Father is. We create the mess, He helps tear it down and supplies ultimate fullness. The truest form of rest, is only found in Him.

Practicing Spiritual Rest

This is all fine to write/read about, but let’s get down to application. How in the world do I rest in God? There are obvious ways, like meditating scripture, praying, and worship music. But, sometimes the pit we are in takes a bit of ingenuity to climb out of.

Sleep. I already addressed this, but, if I’m honest, I do not get to bed at a decent time. This is so important for health, mind, and soul. Enough sleep creates clarity. Clarity allows us to actually SEE God.

Look for God everywhere. If my mind and eyes are fixed on Him, I see Him everywhere. It’s uplifting and encouraging to recognize God in my daily life.

Set boundaries. Limit ourselves. We are not super-humans. We can’t do it all. Setting achievable goals for the day, allows for spare time with the Lord.

Journal. (Scripture journaling for bonus points.) For someone like me, journalling is extremely beneficial. It gets the jumbled, unknowns out of my head. Again, creating clarity.

Get in nature. I am never regretful of time spent in nature. I’m able to quiet my mind and see the beauty of creation. Also, fresh air is so rejuvenating!

How do you seek rest in the Lord? What practices help you cope when you feel tired?

If you have found this inspiring, share the encouragement…

Toa Heftiba