You won't know until you get out of the boat.

Choices in life are not easy. Especially if you are paired up with another and need to come in agreement on that decision that is before you.  

God has given us ways to help us make the best choices in our life’s journey. He has given us His Word, Godly counsel through relationships with possibly family, friends, Pastors etc.

Sometimes we are confronted with some very difficult choices. People can gives us their advice. We can pray about it and seek God but finally we have to step out and make a decision one way of the other.

One thing that has helped me over the years when facing hard decisions is the comfort in knowing that God has my back. Even if I don’t make the best decision at that time He will turn the outcome around for my best.

How can I have that confidence? Because I have seen it proven over and over again in my life. 

At one point a decision needed to be made whether to move our family of 3 out of the state or not. My ex-husband wanted to be closer to his mother in Oregon to help her out, which meant leaving my family and friends in California. We were in a thriving church, actually in the middle of a revival in the 80’s. We were leaders of a growing Home Group. I didn’t want to go but my husband did. 

I struggled with the decision for a long time. A sister in the Lord gave me some great advice. 

She said, “Even if it’s not God’s highest for you He will use it for your good.“  She encouraged me by reminding me that I was being scriptural in following my husband and that God would honor that obedience.

That helped me to let go and put my trust in Jesus along with a confidence in believing that He had my back. We uprooted and moved to Medford. 

Come to find out his mother really didn’t need us there. We joined up with our neighbor’s small 6 person church which met in their house. We had little money, 1 car, no heat in the house other than the fireplace. This was during the summer into the winter months. I felt very isolated.

Many times I cried out to the Lord for comfort but I wasn’t hearing Him like I did during the power of the revival in California. 

My husband was gone a lot working. The only bright side was I had the opportunity to not work and stay home with my little girl, Jessica. She was my delight! I got to pick her up from school and spend wonderful quality time with her at home. That was a time to treasure. I can still see us snuggling up on the coach, wrapped in 1 big blanket watching afternoon TV. There I found life.

Spiritually however I felt like I was dying in a desert with no water to be found. I searched and searched the scriptures to find my Lord. As I searched I was learning more and more about Him and others in the Bible that also searched for Him. 

We moved back to California 6 months later. Was this choice a failure or a success? On the outside it seemed like it was the wrong choice. We had to start over with jobs etc. But God used it so mightily in my life. 

I learned how to find Him in the depths of trials when He was seemingly no where to be found. He was able to build in me a strong Biblical foundation that as more trials came my way I have been able to draw on.

My walk with Him was no longer based on the emotion of exciting spiritual experiences but on the truth that He would never leave me or forsake me. That He would use every situation in my life for my good because I loved Him and was His child.

I was able to build wonderful memories with my daughter. I was able to learn that I could survive off of little income. I learned how to grow my own food and bake my own bread. I learned how to make lemonade out of the lemons that were before me.

Are you facing some tough decisions today? Where are you putting your trust? Is it in your abilities or in the One who has your back?

Making a choice and stepping out requires faith. You have to get out of the boat. Sure you may sink but you also may walk on water. You won’t know until you get out of the boat. The thing to remember is that if and when you begin to sink He will be there to lend a hand to get you to the next place you need to go on your journey.

Even though Peter may not have had a totally successful trip walking on the water by allowing fear and doubt to creep in, at least he tried. I would venture to say that his experience of knowing that Jesus would be there as He wavered helped him in the future choices he needed to make. 

Read Matt 14:25-33

The Lord wants us to put aside our fears. He wants us to step out. Put aside the paralysis of analysis. Get Godly counsel, seek His Word and step out. The Nike phrase comes to mind... Just Do it!

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

My Prayer:

Dear Lord, please help us in our daily walk with the many choices that are before us. Help us to be willing to be obedient to Your teachings and trust the outcome to You. Lead us to Your Word, build our faith and bring people around us to encourage and teach us in Your ways. Help us to put our trust in You and step out in faith today Lord, I pray, in Jesus Name, Amen!

What is faith?

Pledge of Faith- by Beth Moore

• God is Who He says He is.
• God can do what He says He can do.
• I am who God says I am.
• I can do all things through Christ.
• God's Word is alive and active in me.

God has used Beth's studies in my walk with Him in so many great ways. Her series on Believing God was so powerful at just the right time to build up my faith. We were encouraged to memorize this Pledge of Faith and have it sink in to build up our faith.

Is your faith a bit weak today? Do you really believe God is Who He says He is and that He can do what He says He can do?

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Heb 11:1 (NIV)

We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor 5:7 (NIV)

A life of faith involves trust and belief. When you put a seed in the ground and you are told it's a tomato plant, that's what you expect to grow. Not a bell pepper. You are trusting and believing that the person who labeled the package or gave the seed to you knows for sure that what they are giving you is what you are expecting to come out of the ground.

When we put our faith in God we must have that same trust and belief. Where do we find the labels of what to expect to see grow in our lives, the Word of God. Where do we learn about Who the person is that is planting the seed in our heart, the Word of God. Where do we find out what will develop in us and grow from us, the Word of God.

When you have doubts, when you have questions, when you need your faith built up, go to the Word of God. Let Jesus speak to you through His spoken Words written on paper. Let His Love letters warm your aching heart. Let His Holy Spirit remind you through out the day of His great love for you. He has it all under control and He has a plan for your life.

Jesus does not say that we won't go through trials but that He will be with us when we do.

6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Deut 31:6

I find great comfort in reading His Word and believing He can do and will do what He says He will do. I believe that there is a higher purpose in all situations that I encounter. A scripture that always helps to build me up when my faith starts waver is Romans 8:28

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (NIV)

Is your faith being challenged today? Trust and believe that He is Who He says He is, The Great Physician and Healer, The Great Provider, The Great Creator, Our Comforter, Our Peace, Our Hope for Eternal Life!

29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed (spoken to Thomas); blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (US)." John 20:29 (NIV)

Put your faith where it will produce life within you. Put your faith in Jesus today. Let Him water that seed within you and receive His Peace. Surrender all of your cares to Him, trust and believe that there is a plan for your life today. He will give you all you need to make it through the day, one day at a time, moment by moment.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, please help us to put our trust in You. We don't understand all the things we are going through today. Help us to believe that You have a purpose in every situation. Help us to hear Your Words of comfort and wisdom as we step out in faith, one step at time. Be our strength Lord in our times of weakness. We surrender all to You and say Come Lord Jesus, have Your way in our lives today, in Jesus Name, Amen!

Spring has sprung, here come the weeds!

Looking out my back window I see new life rising up. Flowers are blooming, leaves are unfolding, fruit from our plum tree is soon to follow and weeds are starting to raise up their ugly heads. Even with the beauty of spring bursting forth, a bit of the unwanted still comes. I think this is a wonderful example of our lives. Pardon the mixture of metaphors but I think you'll get the point.

You are now a follower of Christ, Hallelujah! You have received Him in your life and asked Him to make you new. He has begun to shine through your life with glorious fruits of His Spirit, yea!

It all starts with Him:

5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

The definition of the Fruit of the Spirit is:

22 .. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.. Gal 5:22-23

So where did that bit of resentment just come from? How about that anger? How about that impatience?

Just as with a garden it’s not until the weeds of our flesh or the bad fruit comes out that we are able to see what needs to be removed by the Master Gardener.

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1


If you want to be one of His branches that bears fruit you must allow the pruning process to occur. If you want to have more flowers bloom in your life and have His fragrance permeate your being, all that is taking away from it's growth must be removed.

So often we want to run away, stuff or ignore the ugly parts of our character. Instead of beating yourself up for another fit of rage that came out, why not stop and ask God to show you the root of that anger. He wants to help remove that part of your character. He wants to bloom throughout your whole being so others will look and see His glorious work that is alive in your life.

We need to learn to be thankful when we see the weeds in our lives because God is allowing us to see areas that need a bit more attention. Maybe even a pick ax is needed to get down to that very stubborn root in your life. 

The great thing about God as our Master Gardener is that He knows where to work, how far to dig and He does it in a way that doesn't reveal too much for us to handle at a time. He even knows how to dig out the unwanted while keeping the flourishing parts of our character that He has started to develop.


Sometimes the reason why we act a certain way stems from years of abuse or certain bad things that may have happened as a child. In some cases we have buried the offense so far down that we didn't even know it was there. But our actions reveal that there is something deep within that needs to be pulled up. 


For example, God has shown me how defensive and hurt to most criticism I would become. It was evident by how I would quickly lash back with my justification as to why I was right without even considering another persons opinion. 


This year I invited the Gardener in more than ever to do His Work and He has been able to show me deep roots of pride that needed to be pulled out. He has worked over the years to remove pebbles and rocks along with bad soil to get to the root. This was the year to pull it out. Thank You Jesus! Now I can finally hear and learn more so that more good fruit can come out! He was able to replace that weed in my life with His Love and Acceptance for me just as I am and not because of my performance. All because I am His daughter. 

He lovingly continues to show me new areas that need to be worked on, it’s a life long process. I have learned however not to run away from the revelation of my weeds as they lift their ugly heads, but to run to Jesus with thanksgiving so He can show me what needs to be rooted out. This will allow Him to plant more of His beauty in my life. More of Him and less of me, that is my hearts cry!

29 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. 
Romans 8:29

Let’s truly rejoice in all that God has in store for us. Welcome the Master Gardener in your life today!


24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Dear Lord, please help me to embrace all that You have for me today. Help me to open my eyes to see those rocks and weeds in my character that need to be extracted so more of Your beauty can spring forth. I choose  to walk through this life with thanksgiving knowing that You are working everything out in my life to make me more like Jesus. Have Your way my Lord. Pour out Your Living Water on and in me as Your Son shines in my life bringing out more of Your glorious Fragrance from Your Spirit within as You bloom in me today.

In Jesus Name, Amen.