Pleasing to God...

About a year ago Rob and I were shown an incredible example from our friends who were dating at the time (and are now happily married- shout-out to Eli and Michelle!) to pray together every evening. Rob has prayed for me without fail for almost a year now and it has been such a blessing! His prayers for me tonight were for the two of us to be filled with the Holy Spirit as spoken of in the New Testament as a continual infilling.

During his prayer for me I had this overwhelming desire to please God- just to do anything and everything I could to please Him. I want my life to be pleasing in every area to Him! I then flipped my bible and read,


"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8-13)


I think that there are several ways to please the Lord. 


1) Have faith- 


"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6


God desires for us to know Him. Having faith means trusting in WHO He is. When we really see who He is- we will want to earnestly seek Him to know Him more. 


2) Ask the Holy Spirit to bear fruit in your life- 


"We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light" Colossians 1:9-12


Note that the things that please God - good works, growing in knowledge, endurance, patience, joy- are a RESULT of asking God to fill you with the knowledge of the Spirit! We cannot produce fruit on our own strength!!! (John 15: 1-8)


3) Repent- 


"You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own." 1 Samuel 12:20-22


The Lord finds great joy in redeeming his people. He is pleased to have us as His own and to bring us from the darkness of our sin into the light that comes through repentance.


4) Regard HIM above your own strength


"His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." Psalm 147:10-11

It can be discouraging to feel so weak sometimes- however, God never expected us to be strong in our own strength! He remembers that we are dust and wants mostly for us to allow HIM to be strong in OUR weakness!

Obviously this is not a comprehensive list- but I pray that it helps us serve as a guide to begin finding out "what pleases the Lord". I want that journey to continue the rest of my life!!! 

Lord, 

Thank you so much for who You are. I want my life to please You. I want for every breath that I take to be a praise to Your name. Please Lord, refine me with the fire of Your Holy Spirit. I invite You  to make your way into my life and burn away all that is not pleasing to the Father. I do not have what it takes to live righteously on my own. I offer my body and mind up to y\You as a living sacrifice. Make me holy by your refining Spirit so I can be pleasing unto You.

And THANK YOU Lord for loving me! Thank you that you care for every detail of my life. It is because You first loved me that my heart is so drawn to love You in return!

Amen. 

:-)

I "Google Image" searched for manna and this is one of the pictures that came up :-)

Manna...

If you aren't familiar with the story of the Israelites receiving manna to eat - you can read it HERE.


You have just escaped the terrible hardships of the Egyptians. You have been walking in the desert for a little over two months. Times are difficult- but the God who has just rescued you from slavery has been giving words of encouragement to the prophet who has been leading you the entire time. Even though God is continually showing His faithfulness, you still hear the complaints all around you, "If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but [God has] brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death" (Exodus 16:3). 


And the Lord "heard their grumbling". Not that I condone grumbling to get what you want from God- but I do find it very interesting that God heard the grumbling of His people and still responded. He sure is gracious! The Lord tells the people that He will rain down bread from heaven in the morning and provide meat in the evenings for the Israelites to eat. The amount of food would be just enough to get them through to the next day. 


I can imagine the first day when the Israelites went to collect the food for the day. The very meaning of "manna" is translated "What is it?" I can almost see the Israelites waking up, excited to see the bread that the Lord was going to provide, and instead just seeing this white, flaky substance. "What is it?", "This can't be correct", "The prophet did say it would be bread... right?".


The Lord did provide bread. It was sweet like honey and could be baked into cakes. It was food that was perfect for keeping up the stamina for their long days and taught them to rely on God. It was bread- but a kind much different that what the Israelites had been expecting. 


Tomorrow I start my second week of Spanish classes with a new teacher. I had heard that she was one of the more challenging instructors at the school, and so far I believe the rumors are true! I found myself having a "What is it?" moment last week. "I wanted to come here and learn Spanish, Lord- but this is not what I was expecting. You promised me bread and all I see around me is this strange substance that I don't know what to do with". 


After a week of my new class, I am realizing that this is exactly what the Lord had promised, just in a slightly different form then I had expected. The class is challenging and what I need, just as the manna was sweet and just what the Israelites needed. 


Are you coming against a difficult challenge that seems different than what was expected? Are you frustrated that what you have is not what you had been promised from the Lord? Take a closer look- maybe it is God's promise, but simply in "manna" form!

Lord, 


You are the Sustainer and the giver of life. Thank you that nothing comes into my life without first passing through Your sovereign hand. The challenges ahead of me are difficult and much different than I anticipated. But Lord, help me to accept the sweet bread You have given me today. Help me to embrace the manna that you have provided. Thank you that everyday you "rain down bread from heaven" for me. Help me to realize the provision you have rained down today. Amen.  

Boundary Lines...

Click HERE to listen before you read! 

I find that when I start to get my eyes off of the Lord, I start to desire a change in my current position in life. I am currently attending language school in Costa Rica and am so incredibly blessed to be here. When I return to Virginia in December I will be moving in a new house, needing to buy a new car and searching for a new job. While for most the thought of this would cause frantic anxiety, nothing thrills me more! I love the idea of a change of a pace. 

However- like any good quality, I must learn to keep it in control. While loving new adventures is part of God's unique design for "Abbey", if it is not paired with a godly perspective on life and my future it can easily cause me to get carried away. Don't believe me? I looked up mortgage rates and calculated what kind of down-payment I would desire to have if I bought a house today. I am 25 with no job and measly savings- and I was picking out my 3 bedroom, 2 bath kitchen's color scheme... *sigh*.

In Psalm 16: 2, 5-6, the psalmist David writes, "I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing...You alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

David realized the power of  "making the most of every opportunity". He knew that God had good things in store for him, yet he chose to acknowledge that his boundary lines were placed from the Lord. Ultimately- God is our portion. David, like the rest of us, had the inkling to try and find other things to find his fulfillment in. While writing this portion of scripture though, David was able to realize his need for God and the peace that come from being satisfied in the moment the Lord had him in right then. 

Lord, 

Thank You for Your word and for Your daily presence in my life. Even when I don't choose to acknowledge your presence- you are present. Apart from You, I have nothing. No other thing can give me fulfillment and while I can be excited for the future inheritance you have for me, please help me to have joy inside the boundary lines of my life you have place for me. You are my portion. Amen.

I once heard that "The grass may look greener on the other side, but it is probably just because more fertilizer has been laid down on it" :-)