He'll Finish What He Started

"...Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was the summer of 2009 and I had just been laid off of a short temporary teaching assignment. Four months earlier, I had just finished getting my single subject teaching credential in history which seemed like it took me forever.  My job outlook was bleak.  I had entered education at one of the worse times. I began putting in applications everywhere.  I must have submitted over 100 teaching applications and did not receive one call back during the summer.  Unemployment denied me due to a technical error so I was living off credit cards. My monthly bill was getting bigger and bigger.  I was desperate. I began to question whether or not I had done the right thing in quitting my stable job as an administrative assistant to pursue a teaching career. Fear set in as September arrived and the school year began. This meant that most of the few teaching jobs available had already been filled. I reflected on the situation and made up my mind that I was going to trust in God.  He had never let me down in other areas of my life so he would come through for me again in this area. I decided to go on a 21-day Daniel Fast.  I placed three requests before God and sought Him each day for an answer. I will be honest.  It was incredibly hard to trust God those 21-days.  I was weak and I was fighting fear and doubt daily. I still kept trusting though. My prayers felt dry, almost like they were hitting the ceiling, but I kept going.  A lesson in itself, you won't always feel it, but you keep pushing on anyways.  We don't serve God by emotion, but by faith and trust. When those 21 days ended, I still had received no calls from prospective employers. I fought doubt even more than before.  Then out of nowhere, about four days later, I received a call from a district close by.  They wanted to interview me. I was so excited, yet nervous. I was nervous because this would be my first interview for a teaching position.  This might be the only interview I would get that year with the current state of education.  I interviewed on a late Friday afternoon.  I remember my heart dropping when I walked into the school office and seeing all the teachers interviewing for the same position, some of which had way more experience than me.  Then something got a hold of me.  A God-given confidence shifted my thinking.  This was my job.  This job was meant for me and I was going to walk into the interview like this job was already mine. I have to say that out of all of the interviews that I had ever experienced, I never felt such a peace like I did as I sat before those six people on the interview committee.  I spoke like I had been teaching for 25 years.  Where did this confidence come from?  Directly from God. I was certain He was with me.  I walked out of that room knowing that God was in control.  The following Monday morning, HR called me that I had the job!  I finally would have my own classroom and students.  The rest, as they say, is history.  It has been a wonderful three years at my current school.  I have found my purpose in life- working with kids. Everyday I get the opportunity to make a difference.  I get to be a light to kids who have had a hard life.  I get to hug them when they cry. I get to be a sense of consistency to those who don't have it at home.  I get to make kids laugh and sometimes cry (when I call home).   They know that I care.  As many of you know, I received a pink slip this year. The situation once again looks bleak in the natural realm, but my heart tells me, just like it did three years ago, that God is not done with me yet. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that I am perfectly in the will of a Sovereign God. I am saddened by the current state of education and for those who are being affected by it, but my encouragement is to trust God.  When He closes one door, he will most definitely open another.  Whether my lay-off is rescinded or something else awaits me, in this one thing I am confident- He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  My friend, whatever you might be facing, know that God will do the same for you.  :)

Arise and Shine!

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee" (Isaiah 60:1-2).

There is a light inside every single one of us. It's a light so strong that no enemy, no opposition, no situation, no device, no critic, and no circumstance can put out.  Sometimes, we don't realize just how bright this light is.  Others see it and it attracts them to us.  They find themselves wanting to be around us more and more. They don't even know why. They are curious about what they see in us. This light is Jesus Christ.  It is amazing that the King of the Universe, the Saviour of this world would choose to abide in plain ol' us, but He does.  A couple of days ago, I sat in my car during my lunch break pondering over the verse above. It was a gray and cloudy day which was about to burst in rain.  As I sat there, the words almost popped out of the pages that the prophet Isaiah penned- Arise, shine, for thy light is come.  The glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. The more I read it, it seemed like the words were coming alive to me.  The verse is referring to Zion and the coming Messiah, but at that moment, God used them to speak to my life. They spoke so strongly to me that I got goosebumps. I realized what a treasure I have living inside of me.  Such a powerful yet tender and merciful God lives inside my heart.  What a privilege!  I read the words over and over again, soaking them in each time. All of a sudden, despite the gray blanket that covered the sky,suddenly a light broke through the clouds.  It came out of no where.  It shined right on me through my car windows.  It kept getting brighter and brighter to the point, that I could barely see around me. For the next five minutes  I was in awe. Despite the rain clouds and gray sky around me, this beautiful light broke through and took the time to rest on plain ol' me. God spoke to me right there and then and said, This is me inside of you.  No gray day can ever block my light in you.  No circumstance can ever keep me from shining in you. I can never be hidden in you. This experience is what I call a love note.  These are moments when God sends sweet little reminders that He is with me and that He loves me.  He says it over and over again, yet I never get tired of hearing it.  I got out of my car and went back to my students that day with the realization that there was something in me that this world needs.  They need the light!  They don't need me.  They need the light. And by-golly I'm going to let Him shine!  

Silly Little Red Hens

We've all been guilty at one time or another of REACTING to a situation.  We either lose our temper and say things we don't mean or we take action without thinking about the consequences.  Many of us don't like to admit that we have temper on us.  Often, we even feel like we are justified in our actions. Although it is normal to be hurt and even angry, it is important that we learn to deal with our anger in a proper way.
    I am reminded of a biblical character who was a reactor.  He was a man who was close to God.  He was so close to God that God entrusted him to deliver His holy commandments to the Israelites.  Also, God chose this man to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. The man that I am talking about is Moses.  We read in Exodus 32:1-19, 24:12-18 that Moses met God on Mount Sinai, during which time, God gave Moses the commandments on tablets to deliver to His people.  Then came the time for Moses to go back down the mountain.  Now think about it, Moses had just been in the presence of God on the mountain. You could say that Moses was probably drunk on the presence of God or on a spiritual high when he came down the mountain.  Ever feel that way?  :) Yet, when Moses encountered the people of God, he found them in a horrible state of sin.  It turns out that while he was gone, the people went and made themselves idols.  He found them holding festivities and dancing around a golden calf.   How did Moses react? He became angry.  Not just angry, but REALLY angry.  He was so angry that he broke the tablets containing the commandments that God had just given him. Talk about a temper!  Now,  I believe that Moses was justified in his feelings and emotions.  After all, the people were sinning against God.  Yet, Moses is still guilty of reacting in anger.  Moses reacted the way that many of us react to our own situations.
    We've all been there.  We love God. We are doing our best to serve Him.  We pray and fast as we attempt to draw closer to Him. Often, there are moments where we have spent hours in prayer, seeking God. Yet, when "people issues" come up, we are so quick to "blow our cool."   I chuckle as I recall a story that I once heard concerning the late preacher B.E. Eckles.   B.E. Eckles pastored a church in a small country village.  The story goes that Eckles had spent hours in prayer one morning.  Eventually, he came out of his room with a fresh renewal of God's Spirit upon him.  He approached his wife, proudly telling her, "Well, he's dead."  She gasped, "Who's dead?"  "B.E. is dead" he replied. "I am no longer alive to myself, but to the Spirit of God. Now, please make me some breakfast dear" he added.   She quickly made her way to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. In the meantime, Eckles glanced outside of his window long enough to notice a little red hen going through his vegetable garden plucking out the vegetables that were in the process of maturing. By the time he noticed the hen, she was already making her way through the third row of vegetables.  I should probably note that the preacher and his wife were not well-off and needed these vegetables as part of their livelihood. The story goes on to say that the preacher angrily grabbed a broom and ran out to the garden and began yelling and cursing at the hen, shooing it away.  It became such a scene that neighbors came out to see what the commotion was all about. A short time later, a defeated and tired Eckles walked back into his house and plopped himself back in his chair.  His wife, who witnessed the entire scene came into the room trying to hide her grin.  Humbly, Eckles sighed, "Well, he was dead this morning, but I don't know what happened just now."  The moral of the story is that it's often those silly little hens that get us in trouble most of the time.  It's those silly hens that cause us to react and to do things we regret later.
  What are those silly little hens in our lives? Here are some of them. We get an email with some choice words and we reply hastily with a  couple of our own few choice words.  Someone offends us at church and we reply quickly with some sharp words. Some problem occurs with our family members or friends and we post a couple of choice venting words on Facebook or Twitter.  We don't like something our co-worker did and we start a shouting match with them.  We come home after a tiresome day and the house is not clean so we lose our temper with our spouse and kids. Even deeper, we find out that someone has lied to us or someone has hurt us so we take matters into our own hands and go out and do something dumb.   I could go on forever.
    Proverbs says, "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him" (Proverbs 18:13).  In other words, a person who spouts off before considering a matter shames himself. We've all walked the "hall of shame" in our lives. Some of us more than others-I include myself.  We react so quickly before hearing the entire story and getting all the facts straight.  In the end, we return with our heads hung low, embarrassed and ashamed, especially before God.  We are forced to make apologies to God and man.
     Let me note, it is completely normal to be angry, but it is important for all of us to learn how to channel that energy in a way that can actually better the situation.  My advice to all of us is to step away from the situation at hand. Separate yourself from the situation long enough to think things through.  Take a walk, take a drive, pray (although I know this is hard to do when you are angry), go to the gym, take a nap.  Do whatever you need to do in order to step away from the problem or the person.  During this waiting period, you will get a better assessment of the situation. You will hear from God.  He will allow you to see the different perspectives of the entire situation and will give you the peace you need in order to remedy the situation and forgive the other person. Sometimes, by stepping back and waiting, we look back at the situation and realize how silly the entire thing is and what a big deal it IS NOT.   Keep in mind that we are all a work in progress and God is not done with us yet. He is continually molding us to be like Him. If you are willing, He will teach you how to keep your calm and how to maintain to your patience with others. Sometimes it will take us letting something go even though we are sure that we are right.  I can tell you that I used to be a MAJOR reactor a couple of years back. I realized that this was not the person I wanted to be forever so I began to ask God to help me.  For me, a nap does the trick. Also, it is important for me to just close my mouth, go home to think things through. I usually give myself a one-day waiting period minimum.  After I allow myself a waiting period, I find that the anger has subsided and the situation is clearer to me than before.  At this point, I can either let the situation go or come up with a constructive plan to address the problem.  Am I perfect? Absolutely not. Here and there I find myself messing up and later ashamed of my actions.  Yet, I go to God and ask His forgiveness. He lifts my head and simply tells me, You'll do better next time daughter.  So when those silly little hens show up in your own life, don't be afraid to access God's wisdom and grace. Watch and see those silly little hens become powerless in your life.