Free

The past week has been a week of soul searching. Seeking my savior. If the preceding weeks were struggling up the mountain, this week I feel like I have reached a summit. I am encouraged. I am strengthened in Your truth. In the promise that You know where I am going and why. The fist has unclenched and I am free. God, I surrender. The walls are gone. No more biding my time, waiting to become the person I think I am supposed to be. This is who I am. This is who I will choose to be. ("What if you're trying to be someone you are?") My hands and heart are open to You, Father. I am learning to expect and accept the blessings You want to give.

Going forward, God, help me run with perseverance. Not aimlessly wandering, distracted by every possibility that presents itself, frozen with indecision, discouraged, frustrated, afraid. But purposefully setting a course. Running the race marked out for me with all I have to give. Pushing on for the goal. Lord - to remember what it feels like to have a goal. A life must have a purpose. I haven't allowed myself to hope for that in years - for fear of choosing the wrong path. Now I understand that isn't fair to You or me. I know you will steer me. So, Lord, I am taking a deep breath and diving in. Ready. Set. GO.



WV DCS department devos 4/23/10 with Kelli:

We would like to share some scripture and songs that are meaningful to us in relation to this month’s DCS theme of Excellence.

Rev 2: 3-5
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.

1 John 2:24
See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Forgiven – Sanctus Real

Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I’m reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just won't let me forget

When I don’t measure up to much in this life,
I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ
'Cause I’m forgiven
I don’t have to carry the weight of who I’ve been
I’m forgiven

Proverbs 20:24
The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

Before the Morning - Josh Wilson

Do you wonder why you have to
Feel the things that hurt you?
If there’s a God who loves you, where is He now?

Maybe there are things you can’t see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending

Someday, somehow, you’ll see, you’ll see

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made 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.

Faithful - Brooke Fraser

There's distance in the air and I cannot make it leave
I wave my arms 'round about me and blow with all my might
I cannot sense You close, though I know you're always here
But the comfort of You near is what I long for

When I can't feel You, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can't hear You, I know You still hear every word I pray
And I want you more than I want to live another day
And as I wait for You maybe I'm made more faithful

Let the Waters Rise - Mikeschair
Don't know where to begin
It's like my world's caving in
And I tried but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?

Sometimes it's so hard to pray
You feel so far away
I am willing to go where You want me to
God I trust You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If you want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

Romans 11:33
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

Romans 8:28
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.

Jeremiah 29:11-14a
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes."

The Words I Would Say - Sidewalk Prophets

I’d tell you just what you mean to me, tell you these simple truths:
Be strong in the Lord and never give up hope
you’re gonna do great things, I already know
God’s got His hand on you, so don’t live life in fear
Forgive and forget, but don’t forget why you’re here
Take your time and pray
These are the words I would say


Take-away:
When you are discouraged and don’t know why God has you where He does or why you have to go through the difficult times, hold onto the promise that He has a plan for you. Trust Him and draw close to Him. Put forth your best effort in whatever He has called you to in this season. This is what is required of us. This is Excellence. And when we give our best to God, He will do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).