"I have told you these things,
so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart!
I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
It has been about a month since my last post. I intended on writing sooner but life always has a way of stealing me away from the quiet moments. I have been so eager to finish this series of posts but I am so grateful that God is always in control of our time and will allow us to complete things in His perfect timing. The subject has been "Do you know who you are", and often times this question can seem to offend others when being asked. Why do we become offended? Why is it that we struggle with feeling like we are being questioned about our own existence in this life on earth? Why? Well...because we are.
My husband has this thing about asking me a question that he knows I know the answer to. I usually get defensive and ask him why he's asking me again. Then the problem becomes this issue of me feeling like Im being tested. So I end up getting upset and asking him what he thinks the answer is (why? because we always want to throw it back on the one whos serving it up...lol). His response is to ask me again and when I finally answer, he responds with a simple, " I just wanted to here you say it." Ugh! Really?! Lol.....Why does this rub us the wrong way? Why do we always feel like someone is trying to back us into a corner when this is not the case at all? All my hubby is trying to do is remind me of the very things that I know I am confident about in my heart but do not yet confidently speak. Sometimes we forget who we are because we forget to speak it daily over our life.
So about a month ago I began this series on "Do you know who you are?" I shared 3 of the 4 points that God placed on my heart to share with you. The first 3 were IDENTITY, PURPOSE and POSITION. To read more about these first three, I would encourage you to look back at the previous 2 posts. The 4th and final point is PEACE. The verse was John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Christ never promised us that our life would be perfect. He never said that if we follow him , we will never suffer or have to endure trouble. But he did promise to be with us every step of the way. His word says that he has already overcome the world. He died for our sins that we may have everlasting life. When we trust and have faith that God will see us through any trouble or hard time we may have to endure, then and only then do we find peace. Peace is not that moment in our day when our children are napping, our hubby's at work, and we find a moment to sit and relax. True peace is when we can be surrounded by total chaos and know that in that moment if we call out for Gods help, He will be there to intervene and show us the way. True peace is knowing that we are walking each day in anticipation for His next move and nothing can discourage us. True peace is knowing that wehave found our Identity in Him, we are walking in our Purpose on Purpose, and we have found our Position in life. That is when we have found peace. The world will keep moving at a fast pace, life will go on, we will encounter new challenges, trials, and people, but we will be at Peace because we know who we are and what we are here to accomplish.
I receive a daily devotional in my email everyday and I read it whenever I get a chance throughout the day. One particular morning I opened up my email and saw that days devotional had arrived so I took a moment to read it. It was very specific about why the church needed us in it. It talked mostly about serving in ministry and not sitting on the sidelines. We must use our gifts for The Lord in the church it said. And as I continued to read, it spoke of how when we sit on the sidelines as spectators, the body of christ suffers. It also spoke of how local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve in the church.
I completely agree that serving the body of Christ is very important. We all have a part in helping the body to function, however, God has created us to serve in different ways. When we look through Gods word, not all ministry and serving took place inside the church. If we ministered within the 4 walls of the house of God all of the time, then the rest of the world would never have a chance to know Him as we do.
After many years in ministry, I believe I finally understand my Identity, Purpose and Position. My husband and I served so many years in different ministries both separate before marriage and together after we met. We both grew up in church thinking that we had to serve in every capacity possible. We used our God-given talents to minister to others. We gave and gave and gave and it was always very rewarding to see others come to know Christ because of our sacrifices but we still felt somewhat out of place. Have you ever done something and you knew it touched or blessed someone else, but you still felt like you were missing something? God still used us in great ways but we were only fitting into this tapestry of ministry by looking for an open space to fill rather than asking God where He needed us to be. You see, we can live life filling in the gaps where someone else may not yet be or we can ask God to direct us to the place in which He created for us to be. A tapestry has many beautiful colors but what happens if I am a purple thread trying to fit into the blue stitches already sewn? I may help in holding it together but if I'm just a single thread not in the proper place I will eventually unravel and leave the rest of the tapestry with an open gap needing to be filled again. We have to find our proper place and then we may operate to our fullest in what God has created us to do.
These past to 2 years have been the first time that Chris and I have not been consistently active in any ministry. We do have a home church that we attend and I have to thank God for bringing us to a house that speaks His on time word to us every time we are there, but I also believe this has been a season of rest and a time of receiving His word. But this is where I have to mention the devotional I received in my email. We can not always assume that the call on our life must be within a church. We have to search our heart and find out from God our personal Identity, Purpose and Position and walk in it. In this season of rest from ministry, God revealed and launched us into the place where we should have been and I can honestly say that God has used both Chris and I and our testimony to share with so many people outside of those 4 walls who Christ really is and how much He loves us all. Some of these people have begun to attend our church, others have a new home church of their own and others we still have the great opportunity to witness to.
Do you know who you are? When we pray each morning on the way to school, our daughters have a word they speak to themselves before they even get out of the truck. We say, "God, help us to be the greatest example of your love today to every person we meet." There is so much truth in that and to know that every day we have the opportunity to love others with the love of God. That is what makes them want to know Him more. Our example and purpose outside the church is just as powerful as the word of God received inside the church. The body operates on the inside yes, but it is the outside that the lost see. Serve God and His people the way He has called you to do so.
When we find our Identity, Purpose and Position.....We find Peace.
Ask Him to give you direction and Know Who You Are In Him! Be blessed!
My husband has this thing about asking me a question that he knows I know the answer to. I usually get defensive and ask him why he's asking me again. Then the problem becomes this issue of me feeling like Im being tested. So I end up getting upset and asking him what he thinks the answer is (why? because we always want to throw it back on the one whos serving it up...lol). His response is to ask me again and when I finally answer, he responds with a simple, " I just wanted to here you say it." Ugh! Really?! Lol.....Why does this rub us the wrong way? Why do we always feel like someone is trying to back us into a corner when this is not the case at all? All my hubby is trying to do is remind me of the very things that I know I am confident about in my heart but do not yet confidently speak. Sometimes we forget who we are because we forget to speak it daily over our life.
So about a month ago I began this series on "Do you know who you are?" I shared 3 of the 4 points that God placed on my heart to share with you. The first 3 were IDENTITY, PURPOSE and POSITION. To read more about these first three, I would encourage you to look back at the previous 2 posts. The 4th and final point is PEACE. The verse was John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Christ never promised us that our life would be perfect. He never said that if we follow him , we will never suffer or have to endure trouble. But he did promise to be with us every step of the way. His word says that he has already overcome the world. He died for our sins that we may have everlasting life. When we trust and have faith that God will see us through any trouble or hard time we may have to endure, then and only then do we find peace. Peace is not that moment in our day when our children are napping, our hubby's at work, and we find a moment to sit and relax. True peace is when we can be surrounded by total chaos and know that in that moment if we call out for Gods help, He will be there to intervene and show us the way. True peace is knowing that we are walking each day in anticipation for His next move and nothing can discourage us. True peace is knowing that wehave found our Identity in Him, we are walking in our Purpose on Purpose, and we have found our Position in life. That is when we have found peace. The world will keep moving at a fast pace, life will go on, we will encounter new challenges, trials, and people, but we will be at Peace because we know who we are and what we are here to accomplish.
I receive a daily devotional in my email everyday and I read it whenever I get a chance throughout the day. One particular morning I opened up my email and saw that days devotional had arrived so I took a moment to read it. It was very specific about why the church needed us in it. It talked mostly about serving in ministry and not sitting on the sidelines. We must use our gifts for The Lord in the church it said. And as I continued to read, it spoke of how when we sit on the sidelines as spectators, the body of christ suffers. It also spoke of how local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve in the church.
I completely agree that serving the body of Christ is very important. We all have a part in helping the body to function, however, God has created us to serve in different ways. When we look through Gods word, not all ministry and serving took place inside the church. If we ministered within the 4 walls of the house of God all of the time, then the rest of the world would never have a chance to know Him as we do.
After many years in ministry, I believe I finally understand my Identity, Purpose and Position. My husband and I served so many years in different ministries both separate before marriage and together after we met. We both grew up in church thinking that we had to serve in every capacity possible. We used our God-given talents to minister to others. We gave and gave and gave and it was always very rewarding to see others come to know Christ because of our sacrifices but we still felt somewhat out of place. Have you ever done something and you knew it touched or blessed someone else, but you still felt like you were missing something? God still used us in great ways but we were only fitting into this tapestry of ministry by looking for an open space to fill rather than asking God where He needed us to be. You see, we can live life filling in the gaps where someone else may not yet be or we can ask God to direct us to the place in which He created for us to be. A tapestry has many beautiful colors but what happens if I am a purple thread trying to fit into the blue stitches already sewn? I may help in holding it together but if I'm just a single thread not in the proper place I will eventually unravel and leave the rest of the tapestry with an open gap needing to be filled again. We have to find our proper place and then we may operate to our fullest in what God has created us to do.
These past to 2 years have been the first time that Chris and I have not been consistently active in any ministry. We do have a home church that we attend and I have to thank God for bringing us to a house that speaks His on time word to us every time we are there, but I also believe this has been a season of rest and a time of receiving His word. But this is where I have to mention the devotional I received in my email. We can not always assume that the call on our life must be within a church. We have to search our heart and find out from God our personal Identity, Purpose and Position and walk in it. In this season of rest from ministry, God revealed and launched us into the place where we should have been and I can honestly say that God has used both Chris and I and our testimony to share with so many people outside of those 4 walls who Christ really is and how much He loves us all. Some of these people have begun to attend our church, others have a new home church of their own and others we still have the great opportunity to witness to.
Do you know who you are? When we pray each morning on the way to school, our daughters have a word they speak to themselves before they even get out of the truck. We say, "God, help us to be the greatest example of your love today to every person we meet." There is so much truth in that and to know that every day we have the opportunity to love others with the love of God. That is what makes them want to know Him more. Our example and purpose outside the church is just as powerful as the word of God received inside the church. The body operates on the inside yes, but it is the outside that the lost see. Serve God and His people the way He has called you to do so.
When we find our Identity, Purpose and Position.....We find Peace.
Ask Him to give you direction and Know Who You Are In Him! Be blessed!
