SEASONS OF SOWING

My friend from work Shanna Watson shared her daily devotional reading for today. It's taken from TODAY'S WORD WITH JOEL & VICTORIA.


Today's scripture

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy" (Psalm 126:5).

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

The Scripture talks about seasons of sowing and reaping in your life. In Psalms, it talks about sowing in tears and reaping in joy. That verse is saying that the sowing seasons are usually the most difficult. It's hard to keep a good attitude when all your friends are being blessed, but you're not. You may feel like they don't work as hard as you do. You may feel like they don't give like you do or don't deserve the blessing. That's a time of testing. It's hard to go through disappointments and stay positive and hopeful. These are seasons of sowing. If you'll do the right thing even when it's hard—when you sow in tears—you will always reap in joy!

I'm asking you to have a new attitude toward what God has placed in your heart. It may be taking a long time, but God still has a plan to bring it to pass. Don't give up. Your time is coming. It's never too late! God is saying, "This is your season. Keep your faith stirred up." Keep sowing because in due season, you will reap the bountiful harvest with a song of joy in your heart!

May it be a blessing to you too!

CROSSES TO BEAR

This is a really encouraging illustration sent by my friend Yvonne Susanti. If you ever think or thought of giving up, remember that God Himself never gives up on you. But you have to die to yourself, take up His cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23).

This illustration reminds me of Hana's (my friend from Prestonwood Baptist Church) story after she came back from her mission trip to Cambodia and Vietnam last year. On her trip, she met with this lady. And the lady shared how hard her life was. It was like a constant turbulence after another. She almost gave up and asked God, "God, why did you make my life so hard like this? It's too heavy, God."

And one night she had a dream where she had to bear different kinds of crosses. She tried to carry each cross, but nothing fits her. It's either too small, too big, too heavy, etc. So when she woke up in the morning, she praised the Lord and said, "Lord, thank you for giving me just the right cross."

God never gives you more than what you can bear - so bear it willingly and you will rejoice in your rewards!!!

Praise the Lord!! This reminds me of this verse:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. -- 1 Cor. 10:13

Let this be a blessing!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

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SPECIAL SAUCE BLESSING

Just in case you need a word of encouragement - may this be a blessing to you. My friend Susan Mukunda forwarded this to me. Gosh, am I blessed or what? God has put encouraging friends around me. I feel really really blessed, ya'll! And now let the story begin:

I went to a fast food restaurant. I did the usual thing. I went up with the menu and ordered. I proceeded to the first cashier and paid, then stood and waited for the order. After sitting there for a few minutes, the cashier requested, "Will you please have a seat; your order is not ready." I was a little upset and even impatient, but I sat and waited anyway. I thought, "How come other guys ordered and got their orders and I have to wait."

I waited for another two or three minutes. It seemed like hours. Just as I was about to give up and drive away the cashier finally came and and handed me the order. Of course I asked, "Hey, what took so long?"

She replied, "You wanted the Special Sauce, which meant it had to be especially made for that sandwich, it doesn't usually come with that one."

This scene is a reflection of our prayer life. We make our request to the Lord. Our menu is His Word, where He has listed promise after promise. We stand before Him and request and plead and, sometimes, even beg. We go to the first window and pay, sometimes with fervent prayer, sometimes with prolonged suffering, sometimes with obedience, and sometimes not at all.

We then move to the second window and wait for our order. If God doesn't answer within a few minutes, we become upset. You know the phrase:

"Jesus, it's 5:00 p.m. Friday; I prayed to You yesterday, and You still haven't answered. I can't wait much longer."

Why is it taking Him so long? I've seen people come after me; and they received their orders right away!

We even go so far as to tap on the window and ask if He has forgotten our order. We become impatient. We become upset. We become downright mad.

Lord I asked for a mate ten days ago and I don't see him/her anywhere. Lord, I've been asking for a new job for two years; others have passed me by. I've been waiting on a financial blessing for ten years and I still have more months than money. Where are You and why haven't You blessed me?

And just when you think He is giving you the answer, He pulls back the royal curtain of Eternity, and states, "Please pull over to the side and wait a while longer."

This once frustrated me to no end, made me mad, made me want to give up, made me want to holler; that is, until the cashier brought out my sandwich. Then, the revelation became clear.

Do you know why the Lord has put you on the side? Do you know why you have had to wait for this blessing longer than before? Do you know why He has put you through more this time than ever? Do you know why it seems as though He has not heard you and He does not care? Do you know why it seems like you have had to go through more tears, more pains, and more struggling this time? Because this blessing is Special Sauce Blessing!

This is an Overflowing, Pressed-Down, Shaken Together, Blessing! You made a Special Order and God has been putting together a Special Sauce Blessing for you and He has to prepare it for you!

That mate you wanted ....... He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That job you wanted ......... He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That financial blessing ..... He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That peace on the job........He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That house . ................... He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That deeper anointing....... He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That promotion ............... He's putting together a Special Sauce!
That .............................. He's putting together a Special Sauce!

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end ... [and a Special Sauce]. -- Jeremiah 29:11

How many people have walked away before the cashier brought their food, and how many people have missed their blessings because they did not wait?

Hang in there. Keep on waiting. You made Special Order, now wait on God's Special Sauce!

But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint." -- Isaiah 40:31

They who wait shall receive a Special Sauce!

SIMPLE PRAYER TO GET YOU THROUGH THE WEEK

As you go through the week, I want to share with you a simple prayer I got from my friend Kari Stagl that will build up your confidence in facing the day.

Oh God, you know every move each of us make, and understand our thoughts. Thank you for being all around us and for not being surprised by the decisions we make each day. Not even the words we speak surprise You, God. You have gone ahead of us to prepare the way, and are behind us, guiding us with your hand. Where can any one of us go, that Your spirit is not there? In what job, class, home, trial, or relationship is Your presence not full? No matter where we go, You are there, guiding, and protecting with your strong hand. Even when the darkness of sin or circumstances clouds our hearts, You provide Your light of strength. You do not waver in change as our hearts are tempted to do, for You have loved and protected us since before birth! I praise You, God, for fearfully and wonderfully making each of us, gifting us and loving us. You think about us innumerable times a day! Help each one of us know that and grasp it in our heart today! Amen (Psalm 139:1-14)

He knows us deeply and loves us anyway. That's a reason for joy no matter what kind of day we are having!

Praise God if you have spent quality time with Him this week! If not, praise God for new mercies every morning: the week is not over.

Spread the blessing!!!

BEING FAITHFUL IN THE LITTLE THINGS

One of my best friends from church, Hana Ton, sent me this reading a week ago. Sometimes you just never knew how mysterious God's work is until you realize that each phone conversation or even an email is His deliverance to your prayer. This email from Hana had been such an encouragement to me. I never know where God will place me in the next 1 or 2 months from now. I never know how a broken vessel like me can be used by Him to magnify His Kingdom. But one thing I know, He has been faithful in my life (big or small events) and He will always be. All I have to do is just to surrender to Him and let Him set me free from the worldly chains.

This is the reading from Oscar Romero:

It helps now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capability. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be
incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen