Passing the Test and Being Blessed!

As a teacher, I always have one student in each class who wants to know, "What do I have to do to pass this class?" Well, sometimes my gut response - which I keep to myself, of course - is, "Show up for class!" or "Don't sleep at your desk!" You see, often the students who straightforward ask for a passing grade are the students whose names I barely know because they show up so seldomly and complete so few assignments. Then, they often don't understand why I don't just give them an 'A'. I mean, they did politely ask for it, after all. :-)

Are we like that with God sometimes??

Do we ask for Him to bless us

without being willing to go through the trials necessary to receive the blessings?

I recently learned a new song to sing at church titled "Blessings," and the message in this song is so powerful. It truly is my testimony, so I want to share the lyrics with you.
I know what it's like to go through hardships, to be so beaten down and bruised by life that I'd given up hope of ever recovering. I also know what it's like to be blessed beyond belief!! Praise God!

James 1:2-3

Whenever trouble comes your way,

let it be an opportunity for joy.

For when your faith is tested,

your endurance has a chance to grow. (NLT)

Two years ago, I experienced the worst year of my life. My husband was in Iraq, I lost two grandparents and a grandmother-in-law, and I quit my job. I fell into such a deep depression that I can't even describe it to you. I can just say that my ache was so deep that I was in physical pain every day. I couldn't eat without becoming ill; I couldn't sleep for the demons in my mind wouldn't give me a moment of rest. There's a line in this song that says, "What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near?" That's what 2010 was for me- a thousand sleepless nights. I realize now that I needed to go through that terrible year so I could discover this wonderful relationship with God that I have now. I don't ever want to go through another situation without relying on God to see me through it, and I want you to know that you don't have to face anything without God either!! But to follow Him, we have to trust Him with both the good and the bad times in our lives.

"Blessings"

As sung by Laura Story

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace,

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.

We pray for healing, for prosperity,

We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering.

And all the while you hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?

What if your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near?

What if trials of this life are your mercies in disquise?

We pray for wisdom, your voice to hear.

We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near.

We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love

As if every promise from your word is not enough.

And all the while you hear each desperate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe.

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?

What if your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near?

What if trials of this life are your mercies in disquise?

When friends betray us,

When darkness seems to win we know

The pain reminds this heart that this is not,

This is not our home!

It's not our home.

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?

What if your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near?

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?

What if trials of this life are your mercies in disquise?

Deuteronomy 31:6 states, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Whatever trial you're facing today, please know that God has a blessing waiting for you on the other side. He never promised life would be easy, but He did promise that you would never have to face anything alone.

The Grass Is Greener

How many times have you wished for something in life and gotten exactly what you wanted, only to discover the grass wasn't as green as you'd imagined?
Too often, we wish for what we don't have. We look at other people's circumstances and compare them to our own. Frequently, we judge our own situation to be worse than our neighbor's -- our car to be older; our house, smaller; our job, more difficult; our income, less. As a result of these judgments, we can find ourselves feeling down, disappointed, even ungrateful for the many blessings that surround us day by day.
I've heard people question why it seems like some "sinners" have it all -- big house, lots of money, sporty cars, top of the line everything, easy jobs -- while the "good folks" of the world are struggling to get by. I've heard people ask why God seems to bless those who live in sin.
To be honest, I've thought the same thing at times. Why do these people who seem to care nothing about the Lord, who care nothing about what's right and wrong, who care nothing about other people -- why are they "blessed" instead of me?
Then, I think of Job.
Job knew hardship. He knew what it was like to look around at the apparent prosperity of the wicked while his own life was falling apart. In Chapter 21, Job addresses the same question many of us have today: Why do the wicked seem to prosper? Read closely what he says here:

⁷ Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?
⁸ They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not on them.
¹⁰ Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
¹¹ They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.
¹² They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.
¹³ They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.^[a]
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’ ^1
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
^{17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?}

In verses 7-13, Job ponders the prosperity of those who choose to not follow God, and he comes to a wonderful observation in verses 14-15. Those who prosper in a life apart from God see no reason, no reward, for following His will for their lives. Apply this to your own life: under what circumstances have you felt you needed God the most? Was it when life was going great or when you faced a tragedy or hardship you couldn't conquer on your own? For me, it's the latter. I'm grateful for God and His presence in my life every day; however, I'm doubly - nay, triply - grateful for His presence when I'm facing trials. How blessed we are to have been placed in situations where we NEED God!

In the end, God blessed Job for his faithfulness with even more than he had lost, and God is going to bless His children in Heaven far more than we deserve. The wicked won't be as lucky, so next time you feel discouraged by the apparent success of those who aren't following Christ, remember that this life is as good as it will ever get for those who haven't turned their hearts over to Christ.

Job 24:22-24:
²² But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
²³ He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
²⁴ For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.

Instead of being bitten by the green monster of jealousy or wishing you could have the green pastures your "successful" neighbor seems to have, realize that the grass is greener in Heaven than you can even imagine! Instead of coveting their lot, pray for those who don't know Christ as their Savior because no matter how "well off" they may seem to be, their lives are nothing without Jesus.

Follow me, Be My Friend

It's more than clicking "accept."

It's taking up your cross and going where He leads.

It's realizing the sacrifice He made for your sin,

And that on your behalf now He pleads.

It's looking at the world He created

And letting its beauty take your breath away.

Rather than posting, emailing, or texting,

It's taking a moment to rejoice in this day.

It's opening your Bible, studying His word

Instead of scrolling down your newsfeed.

It's about telling others about His mercy

Not updating your status for them to read.

Jesus wanted you to follow him long before Twitter,

Long before Facebook, He longed to be your friend.

And when all of this world fades to dust,

Jesus and His love will endure to the end.

Just Putting It Out There

As I sit at my computer working on the set list for Joyful Noise's performance this weekend, I'm experiencing difficulty with what should probably be a simple task. I'm faced with several challenges in making the list of songs: we can't sing two really fast songs back to back because we need to catch our breath, we need to mix up who sings the solos so no one sings lead on several songs in a row, we want to keep the audience entertained so we want to mix in the various styles of music, and we want the messages of the songs to flow smoothly from one to the next.

Yes, I realize we could just get up there and sing (which is what we've been doing for the most part), but I want to do more than just make a joyful noise! I want our songs to be a witness. I want someone to hear "Midnight Cry" and look around at the world today and realize "the signs of the times" really are "appearing everywhere." I want to bring a smile to an old man's face as he thinks of Heaven when we sing "I'm kind of homesick for that country to which I've never been before." I want someone to go home and fall down on their knees because they realize that He'll take them through the fire again and if they rest their case at the cross.

Songs can be so powerful!!! I want our songs to exude the power of God when we open our mouths.

But, you know what?? The order of the songs isn't what is most important. If we sing for the glory of God and allow Him to work through our songs - no matter the order in which we sing them - His will shall be accomplished. Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall NOT return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

When we get up in the morning, our purpose every day should be to serve God. In everything we do, our ultimate goal should be to bring glory and honor to His name and to further His kingdom. When we serve Him, His purpose - not ours - shall be accomplished. So whatever you're doing today- whether sitting in class or driving through traffic - ask yourself this question: What am I putting out there TODAY that God can use to "accomplish that which [He] pleases"?

You see, sometimes God simply needs us to put it out there. Sometimes, He just needs us to open our hearts to His guidance, then to open our mouths.

On a sidenote- I have an Iraqi student who asked me today for a Bible to use for a presentation in one of his other classes. How disappointed I was to say I didn't have mine with me!! Fortunately we had a Bible in the office to give him, but I wish I could have given him mine so maybe he would have seen some of the verses I have highlighted or the plan of salvation written on a card stuck in Romans as a bookmark. But I didn't have my Bible. I missed that opportunity. As a result of that incident, I've decided to give Bibles to all of my students who will accept them, so I will be collecting Bibles through Sunday, April 29th. If you'd like to give a Bible (new or used) to one of my international students, please email me at rhondascakes@ymail.com. God's word will NOT return void if we are simply willing to share it.