Extending grace when it's hard.......

"Good sense makes me restrain my anger, and it is my glory to overlook a transgression or an offense."  ~Psalm 19:11

I am often faced with a circumstance where this truth pops into my mind. Everyday we are faced with opportunities to choose how we will respond to someone's negative or rude behavior towards us. Just this week I was approached by a co-worker with a very negative attitude followed by harsh words directed right at me and I found myself with a choice on how to respond to this person in a way that would honor The Lord. My flesh wanted to respond with retaliation and give her a piece of my mind. I mean it's 8:00 am, the day is just beginning and who does she think she is talking to me in that manner.  But, I did not......I knew better. My spirit prompted me to stop and just take it all in and realize who the real enemy is. I made a decision to give my sweet co-worker grace.  After this encounter I retreated to my office and placed my wounded heart in the palms of Jesus and prayed for his help to see this situation through His eyes. It's amazing how The Lord will pour out wisdom if we will just ask. You see, this precious woman is not mad at me, nor did she mean to attack me in such a way. Her pain goes much deeper than what we see on the surface and if we just pause and ask God for His perspective we are blessed with the opportunity to extend His grace and forgiveness. I took advantage of the open door to lift my friend up in prayer and ask Jesus to watch over her broken spirit and to fill her with His love and peace.  

Too often we fail to realize that our work like is a mission field full of broken people who need the love of Christ. The enemy will use situations such as this to cause conflict and strife in the workplace if we allow him. We all have a choice in how we respond. I am so thankful for the strength of The Lord that day because I would have surely acted in a displeasing and dishonoring way had I chose to follow my emotions. 

I hope you will choose to look at people differently when approached with a circumstance such as this and watch the glory of God in your life when you chose to respond with love and forgiveness. I wrote down a payer that I'm certain I came across while following one of my favorite authors, Lysa TerKeurst, that has helped me when I am faced with overwhelming emotions and am challenged with a Godly response:

Jesus, I am here & I need you right now. I'm feeling attacked, invaded, pressed, and stressed. Meet me here & help me process what I am facing using your truth. Nothing more, nothing less.  I don't want this thing I'm facing to be processed through my selfish and insecure flesh. I will surely act in a displeasing and dishonoring way if I'm left to face this on my own. Block my flesh's natural reaction and fill me with Your spirit. You handle this for me. You speak what needs to be spoken and give power to hold my tongue for what needs to be left in silence. In Jesus Name.......Amen

I am so thankful for the love of Jesus in my own life. It's through Him that I have the courage and strength to make right choices that will bring honor to His holy name. 

~Trisha

Let God fight for you

One of my very favorite scriptures in the bible is Exodus 14:14. I guess because I am always trying to fight my own battles instead of letting God fight them for me. I was meditating this morning on the victory of over coming stress, worry, fear.....Attributes I've carried my entire life and am diligently seeking a breakthrough from. In my study this morning I learned if God is ruling over my heart then victory is possible. That left me to question, am I really allowing God to rule over my heart?  What does it really mean to surrender, to let go and let God fight on your behalf? So, I looked up the definition of surrender. How interesting it is to me that pretty much the whole outline was "give up". Doesn't that seem to be the opposite of what the world tells us we should NOT do?  In the spiritual realm thats exactly what we are called to do......to give up, surrender all that we are in the flesh and let God be God.  He is the only One powerful enough to conquer the demons that haunt us and attempt to control our minds by planting wrong thoughts. 

Plain and simple God said to me, "Trisha, You not equipped to do what only I can do. Let Me take over the battle for you. Take a deep breath and rest knowing that I will have victory, in My perfect timing and in My perfect way." 

Jesus, forgive me where I fall short and help me let go of the challenges of this life and allow You to fight for me. Give me the strength and courage I need to be the woman who desires to please You. Thank you Jesus for your mercy and your grace. I surrender and give my life to back to You....Amen!

 

God cares when you are overwhelmed by your everyday responsibilities.....

I quietly sit before The Lord this morning with a thankful heart and a very sore body. It's a good feeling knowing I accomplished the things I had to do yesterday and an even better feeling knowing I couldn't have done it without the strength of my Jesus.  I woke up yesterday feeling very overwhelmed at the responsibilities I faced.  I had one day to really clean my house and complete right at 10 loads of laundry. I sat alone with Lord and just cried and asked...."Jesus, how will I do it all?  The giant in front of me consumed me as I felt hopeless.  Then The Lord placed on my heart.......

I meditated on this beautiful passage quietly trusting God would give me the energy I needed.  I struggled to find Gods peace when my phone rang and it was a friend asking me to go exercise. I thought now? Really Jesus....it's already 9 am and I'm off to a late start as it is but I obediently took this challenge. I went and ran, dropped my car off at the shop, then got home and began my work at about noon. The day was challenging but at 10 pm I was finally done. And what an accomplishment it was.

"In You I trusted and You delivered me. To You I cried out & was saved; in You I trusted & was not disappointed." Psalm 22:4-5

I learned quickly God cares about the smallest details of our life. He wants to be with you and help you in all things......even cleaning your house. If it were not for the power of the Holy Spirit encouraging me I would have quit.  

Life is so busy for today's mom......we work, pay bills, clean house, do laundry, cook, clean, buy groceries, make sure we are all in church, bible study, youth group, run here run there and in the midst of all this some of us have extra responsibilities.....maybe its caring for a grandmother in a nursing home, caring for someone who is sick, or maybe your struggling in a difficult marriage.  How do we handle it all?  Well I have an answer for you.......YOU CAN'T!!  It's only by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that you can do the things The Lord calls you to do.

For me I cannot begin my day without some time with my Father, my best friend, my only hope.....the one who understands all my worries and concerns and loves me for who I am.....even when you're    overwhelmed by a very dirty house and all the responsibilities that go along with being a wife, a mom, and a faithful follower of Christ.  

Trusting God in Adversity

How funny to me it is that this bible study I am doing, "Stressed Less Living", has opened me up as a target for the enemy. I have felt like one set of circumstances after another have been my challenge as I find myself determined in Christ to overcome fear, anxiety, and doubt. Adversity......it's something that can cause you to run away from or run to Jesus. It's a choice, a decision we are all faced with. My choice has been to run to Him. Though the enemy knows my every weakness I hold fast to Gods promise in 2 Cor. 12:9', "His strength is made perfect in my weakness."  This promise assures me victory as a princess of a mighty king. I can offer up praises to my king and receive peace and joy in the midst of such trying times. It's beyond my own human understanding. Though I may fall, and I do often, I know that Jesus my heavenly father will always catch me. My hope rests on this promise today:

"He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." Psalm 91:4