Need an ANSWER?

Mark 4:20, 22 - And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much. [Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known.

Do you have questions? Need answers? The answer you are seeking is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU! The revelation that you desire for your situation is not designed to be kept hidden, it is designed for you to FIND it. God is not One to just dangle something in front of you (in this case, a question) with no means for you to find the answer to it. Answers are there, and you are MEANT to find them. Let's take a look at a few situations in the Bible.

Noah. Let's look at Noah. In Genesis 6:9, it said that Noah walked in habitual fellowship with God. God had a man that He knew would listen to His instructions, and when the time came, Noah was mandated to build a boat, a big boat. God gave him very specific instructions, a detailed plan with measurements, the type of material, everything Noah needed in order to build this boat to God's specifications. It needed to withstand the weight of ALL the animals that would be on the boat. It needed to withstand the storms and weather. Noah listened, and God answered. God gave Noah a plan.

Moses. After 40 years of personal exile due to killing a man, Moses was called back to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses was called by God to go before Pharaoh to make the request, as we know, "Let My people go!" It was a request from God Himself. God wanted to Israelites to be set free from captivity. You remember, the 10 plagues... God told Moses exactly what to do in order for the Israelites to be set free. Sure, it took 10 major plagues before Pharaoh would listen, but in the end, the people were set free. Moses listened, and God answered. God gave Moses a plan.

Solomon. Solomon was directed to build the Lord's house (1 Kings 6). From the cedar to the dimensions, from the inner sanctuary to overlaying the floors with gold; God gave Solomon very specific instructions on how to build the temple and with the exact materials. It was a specific project. Solomon listened, and God answered. God gave Solomon a plan.

Friend, YOU are no different. Remember the verse that says God is the same yesterday, today & tomorrow. You serve the SAME God that Noah, Moses & Solomon served. Although, YOU and I have something even better! As Christians, when we got saved, the Holy Spirit Himself came to live inside of us.

Are you feeling like your schedule is crazy? How can you possibly get everything done? YOUR answer is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU! Ask. Seek. Just like God laid out dimensions for the completion of the temple, He will lay out specifically what kind of schedule for your day. Just ask.

Is it marital? How to keep your laundry caught up? How to grow your business? How to spend more time with your family? How to increase your income. There is no problem that sustained thought (prayer) can't answer!

So today.... whatever the question or problem.... commit some time to seeking the Lord! Just like Noah, Moses & Solomon, if you listen, you may be very surprised at the depth of detail you get back! It's there for you to find, YOUR answer is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU!

 

#87 - Revelation Comes from Meditation

Good morning. Well... this morning I am sitting inside... in my living room, my lamp on and fireplace going. Wow. It is getting fall out. I guess if I'm going to have many more mornings on my back porch, I need to wake up and dress warmly. It's chilly out there, but I could handle it. Chilly.... what's chilly here in October?? Well, it's 70 degrees right now. When I woke up, on the porch, it was probably closer to 60-65. It probably felt a bit more chilly because it's in the shade. 
Anyways, I'm enjoying my morning regardless. :) A good morning with some great revelations. Let's get started. 

Psalm 19:7a, 14 - The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person... Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 49:3 - My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction]. 

Meditation. We are not in a race to read. To see how much we can read, how much content, how many chapters in the Bible, how many books, how many devotions. But if we were in a race, the race would be one to receive revelation. Lack of revelations comes from a lack of meditation. What is meditation? The dictionary coins it as continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation. When we are meditating on the Word, we take the Word and continue to read it over and over. It may be just one scripture. One phrase. One word. Maybe we read it in other versions of the Bible to gain more clarity or insight. Why would we want to meditate? "Amy, it seems like I'm sitting there wasting time. Doing nothing." 


Meditation leads to revelation. Do you need a breakthrough in your life? Is there a problem that needs solved? Have you had an ongoing injury that you would like to avoid or cure? Meditation leads to revelation. 


I was listening to a preacher on Friday night and he said something rather thought provoking. He said, "Is there a problem? Pray for what the seed is. What was the seed of the problem? Where did it begin?" As I thought on that, I starred, highlighted it, circled it in my notebook... and I began to meditate on it. Let it mull over in my brain... in my mind. I kept coming back to it. He put into words what I felt like the Holy Spirit had told me during the last 2 months. As I continue to meditate on it, it just continues to get more and more exciting! The revelation is continuing to get greater and greater. More real. Touchable. Solid. Concrete. Not just an abstract thought.... but I'm almost to the point where I fully have my hands wrapped around this. More meditation will reveal fuller revelation. 


Let me expound. I recently had some challenges with my left hip. My "I.T.Band" to be exact. I remember the injury from college because I spent many a days after practice in the training room icing it. So... this seemed like something easy I could ask the Holy Spirit about. "What's up with my hip? Why did I get hurt? What happened? What could I do differently to avoid it?" 


Like ABC's to a 6th grader, he told me something that seemed so ridiculously obvious! I felt almost a bit silly that I could be so ignorant. He said, "Amy, you ran intervals the other day. Yes, though it may have only been '4' 30 second intervals, nonetheless you ran them, and you ran them hard. You're not totally normal Amy, because you go hard when you run your intervals, like you are still in college or something. You can't just do that without a proper warm-up and proper stretching. That day you were in a hurry. You basically did it cold, and you didn't stretch properly afterwards. If you want to not get injured in the future, when you know you are going to go hard like you do, you need to do a proper warm-up, stretch, then your workout, then a proper stretching after."


So... I quickly found the root to my problem. And guess what? It wasn't the devil. The injury wasn't something where "Ohhh... I rebuke you Satan." No. Sure there is a time and place for that, and there are times where he is the 'havoc' worker. But this time, it was ALL AMY! I knew better. 


In Joshua 6, Joshua is wanting to defeat Jericho and their large army. As he continues to seek out God, he receives the battle plan. And one, if you remember that seems a bit ridiculous from a "War Strategy" standpoint. It seems absurd actually! God tells him to get all his army and for 6 days march around the city one time each day. On the 7th day, march around the city 7 times and then SHOUT! Joshua did it, it worked, the walls of Jericho fell and Joshua and his army experienced victory without even swinging a sword. Wow! 


You need a word from the Lord? Seek. It's your job to seek, to meditate. To stay on the topic, to keep pressing in to God until you have received your answer. He will give it. I have personally been avoiding God about a specific topic. I've thought, "Oh... this is a big one. I don't know if I'm ready to really press in to him on this topic." It takes effort. It takes commitment to press in, to listen, to pursue. So, I am going to begin my pursuit. My answer will come. He has already told me it would, I just need to pursue and meditate on His Word. My answer will come. And... who knows... the solution may come from what seems a ridiculous answer... "Walk around the kitchen 7 times. Shout. Then bang your pots and pans!" We'll see!! I'm excited to listen, I'm excited to obey and I'm excited to receive MY VICTORY! What about you?