"Purpose"

For the past few years, I have searched high and low for my "purpose". I have prayed, sought, and begged for God to reveal His purpose for my life. I have gone places, read books, and sought people's advice. And I have grown and learned from all of this. However, I still didn't know what my "purpose" was. I thought I had found it a couple of years ago and it was a good purpose. However, it was not my purpose and that door soon slammed shut. That was it! I gave up. I decided to live each day, each hour, each minute. And a strange thing begin to happen. God began to reveal things to me I didn't know I was looking for.

First He revealed the words, "Live, Laugh, and Love" to me. That has become my motto. I try to live each day to the fullest. I make sure I laugh often. God has surrounded me with friends who share my love for laughter. I also seek to share God's love with family, friends, and strangers.

Then He revealed to me that my job enables me to be an encourager to others. I may be the only Jesus they see or talk to that day.

He also has allowed me to enjoy my personal ministry of sending cards to those whom He places on my heart. This is as much if not more of a blessing to me than it is to those who receive my cards.

A few years ago, I memorized Psalm 37: 3-4. "Trust in the LORD and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart's desires." I memorized it but I don't think I really grasped it's meaning. Then this morning it was one of my quiet time verses and amazingly, God revealed a wonderful truth to me. I may not always know my heart's desires, but He does. He placed them there and He will give them to me in His time and in His way. That's such a comforting thought. I don't have to struggle. My responsibility is to stay in His word and in His presence. As His child, His Spirit dwells within me. I can quench the Spirit or I can allow Him to be a living fountain of life-giving water that spills out of me into my part of God's creation.

That, after all my seeking, is God's purpose for me. To trust in the LORD and do what is good; to dwell in the land and live securely. And to take delight in Him.
God may have a special purpose for me as He did for Deborah, Esther, and Ruth. Maybe not as grand or glorious, but a purpose. However, I now realize that living each day, each hour, each minute in His presence as He leads is purpose enough. And if He does have a special purpose for me it is through these days, hours, and minutes that it will be revealed. This is such a freeing and life-changing revelation for me. What a wonderful God we serve!

Prayer: A Last Resort?

I've been thinking about prayer lately. God's Word says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 (NIV). In my quiet time Saturday morning, I heard, "Turn to Me first in all things." Earlier that week I had read a prayer request to "please pray for this one item because I can handle everything else". I also hear people say, "All we can do is pray." I don't believe that is how we are to look at prayer. Prayer should be the first resort, not the last. It is the first, second, last, and best thing we can do. And we are to pray about everything. And then we are to trust that God will answer that prayer when and how He sees best. And since He sees and knows everything, His best is certainly what is best for me. So today, present your requests to God. Trust Him to do what is best and right for you. So simple. So profound.

Make it Real!

Lately I've been asking God to "make it real". My faith has not wavered, I just grow weary of the world. The fussing and fighting about things that are so temporary. And the loss of respect for life of all kinds in this world. I need to know that God is in control. That He is real. Today I in my quiet time I pleaded, "Let me hear Your voice!" This is what He whispered in my spirit. "I am in you. Think about that. I am God and I choose to dwell in you. Does that not amaze you? You are my child. Think about how much you love your children. I love you so much more than that. You can let go of them but not your love for them. I NEVER let go of you. I hold you in the palm of My hand. Does it get any more real than that?"
My response was, "Wow!" I decided today to live the life He has given to me. I will not worry or fret about my "purpose" or why I am here. I am here to live, laugh, and love. I am here so that God can dwell in me and through me make a difference in my part of this world. That's all I have to do. I have been making it so difficult when it's really so easy. Live. Laugh. Love. That is what is real.

Where Are Your Priorities?

Priorities. The word prior is defined as “taking precedence (as in importance)”¹. The recent death of a friend of my son and daughter-in-law is one of the things God is using to lead me to rethink my priorities.
My daughter-in-law posted her thoughts on Facebook and I was convicted by what she had to say. Carie wrote, “While we were dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, the NFL draft was going on. The number of comments that were going on where Hal was and where I was was enough for a person to go mad. But it got us both thinking, what are the priorities of so many people? The number of people who would put a sports game…over a friend who is hurting is startling. The number of people who feel inconvenienced when someone comes to them for help is upsetting. People do not make time for people anymore. People make time for stuff and activities. People, take the time if someone comes to you. Don’t flippantly say to someone ‘how are you?’ and not really want a true response. Take the time. Be observant!”
I am to be like Jesus. I cannot do this on my own strength but God Word tells me I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. When Jesus walked this earth, He cared about people, not things, events, or anything else. He still does. So logic dictates that I should care about people, not things or events or anything else. One of the best ways to show someone you care is to really listen to them. We all want to be heard. We all want to matter. When I don’t listen to someone, I am telling him or her “you are not important to me.” That is not the message I want to convey to others. I want people to know that I care about what is happening in their lives. It’s really not so hard. Just learn to listen, to really hear the heart of a person. You just may change someone’s life.

¹(2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Retrieved April 28, 2009, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prior

God's Promises

“At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer; when you cry out,

He will say: Here I am.”
Isaiah 58:9a (HCSB)

“God, I have claimed your promise to always be with me but I feel so alone. I don’t understand.” These words of frustration and bewilderment poured

out of me as I cried tears of loneliness.
Loneliness.

I live alone. I eat alone. I go places alone. I have too much aloneness.

I know that in His Word God promises many times to be with me. I have memorized many of those verses and repeated them to Him on numerous occasions.

Yet, I am lonely. I could not understand why God was not honoring His promises to me. The anger and frustration finally erupted in a volcano of emotion one evening and I cried out in my distress. He answered me the next morning during my quiet time as I read Isaiah 58: 6-14. The small work “if” jumped out at me. God gave an if with His promise. This was an eye-opener for me. I wanted to know more.
I began by looking up verse 11 in several different translations. I wrote the one that ministered to me the most on an index card. “I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.” (MSG).
I read the chapter in which the verse is located searching for words that indicate conditions: if, then, and when. I listed each condition on the index card with the promise. I made copies of the card and placed them on my refrigerator, my computer at home and at work, and in my car. I spent time memorizing the verse each day.
One of the conditions for Isaiah 58:11 is to “spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…” (v.10). I decided to work on this by praying for and investigating opportunities to minister to hurting people. I hope this small step will lead to life changing events.
My desperate cry for understanding was answered in a way that changed my life. He revealed His desire for me to be a participant, not a spectator in His plan for my life. Jesus was a doer while on the earth and He taught His disciples to be the same. The conditions God places on His promises teach His children to grow to be more like Jesus. Take a small step. Choose one condition for one promise and ask God to light the way.

He is faithful.

He will answer.

Heart’s Desire

3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Psalm 3: 3-6 (NIV)

Several years ago when I was taking the Apprentice Writing Course of Christian Writers Guild, one of my assignments was to describe my heart’s desire for my inner spiritual life. As I contemplated this, the Holy Spirit spoke the words of Psalm 37: 3-6 to me.

My desire is for my inner spiritual life to be one of an expectancy that only God can satisfy. I was my life to over-flow with God’s blessings so I can share those blessings with others. I crave an overwhelming hunger and intense thirst for God’s Word. I want a passion for the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit to consume me so He can fill me with joy, peace, and contentment. This will instill in me the confidence that comes from being a chosen daughter of God. I desire a God-given tranquility when life swirls around me in a tornado of turmoil. The outer me will reflect the inner beauty that comes from allowing God’s Spirit to direct my thoughts, desires, and actions. I want my inner spiritual life to permeate my whole being so that people do not see me; they see Jesus. That is my heart’s desire.

© 2008 by Ginny Holcombe. All rights reserved.

When Darkness Comes

In 1956, my older brother and sister would walk me to kindergarten. I remember entering a dark forest, reaching for Pat’s hand, and holding tightly as we journeyed through the towering trees. It seemed like hours before we emerged into the bright sunshine and I would breathe a sigh of relief. As the light dispelled my fear, I no longer needed the reassuring touch so I let go of Pat’s hand. However, she kept me in her sight until I was safely in my classroom.
This childhood experience portrays God’s watch care over me. I blithely go my own way until a dark forest looms before me. It may be a physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual challenge. I cry out to God and reach for His hand to lead me through the darkness. Upon reaching the light of the other side, I let go and skip merrily on, often forgetting to say, “Thank You.” Like my sister, God continues to watch over me. I am His child and He is ever ready for me to reach up and grasp His outstretched hand.
A question arises in my mind. Should I release His hand when life is smooth and pleasant or is it His desire to continually guide and protect me? David answers this in Psalm 139. God knows everything about me. He understands my thoughts (v. 2) and is “intimately acquainted with all my ways” (v. 3). He is everywhere. David states that wherever I go “even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast” (v. 10). I let go; He does not. I must hold fast to His hand through good and evil, triumph and tragedy. I do this by developing an intimate relationship with God through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers.
As an adult, I realize the dark forest of my childhood was a city park in Valdosta, Georgia. Like my forest, the trials I experience in my life seem immense and frightening. God sees and knows the outcome before I experience the trial. I can trust Him to guide me into the light. As I look back over my life, I see how God uses trials to refine me to create a vessel fit to serve Him. Life is much easier when my hand is in His when the darkness comes.
© 2007 by Ginny Holcombe. All rights reserved

Caterpillar to Butterfly

"Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."
2 Corinthians 3:17-18

I feel like I have been living like a caterpillar for most of my life; inching along on the ground, seemingly not making much progress but all the while being prepared by God for a beautiful life. The time since my divorce has been my "cocoon" time. I don't know if a caterpillar experiences pain while in the cocoon, but I do know it is confined in a space, limited in what it can do. However, God is at work in the dark tomb creating a beautiful butterfly that will burst forth when the time is right. That is a perfect description of my life right now.
Since the end of my thirty-two year marriage, I have felt so alone. My apartment often feels like a cocoon. It is a place of refuge and shelter; a place for healing and changing; a place where God and I are alone and where He can transform me in His time. This transformation is painful but welcome. I do not want to stay a caterpillar trapped in an earthbound existence. I want to burst forth from my cocoon to soar on gossamer wings. I want to live the beautiful life God purposed for me before I was born.
Butterfly. The sound of this word is light and airy. Butterfly paints a picture of a vibrant creature darting from flower to flower as it gathers and scatters pollen to create more beauty. I desire to be a vibrant creature who gathers God's love until it overflows and spills onto the lives of earth-bound caterpillars creating in them the potential to emerge from their cocoon as beautiful butterflies. They touch the lives of other caterpillars.
This part of God's creation is a beautiful portrayal of His redeeming work in His children. We begin our lives as caterpillars bound to this world by our sin. The process of conviction, repentance, and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior begins our time in God's cocoon of restoration. He shapes and molds us through circumstances and trials until we emerge as a lovely butterfly and begin the joyful journey that will be completed one day when we enter His presence.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ? 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group."

© 2008 by Ginny Holcombe. All rights reserved.