Ministry Beyond The Cave

1 Sam 22:1-2 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

Have you ever felt like you blew all the plans God had for you? Do you feel like you have failed all the tests and trials that have happened throughout your life? Does it seem like every time you turn around, that you have someone attacking you for something you haven't done? You feel like, What's the use? and you just want to hide away in a cave somewhere where you can escape from everything and everyone.

In I Samuel 22, so much was happening with David, that he was on the run for his life. He was being hunted down by King Saul, and did not know why. He even asked Jonathan, the son of King Saul, "What have I done?" In my own personal life, I have asked THAT question many times.

Lonely and disillusioned, David crawled into the only place he knew. The cave called Adullam. Adullam means "sealed off place". But in the deep dark cave, he turned to the only one he had and that was God. He was at the place where he felt no one cared. (Psalm 142:4) Through his despair he still found refuge in God as his true hiding place.

As David sought refuge, God brought people to him. And with these people came a challenge and a renewed courage. People that were also being mistreated and wronged, sought out David, who had been through the same things. David welcomed them in and provided the godly leadership that they needed.

In your darkest hour, God can give you a ministry of helping people who have been worn down by injustice. Just like David, you can emerge from your dark cave with a greater understanding of God's mercy and His purpose for your life. Your situation can change from a lonely desperation to a God-entrusted leadership.

Most likely you will never have to seek refuge from the sword of an angry king, but there will be times in your life that you feel like hiding out from other kinds of enemies like temptations, weaknesses, and people who want to trample your faith. Just remember when you face an enemy, that there is a place in God that offers protection, comfort, and direction for your life.

Your cave may be a place of escape that offers protection from life's troubles. And you may feel safe in your cave. Hiding places are valuable but can also complicate our lives if we barricade the entrance and not let anyone inside. That is when your cave can become a prison, where it keeps you locked in and keeps others locked out.

You may have entered into your cave full of despair like David but you can emerge full of praise if your hiding place is truly in God. Do not let your cave become a prison but let it become a haven - a place where you can pour your heart out to God and allow Him to heal your wounds. And also do not barricade the entrance, but allow an opening for the time God sends others to you.

What threatening enemies are forcing you into hiding today? And where do you go to hide? Have you made it a prison or a haven? Can you see God reaching out to you?

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."  Psalm 32:7

God gave David a mission ministering to other fugitives just like him self. Are you willing to step out of your cave to embrace God's mission for you, and to receive a new purpose for living? Be encouraged and know that there is a Ministry beyond the Cave.

Connie J. Schmoll

If you are viewing this from email, visit my site to watch the video of the song, "My Hiding Place" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Learn To SOAR Above Life's Circumstances

 As some of you know, the EAGLE is one of my favorite birds. God has taught me many lessons through the life of an eagle that I've also written about and shared on my site.   One of the most important lessons we can learn is how to SOAR above the circumstances of life that may try to bring us down. We must learn to RISE ABOVE those times that try to cause our faith to waver.

The KEYS to Soaring Above Our Circumstances Are:

(S)urrender
(O)bedience
(A)uthenticity
(R)est

These four KEYS go against our human nature and are in direct contradiction to what our flesh wants.  We (in the flesh) don't want to SURRENDER or be OBEDIENT because we want our own way and will fight for it.  We have a constant battle going on inside of us between our flesh and the spirit. 

Being AUTHENTIC is very difficult as well.  Most of us wear masks which God despises.  And because of past hurts, we don't allow others to get close to us.  No one knows the real person inside of us.  We pretend to be cool, constantly putting on that happy face, as if everything is okay. We're afraid to share with others about what really is going on because of the fear of judgment.  Yes, it is very sad that many people out there tend to judge you according to your circumstances, never really truly allowing them to get to know the true you!

It gets so hard for us also to REST in God, to rest on His promises.  Instead we choose to fret and worry when things seem to be going wrong.   It is not faith, when we are fretting.  We must give it all to God and let go and completely trust in Him with the situation.  He will never fail us.

Why do we fight against these things when we know it is against God's Word to do so?  Are we going to let the flesh win or allow the Spirit to reign? It is OUR choice!

When we SURRENDER our life's circumstances to God, continue to be OBEDIENT to His Word, be AUTHENTIC no matter what we are going through and choose to REST in Him and trust in His promises,  only then can we SOAR on the wings of eagles. Only then will we will be able to run and not become weary and walk and not faint.

Teach us Lord to wait on YOU! 

The only way that we can make these KEYS affective in our life is by walking in the spirit so we don't fulfill  the lust of the flesh. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16)  

And to "walk in the Spirit" is to fulfill what Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us about "trusting in the Lord with all our heart, leaning not on our own understanding, but acknowledging Him in all our ways, and He'll direct our path".  And we can not do these things on our own.  The Lord enables us through His Spirit and His Word.  Our faith comes from the Word of God as we read it, speak it, memorize it and hear it preached and taught to us. And by learning to Trust in the Lord, we are able to start acknowledging Him in all the circumstances that come our way, believing that He will take care of it.   And all of this is enabled also through prayer, our communication with God, casting our cares on Him who cares for us.  We cannot know Him, trust Him or know His will for our lives if we do not have a relationship with Him.  

Having a genuine relationship with God is the main KEY to unlocking the door of FAITH where we can then find it much easier to surrender, be obedient, be authentic and to rest in Him. 

"But they that wait upon 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

Learn to SOAR above life's circumstances today!

Connie Schmoll

Don't Lose Your Soul Over A Bowl

My friend, Debbie and I were talking one day and she shared a story with me. I thought it was something that we could all learn a good lesson from.  She has given me permission to share it here.  Here is her story:

"I had a four year old girl in my Sunday School class and every time her mother would bring her to class she would cry when she left.  I had learned that she loved popcorn so one Sunday I brought Popcorn to class in my favorite Tupperware Bowl.  There was plenty of it left after class so I told her mother she could take the rest home just as long as she returned my bowl to me.

Every time I saw her, I asked her for my bowl but she never had it but kept saying she would bring it and when I wouldn't see her, I would ask her mother-in-law about it.  The woman kept telling me that she would bring it but she never did. The last time I asked for it, she said they couldn't find it now.

I was so upset and riled up about it and evidently talked more about it than I realized. One day I was talking about it to my sister-in-law and she had a bowl similar but smaller and she said, 'Debbie, I want to make sure you make it to heaven.  Take these bowls.'

My sister-in-law felt I had bitterness about the bowl and I realized it then too.  You see, it was my favorite Tupperware bowl that I had won when I got married. My mother-in-law sold Tupperware and I had a good party that day!  My obsession with this bowl was more of a sentimental thing.  The bowl meant a lot to me".

End of Debbie's Story

As Debbie told me this story, it brought to my mind about my dad's ex wife who took a lot of my Grandma's possessions that would have been good stuff to pass down to us kids as memorials.  It upset us a lot because we knew she had no use for the stuff but merely kept it, sold it, whatever she did....out of spite. Of course Debbie's situation was not done out of spite but happened because of irresponsibility.   

Anyway, I got to thinking about our situation and thought, yes, Grandma's stuff meant something to us all but we had to realize it was just "stuff" and just as with Debbie's situation, we have to be very careful what we allow in our heart.  None of these things will we take to heaven with us for they are just material things.  And yes, God does care about the things that we care about, but sometimes we can really allow things to bother us that are really not worth it and will really not mean anything when we stand before God.

We can be so guilty of what we let ourselves get so upset about and start to allow bitter feelings to settle in.  This just opens up the door for the devil in other areas of our life.  The Bible says that he is like a roaring lion going to and fro seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) He watches us daily and just waits for the moment to pounce on us.  It starts out small, with maybe a bit of resentment, but once that feeling or thought is rooted in the mind, it can begin to grow into hatred and bitterness.  God's Word says that we need to make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord and see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. If we allow bitterness to take root and grow, it not only can hurt us but also defiles those around us.

When we look back on these moments, think about how silly it is, the things we allow to get us so upset and we tend to hold a grudge.  Please be careful of what things or situations that you allow to start festering in your mind that can begin to affect the heart.  The Bible says to Keep guard over our heart for out of it comes the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)   Do not give the devil room. (Ephesians 4:27)

What's going on in your life today? What have you been allowing to bother you for some time now and really need to finally let go of and move on? 

Do not lose your soul over a bowl!  Forgive and move on.

God bless,

Connie Schmoll

Be An Angel

I wrote last month about Angels and how the Bible says in Hebrews 1:14, that they are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister. They are messengers from God. 

I was thinking the other day how often people will refer to someone as their “angel” because they blessed them in some way or was just there for them when they were really in a rough situation or going through a difficult time.

Do you know what I found that makes it easier to get through a difficult situation that has come upon you? Be AN ANGEL for someone else. Be "An Angel By Their Side" to encourage and minister to them. Many times, it seems to take longer for our situation to get worked out only because we have a difficult time "letting go" and letting God. We constantly dwell on the situation.  Being an angel for someone else helps take our mind off of OUR situation and before we know it, OUR situation has been taken care because we "let go and let God" take care of it!

So..if you're having a difficult time right now, take it to God. The Bible says to Cast our cares on Him because He cares for us.  Give it to God and leave it there, believe that He will take care of it and choose at this time to reach out to someone else and be the "angel by their side" in their time of need. 

Be Someones Angel Today!

Connie Schmoll

If you are reading this from your email, visit http://waitingatthewindow.blogspot.com to listen to the video song by Francesca Battistelli, called "Angel By Your Side".  

Shadow of Hope

Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty

Was there ever a time in your life, maybe as a young child, when you were afraid of a shadow? Maybe you would see a shadow of something cast through your bedroom window and feared that someone was outside your window. Or maybe there was something hanging in your bedroom that cast a shadow that looked scary to you in the dark. Even though dark shadows can seem a little scary, there are shadows that can be very rewarding.

Let's look at the dark shadow first. I looked up the definition of shadow and Webster says: a shadow is a dark image of an object created when the object interrupts rays of light.

I believe a person has "shadows of belief". A person is or becomes what they believe. This can be good and bad, depending on what the person believes. Sometimes we may be told something when we are young, that causes us to carry it with us through our life. There may be many negative things that were said or done to us that we start to believe of our self. These "shadows of belief" become the dark shadows of gloom that starts to block 'the light' in our life causing our path to become dim and our direction in life becomes blurred and even darkened. Dark shadows hovering over us can keep any rays of light from shining through. It gets hard to even really know the right path for our life anymore.

I see people in the world today as 'light chasers'. They desire to have that "light", or a sense of direction in their lives but begin to chase after the wrong things and struggle with finding that light because of the dark shadows of the past that hover over them constantly.

The only way a person can find that light is to step out from under the dark shadow. The only way to do that is to first identify their "shadows of belief" that are causing the obstruction of light. We need to allow the Lord to shed some light on the dark shadows that have overshadowed us for years that keep us bound. Some fear what they might find. Every person's situation is different. Maybe it was something that a parent said or did when we were younger. If it is something that came from a parent, finding it, is not for the reason to blame the parent. It is only important to find out where it started in your life and where you took off with it and began to believe it, allowing it to affect your life in a negative way. And as time went on, it was pushed deep inside, so as not having to deal with it.

We must understand that if something gets too much 'shadow' or shade, it will not get enough light and will not grow. This is the same way with our spiritual life. Without the Light of Jesus shining in our life, we cannot grow in Him and go on in life to become what He wants us to be for Him.

When we find ourselves caught in the heat of circumstances or a dark shadow of gloom has overshadowed our lives, we must step out from under this shadow and abide under the shadow of protection of the Lord. He offers us cool shade from extensive heat in our lives. We can always find shelter from the storms of life under the shadow of his wings.

Psalm 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Jesus offers a "shadow of hope" to those in time of need. In Psalm 139, David writes that the darkness and light are alike to the Lord. Even the night shall be light unto us. Even in the darkness there is light with the Lord.

What is casting a shadow over your life today? Is it the 'shadow of protection' that comes from the Almighty as you dwell in His Secret place, or is it a 'dark shadow of gloom' that blocks the light of Jesus from shining through?

Stop 'chasing the light' and just step out from under the 'dark shadow' and allow the Lord to 'shed some light' on what is blocking HIS light in your life. Let Him overshadow you with His "wings of protection" as you face your 'shadows of belief' head on.

Connie J. Schmoll