(G)uard Your Heart
(R)est In Him
(E)ncourage Others
(A)cknowledge Him
(T)hankfulness
Lesson #5 Thankfulness
Did you know that when you focus on your problems that this will cut off the revelation, the faith and the victory? I read this quote the other day by Sarah Young, the author of Jesus Calling: "If you gaze too long at problems, you will sink under the weight of your burdens."
Instead of focusing on the problem, begin thanking God for the answer.
Possessing a grateful heart and expressing it daily will affect how you see things. You begin seeing and believing something before it actually is manifested. Your understanding is no longer darkened. Did you know that Romans 1:20-21 states that unthankfulness darkens the mind? So you see, something as simple as saying, "Thank You" can bring light to a situation that seemed hopeless. We need to cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving.
In the Bible, Luke states that light of the body is the eye. Whatever you are seeing WILL affect the outcome. What are you seeing? Giving thanks for something that has not been manifested yet is actually revealing what you are seeing spiritually. That's what faith is!
When you begin thanking God for answers, you will be amazed how quickly He works. When I stopped focusing on the problems and began thanking God for the answers, the frustration I always felt, left me and faith moved in.
Remember if you begin thanking God for something each day before it is manifested in your life, it opens you up to revelations and faith and victory. Your understanding is no longer darkened as before. Plans are revealed, ideas come, people are sent to you and exciting things just start happening.
A story in the Bible that comes to mind concerning faith is the one about the Centurion. You'll find the story in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. There was an officer of the Roman Army who had a hundred men under him. They called him a Centurion, a word meaning "having a hundred".
This Roman Centurion was a good man and loved the Jews because it was through them that he learned about God and how to worship Him. This Centurion cared about his servants. One of them became very sick and he wanted to help him. He heard about Jesus and how he could heal so he sent for Him, yet he did not even believe that Jesus had to enter his home but He believed that all Jesus had to do was speak the words and his servant would be healed.
Because of the great faith of this man, Jesus honored that faith and healed the servant boy in that same hour.
You see, even though God is limitless in His power, His resources, and His abilities, we do not receive according to any of these. We receive according to our faith...our heart...our condition of heart.
It is very important to have that vision of hope painted on the canvas of our heart. We must believe in something even before it is manifested. We must see it first. And one way to keep that vision alive is to continue speaking it and thanking God for it.
Do you know that if you spend just a few minutes talking with someone, you will soon know whether they are a person of great faith or not? -- Just by listening to what comes out of their mouth. So remember this when you are speaking to others and especially to friends and family. Begin to really listen to others and talk to them about their dreams and their purpose. We must then be able to share with them what we know and have and help give them hope and encouragement to believe that they can have it too. We must learn to always speak words of faith just as the Centurion did.
What a great example and witness the Centurion must have been to the other ninety-nine men that he was a leader over. Think about how your faith can effect those in your family and others who God brings into your life by just speaking words of faith and speaking positive things into their lives and teaching them to do the same.
For us to be a servant which makes us GREAT in God, we must cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving and our understanding in matters will no longer be darkened and revelations will be opened up to us.
"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" I Thessalonians 5:18
"Giving thanks always for all things unto God...in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Ephesians 5:20
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name." Psalm 100:4
"Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally brethern, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:6-8
Being thankful,
Connie Schmoll
(Feel free to share with others but please make sure my name stays with the writing)
If you are viewing this from email, please visit my website to listen to the song/video, "Thank You, Lord" by Don Moen
(G)uard Your Heart
(R)est In Him
(E)ncourage Others
(A)cknowledge Him
(T)hankfulness
Lesson #4 Acknowledge Him
I was thinking the other day how it is so easy for us to acknowledge God in something great that happens in our lives but when something bad transpires, we are left wondering where God is. The truth of the matter is, He never leaves us. He is just as involved in the bad as He is in the good. (Isaiah 41:10) No, God does not bring the bad upon us but He is always there to work things out for the good, even though what God considers good might look bad to us. (Romans 8:28)
One of the hardest situations that my family and I had to go through dealt with my Dad. My Dad and his wife (ex-wife now) were having problems which led to him being arrested for domestic violence when she was the one who was violent. This led to them separating, then divorce and she filed a protection order against him. During this time, she kept following my dad around, then calling the cops on him and he would be arrested for breaking the protection order. To make a long story short, he ended up being incarcerated from February 2010 until January 2011. It was so unfair! Prison was not the place for a 75 year old man who had been unfairly judged and sentenced!
When I heard the outcome of my Dad's hearing that day, I was not happy. I cried and was angry and even disappointed with God. There had been a lot of people praying for my Dad. But as it was with many other times of confronting God with the things that confused or disappointed me, His reply to me once again was simply, "Trust Me". THEN, my sister said something to me that I will never forget. It stuck with me and I knew that it was from God. She said, "Connie, I do not believe that Dad was put in prison for her protection. I believe he was placed there for his protection FROM her." She is an evil person, very manipulative, a habitual liar and ruins the lives of people that she comes in contact with. You had to know the state of mind that my Dad was in during this time to understand why my sister's statement brought comfort to me.
During Dad's prison time, God did some miraculous changes in his heart. Sometimes we do not know the place that God has to take us until we are finally willing to let Him in.
It is hard sometimes for us to accept the things that are happening around us that look bad because we are in capable of seeing the reasoning for it and what the outcome may bring. But God knows the beginning to the end. He sees the whole picture and sees the very hearts of the individuals involved. God knows what He is doing.
Life can seem so unfair at times but we must trust that God has a better purpose for all that happens. Think about the life of Joseph. He was falsely accused of things and ended up in prison plus a number of other things happened to him that was unfair. But he had a dream from God that he held on to. He knew what his destiny in God was but he didn't know what all he was going to have to go through to get there. That is why it is so important to trust God no matter what, and He will guide our steps. We go through things for our own growth in God and so that we can help others. I had to believe that my Dad's life and what he was going through had a greater purpose.
When we come up against some things in life that are perplexing, we cannot assume that our human understanding of things is always a perfect guide. Human understanding is limited by a person's knowledge and experience. But as I said before, God sees the bigger picture and knows the beginning from the end. Sometimes we need to look past human wisdom and allow the Spirit of God to direct our lives. Our human reasoning wants an explanation, but the Spirit of God says, "Trust Me!"
You see, once we began to acknowledge God in all that was happening in the outcome of my Dad's situation, a peace came and God continued to work and we began to see the changes in Dad. I remember afterwards my Dad asked me if I would help write a story about his injustice because he wanted the people to know about how bad the judicial system was. But my thought was, why fight against something that God was part of? But instead, we needed to acknowledge God in it, knowing that He was working all things for the good. And He did just that!! I didn't want to be part of fighting against something that God worked out for the good.
It can be difficult at times to really trust God when you are IN the storm but if we really truly believe that God loves us so much and goes through the hurt with us, then we can't help but know that He also doesn't like seeing us have to deal with situations that bring us pain. He wants us to bring all our hurts to Him so that He is able to work all things out for the good. That is where "trusting Him with all our heart" comes in. We just have to trust Him whether we understand it all or not because He knows what He is doing. The acceptance of trials and acknowledging God brings blessings that far outweigh all of the trials.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5,6
For us to be a servant which makes us GREAT in God, we must learn to fully trust in God in every situation no matter how it looks to us or even if we do not understand. Acceptance or acknowledging God in the situation is a very important attitude that we must have in order to incorporate our trust in Him. We are to accept God's involvement in our lives and the way we express this to Him is by having a grateful heart which will be taught in our 5th and final lesson.
Maybe there IS a greater purpose for what you may be going through right now?
Acknowledging Him,
Connie Schmoll
(Feel free to share with others but please make sure my name stays with the writing)
If you are viewing this from email, please visit my website to listen to the song/video "Blessings" by Laura Story
(G)uard Your Heart
(R)est In Him
(E)ncourage Others
(A)cknowledge Him
(T)hankfulness
Lesson #3 Encourage Others
We often hear people 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.
I have found that one of the most productive things you can do to help get your mind off of your own problems is to reach out to someone else and help them with theirs. Be an angel for someone else - Be an angel by their side.
I thought it was also cool to learn that we each have an angel positioned at our side in the spiritual realm who ministers to and for us by taking heed to our words when we are speaking God's Word after Him. If we are giving voice to God's words of promise, then angels have an assignment to see to it that the promise is eventually fulfilled in our life. No, we do not command angels to do anything. We are not even speaking to the angels. They are just responding, hearkening unto the voice of His words that we speak and ministering for and to us who are heirs of salvation because it is what they are created to do. (Hebrews 1:14; Psalm 103:19-22)
We can also be an angel to someone here on this earth by hearkening unto the voice of the Lord as He directs our steps and sets up Divine Appointments for us to minister and encourage. God told me a long time ago that my ministry was to encourage others whether it be through my writings, a spoken word, or any other way He chooses and instructs me to do so. There are numerous ways to encourage someone and God knows exactly what each of us need. I believe that not only is everyone an encourager but God also has equipped each one of us with a gift that can be used in helping to encourage someone.
One of my favorite things is the Eagle and when God inspired me to write a devotional using the Eagle, it was then He began to show me my gift/ministry of exhortation. Just as each of us go through times of trial, the eagle will experience a time of "molting". They lose their feathers, begin pecking at each other, lose their desire to eat, have no strength to hunt for food and they lose their vision. Calcium builds up on their beaks and they are unable to hold their beak up which is so traumatic to the proud majestic bird. BUT during this molting time, some will choose a spot to lay where the sun can shine directly on them. Experts say they find a rock and will lie on it as they bathe in the presence of the sun and it is here where they begin to get renewed. Hope is brought to them when they hear older eagles that have survived this experience and know what they are going through, fly above screaming loudly. The screams bring encouragement for they know that these "encouragers" are about to drop meat to them to live on until their renewal comes.
During our times of trial, we are exposed to the devil during our hurts or times we may take offense, exposing our wounds to the possibility of anger, resentment, unforgiveness or bitterness entering the heart, if we are not guarding it and not living in a place of rest with the Lord. We tend to hurt one another. We start losing our focus and allow God's Word to be stolen from our hearts causing us to lose faith.
But during this time, if we would not allow ourselves to be overcome with unbelief but instead turn toward the "Son of Righteousness" and stay firm upon "The Rock", basking in His Presence, our strength will be renewed. God will send us encouragers to feed us with the Word, bringing us hope that renewal will soon come to the faint of heart.
When God showed me all of this, promising me that He would always provide encouragers for me, He also told me that I was an Encourager and it was later confirmed to me through His Word that there was such a gift or ministry...the gift of exhortation.
Do you ever realize that when we neglect to "guard our heart" and it causes us to leave that peaceful resting place in God, and turmoil hits, it becomes all about us? That is why it is so important during these times that we reach out to others to minister to their needs. 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 find ourselves constantly dwelling on the situation. Being "an angel" for someone else helps take our mind off of our own situation and before we know it, our situation has been taken care of because we let go and let God take care of it.
For us to be a servant which makes us GREAT in God, we must always be looking for ways to help encourage others through many gifts that God has equipped us with.
Be someone's angel today!
"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." Romans 14:19
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Encouraging Others,
Connie Schmoll
(Feel free to share with others but please make sure my name stays with the writing)
If any of you are viewing this from email, please visit the website to listen to the song/Video "Angel By Your Side" by Francesca Battistelli
(G)uard Your Heart
(R)est In Him
(E)ncourage Others
(A)cknowledge Him
(T)hankfulness
Lesson #2 Rest In Him
If you've had situations in your life like I have where you neglected to 'guard your heart' from hurts, disappointments or troubling things happening around you, then you also most likely allowed them to take root and even went as far as to speak negative things out of your mouth. You become troubled with many things and deep within are screams of "I can't take much more! Please fix this! Free me from this turmoil! I long for a place of peace!"
We are all going to have troubles or trials in our lives because Jesus speaks of this in John 16:33, "In this world you will have troubles." But He also leaves us a message of hope telling us to "take heart for I have overcome the world."
God made us with emotions but we learn to not let them control us, but must choose to let the Spirit reign. If something happens that triggers an emotion, it will first always begin with a thought. We have the power through God to stop that thought and cast it down before we even have to allow anything negative to be spoken from our mouth. We learned this in the first lesson about "guarding our heart". We need to replace those thoughts by renewing our mind continually with the Word of God. Jesus said in John 14 "Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me."
A story in the Bible that comes to mind is about Mary and Martha. In Luke 10:38-42 we have Martha who was the one troubled and upset about many things. Her sister, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus.
If our life keeps us constantly worried about work, marriage, raising kids, maintaining friendships, our self image, future goals or dreams, extended family relationship, church issues, time management, personal care (eating right,sleep),financial struggles, or whatever the case may be for you, then we have not completely entrusted these things to God. Without entrusting these things to God, we make it very difficult to "rest in Him".
When we are troubled about many things, one thing is needful and that is to fall at the feet of Jesus and let Him minister to us just as Mary did. Also we can build our self up in our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost, as we are told in the book of Jude. Praying in the Spirit brings a refreshing that is needed.
When troubled about many things, take it all to Jesus, leave it there and we'll come out every time much stronger. Learn to live from a place of "resting in Him". Since God is both with us and in us, we can choose to live from this peaceful place of union with Him. This enables us to stay calm in the midst of stressful situations by keeping our focus on Him.
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed (steadfast = to lean upon, to take hold of) on thee, for he trusts in thee. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is everlasting strength". Isaiah 26:3-4
For us to be a servant which makes us GREAT in God, we must be able to love others as God loves and be able to give help as needed. But how can we do this if we are always caught up in our own troubles and living in a chaotic state? People without Jesus are looking for a place of peaceful living absent of turmoil and torment, and we that have the Spirit of God residing in us have that resting place to run to during those stormy times and we need to be able to direct others in how they can have that peaceful place too.
"Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him". Psalm 37:7
Anytime we realize we have wandered from our place of peace, we can return to Him immediately by just calling on His Name. This reconnects us and will help us feel safe and at peace again. Don't be discouraged and beat yourself up when those "wandering away" times happen. We are endeavoring to form a new habit that takes persistence and effort. We are learning and growing in our relationship with God.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
"The name of the Lord is a Strong Tower; the righteous run into it and are safe". Proverbs 18:10
"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance" Psalm 32:7
Resting in Him,
Connie Schmoll (Feel free to share with others but please make sure my name stays with the writing)
If any of you are viewing this from email, please visit my site to listen to "Hiding Place" by Steven Curtis Chapman
(G)uard Your Heart
(R)est In Him
(E)ncourage Others
(A)cknowledge Him
(T)hankfulness
Lesson #1 Guard Your Heart
I saw a quote the other day that said, "Do not depend too much on anyone in this world because even your shadow leaves you when you're in darkness".
This sounded so much like me. When I read that, something rose up within me and an attitude shot out in my thoughts like, "yea, you can't depend on anyone out there!" But then, God began talking to me about this. I didn't even want to have to depend on people because of the fear of them leaving, hurting or disappointing me. I was tired of being hurt and disappointed all the time, until God began to teach me that I had the power within me through Him to not ever allow hurt and disappointment to affect me anymore.
For us to love as God loves, we have to always take risks. Yes, God does want our full dependence to be on Him, but He also will place people in our path for a purpose, whether it be for a long period of time or for just a season. And if we refuse to acknowledge them, we may cause them to miss out on a great blessing and an opportunity to learn of and experience the love of God through us. We also can miss out on what the Lord has for us and what He may be trying to teach us.
We cannot allow our past hurts and disappointments from people to keep us from letting others in our life. We must keep ourselves prepared for those times of disappointments that may come. Believe me, they WILL come because none of us are perfect.
I've hid from people for a long time because of the fear of getting disappointed or hurt. It has caused me to miss out on some good friendships I could have had. It caused me to miss out on some Divine Appointments set up by God where a person could have been encouraged, a life totally changed or even receiving encouragement for myself.
The Scripture I have applied to my life that has helped me so much is Psalm 4:23 "Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it comes the issues of life."
Hurts, disappointments and offenses are going to come but you do not have to receive them. It all starts with a thought. Take every thought captive and cast them down before they even have a chance to take root. (2 Corinthians 10:15) Keep your heart guarded and when disappointments and hurts come from people, don't receive it. Don't let it settle in your heart. You have the power through God to stop it! Give it to Jesus, forgive, move on and love them anyway. If you do that, I promise you it will keep you on the right path with God and it is also very liberating!
Guard your heart because it determines the course of your life. What you allow in your heart eventually shows on the outside through your actions. A large part of guarding your heart means learning how to control your thoughts, your words, disposition and general outlook.
Now, the answer for past hurts and disappointments that you have already allowed to settle in the heart is to FORGIVE. If you do not take care of your heart, instead of your life affecting others in a good way, it will start infecting others in a bad way and begin destroying your own life. (Hebrews 12:15)
Some believe that forgiveness has a price but believe me friend, to NOT forgive will cost you so much more. We wonder sometimes how we can forgive someone who has not shown true remorse, but you see, forgiveness comes from an open heart and without condition or it does not come at all. We cannot wait to forgive when we feel like it because that feeling may never come. We must CHOOSE to forgive, for it breaks satan's power over us in that area and God's healing touch is free to move.
We achieve inner health only through forgiveness - the forgiveness of not only others but also of ourselves. Sometimes I find that it is hardest to forgive self. Having the ability to forgive is an admirable quality. Choose to forgive so the healing can begin and the pain can die. Be determined today to live to forgive because I guarantee you friend, that you are going to be hurt many more times in your life than you can imagine. Do your best to stay prepared by guarding your heart!
For us to be a servant which makes us GREAT in God, we must be able to love others as God loves and it is impossible to do if you are bitter and harboring unforgiveness in your heart. When hurts and disappointments come, guard your heart and let forgiveness flow!!
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize that the prisoner was you!!
Affirmation of forgiveness: I choose peace! I live forgiven! I forgive that I may live!
Guarding my heart,
Connie Schmoll (Feel free to share with others but please make sure my name stays with the writing)
If you are viewing this from email, visit the site to listen to the song "7 Times 70" by Chris August
When thinking back on the year 2012, I began reflecting on some of the lessons that God taught me and instructed me to do through His Word that brought much growth in my walk with Him. I realized that I can become GREAT in God and stay on that straight path with Him by being obedient and applying these lessons to my life for 2013.
God has inspired me to write five lessons using the five letters of the word GREAT. I will be sharing five separate writings or lessons on this.
One important thing to keep in mind when reading each lesson is the words of Jesus and what He said in Matthew 20:26. In this verse, Jesus let it be known that in order to be GREAT, one must be a servant.
These lessons are to help you become that servant.
The main message..."To Be G.R.E.A.T. in God" will be shared in these five lessons and titles in this way:
(G)uard Your Heart
(R)est In Him
(E)ncourage Others
(A)cknowledge Him
(T)hankfulness
I will be sharing these lessons separately. Look for the first one "Guard Your Heart", to be posted soon.
May the lessons of this message minister to you and I pray that your heart will capture that deep desire to become GREAT in God! God Bless!
"He will come openly and he will not be silent" Psalm 50:3
Even though I title this "When God Is Silent", did you know that God is never silent? There are even many books written about when God is silent. But the truth is...
The Word of God is never silent, but it is not always heard
Many times we think God is being silent especially in times of trial or when we've got a lot going on around us and I think the reason we think this is because during these times, we want to SEE God doing something to fix the situation in the midst of our storm. Yet it is during these times that it takes faith. Just because we do not SEE something happening does not mean God is not working. He IS working out all things for the good. Why do we always insist on seeing a sign? Why is it so hard for us to just believe?
During times of trial, we tend to only see the turmoil going on around us which makes it hard to HEAR God. He tells us though to "Be still and know I am God" and He does speak in that still small voice at times too, but we must be quiet enough to hear Him.
Yes, God IS silent when we are trying to hear Him through the flesh, but the truth is...God is never silent, for He speaks from Spirit to spirit. We just have to be tuned in to hear.
What we have to do is hear Him with the hearts ear. We have to hear him with the ears that Jesus, the Teacher said he was looking for: "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 13:9
Quit trying to see and hear with your eyes and ears but instead...learn to see and hear from the heart. And how do we do that? That is the work of the Holy Spirit. And it can only be learned through Relationship. We must have that relationship with God through prayer and through His Word. God is forever speaking through His Word. But yet again...some can read the Word and get nothing yet others get a lot. Again, it's all the working of the Spirit and in how God chooses to speak to YOU! The more you get to know Him, the more you will learn the ways that He speaks to YOU.
But what can we do when we cannot hear? It is then, faith takes on a new meaning for us, at least for a time. Faith then is a "holding on" and an enduring. Faith persists until it learns the language of His silence and the language of our own silence.
Think about a relationship between a husband and a wife. Spending time together throughout the years, we learn to communicate without even having to speak words. It may take just a look, or a touch, etc. You know what I'm talking about. It can be the same with your children.
Let me share this:
The most powerful words that greatly ministered to me was spoken by my husband Don a few weeks back after a church service while he was actually ministering to someone else.
He said:
I don't see great visions like some others in the church are seeing. I have gotten to where I am with God right now by Faith. It's been ALL BY FAITH!
Years ago in the beginning of his walk with God, it was spoken over him that he would become a great man of faith. And He is!!! God speaks and faith learns to listen!!
Remember in John 20:27-29 the story of Doubting Thomas who needed proof before he would believe that Jesus had risen? Jesus reappeared and gave Thomas his proof yet in verse 29 He also spoke these words, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
I like that!!
Let me end with this:
I heard this song the other night at Mulligan's Lounge and after leaving I could not get the song out of my thoughts. So the next day, I looked it up on Youtube and played it and WHOOSH....I cried and cried like a baby and experienced another time of God ministering His love to me, letting me know He is never silent! What love I felt from the Lord through this song that I will never forget! MY HEART IS FULL!!!
You can ALWAYS have "heart to heart" communications with God where no
words even need to be spoken nor any signs and wonders need to be seen,
because GOD IS NEVER SILENT!. We just need to be quiet and listen and believe! He
is always felt and heard from the spirit (heart).
If you are reading this from email, you MUST be sure to visit my blog to listen to this song on video by Alison Krause, "When You Say Nothing At All." Allow God to minster to you.
