A Woman's Walk

[Judy Harder]

Week of March 3
Temperance

"But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."  ~ I Thessalonians 5:8

Temperance is restraint in the face of temptation.  It is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23 KJV).  The root word "temper" originally meant "mixture" in Latin.  As Christians, we are an amalgam of body, soul and spirit.  And it is God in us who gives us harmony, who guides us and enables us to live temperate lives.  To Him, we must yield.

If we look at the Old Testament, unleavened cakes and wafers were "tempered with oil" and "anointed with oil" (Ex. 29:2).  In these simple passages lives so much meaning.  Just as the wheat and the oil were combined to complete a substance that would sustain life, the bread of life (Jesus) and the anointing oil (the Holy Spirit) sustains us in times of trouble, in the dry desert journeys, in the face of the tempter, Satan.

Although God is always in control, He allows us to journey through difficult circumstances to temper us, to cause us to reach for Him and depend upon Him with a great urgency and intensity for help.  God's firing or tempering process prepares us for the next promotion.  It challenges us to reach the next glory and obtain a higher level of purity and holiness (Ex. 30:35-37).  Yielding to the Holy Spirit brings us into greater composure, which positions us for action (I Peter 1:13) in an upcoming season.

I recall an occasion when a friend of mind received a major breakthrough in her career.  She had been under the authority of a boss from whom she felt great heaviness and oppression on a daily basis.  Yes, she was being tempered.  I watched her at church each week as she journeyed through this dry place.  I saw tears of desperation fall from her cheeks.  I saw her heart cry out to God for relief.  And I saw her offer sacrifices of praise to the Lord while in the midst of emotional pressure and pain.

Many interceded for her, including myself.  And on the day that she was offered a new job, which was unbeknownst to me at the time, the Lord showed me that because she sought His heart with all of her heart, and because she was faithful to stay the course and exhibit love in the process, He shielded her from undue harm and was promoting her to be in authority over others.

Indeed, God must temper us to be leaders (2 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:7).  We cannot do it alone, only through His grace (Titus 2:12).

Inasmuch, God recently sent me back out into the job market.  After seven weeks of intense training, during which I had to lean into the Lord for His grace, my boss turned to me and quickly said, "You're going to be mastered by fire."  I knew just what she meant.

Consider Proverbs 25:28 (NIV): "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control."  My friend, in her flesh alone, surely felt like retaliating towards her boss.  And without the Holy Spirit's strength and guidance, she would have been defenseless and disgraced, like a city without walls.  But because she persevered by leaning to God, she finished the journey rewarded by promotion and surrounded by His glory.

Proverbs 16:32 (NLT) says, "It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city."  My friend chose to be patient in the suffering.  She believed that God's power was more than enough to defeat the enemy who attacked her.  And she waited upon God until He brought her to complete victory.  Such character development readied her to carry out her next divine assignment.

If you are being tempered, know that the process will not continue longer than God apportions.  Take courage and know that He is fighting your battles for you and that you will reign victorious if you persevere to the finish.

[Judy Harder]

Week of March 10
Understanding

Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth."
~Proverbs 4:5 (NASB)

God desires for us to wait until we hear from Him before we act. He wants us to listen and to "get it." He wants us to receive His revelation, His instruction and His understanding.  Sometimes He speaks to us quickly, and sometimes God takes His time. But no matter how long He takes, we are to "not... turn away from the words of My mouth," (Prov. 4:5).  We are to "get understanding" (Prov. 4:7). 

The alternative is to miss God's finest, to be foolish, to do it quick and cheap—our way (Eph. 5:17, Prov. 3:5-6, 18:2).

Early last week, I found myself engaged in a long conversation with a ministry leader concerning many topics. As I listened to him speak, I could easily see that he had acquired a great deal of knowledge, wisdom and understanding over the years. The presence and the peace of the Lord in the room was profound, and the Lord showed me that this man was very anointed by God.

One testimony he shared with me particularly stood out: When I asked him how he knew and understood so much about the Bible—revelation wisdom I had never heard from any other source—he accredited seeking the understanding of the Lord. He said that years ago, he and his cousin would pore over the Bible, maps, commentaries and other resources and would seek the Lord for hours to help them receive a deep understanding of the Lord's messages. As always, the Lord was faithful to deliver.

I understood that the key here is the time factor. God speaks to us in many ways, but sometimes, it is necessary to "press in," to fervently seek Him over time in order to gain deeper levels of understanding.

The issue is: Are we willing to spend the time? It is our heart's desire to sincerely know Him better? His ways? His messages? His revelation understanding that will change our lives?

If we read further in Proverbs chapter 4, we see that if we walk in divine wisdom and understanding, the Lord will reward us. He will exalt us and honor us (vs. , He will crown us with His grace and beauty (vs. 9), He will give us a long life (vs. 10), He will cause our paths to be clear (vs. 12-13). Essentially, He will promote us.

Surely, spending intimate time with the Lord is a treasure that brings treasures. It is a double blessing not to be missed. It is a divine gift.

In the times when I have felt like I do not have time to spend with the Lord, and I have chosen to do it anyway, I have felt anxiety and pressures give way to the Lord's peace and grace. And in that time, He always reminds me that had I not spent that time, I would not have received His greater intimacy, His greater understanding of who He is and what He wants me to know. I realize this is so precious, so important, so critical to the heart of God.

If you are experiencing spiritual dryness where you feel distant from the Lord's presence and you cannot even hear God's voice clearly, I encourage you to submit to spending more intimate time with Him. There, you will be refreshed; you will come into His peace; you will receive revelation instructions, strategies and understanding that will propel you forward in your divine destiny. There is no shortcut. There is no cheap substitute.

[Judy Harder]

Week of March 17
Persecution

You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side.  ~ Psalm 71:21 (NKJV)

When we are persecuted whether in our workplaces or otherwise, our hearts turn to urgent cries and pleas for God's rescue.   As we are in the midst of such suffering and pain, we can quickly forget about God's purpose, grace, hope, comfort and restoration.  Yet the Bible reminds us that He is with us in tribulation and that after we suffer a little while, He will restore us (1Peter 5:10).  This truth we must cling to.

I recall a season in my life of intense persecution that lasted 18 months.  The Holy Spirit revealed to me that this was a period of spiritual development.  I learned that more than spiritual growth, spiritual development requires greater resistance, much like body building in the physical realm.  And just as in an intense weightlifting workout, I anticipated the end of each strain and each pain because what truly lasted a little while seemed like an eternity.

As I cried out to the Lord to rescue me daily, my personal trainer, the Holy Spirit, encouraged me via scriptures, teachings, visions, prophecies and signs and wonders.  In addition to Psalm 71:21, He gave me another key scripture, Romans 12:12 which says, "rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer" (NASB).  He led me to proclaim this verse daily, to pray for understanding and to praise Him sacrificially.

Toward the end of this developmental journey, the Holy Spirit gave me the understanding that my heart had to be crucified in order for me to enter into a greater level of love for others and for God.  He taught me to truly love those who persecuted me and to earnestly confess, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34, KJV).  He also taught me that Christ Himself suffered greater pain, which humbled me and put my circumstances into perspective.  In this light of understanding, I was able to choose to rejoice in having participated in the sufferings of Christ (1Peter 4:13).  And when the journey ended, I knew that I had come closer to the Father in a way that was new to me.

Indeed, the Lord brought me through a journey of greater dependence, comfort, patience and endurance (2Corinthians 1:7).  He gave me a greater understanding and a greater vision of His perspective concerning love, and He restored my heart.  Indeed, His glory was revealed.

If you are being persecuted, ask the Lord to reveal His purpose to you.  Ask Him to fill you with His strength of joy in the midst and enable you to understand what is happening so that you may receive His full measure of glory.

[Judy Harder]

Week of March 24

Joy

"You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound."  ~Psalm 4:7

Our Heavenly Father created us with an ability to experience joy.  We know when we have it, and we know when we don't.  And even though we can receive enjoyment from our loved ones, activities, work or even material things, only the Lord gives us everlasting joy.  It comes through receiving all of Him, beginning with the joy of salvation and redemption.

Remember the children's song that goes, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart to stay"?  How profound this simple truth is.  For when we sincerely accept Jesus into our hearts, so, too, do we invite His joy.

Like peace, the Lord's joy is found in His presence.  It is a divine gift, a byproduct of His love.  Joy is cyclical.  It propels God's heart to move on our behalf and our hearts to move on His.  He plants joy in our hearts, and we give it back to Him through actions of praise and worship and a walk of obedience.

The joy of the Lord is powerful.  It is described as "complete" (Jh. 15:11), "exceeding" (Ps. 43:4), "filling" (Ps. 126:3), "everlasting" and "overwhelming" (Ps. 35:10).

And as we come closer to His joyful presence, He pours out His divine favor upon us.

Consider the Psalmists.  David said in Psalm 16:11, "You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy . . . "

Psalm 45:7 says, "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy above your fellows.

Psalm 97:11 says, "Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.  Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name."

The joy of the Lord is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) intended for sharing.  Pouring out joy imparts joy.  Ever notice how difficult it is to be down when in the presence of God's joy that pours through someone else?

Even when we sin, the Lord provides a restoration of joy for those who repent.

Consider the exiled Israelites in Nehemiah who lost their joy and their homeland to disobedience.  When Nehemiah repented on his and their behalf, God, in His unending mercy, led them to restore Jerusalem's wall with His hand of favor upon them, and they celebrated with "great" joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, " . . . Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."  Choose joy.

Moreover, obedience invites the reward of complete joy (Jn. 15:10-11).  May we press through any blockages of sin for the fullness of the Lord's reward.

Since the Holy Spirit who resides in us brings joy (Luke 10:21), no one can diminish it unless we allow access.

May we hold fast to the resounding joy of the Lord.  It is our divine, prevailing strength.  It keeps our hearts built up, soaring above the pit of despair, propelling us in His glory to work unto Him and to reach others.  All that's required is that we simply remain in close relationship with Him.

[Judy Harder]

Week of March 31
New Beginnings

"I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come . . ."  ~ Isaiah 46:10

New beginnings often feel great.  Filled with excitement and relief, we get to leave the past behind and enter into a new season with great anticipation, hope and promise, with a new vision.  Job promotions, weddings and childbirths are prominent examples.

But for some, beginnings can feel treacherous.  Letting go of comfortable, established relationships—colleagues, family members, homes and jobs—can force us to confront anxiety, uncertainty and even fear of the unknown.

As in all new seasons, our only certainty and security is found in God.  To Him, we must cling as we journey forth over every hill and valley ahead.

Consider Joseph.

Joseph's young life began just prior to God setting him and his family free on a new beginning back to their native land (Gen. 30:25, 31:3).  Highly favored by both his Heavenly and earthly fathers, and hated and betrayed by his brothers, Joseph was eventually sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites, which began his journey to Egypt (Gen. 37:27).  Once there, he was resold to Potiphar, where he began a journey of slavery (Gen. 37:36).

In the beginning of Joseph's enslavement, Potiphar saw God's favor upon him and placed him in the highest position over his household and all his possessions (Gen. 39:3-4).

Even when Potiphar's wife betrayed Joseph, which began his prison term, the warden took notice of God's favor upon him, putting Joseph in charge of other prisoners right at the outset (Gen. 39:23).

And immediately after interpreting Pharoh's dream, Joseph was placed in charge over Egypt (Gen. 41:43).  In the beginning of his new position of authority, he also began a marriage journey.  Then a travel journey over Egypt.  And then a journey of parenting.

Holding onto God from the beginning and throughout, Joseph forgot all his troubles and became fruitful in the land of his suffering (Gen. 41:51-52).  Coming full circle, Joseph was able to feed the very brothers who betrayed him, sustaining their lives.

No matter what his circumstances, Joseph was blessed from every beginning.  Determined to do the right thing, he handled his journeys with kindness, obedience, longsuffering, trust and patience.  He was tested and refined.  Crafted and fired, he emerged an overseer of a nation, blessing those who persecuted him.  Holding tight to his faithful God along the way, Joseph was consistently promoted and rewarded.

Only through obedience to God can we maintain divine favor from beginning to end amid our circumstances.  God is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 21:6).  It's simply a matter of whether we will cooperate His way along the way, even if it seems that so many of our new beginnings occur after a catalyst of discord.

If you find yourself in the starting blocks of a new beginning, placed there by God, choose to trust Him no matter what.  Know that He has purposed your journey, that He is in control and that He has a plan, even if a catalyst of chaos, betrayal and despair try to overtake you.  If you remain obedient to God, you will see His purposes and blessings unfold and receive all the abundance and reward that He has for you, ultimately forgetting all the injustices that occur along the way.

[Judy Harder]

Week of April 7
Divine Tests

"His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work."  ~ 1 Corinthians 3:13

New beginnings excite us, and we are awed when the Holy Spirit touches us with new assignments and fresh revelations through God's word or in another creative way.  But have you noticed that after you receive these assignments and revelations, you are put to a test?

Tests are necessary to train us and to strengthen us for the purpose of advancing our own spirit, soul and body as well as to advance those things outside of ourselves, like other people, nations, businesses, communities, ministries, careers, even a geographic region.  God will test our obedience to His directives, and He will use other people and circumstances in the process (Judges 3:1-4).

Because of their "unknown" nature, tests usually provoke fear and anxiety within us.  We only have to look as far as our last exam administered in school or college as a simple example.  God uses tests to challenge us to overcome obstacles (like lack of knowledge), to position us to trust Him in new areas so that, with Him, we can accomplish new assignments.  Though the test-taking process can, at times, feel either burdensome or exhilarating, once we pass, we advance to the next level, where we will again be tested.  Entrepreneurs frequently experience this process in business as they journey from visions to ventures.

If you look up the word "test" in any dictionary, you will find a long list of definitions.  Here of some of the ones I like from Encarta: "An often difficult situation or event that will provide information about somebody or something; a procedure to ascertain the presence of or the properties of a particular substance; a declaration, demonstration, or oath of conformity or loyalty; to make considerable demands on somebody, particularly somebody's skills or abilities; testimony; testament."

David earnestly invited and submitted to God's examination in Psalm 139:23-24 saying, ". . . test me and know my anxious thoughts . . ."  The NIV note to this scripture is particularly interesting.  It adds, "It is no light matter to be examined by God."

Has your work been tested lately?  How about your marriage?  What about your patience?  Have you withstood the fire?  Or do you feel like you've failed miserably?

Did you choose faith or fear, trust or temptation (to give up), dedication or distraction, commitment or compromise in the process?         

With God, there are no failures, only opportunities for redemption and restoration.  God's grace is sufficient in our weakness.  He can reset, reposition and reevaluate us.  He loves us and desires for us to succeed and reach our divine destiny.  And He'll give us every opportunity to get it right.  All we have to do is cooperate with Him.

If we exercise our freewill, faith, trust and action according to God's plan and leading, He will meet us as He met Abraham to help us succeed.  He will build our character and refine our motives along the way.  And we will complete the race a winner.

[Judy Harder]

Week of April 14
Good Pleasure

"And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ."  ~ Ephesians 1:9

I once met a young, married woman who had wisdom beyond her years.  She said something profound that I will always remember which was, "The trouble with life is that it's just so daily."

May we not get so bogged down by the "dailies" that we lose sight of God's greater vision.  Let us not forget that God has us in an integral "now" process that is leading us to the fulfillment of our divine destiny.  Take joy, and count it all good.  Our best vacation from toil and hardship is in the presence of the Lord.  In due time, we will reap the harvest if we journey to the fulfillment of His purposes.

A couple of years after this young woman made her statement, God made big shifts in her life.  Indeed, when God's purposes are fulfilled, He will move us beyond our circumstances.    One of my favorite prayers is to ask the Holy Spirit to help me "get it" the first time, that I would not have to cycle around the mountain of lesson-learning repeatedly.  Once is enough for me in this second half of my life on earth.  I don't want to waste anymore of God's time, and I declare that, through His grace, the latter will be greater than the former.

Therefore, let us do our excellent best to honor God in all that He has called us to in the here and now, processing circumstances His way in love, mercy and forgiveness.  And know that we are indeed pleasing Him and making loving memories.  There will come a future time when "now" will be the past, and we will forget the hardships of today.  So that when the future arrives, we can reflect with great joy, peace, liberty and appreciation, having no regrets, bearing no grudges and gaining God's wisdom.

Be assured that God takes good pleasure in giving back our dreams.  If you are in a dry place, know that your escape, your sanctuary can be found in the presence of the Lord.  Spend time with Him.  Ask Him to reveal His mysteries, His timing, His destiny plan for you.   Ask Him to give you His understanding of what you've gone through and how He will bring it all together in His due time, in His good pleasure.  Ask Him to awaken you to His greater vision.  Trust that He will show you specifics concerning your future.  You will surely see that there will be no greater dream fulfillment, no greater plan, no greater intimacy and no greater love for you.

God takes good pleasure in giving back to us through His servant heart.   He once spoke to my heart, saying that because I laid down my dreams and got involved with His dreams, He has gotten involved in my dreams and is giving them back to me in a way that is greater than I ever expected.

I don't know that I've ever been more humbled or awed.  Indeed, God rewards sacrifices of the heart that make room for Him to be first.  And He showed me that He will reveal such mysteries to us through revelation if we take the time to get alone with Him and ask.

God's good pleasure is linked with the fulfillment of His predestined purposes for us (Eph. 10-12).  Our time, our hearts, our minds, our wills, our bodies, our dreams and our agendas are not our own when we are sold out to God.  After all, Jesus laid down His life for us at Calvary.  How can we call ourselves Christians if we do not honor Him for paying such a high price to give us eternal life in heaven?

Let us remember that God created us for the purpose of fellowshipping with Him.  We are to make Him our first priority, our first love.  It gives God good pleasure when we praise, worship and honor Him throughout our destiny journey, even if it is done sacrificially.  He delights when His plans and purposes are fulfilled through us, when we are a living testimony to His power, love and glory.  Therefore, may we lay down every idol, every hearts desire, turn from every temptation and say, "Yes, Lord.  Have it Your way no matter what."

[Judy Harder]

Week of April 21
Reverence & Awe

"Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe."  ~Hebrews 12:28 (NASB)

The NIV translation of this scripture inserts the word, "worship" for "service."  Indeed, our work is a form of worship and service, offered by gratitude, if we do it unto God from our hearts, demonstrating His love and devotion. 

Since the Bible tells us that God first loved us and that His love is power, clearly there is no greater position to be in than walking in His awesome love, touching others and being awed by His manifest miraculous power moment by moment.  In this, we honor God.

I never understood this revelation better than when I found the courage to trust God enough to surrender control to Him in my workplace. The first step was to totally confess all my fear, lack of trust and lack of faith.  The truth was that I was terrified to let go of control.  But I knew He was calling me to a new place spiritually, so I consciously chose to step out with the primary motive being not wanting to suffer the consequences of disobedience.  In other words, my fear of God was greater than my irrational fear of man.

The Lord instructed me to spend more time in His presence at home praising Him, talking to Him, confessing to Him, reading His word and petitioning Him until I found peace in my heart.  I often felt compelled to sing praises to Him, dance before Him and, my favorite, sit on the floor with Him and have coffee and chat.  We spent intimate time together daily, often hours.  I asked Him to fill my spirit with His love to overflowing.  And I asked Him to give me divine appointments so that I could demonstrate His love to others in need.  I asked Him to choose the people, the times and the places.  Mind you, none of this was my idea.  God instructed me to do so.  All of it was new territory for me.

As He crossed my path with others' paths at work, I consciously chose to trust the Holy Spirit to reveal His purpose in what He wanted to accomplish.  I chose to trust Him to lead me as to how to approach the person, what to say, how to say it, when to pray for them, what to pray for them.  And as I stepped out, the Lord met me.  What I witnessed shocked, awed and amazed me.

God opened my eyes to see that the people He sent to me were in need of a breakthrough and that when He allowed me to pray for them, they received whatever breakthrough blessing He wanted to give them at that appointed time.  Oftentimes, the Holy Spirit healed them physically or emotionally, depending on their needs.

God's demonstrations of love, His power to heal and His sheer glory touched my heart so deeply that it caused me to weep and brought me to my knees in humble reverence.  He made my heart grateful to participate.  I realized there was no better place to be, and I desired more.  The Lord increased the number of divine appointments for me to a point where I found myself crying out to Him to bring others to help.  I simply couldn't keep up, which is a great place to be.

I believe divine appointments are ours for the asking and that meeting them invites a greater purpose and joy to our work.  I believe it humbles our hearts and glorifies God.  I believe it brings us into the Great Commission, which pleases God, and puts Him first in our workplaces, which offers us rewards of joy, favor and promotion.

If you would like to journey higher in your faith in God and at work, simply ask the Lord to show you how and to position you.  He will require you to lay down fears and any other encumbrance as you choose to step into new territory.  And He will journey with you the whole way.  Truly, it is the greatest adventure.

[Judy Harder]

Week of April 29
Loving Colleagues

"And the second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."   ~Mark 12:31

Is any other scripture so convicting?   Yet how easy it would be for those of us with hardened hearts to quickly bypass it.  Do we really know our neighbors?  And what's to love about them anyway?

The truth is that if our whole heart is surrendered to the Lord, and we truly love Him, we will want to please Him, and we will carry His love in our heart, which will overflow to others.  Too, if we truly surrender our entire agenda to Him for His purpose, asking Him to have His way in our day and then be obedient to His guidance, we will know that our jobs are our divine assignments and that the Lord will use us to affect others where He places us.  This includes our colleagues.

I recall a time when I worked with a woman I didn't even like, much less love.  I knew my heart was being tested, and God was watching.  So the first thing I did was get alone with God and confess my lack of love for her.

I knew that 1 John 4:19 tells us that we cannot love God without loving our brother (or sister).  Therefore, it is impossible to keep God's first commandment to love God without keeping His second (Mk. 12:30-31).  And I did not want to be outside of God's will.

In my desperation, I asked God to fill my heart with His love for my sister.  But if I hadn't followed the Holy Spirit's guidance carefully, I might have missed the opportunity because His response came in an unexpected way.

The Lord actually gave this woman and I a pivotal moment where she erupted in angry lamentations before me.  As I listened to her, God overwhelmed my heart with pure divine love for her to a point that it overtook every negative and feeling I experienced.  His love enabled me to do the right thing, which was to simply hug her and tell her that Jesus loved her.  It was a more-of-Him, less-of-me moment.

Through her lamentations, I learned that she was a new Christian, who was having a hard time in life.  And she needed a personal touch from Jesus.  If I had reacted to her out of my flesh and snapped back at her or avoided her, I would've failed the heart test.  What's more, God would've had to get someone else to extend His heart to this woman, and I would've had to retake the test.

I can be a quick learner when my heart is on the line.  How about you?

Which of your colleagues do you find difficult to love?  Which of them needs a touch from Jesus today?  I encourage you to repent, and confess that you cannot love them on your own.  Then ask the Lord to fill your heart with His divine love for them, to enable you to love them as He does.  You'll find that He'll not only touch their hearts, He'll touch yours too.

[Judy Harder]

Week of May 5
Kingdom Love

"Love never fails."  ~ I Corinthians 13:8

In order for something to never fail, it must be strong.  It mustn't wear out—ever.  It must endure through every test, every trial, every season of time, every hill, every valley, every personality.  Only God is this kind of love (I John. 4:.

Kingdom love begins with an outpouring from God to us, then through us to others.  In this way, the process of love is cyclical and is the foundation and motivation upon which and through which every Godly thing is built.

I am amazed at what God can do with a clean slate—a desperate and surrendered heart.

Have you ever noticed that when God gives us a directive, the first thing that comes is fear? This is because the directive or mandate He is giving us is bigger than we, our knowledge bank, our previous experience, our vision and the current capacity of our hearts.  It's bigger than anything we know at that moment.

Indeed, we serve a very big God who has very big plans.  And the enemy tries to use fear to thwart those plans on earth so that he can reign.

When we turn to God with a willing heart, He showers His love upon us and restores us.  It is from His infilling of revelation, instruction and joyful power that we accomplish new things for God.

When fear comes to arrest us, we must choose which master we will serve.

God has rescued me many times from irrational fears and has taken me to heights that I could not imagine on my own by simply giving me a willing heart and a resounding "Yes" in my spirit.

When He first called me to begin to minister to people in my workplace, I felt terrified.  Sharing the love of God was the most frightening thing He could've asked me to do at that time because I had such a bad case of fear of man. 

But God was about to break that bondage in my life and restore me to love.  He opened my eyes to see that the reverential fear of God He placed within me was greater than the fear of man within me.  This overwhelming reverential fear rose up and catapulted me into the new move God had for me.

As I journeyed through this new calling and saw this new level of God's amazing love consistently, I also saw that fear of man become extinct within me.  In time, I came to understand the process of Kingdom love.

How about you?  Have you noticed that just when you feel accomplished in any particular area, like in your career or certain relationships, God soon raises the bar?  When God calls us out of our comfort zones, the familiar areas that reside within us—whether good or bad—it's not for the purpose of harming us.  It's to prosper us and others and Him.

When we step up to God's divine callings, laying down all encumbrances, including self, and thereby receive more of Him, He gives us increased opportunities to sow and receive more love.  The more we get from Him, the more we can give to others.  And the more we give, the more we get.  God's abundant love never runs out.

In this way, Kingdom love is not selfish.  It is a generous and perpetual process of sowing and reaping and multiplying, of nourishing and replenishing for the purpose of building God's Kingdom on earth.

Kingdom love pivots our hearts, fills our lives and elevates our spiritual walk.  May we choose a resounding yes to trusting God in this journey so that His love will captivate us and enable us to build His Kingdom on earth (Mt. 6:10).