A Woman's Walk

[Judy Harder]

Week of May 12
God's Faithfulness

"Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."  ~ Lamentations 3:23

The Israelites understood that God is always faithful to His word.  Even amid judgment, they still saw His love, His mercy and compassions.  They didn't blame God.  Instead, they praised Him sacrificially.

Recently, the Lord put the hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," on my heart.  I couldn't help but sing it over and over to Him.  The refrain said it all, "Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.  Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

This special praise came immediately after the Lord provided a church to host our God's Love at Work Women's Expo.

The Lord loves us to be dependent upon Him.  And oh how often He sets my feet on an Abraham-faith journey.  You know, the one where He calls us to an assignment and instructs us to head out, not knowing where we're going (Heb. 11:.

Being an adventurer at heart, these treks thrill me, and I am awed at everything that God shows me along the way.  Like mountain climbing, each step forges a new character and courage in us.

Is the Lord taking you into new territory in your career?  Is He giving you new projects and assignments?  Has He opened doors wide that cause you go cling to Him for provision?  Sometimes when the Lord promotes us, we feel inadequate, questioning whether we can really do the job.

If this is you, rest assured that you can with Jesus walking alongside you.  God has raised you up for such a time as this.  He has prepared you, and He has already provided everything you need to accomplish what He has set you out to do.  Whatever you do not know, God will reveal to you in His creative ways.  And He will bring others who have the knowledge or connections you need.  He will give you revelations throughout the journey.  And if you ever feel "stuck," He'll send someone to lovingly give you the shove you need.

Everywhere we turn, we hear evangelists and leaders say, "2008 is the year of new beginnings."  I believe that.  And I have already seen manifest fruit of this declaration.

Remember when Joshua entered into the Promised Land, and he had to fight battles to gain what God promised him and his people?  Joshua had to depend upon God for every unique strategy for victory along the way (Joshua 5:14).  So too must we.  This is the key to a success that is greater than we can achieve on our own.

God loves His children and desires to bless us.  He is our greatest cheerleader and champion.  I love Jesus' prayer, "On earth as it is in heaven."  Jesus had such a heart for His Heavenly Father that He only wanted to serve Him and do His will.  He was wise enough to choose the highest path that would result in the highest reward for Himself and others.  There is no greater strategy than the one God reveals.  His ways are always purposed, positioning us higher than we can take ourselves alone.  And sometimes they may seem unusual.

Remember, Abraham had to depart his comfort zones to receive an inheritance that was greater than what his earthly father could provide (Gen. 12:1).

Are you ready to go higher than you've ever gone?  God is searching for a people who love Him enough to do extraordinary exploits.  The rewards are so worth the journey.  And our God is faithful to deliver.

[Judy Harder]

Week of May 19
God's Promises

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."  ~Hebrews 10:36

God purposes the timing and manifestations of His promises.  Though some seem a long time coming, they are not.  Though the wait may feel like God has forgotten, He has not.  God's timing is perfect, and His patience is great.

Consider Elizabeth and Mary.  Despite their great difference in age, both women were pregnant with promised sons simultaneously.  The timing of each pregnancy was purposed according to God's plan as was their children's destinies.

What has God promised you?  Has He delivered yet?  How's your faith?

2 Peter 3:8 says, "a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."

Perseverance in obedience is the key to receiving the promises of God.  And when we get off track, repentance is key.

In Psalm 119, we see that God gives us hope through His promises (vs. 49).  He preserves our lives through His promises (vs. 50).  He supplies us with grace according to His promises (vs. 58).  And we are to meditate on and rejoice in His promises (vs. 148, 162).

God's heart within us and the fulfillment of His promises allow us to forgive those who disappointed us on a greater level.  When we expect people, not God, to fulfill promises only God can fulfill, we must repent and release them to Him.  False expectations can hold us in bondage and cause us to miss God's very best for our lives.

What have you expected and have not yet received?  How are you handling the situation?  Are you praising God throughout the process?  Has your mind been on Him or on your circumstances?  How about your heart?  Do you know that God loves you enough to bring fulfillment, to be true to His word.  Do you trust Him enough?

Have you asked God what His will is?  Have you asked Him what you are supposed to complete before He fulfills His promise?

The fulfillment of God's promises points toward Him as the one true God.  David's prayer in 2 Samuel 7:25-26 says, "And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise You have made concerning Your servant and His house.  Do as You promised, so that Your name will be great forever.  Then men will say, 'The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!'  And the house of Your servant David will be established before You."

When God fulfills His promises, do we give Him all the glory?  Is it all about Him?  Is He first on our hearts?

Psalm 145:13 says, "The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made."

Jeremiah 32:19 says, "great are Your purposes and mighty are Your deeds.  Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; You reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve."

May we receive the full measure of God's promises by being obedient to His will.

[Judy Harder]

Week of May 26
Freedom

"I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts."  ~ Psalm 119:45

God's freedom has little to do with the world's freedom.  Knowing and living out His truth is the only way we can be assured His peace, His rest, His protection.

And like this psalmist, when we walk closely with God, seeking Him with our whole heart and moving in careful obedience, God delights in us; He hears us; He rescues us.

Have you noticed that at some point in every journey—whether work-related or personal—circumstances will cause us to either flee immediately or to rise up, stand boldly and confront that which comes against God's purposes and plans for us?  The attack can come in many forms—false accusation, persecution, fear, disrespect, strife, disorder, confusion, lack of funds, brick walls, etc.

But there comes a time when God says, "No more!"  There comes a time when, if we don't give up and we remain close to God, He shows up with a mighty shift and deals with the enemy, either by quelling the torment or promoting us out of the situation entirely, all to His glory.

I love these pivotal moments when God frees us up to complete His mission.  They are "sudden" transformations, crescendos, thrilling and certainly a relief.

Freedom literally means "a wide space" as in unconfined by affliction or oppression (Ps. 119:45 NIV note).

To be delivered from heaviness in an instant is what Noah, Moses, Elisha, Joseph, Daniel, David, Jesus and others, who were committed to our Heavenly Father, knew.  Each one leaned upon Father God during their very unique and difficult circumstances.

Consider Daniel.  Though he was intelligent, fit, gifted, noble and had the favor of God upon him, he still found himself held in captivity by a Babylonian king in a foreign land (Dan. 1).  Yet God was in control.  Daniel was set up by God in new territory, desperately dependant upon Him for direction and freedom.

God had a purpose.  And along with this "set up" came a set time.  God was about to expound His glory in a new way through a terrified Daniel who experienced several encounters with God and witnessed his enemys' defeat over a pre-ordained period of time.

Daniel 10:12 says, " . . . 'Do not be afraid, Daniel.  Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.'"

Indeed, God's promises were fulfilled and His strategies to freedom broke through in His due time.  God will even send his mighty angels to fight our battles and conquer our enemies once and for all to bring restoration and reward.

God ultimately positioned a faithful Daniel to be rewarded by the very earthly king that held him captive (Dan. 2) and to receive his allotted inheritance (Dan. 12:13).

God is always in control.  He will never forsake us in torrid circumstances if we, like Daniel, exercise wisdom and surrender our hearts to Him.

If you find yourself currently in some form of captivity, know that if you turn to God with all your heart and carefully obey his directives, he will hear you and deliver you into His freedom, just like He did for Daniel.

[Judy Harder]

Week of June 12
In the Arms of Jesus

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.  2 Peter 1:3

One day, while working in my former job as a flight attendant, a woman boarded my flight and stopped cold, just inside the passenger door. I sensed something wasn't quite right, so I approached her gingerly, and I asked if I might help her find her seat. She didn't respond, so I asked her if she had a boarding pass. With this, she burst into tears and buried her face in my left shoulder. "Indeed," I thought. "This is one whom God has sent."

The Lord had instructed me, more than a year earlier, to begin to spend time in His presence before working each trip in order to prepare me to receive divine appointments that He would bring to me on airplanes. Up to this point, He had sent all kinds of people with all kinds of needs. All for whom, He wanted me to pray and share my faith. I had grown pretty accustomed to reaching out, not knowing what to expect in advance. Oftentimes, I was shocked at the circumstances passengers would share with me, and I was always awestruck at how God would show up. The situation that was now before me would be no exception.

As I held this crying woman in my arms, I prayed silently for the Holy Spirit to guide my words and actions. Almost immediately, I sensed Him prompting me to seat her in first class. Amazingly, the entire front row of first class was available. I seated her in a window seat and reached for her tote bag to place it the overhead compartment. As I took the bag, I could not help but notice a large envelope of medical x-rays. I walked into the galley to make the woman a drink, all the while praying, "Holy Spirit, tell me what to do, tell me what to say."

After the plane took off, and I served the other passengers, I returned to sit beside the woman. I asked her if she would like to talk. She nodded, and she began to share that she and her husband had traveled from Montreal to Florida in search of a new home. She said that she had had pneumonia before their trip and that her husband had developed a cough while in Florida. She suggested that he visit a doctor. When he did, the doctor diagnosed him with lung cancer and informed him that he had six months to live.

And now this woman was flying home to Montreal, as her husband was driving their car back with friends. She was overwhelmed and had no one else to reach out to her in that moment. As she shared her circumstances, I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to ask her whether she attends church. When I asked the woman this question, she paused, and then she replied, "I used to, but I stopped going when my first husband and my son both died."

Gulp! Suddenly, my heart felt a deep burden for this woman, and I asked her if I might pray for her. She nodded again, and I took her hands in mine and led a prayer. I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to give her a message. And so after I finished praying, I said to her, "I believe the Lord wants you to return to church so that He can help you through this." The woman wept, and my heart was deeply touched because of God's deep love for her.

Indeed, sometimes sharing our faith doesn't necessarily mean leading someone to salvation. Sometimes it means simply leading people back into the arms of Jesus, who is big enough and loving enough to handle it from there.

I never knew who would walk on board my airplanes and stand before me with needs unknown to me but known unto God. One thing was certain, whatever they needed, Jehovah Jireh could indeed provide for them. And I wanted to be in position to be used. Are you ready and willing for whomever and whatever God will divinely bring to you if you ask.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

[Judy Harder]

Week of June 19
His Presence

"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me . . . You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand."  Psalm 16:7, 11

In God's presence, there is light, safety, peace and joy.  How many of us can honestly say that we reside in this place all day every day?  Most of us struggle by reacting to sin, and some of us may have never experienced this amazing place.  But there is hope.

The restorative process of overcoming patterns of sin in our hearts is a provision of God's great mercy and love for us.  Psalm 41:4 (Amplified) says, ". . . heal my inner self, for I have sinned against You."

Some of our sins are obvious to us (and others).  But there are those that are "hidden" or "secret," residing deep within our souls without our conscious awareness.  For these to be revealed, we need the Holy Spirit to "illuminate" them before we can repent and be more intimate with God.

Psalm 90:8 (NIV) says, "You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence."  The NIV note for this scripture defines the light of God's presence as being "The holy light of God that illumines the hidden corners of the heart and exposes its dark secrets."

We can walk around for years, even as Christians, unknowingly operating in sins.  Some of them may have taken root during our childhood or perhaps were even established in our bloodline generations (Gen. 20:5).  Operating in these iniquities can seem "normal" because we grew up in the midst of them, not knowing any better.  And we oftentimes carry these sins into our adult lives unknowingly until something in life triggers them.

But there comes a time when God will bring those issues to the surface, enlighten us and lead us to confront and overcome those obstacles.  With our participation—and often the help of a counselor chosen by God—He restores us to His peace, love and joy where we once again feel His presence in a profoundly intimate way.  This level of communing with Our Heavenly Father is what we were created for.  It's called freedom.

Would you like to reside in the profound presence of God?  Ask Him to illuminate your secret sin patterns and help you overcome them.  Praise Him in the process.  And remember that love in action and truth is "how we will set our hearts at rest in His presence" (I John3:19).  You are the delight of God's heart, and He longs for you to draw near to Him (Heb. 10:22).

[Judy Harder]

Week of June 23
Giving

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."  Ezekiel 36:26

The very nature of God is to give out of love.  And when we as Christians receive the Lord into our hearts, He impacts us so deeply that we can't help but pour out His amazing love everywhere we go.  When we show up, so does God.

God makes His point clear in Ezekiel 36:32 where He says He will renew and restore His chosen people and their land for His glory, not because they earn His favor.  On the contrary, by their sinful conduct and actions, His chosen people had defiled their nation and their land that was divinely given to them.  But because of God's zeal for them and a remnant cry from them, God extended His grace and turned their circumstances around.

Likewise, God loves us even when we feel we don't deserve His love.  And we are to model His expressions of love and grace to others through a heart of giving, even to those who offend us.  God loved the unlovely, and so must we.  But we cannot do it alone.  We must ask Him to soften our hearts, to do it for us.

Giving comes naturally from a true heart of love.  It is the heart that must be cultivated.  Giving is simply the byproduct.

In the marketplace, we face many tests.  Sometimes, we are challenged to demonstrate love through acts of giving and kindness to a difficult boss or to cohorts.  It helps to remember that they may have become difficult to get along with due to hurts, wounds, injustices, sins and a lack of love in their life, whether self-imposed or inflicted by others.  It helps to look beyond their exterior and see into their hearts.  And we can ask God to help us see their hearts as He does, to increase within us His vision and His love for them and to break down barriers of fear.

When we have a big heart of God within us, giving out of love is easy, no matter what the behavior of others because we ourselves are overwhelmed with God's very presence of love.

When we are faced with "the unlovely," we must remember two things: We ourselves are only made righteous through Christ Jesus.  And God placed "the unlovely" in our path for the purpose of sanctifying our hearts with an increase of His love.  In other words, we the Christians need to come up higher in the love department.  And when we do, transformation takes place around us as a result of giving out of that love.

It's not enough to hold love in our hearts.  We must give it.  And when we give, we receive more from God, our divine source, and from others whose hearts cannot help but be touched.

The question is, will we consistently extend love no matter how others behave?  If we do, it will change the atmosphere in which we work.  If we do, we will not feel controlled by the other people's negative attitudes, comments or actions.  Our heart and others' hearts will transform, and this will manifest in a more Godly work environment.

The truth is, through Jesus Christ, we have more power than we realize.  God's principles really do work when faithfully put into action.  We must not let fear of rejection, fear of authority or intimidation prevents us from giving out of a generous heart of love.

Remember, God rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb. 11:6).  And God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).  May we respond to others from an outpouring of the heart of the Holy Spirit within us, instead of reacting to negativity.  Only then will we be able to freely give.

[Judy Harder]

Dreams From God
Week of June 30, 2013

"In the last days, God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.'"  -Acts 2:17

Dreams are simply night visions. And night or day, visions are one way God speaks to us. Daniel 1:17 tells us that "Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." And we know that God gave Joseph big dreams (Genesis 37:5, 9) and that he later interpreted dreams for others (Genesis 40).

Hebrews 13:8 tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." Therefore, the same power of Jesus Christ that was present when He walked the earth is the same power that we have living inside us today. Jesus still does miracles, and the Holy Spirit still speaks to us through dreams and visions.

I know plenty of people who have dreams and visions from the Lord on a regular basis, my mother being one. God has spoken to my mother in dreams to comfort her after loved ones have passed, to awaken her to the enemy's trap (so she can pray and avert danger) and to help her understand difficult circumstances that she and loved ones experience. God gifted my mother to interpret dreams—hers and others'.

Asleep, God has our full attention. During the day, we are usually more distracted. So He often impresses images in our minds and hearts in a profound way while we slumber. And we usually remember the dreams because they are so impactful.

God frequently speaks to me in day visions, more so than in night dreams. But I have experienced a few profound visitations while sleeping. Here's one:

Several years ago, I was very ill and required surgery. Three weeks before my surgery date, I saw a vision of Jesus in a dream very early one morning. He walked up to my bedside and reached for my hand. He never said a word. I instantly knew the figure I saw was Jesus, and I was not afraid. From the moment I saw Him, I felt pure, perfect, overwhelming love.

In this dream, I arose from my bed and took Jesus' hand. We walked over to an escalator-like device, but it didn't have actual steps; so, it was more like a conveyor belt. Side by side, we stepped onto the conveyor belt and ascended to the top. There were no words spoken; only pure, perfect love consumed me. There was nothing else around us except a doorway, right at the top of the conveyor belt. Jesus and I stood in the threshold of the doorway and turned around. At that moment, I saw my body lying on my bed below.

At first, this didn't bother me. I only wanted to be with Jesus, and nothing else mattered. But then seconds later, I felt concerned about the condition of my body; and I stepped away from Jesus towards it. At that moment, I woke up.

I realized I had had a dream and that I had seen Jesus. So I decided to drift off to sleep again in hope that I could experience His love all over. Sure enough, Jesus was there waiting for me.

After awhile, I woke up again, fell back asleep and saw Jesus a third time. Each time, I felt overwhelmed by His pure, perfect love.

After I woke up the final time, I nudged my husband and shared what had just happened. I could hardly find the words. I was captivated, overwhelmed by God's presence.

A little later, I phoned a close friend, and as I shared the dream with her, she began to cry and promised to pray for me. We hung up, and she called back about an hour later, still crying. She said that she had been praying for God to not take my life on earth. I was surprised to hear this because I didn't think it was my time to go home to be with the Lord. She said that God told her that I wouldn't die.

Sure enough, shortly after we hung up, the worst pain I had experienced occurred. Then on the day of my surgery, my vital signs were not stable, which caused my surgeon to tell me she couldn't perform the operation because I wouldn't pull through. At this point, I asked her to leave the room, and I laid my own hands on my own body and commanded the vitals to be normal. Five minutes later, the surgeon returned and rechecked my vitals. They were normal, and they wheeled me into surgery.

I awakened after surgery and was taken to a room. That night, about 2:30 a.m., my vitals began to diminish again. At this point, I was tired of fighting, so I whispered a prayer to God, reminding Him of what He had spoken to my friend a few weeks earlier. Suddenly, my numbers returned to normal and I was completely healed once and for all.

I believe my dream with Jesus was a catalyst that prompted life-saving healing prayer. I believe God wanted me to know it was serious and wanted to give me deliverance and a testimony from the brink of death. So the dream was a kind of forewarning.

I believe God will give us profound dreams if we ask Him. And I believe we can receive His dreams, as He wills, if we remain close to Him.

How are some of the ways God speaks to you? Has God ever shown you a vision or a dream?

[Judy Harder]

Enduring Grace @ Work – Part I
by Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of July 7, 2012

"Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."  -Ephesians 6:7

"Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.'"  -Isaiah 35:4

A couple of my friends recently shared their greatest workplace challenges with me over coffee. Among their laments were: A boss with a double-mind; evil co-workers; multiple, drastic process changes and unattainable performance expectations.

Though these friends prayed together at work, they felt they had seen little improvement. What's more, they had grown weary in well-doing. They wanted to know where to go from where they were. Here are the results of that conversation that may help you, should you find yourself in difficult circumstances at work:

God's Purpose: Why Am I Here?– Yes, your job is for more than a paycheck! Your job is your divine assignment. It is your mission field. It is all divinely purposed! And it is seasonal! You are there so that God can do a work in you, through you and for you (on your behalf) simultaneously. He will use the people, the location and the daily circumstances to accomplish His will accordingly, even—and especially if—you find yourself in a job that you would've never selected for yourself. God will use it all! Are you willing to journey through it with Him and yield to His way of doing His work in, through and for you?

God's Strategy: What Do I Do?– Maintain a servant's attitude, and do the job you were hired to do with excellence. Watch your mouth, your attitude and your actions. Affirm to God that you need His help. Ask God what He wants you to see, know and do amid your circumstances. Ask God to enable you to receive all He has for you and nothing that is not of Him. Ask God to reveal to you His vision, strategy, reinforcement, divine appointments and divine connections. Ask God for a Christian prayer partner or group. Ask God to lead you to the sources and resources that have what you need. All along the way, ask God to reveal His understanding and solutions to problems. Your journey will contain incremental successes. All of it will challenge you in the area of character building to prepare you for your next promotion.

God knows and sees all things, and He will get you where He wants you to be and help you do what He wants you to do if you are willing to hearken. Pray for your boss, your co-workers and the company as the Holy Spirit leads. You will endure the journey and can be promoted faster (internally or externally) by processing through every challenge God's way. Remember, God takes us from holiness to holiness, from glory to glory. Sometimes, He accomplishes this work quickly by taking us through the furnace. In so doing, He redeems lost time. God can do much in these accelerated times in which we work and live. He is the ultimate multitasker. So count it all good, and journey through God's way, so you don't have to perpetually cycle through rounds of testing.

Guard Your Heart | Don Your Armor (Eph. 6:11-18) – Your heart belongs to God, so be careful with human connections, especially in your workplace. Not everyone will have your back or even like you. Some may feel envious or competitive towards you. Many will have different beliefs than yours. Kindness and prayer are strengths, but not everyone will be interested in what your heart has to offer. Apply wisdom. If people are not willing to receive what you are willing to give, there can be no deep connection without God's transformational power intervening. Know this ahead of time; respect and accept others' right to choose (God does); shake the dust off, and turn from situations where people do not accept you. In essence, don't waste your time. Remember, Jesus suffered rejection, so you're not alone. Speak a blessing over those who reject you, and ask God to redirect your path to those who are willing and able to receive. Be professional, move on and keep your eyes on the Lord.

Regarding your boss, she/he has a job to do, regardless of your friendly relationship with her/him. That means you must perform up to standard in the position for which you were hired. If you do not, you will be penalized. It is wrong to expect your boss to cover your inadequate performance regardless of whether you are friends with her/him. In workplaces, performance is paramount. Unless you are a member of a family business or own your own company, bosses will not typically extend the kind of grace your mother would. It is not their job to take care of you outside of your work life. It is their job to oversee you and your work while you are at work. They have a lot on their plate. And not all bosses will nurture you, simply due to time constraints. Various bosses have varying management styles. And different companies have different corporate cultures. Pray about this. Regardless of your circumstances, it is your responsibility to do the job you were hired to do with excellence unto the Lord. Excellence is Jesus' standard. If it is impossible for you to meet the company's standards, pray and perhaps speak to your boss about improving the processes that affect you or ask her/him to reassign you to an area where your strengths can shine. Ask God to make you aware when your job assignment is complete and finish well. How you finish is how you will enter into your next job assignment. And remember, God may give you a season of rest before your next assignment. So follow His lead. 

Do not allow yourself to be provoked by your boss or co-workers. Those of us who have high callings on our lives will be perpetually tested on this until we overcome this issue, the purpose being to mature us to a level where we can stand among multitudes and glorify God with our thoughts, speech, attitude and actions no matter what offense is hurled at us. Jesus did. Whoever is provoking you is God's instrument in this regard, so count it as joy (James 1:2). Remember, God is sovereign, and no one can do anything short of God's permissive will. As Christians, we are to respond from the Holy Spirit, not react from offense. If you find that someone gets under your skin frequently, it could be that God is trying to get your attention to turn to Him to learn how to become "unprovokable. " You are in training for eternity! Ask God to help you, and listen to what He reveals to you. He knows just how to get you there!

(This devotional will continue as Part II next week.)

[Judy Harder]

Enduring Grace @ Work – Part II
by Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of July 14, 2013

"'For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'"  -Jeremiah 29:11

Let Go of False Responsibility– Matthew 11:30 tells us God's "burden is light." You are not a pack mule! Your responsibility is not to fix your boss. Pray, yes; fix, no. If you have tried to fix your boss, repent of self righteousness and self idolatry. Stay out of God's way, and let the Holy Spirit do His job. You're not God. Only God sees the whole heart of your boss and knows just what she/he needs. You don't. Even prophets only see in part. If you will release your difficult boss to God—fully letting her/him go—God will pick up the task, and you will soon see a tangible shift of some type: Either God will change the boss, change you, relocate her/him or relocate you.

Guard against the temptation of gossip. It's better to ask someone you can trust to pray for you than to uncover others' sins at work. Often—but not always—your best prayer partner is someone outside of your workplace. Consult God on this.

Also, be careful to not project your own wounds, fears, pains and inadequacies onto your boss or others. Your perspective is a filter that is based on your beliefs, experiences, etc. Only God sees and knows the ultimate, whole, unfiltered truth. So choose to sync up your vision with His. Tell Him you want to see as He sees, love as He loves and do as He does. Ask God to help you love your boss and difficult co-workers as He does. God's love is far greater than their issues. Asking for God's help honors Him and humbles us. And He will be faithful to answer your prayers.

When your boss (or anyone else) offends you, discipline yourself to process through the offense and hurt QUICKLY so bitterness doesn't take root. Choose to not be controlled by emotional or spiritual immaturity, but by the Holy Spirit, who desires to mature you. Remember, you are a work in progress, and God loves you too much to leave you where you are:

Confess the offense as though you committed it(because Romans 2:1 affirms you did). This biblical principle is very humbling, and it gives the Holy Spirit an opportunity to convict you about a sin that has blinded you in your past. It also positions you to extend compassion and grace to your boss. In this way, God may actually use your boss as a catalyst—or a mirror—to do a work in you, freeing you and causing you to come up to higher holiness. Be careful to not get stuck in pride by not confessing someone else's sin as your own. Asking the Holy Spirit to reveal your secret (unknown to you) sins for the purpose of confession and repentance, is always wise and can be done privately on a daily basis. The Holy Spirit is your helper and will show you things you may not see otherwise. It's better to be confessed privately than to be revealed publicly.
Choose to forgive your boss and yourself(no matter what). Forgiveness does not condone a sin; it simply hands over the issue and person to God, entrusting Him to handle it for you. After all, the battle is the Lord's, and He can do vengeance better than you or anyone else! (1 Samuel 17:47). Unless God instructs you otherwise, it does not mean that you are to go to your boss and tell her/him that you forgive her/him. Doing so can come off as arrogant, and you will risk offending your boss, which is not a wise move. Simply pray it through privately with the Lord.
Be healed! Ask God to bind every wound and heal every injury in your heart and mind. Speak a command to both to be made whole and renewed in the name of Jesus.
Ask God to convict your boss and to get your boss where He wants her/him to be. Speak a blessing over your boss (Matthew 5:44).
Release your boss to God.In your heart, lay your boss and the offense at the foot of the cross, affirming that you choose to trust Jesus to take care of the situation better than you. Commit to not picking it back up by thinking about it, talking about it or reacting to it.
Thank Godfor His victory, mercy and grace, for loving you so much that you can trust Him to move on your behalf! And thank God that whatever the enemy meant for bad, God will use for your good and the good of others to build His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Thank God that you are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb and that, because of this blood covenant, Father God sees your sins no more!
Reset your focus on Godby finding a quiet, alone place and praising God sacrificially until your emotions feel better (which won't take long) and your joy (your strength) is restored. King David did this several times a day! Where else would a king (or queen) go?
Wield Your Spiritual Power Tool: Sacrificial Praise– Sacrificial praise is a discipline of praising God when you don't feel like it. God already knows you don't feel like it, so when you do it, it greatly honors Him. Sacrificial praise is the power tool that can help you break free from the pit and refocus your soul and spirit on God's awesome love and beauty. Sacrificial praise is also a serious power tool in the enemy's face. Staying "down" in a pit of despair, self-pity and worry does not honor God. Remaining in a "pit" experience is actually an ungodly form of control—even idolatry—that overburdens us, adversely affects others and causes us to walk in disobedience and limit God's intervention on our behalf. You can intentionally discipline yourself to sacrificially praise God until it becomes second nature. You will be amazed at its effects! Not only will you feel better, it will greatly move God's heart on your behalf!

Finish Well!– The climate in which you depart your last job assignment will determine how you enter into your next job assignment. If you left your last job in conflict, that unresolved conflict will await you, just behind the door of your next new job. Why? Because strife is at the root of disorder. And because God desires to give you another opportunity to resolve the unrest. Strife will continue to follow you until you process through it to completion God's way. God loves you too much to let you remain immature and underdeveloped. He is for you, and He has a plan to prosper you, to grow you. He desires for you to "get it" once and for all time.

Get Help– If you are so emotionally and/or physically exhausted or distressed that you cannot perform excellently at work, you may need a respite or professional help or both. You may want to investigate various leave options available to you through your human resources department. Seek God to lead you in choosing healthcare professionals and/or counselors to help you get restored to wholeness, if necessary.

Deuteronomy 30:19 instructs us to choose life, not death; blessings, not curses. Everything we do and not do is a seed sown that will produce a harvest. It's important that we survey ourselves and intentionally decide where we want to be spiritually, which master we will serve. I pray that your choices lead you to receive God's best at work and beyond every day for all eternity (Joshua 24:15).


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Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.





 
             
   

[Judy Harder]

Week of July 21
Faith

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."  ~ I Thessalonians 1:3

Faith is critical to bringing to fruition the hopes, desires and dreams that God places within us.  It is the fuel that propels us to act, to work and to persevere through challenging assignments.  Without faith, we could not overcome obstacles and finish the race victoriously.

Throughout the Bible, we see people of great faith and little faith.  Yet, God blessed both.  Consider Abraham.  He stepped into a journey that was unknown to him by choosing to exercise his faith and trust God's plan of greater inheritance.  Even Gideon, the slightest member of his clan, took courage, exercised his faith, trusted God and proclaimed victory over his enemies.

Moreover, the gospels are full of miracles Jesus did for people who did not know him.  They had no New Testament to build their faith.  Yet their mustard seed faith helped facilitate healing miracles.

Hebrews 11:1 says "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  And Romans 1:5 tells us that "obedience comes from faith."  Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

Fortunately, God, through His sufficient grace and tender mercy, helps us build faith, the purpose being to serve Him and others.  I have a friend who exercised her faith to be healed from cancer as well as painful neck injuries that she suffered in an auto wreck.  God completely healed her from each affliction through a process that involved prayer and believing.  What the enemy meant for destruction, God turned around for good.  He gave her a new career, after loosing her former one due to ailments.  And now she reaches out to others through prayer, sharing her healing testimonies and writing inspirational songs that have climbed the charts.

It is faith that enables us to receive the higher ways of God when we do not understand where He is leading us, especially when circumstances get tough.  When faith prevails over fear persistently, we become victorious.

Moreover, fear is the opposite of faith.  Irrational fear can paralyzes us or cause us to run in the opposite direction from where God wants us to go.  Obedience to the bondage of fear is idolatry and rebellion in the face of God.  Fear limits us under a ceiling.  Faith facilitates promotion, turning our ceiling into our floor.

Hebrews 11:13 tells us that the great people of the Bible "were still living by faith when they died" and that they did not see the promises of God come to pass.  They were on a sacrificial journey of faith that was bigger than they for a higher purpose.  They laid down self-centered comforts and willingly pursued the path that brought glory to God.  In short, they left a legacy of faith.

What faith journey does God have you on?  Are you allowing Him to build your faith to accomplish greater things?  Which areas in your life do you need more faith?