A SEEKING HEART

I was reminded of a familiar Scripture today as I was reflecting on the past few days and I realized its truth in a new way: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33)."

Of late I've been praying: "Lord, give me wisdom/guide me/show me Your will for my life." This is good, but it can be so easy to focus just on me and on what I think is needed in my life, rather than truly seeking Him. He promised in Jeremiah 29:13 that "you will seek Me and you will find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."

What does this mean for me? A few things, I believe:

1) As I go to work, I pray that God will help me to look at the people around me with love and to seek ways to be a blessing to them, not just to make it through the day without complaints/frustration.

2) As I seek where God would lead me in ministry, I pray that I would pour myself into my current ministry, trusting Him to enable and equip me for today and for the future.

3) Seeking His kingdom and His righteousness means turning my focus outward and being more faithful in praying for others in their ministries.

I'll close simply with a few stanzas from a poem written by Olga J. Weiss:

Give me a burden, O Lord, for the lost,
A burden for souls gone astray,
So that many now lost in the darkness of sin
May find Thee, the Truth and the Way.

Give me a burden, O Lord, till Thy love
Shall fill me with power divine:
Then emptied of self and lost in Thy love
The light through the darkness shall shine.

Give me a burden till my heart shall bleed:
Give me a vision to see the great need;
Stir me, oh stir, till my heart e'er shall be
Burning for souls, all ablaze, Lord for Thee.

ALL ABOUT HIM

I've been a little slack in my blog-writing, so today while I have a few quiet moments, I decided to amend that. Sometimes coming up with an accurate title for what I want to share is a challenge, so I decided for this note to follow the theme of the last one. (Not About Me...All About Him)

I'm overwhelmed (in a good way) by God's love and care for me and the way that He guides my steps - I hope I never lose the joy and wonderment of that realization.

I've been so encouraged the last few weeks by the children in my Sunday School class. They have risen to the challenge of learning their memory verses and it's exciting to see that they are remembering what has been taught them about God's promises! It's been a challenge for me as well, to adapt my style of teaching to a more active group of children, but I am a creative person, so I've begun to enjoy the challenge of finding new ways to make the lesson more interactive for the children.

This last week's memory verse was 2 Corinthians 12:9a - "...My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." How timely this was - considering that I would succumb to a throat infection on Friday and find myself physically weak and needing to literally rely on His strength! I claimed this promise and held to His hand and He provided in His grace just what I needed.

Ahead of me this week are some meetings and discussions about my future, and although the details are still uncertain to me and I don't really know what to expect, I know that I can trust God to work out His perfect plan. The chorus of a gospel song says it like this: "Many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand; but I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand."

Here a few verses that speak to my heart - there's nothing better than meditating on the wonderful truths in God's Word.

Job 23: 10

"But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me I shall come forth as gold."

Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You."

Psalm 46:10

"Be still and know that I am God...I will be exalted in all the earth."

I'll close this note with the powerful words of a worship song that echo the declaration of Isaiah 46:9 - "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me."

There is no rock, there is no god like our God, no other name worthy of all our praise.

The rock of salvation that cannot be moved, He's proven Himself to be faithful and true; there is no rock, there is no god like ours.

Rock of Ages, Jesus is the Rock. Rock of Ages, Jesus is the Rock. Rock of Ages, Jesus is the Rock. There is no rock, there is no god like ours!

NOT ABOUT ME

On Friday, at the start of the weekend for me, I was feeling a bit low...the challenges of this past week seemed to point out my inadequacy in certain areas and I struggled with that...until I remembered that this is an opportunity for me to be strengthened in my faith. At the moment, I'm still not fully ready to go back to work on Monday, but I - like Peter - need to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and His grace and that will enable me to keep pressing on when I don't want to or when I feel the strength isn't there.

I was reminded on Friday that when the circumstances press in and I am feeling overwhelmed, that I need to take a step back and remember who my God is and that He is Lord of my life and is always with me, working in my life for good. And ultimately, it's not about me...not about what I can do or can't do...but it's about Him. This reminded me of a poem I wrote back in 2005, which is still so true today:

NOT ABOUT ME
Written by Darlene Joy Koop

I struggled today, Lord,
When my weakness was made evident
And my pride was exposed.

I forgot that I am unable
To do it all on my own,
And I was angry when I failed.

I'm trying to learn
Not to place my value and worth
In how others see me.

I'm trying to let go of my pride
So that Your Holy Spirit
Can work at changing my heart.

It hurts when I fail and
When I don't meet the expectations
I've set for myself.

I dislike criticism and I wish
That I didn't have to face trials in life,
But I need to grow.

Remind me, Lord, today,
That You've bought me with a price
And that I am Your own.

Speak to my spirit and strengthen me
When I fall down and
When I'm feeling discouraged.

I know that my worth is not in what I do
But rather in who I am -
Because of Jesus Christ.

Teach me, Lord, how to grow
In perseverance...
The patient endurance through discouragement.

Help me again to realize
That it's not about me and
To come humbly to the foot of the cross.

Each day in my life is one more step
On the journey to Christlikeness,
And it is not easy.

But I know You're with me
And Your strength is made perfect
In my weakness.

May I know the fulfilment
Of living for the purpose of loving
And serving only You each day.

Thank You, Father, that You're faithful,
That Your love never changes,
And that it's not about me.