The Beauty of it All

When God speaks to me, He does it in an obvious way. I have asked Him to do so because I am not very quick. When it comes to spiritual things, I need a clear answer. I am one of those people who doubt things if they're not obvious.

Thankfully, God has obliged. It seems that whenever I go to my new church, (Church of the Nations) I am shown God's face. That church is so full of God and I know it. It seems as if every time I go there with a heavy burden on my shoulders, God brings me someone to lift it off of me. And it seems that every time I am about to give up praying and go home, He says, "uh-uh, here." Someone comes up to me and prays, says a Word impressed upon them from God.

I know this won't happen every time I go, but it has happened 3 out of 4 times. Perhaps one day I will be that person who taps the praying girl on the shoulder. Maybe I will have a word for someone. God is thriving here.

As I was driving away from the church after the service, I couldn't help but cry because His provision never ceases. His power never fails. His beauty is ever-present.

I thank God for helping me to see His face. I thank Him for never failing me, never leaving me. I thank Him for protecting me and loving me.

Pastor Mel said something that struck me. "How can we forget the love He has for us when He gave up His only Son for us?"

Don't forget. Always thank Him, even through the rain. Because He is the one who brings the rain and brings the sun.

Warm Up

It has been awhile since I last wrote. But I think my absence helps me make the point I want to make.

These past few weeks, I have been enjoying the grueling task of kickboxing. Twice a week for an hour does more than you might think! It is the most intense workout I've ever been through, but oh man, is it fun! I keep checking the mirrors when I pass to see if anything looks different, just hoping for a slight change. In the back of my mind is a thinner, stronger Shaye who is able to defend herself with a high round-house kick and a punch to the... well you get the point.

Week after week, I put myself through training -- working my muscles, ripping and growing them and learning how to fight if I ever get put in that position.

I'm sure you see the parallel by now. I got to thinking about working out physically and working out spiritually.

Wouldn't it be great if we could track our spiritual growth like we can with waist measurements and BMI? It would be so much easier to see where we stand with God and what we need to work on in our lives. Sadly, there are no spiritual nutritionists or spiritual personal trainers to track what you do and push you to read your Bible every night.

I think what God was leading me to was the fact that we need to work out our "muscles" in order to keep "in shape" and be ready for the "fight." That's a lot of quotation marks. Let me explain.

God wants us in His Word as often as possible. Learning and discussing His plan and will for us is something we should be doing in order to grow as Christians. Personally, making time to read my Bible and get to Bible Study is a struggle for me.

I remember a time when I was surrounded by my favorite girls at Mt. Paran, always going to Sunday morning church, the college group, and the small girls group. I remember how much more confident I was and how much growth I saw in myself from the past year. It was amazing how much God had moved in my life because I was stretching my "spiritual muscles."

Flash forward to this moment in time. I am not involved, yet, in any small groups and haven't been reading my Bible. I will not make any excuses, for they are all too petty. But I have noticed a stall in the growth of my muscle mass. Since I've stopped feeding myself the Word and stopped placing myself in His family, like a muscle, I have atrophy. Whatever I've gained, I've lost in some way.

Where would I be if I continued to speak with God and read His word continuously. Where would I be if I made it a point to get to church as often as I could? I can't even speculate, but I think I might be somewhere fantastic.

Perhaps I could have been used in some way that I am now not ready for because I wasn't "buff" enough.

We need to be fit. We need to be in shape. We need to make Him a priority in order to see results in our lives. You don't get thin and you don't build muscle by sitting on the couch, do you? All of these quick fixes to "a thinner you" are so very similar to the quick fixes of "a happier you." You cannot lose weight by taking some diet pill and eating potato chips. Likewise, you cannot get happier by convincing yourself to take on a different attitude that may not be applicable to your life. One size does not fit all, and most importantly, it takes work to get results.

You cannot expect to grow as a Christian and have a more joyful life, if you do not delve into His word and spend time with your Creator. He has provided us with the most important and effective way to live life to the fullest.

What happens to someone who doesn't know how to defend them self? They get whooped. What happens to someone who has no muscle? They cower under the weight.

If you exercise frequently and learn different defense techniques, you'll be able to take on the biggest threat. I believe God is pressing me to say that we need to build ourselves up in Him so that when our next giant comes along, we will be able to fight the big fight and triumph.

Do you think David could have defeated the large and quite scary Goliath without being "in shape"? Do you think David could have stood up against the most formidable enemy he had ever faced?

"David said to the Philistine, 'You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.'" 1 Samuel 17.

David actively sought after God and knew exactly how to handle the giant. He had the level of faith and confidence in God (and in himself) that it took to topple his enemy. Because he was "fit as a fiddle" and strong in the Lord, he went down in history as the little boy who owned the biggest bad guy around.

My question is to you, are you ready for the fight? Are you strong enough? Have you been working out your muscles?

Still don't believe me? You know what they say, See the results!