Reflections, February 24, 2013

Reflections February 24^th, 2013

“Never Forget”

“For You formed my inward parts;You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You,when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” Psalms 139:13-15

Scripture Reading For This Week: Genesis 1; Job 35; Psalm 5; Psalm 32; Psalm 139; 1 Peter 2:8-9...

How easy it can be for us to forget who we are, who God is, and what He has spoken over our lives when we are going through and facing the tests and trials of this life. But that is not the only time we can forget; we can forget when things are going well. We can forget that our blessings are because of God. Let us not forget when we face hard times or, are in midst of great times.

I declare and decree that this week's Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement for your heart, mind, and soul. This will be a week of triumph,of remembrance, of grace, and of opportunity if you would make the conscious decision to give God the praise no matter what you are faced with.

I am of the sincere belief that there are specific times when most of us may forget who we are, who the Father is, and what He has spoken concerning our lives: In the time of trials and in the time of blessings.

In the moments of our trials, we can become overwhelmed by the situations and circumstances that we are faced with. We can forget—because of the pain and hardships that we face—the promises that God has spoken over our lives. It is easy to lose sight of the promise when we look through our natural eyes, and everything seems to be going the exact opposite of what God has spoken.

It it is a hard thing for some to rationalize between the natural and spiritual sight; especially when one is faced with test after test after test. Your mind begins to wonder if that which God has spoken concerning you is really going to happen. Your thoughts may be bombarded with the lies and whispers of the enemy, trying to get you to lose faith and doubt what God has spoken over your life.

Your life looks NOTHING like the promises that God spoke to you. The last thing you see is peace in your life or solutions to your problems. The spiritual and the natural are complete polar opposites. And the thread of hope and faith that you have been holding onto is about to snap; leaving you feeling hopeless, helpless, frustrated, and abandoned by the Father.

I can attest to this. You've been waiting and believing and hoping and praying, and it looks like nothing that God has promised you is ever going to happen. You may even start to believe that it was all in your mind. That surely, there had to be some kind of mistake. Yup! Been there. Done that. Have the T-Shirt to prove it! (Or rather, testimony!)

But you see, we walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) We must hold faithfully to the promises of God, remembering all that He has spoken concerning our lives. We must speak it daily. We must charge the atmosphere with the word of God. We must not allow the enemy to rent space in our minds; because he is never satisfied until he takes over.

We must hold onto our faith and remember that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things yet seen...” (Hebrews 11:1) We must hold onto the fact and believe with all our hearts that “God is not a man that He should lie; nor the son of man that He should repent...” (Numbers 23:19) We must also learn to stop doubting who we are, and who God created us to be. The enemy loves nothing more than to pounce on our weaknesses, and to remind us of our past. To point out our flaws and to try to make us feel inadequate and ill equipped. (1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:10 )

Then there are those times when we may forget when all is going well. We are walking in the promises and the fullness of God. We have achieved success. We have passed the tests. Things in our lives are going well. We received the promotion, got the husband/wife, blessed with children, purchased the new home, finances are flowing...and we become slack in our worship, praise, and fellowship with God.

We forget where we came from. We forget WHO brought us through and the One who Blessed us. We get so enamored of the blessings, that we forget the One who blessed us. We take for granted what we have. We become blinded by the gifts, and forget to thank and praise and spend intimate time with the Giver.

We can shake our heads if we want at other people, and wonder how the children of Israel could forget so quickly what God had done for them. Yet many of us can look in a mirror and see a person that has forgotten that it is not about status, possessions, or titles; but about relationship with the Father.

Scripture is filled with many accounts of those forgetting. But of course, it tells us that God knows how to remind us. (Numbers 11; 1 Samuel 16:14; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 25; Luke 15:11-32)

Here's the deal: In life, we are going to face trials and tests. We will be under attack from the enemy. He is good at what he does (smoke and mirrors...remember?) The enemy is bent on destroying us; trying to keep us from succeeding and walking into what God has ordained for us. Stand in faith and keep believing. Meditate on the word of God. Speak the word of God to the atmosphere; especially in those times when you feel hopeless. There may even be times when you haven't the words to speak, or even the inclination to open your mouth and pray or give praise. In those times, just call on the name of Jesus, and He will do the rest. Just keep believing.

The other side to this?—let us not forget in our times of triumph and when things are going well, who we are and who blessed us. Let us not become enamored with success and its benefits that we forget to give honor and thanks to the Giver. Let us remain humble and intimate with our Father. Because you can trust and believe that just because things are going well, and you are walking in the promises and blessings that the enemy is not lurking, waiting to pounce. ( Job...that's all I'm going to say!) Let us never forget that had it not been for the Lord who is on our side, where would we be? For, it is because of the grace of God.

I decree that the spirit of peace and of prosperity has found permanent rest in your lives: spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, and financially. Whether times be good or bad; tests continually forthcoming; remember that we have an anchor in God. Let Holy Spirit guide you and teach you. Stay prayerful and mindful and forever grateful. For it was because of the Blood that we are saved. And it's because of the Blood that we remain. You are Blessed. Now go...and Be a Blessing!

©2013. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.