A Need to Serve

Found in my Joyce Meyer notes-

"God doesn't always take you out, but He will take you through. It may not be for you, but for someone else's sake that it is happening in your life. If we let him, God will more than make up for what we didn't get."JM

Acts 7:9-10 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

This was all under the title, "Don't be Offended by Your Troubles". Isn't that ironic that I would pull this out when I am in fact seemingly full of "troubles"?  In my own neat handwriting are pages and pages of encouragement and Scriptures reminding me....

"Sometimes He leads us down a more difficult path and he does that so we mature and can come out of it grateful and ready to help others." JM

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 

"If we don't worship God in the wilderness, we won't worship him in the Promised Land. Sometimes he doesn't give us things because it takes our attention off him". JM



I had to drive today to pick up my girls from Band Camp. It was only a few minutes into town, an easy straight shot, but I was having some issues this morning and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to focus enough to drive. In fact, I was feeling very fearful. I stopped and prayed, but I still felt anxious. I got in the car, all the while trying to calm myself. I absentmindedly put my blinker on at the end of my driveway, something I never do, as it isn't necessary. I was just very nervous. I kept asking God to calm me and give me peace of mind and focus and safety, all the while thanking him for all the times he has kept me safe. It almost felt as if the car was driving itself. I just wasn't totally paying attention. Luckily we live in a quiet area, not a lot of traffic, so it wasn't a big deal, but I don't like driving as if I'm not there. I got on the main road and I said rather loudly, Ok, God. Here's the deal. I need your strength to do this! I'm coming to your throne boldly and with expectation that you will give me peace and your strength so I can do this. 

I asked, expecting he would deliver, and he did. Moments after my prayer, the anxiety left me and I drove there and back as if nothing was wrong. But he did do something else. He revealed some situations to me. 

The area I was driving in at the time of this great anxiety came to my mind later as I got home. In those few short miles is an area where not only a destructive tornado blew through a couple years ago, but several tragedies have taken place. Deaths, some explained and some not. Illnesses, some 3 to one family, tragic accidents, messy divorces, the list goes on.  I know it's just a geographical coincidence, but it was like driving through the tunnel of doom. Left and right, sadness everywhere. 

We live in a small community and it just feels like our community has been hit so hard with these hardships and heartaches. Not just in that area, but it just hit me as I drove through there. Those were just the things I was aware of in a small town. What about the things we don't even know about? What about the people who are living those tragedies day to day?  How can we help them get through it all? 

I again went back to God and asked that he would relieve me of this ailment because it has made me feel useless in his Kingdom. I want to be able to reach out to hurting families but I'm still struggling myself. Sure I can send a card and a check, but I asked God to make my body and mind whole for His service again. 

And will he? Yes, because he allowed me to drive anxiety-free. Why then would he ignore my request to want to serve him? I am doing what I can for now, but I'm preparing to serve bigger and better! 

Anxiety is crippling, but God is bigger. His joy is my consolation. Today as my heart flips and flops for no apparent reason, I stand on the promise of Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. 

Blessings!