I’ve been thinking about something since a week ago Saturday that I’m not sure I can articulate well. I’m going to give it a shot, though. Over the couple of years we’ve shared this community, I’ve seen enough of you refer to teaching Bible studies or speaking at retreats or to various groups that it may, should God care to use it, answer a few questions. Or, then again, it could more likely save you the energy of asking them. Some things are just a mystery.
Like callings.
And grace.
And how much of an accomplished work has anything to do with human vessels or are we of no consequence whatsoever. The question is not, could God use anybody? We know that’s a yes. It’s not even, does God prefer weakness so He can show Himself strong? That’s also a clear yes. What’s less clear is how much that “weak-anybody” has one iota’s bearing on what God does with him from then on. And, what are the differences between the times we are called upon by God to labor intensely toward a victory with every last ounce of energy we have (Colossians 1:29) and times when we just stand there and watch God do the thing like we weren’t even there. Or maybe we see nothing happen at all and go home in near despair, only for somebody to drop a note to us and say, “God spoke the word to me that day that I’ve waited all my life to hear.” Sometimes they quote what they heard and you know good and well it wasn’t you who said it. God talked around you instead of through you.
So, what part is God and what part is man? Twenty-five years in, I have no idea. And, I’m just weird enough to be strangely exhilarated by the fresh pulsation that I don’t. Yes, of course, we’re told to walk worthy of our callings (Ephesians 4:1) but could we walk worthy enough to enjoy a consistent, full-throttle Presence and anointing?
I doubt it.
If these are simple questions with simple answers, you may not have been around this bend often enough yet. Ask some folks who’ve spent decades at podiums like Kay Arthur, Anne Graham Lotz, Louie Giglio, James McDonald, and a host of others the devil hasn’t yet harassed into quitting and they might agree that some things get more mysterious with time. Not less.
There are too many things that don’t make sense. For communicators who give one whit about being honest-to-God (I mean that literally) Spirit-led, filled, and anointed servants, there’s no finding a formula. There’s no learning how to hit and not miss. There is no exact list and order of Spiritual disciplines to practice. Fasting every Monday, for instance, may seem to be the key attraction of God’s favor for a while but it soon wears off and you consider whether or not to add Tuesday. Nothing “works” every time. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in fasting. I’m just saying that, if you think you can use it to induce God’s unwavering favor, you’re probably going to get pretty hungry. There is no secret PIN number for His ATM. It’s God’s safeguard for keeping us from being more committed to our disciplines than to Him.
Here are a few other things I’ve learned about gifted speaking. There is no physical condition or best mood to be in. There is no amount of self-abhorrence, self-flagellation, competence or confidence to make you best suited for a mighty work of God. There is no perfect place, format, or group where “it” happens without fail. There is no type of message that never falls flat. Or, there hasn’t been for me. There’s simply no outsmarting it. Absolutely no mastering it.
We’re splitting hairs here so stay with me until your mind gets good and muddled and only then will you get what I’m trying to say. To be sure, there are some basic ways we can cooperate with God for consistency and fruitfulness. Thank You, Lord. There are ways we can intentionally live our lives to His great glory and serve and love in His beautiful name. Bless You, Father. If not, in our earthbound wanderings, how ironically lost would we, the saved, be? But, as those who have the gall or call, responsibility or culpability to stand before a group of listeners, is there any way to insure that God will bless a message with a significant work of His Spirit?
I’m not talking here about manipulating God or trying to make Him behave. I’m not talking about trying to get Him to make you look good. I’m talking about the sheer attempt to prepare well enough, pray thoroughly enough, be humble enough (and not be proud of it) or do it all right enough in His eyes for Him to always perceptibly bless it. Honestly, there are just times when we disagree with God about what is best for Him.
What I’m talking about here is almost indefinable. I’d more easily be able to tell you how it feels than tell you what it is and yet sometimes it’s there and there’s no feeling it at all. Muddled yet? The closest I can come to naming it is God’s anointing and, if that’s the long and short of it, no wonder we can’t tame it or formulize it. The very nature of divine favor is that it is unmerited. And the very nature of God being God is that He is sovereign. As the Psalmist says, Our God is in the heavens and He does what He has pleased.
For the life of me I can’t figure out the common denominator tying together the times God really shows up. Two things are for certain. Sometimes He shows up without us even knowing it. Other times we’ll be positive He’s coming and later think He must have googled the wrong address.
This speaking thing is baffling. Beyond mastery. It’s not for the fainthearted or the full-of-themselves. Unless a person is certifiably clueless or narcissistic beyond all hope of recovery, he or she will soon discover that what ego it builds, it also tears down. What wins out at the end of any given year is a total toss-up. In human reckoning, you could be brilliant one moment and a drooling fool the next. You can give the same message three times and the Holy Spirit hit like a lightning bolt, give it a fourth time with the same passion and authenticity and have it fall, to quote my grandmother, flatter than a flitter. I’ve never known what a flitter is but I am more than sure I’ve been flatter.
Think twice before you beg to be up front. This is the kind of thing you only want to do if you can’t keep from it. If God ever throws you up there, best to just keep your ego out of it. You can either be crucified to self or let God give you a good killing right in front of everybody. You better learn quickly and repeatedly that it’s not about you and that self-loathing is as self-absorbed as inordinate self-love. And, whatever you do, don’t get into the rut of letting your personal devotional time with God get supplanted by preparations to speak or teach. The enemy will put few subtler temptations in front of you. Every decent Bible student knows we reap what we sow but the tricky part is the sizable time gap that can occur between that sowing and reaping. When it stretches over a considerable amount of time, we think we’re getting away with it. Maybe God’s even blessing it. In His strange way, you may not see the fall-out of the loss of lively, daily relationship with Him for months but make no mistake. It’s coming. It’s a slow bleed and often you’re not aware that the lifeblood has left you until you are stone-cold dead. Thank goodness God has a penchant for resurrections. You better guard your intimacy with Him like your dying breath.
God’s love for us and our value before Him are insurmountable and unwavering. Our daughter-ship or son-ship is unconditional. His worthiness is unquestionable. Let me say that again. His worthiness is unquestionable. These are the things that must occupy us. These are the underpinnings of our security as His laborers in this harvest of souls. Things like our fitness or spiritual performance or numbers don’t just ebb and flow. They shake like a bottle of oil and vinegar duct taped to a jackhammer.
I’ve thought about this off and on for twenty years and two hundred reasons but I’ll tell you what brought it all up on this blog.
Remember last weekend’s simulcast? Those of you who participated may remember me saying that I’d had such big plans for it. As well as I know how to decipher it, not selfish or temporal plans. I honestly believed that so many women giving up their Saturdays were worthy of much deliberation, study, and preparation. And it goes without saying that God was worthy of those things and more. I felt like He must have been up to something strange and remarkably eternal to have put together numbers of women none of us could have anticipated. My plan was to give a profuse amount of time to preparation and illustration so that I could actually be familiar enough with my material not to do my usual thing. My normal approach is something like – let me think of a delicate word for it – regurgitation. I seldom hit a platform unprepared but no one is going to accuse me of being impressively organized. For the most part, a thousand bites of information are swirling around like butterflies in my stomach and I just get up there and throw it all up.
The simulcast was to be the exception. I got home late the Saturday night before from a Living Proof Live in Florida and headed to church only to get a text from my firstborn, Amanda, telling me that her husband, Curtis, wasn’t feeling well and suspected something could really be wrong. In no time at all, he was in surgery with what his surgeon called an appendix that had gone off like a grenade. After sitting with Amanda at the hospital through the surgery, I moved into her house with my two beloved grandchildren and she moved into the hospital with her beloved man. That’s the way we spent the better part of four days.
Just like yours, our family comes first so I can honestly tell you that I had no second thoughts and, needless to say, not the least resentment. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything nor would I want to miss the next round. I have no intention of forfeiting my grandparent rights and responsibilities. I love Jackson and Annabeth like I love my own two daughters. Every minute I spent with them was my honor and joy and, yes, delightfully hard work. Every now and then I’d look up at the heavens and say something like, “Lord, I sure hope you’re preparing for Saturday while I’m keeping babies!”
And He was. He’s always faithful.
By late Wednesday night, Amanda took back the reins and her in-laws arrived first thing Thursday. At that point, my thoughts shifted totally to the simulcast. By Saturday morning, the Lord had graciously helped me prepare the two lessons. I was fine with them. Not fabulous with them but at peace. They were meaningful to me and appropriate for the occasion, I think, but, alas, not what I had planned. (Please don’t think I’m fishing for encouragement here. It would deflect severely from the point.)
This is where you come into the story. A few hours after the simulcast concluded Amanda called me and told me that comments were already coming in on the blog and that I ought to give them a glance. She thought I’d be blessed. I did and she was right, I was so thankful to God and was absolutely certain -100% – that anything of value was His doing. Then I came upon a comment I will never forget. It was posted at exactly 6:29. It said something like this: “I will always remember that we studied Ephesians 4:24 on 4/24.” (April 24th) Somebody may as well have hit me in the head with a sledge hammer. I went completely slack-jawed and stared at those words over and over. It had never – not once – dawned on me that God had given me Ephesians 4:24 (which was our primary verse and the whole theme of the simulcast) for 4/24. He’d given that verse to me several months earlier to memorize then I began to feel that it was His leadership toward our gathering. Still, I’d never put the reference with the date. I wasn’t that clever but God surely was. Here’s the verse. See it from the point of view of the person who has decided to put her insecurity behind her:
“put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
He’d had it all along. Planned it to a tee. Didn’t mean for it to be complicated. Wasn’t interested in a flawless delivery. Didn’t even need it to be great. Any jar of clay would do because anything happening on the visible platform was virtually incidental…as long as it didn’t quench the Spirit. All God had in mind to do was cut through the layers of technology until we could see straight into the beating heart of the Gospel: Jesus Christ can change your life.
That’s it. Plain and simple.
I love the mysterious side of God. I love that we can’t figure Him out. I love that He honors us by choosing us and humbles us by not even needing us. I love that He is wholly beyond formulas and manipulations, because goodness knows I’m not.
I love Him.
So, what do we do with all of this since we don’t know one iota more than we did? Just keep doing what we’re called to do. In season. Out of season. When we feel good. When we don’t. Believe Him to do something huge. Trust Him when you can’t even tell He did something small. Keep your heart in it and your big head out of it.
He’s the only one who can make it happen. As for us, we don’t even know what “it” is.
“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us.” Deuteronomy 29:29 NLT
One more thing…
The humidity has hit hard here in Georgia, and my hair is flat as a flitter this morning.
Believe it.
My Granny used to say that too – I can hear her now.
I love you Beth.
Your friend, GJ
I thought that it was just me! Thank the Lord that “it” happens to everyone that God uses to speak in His Name!
I love your choice of words for the headline of this blog! I’ve been a communicator in one form or another for 25 years too! (Print, broadcast, PR, etc — I’m an expert in um, regurgitating!) But since I’ve developed a truly meaningful relationship with Jesus in the past four years, I’ve often wondered why in the world God had me in these places often filled with unbelief and negativity. (And nasty newsrooms. Ewww.) I think in some cases, it’s just a matter of shining my light in the darknesss…which is HIS light. And, I keep trusting that He. Has. A. Plan! I might be 85 before he brings it all together according to His purpose, but at least then I’ll say “Amen.” Loved being in Woodstock on 4-24 for 4:24! As Priscilla Shirer’s study on hearing God has reminded me sooo many times, God WILL equip you. And Yes He did, indeed.
Hi Siesta Mama,
This is a very thoughtful post, and I wanted to be able to absorb it. I have thought that if God ever called me to speak that if i just got up there and all I did was quote scripture, then I wouldn’t mess it up:) I’m goofy. I honestly don’t know what part is God and what part is man, it baffles me too. Eph. 4:24 on 4/24, that is His Sovereign doing on display for sure! Having baby girl, I’m feeling the need to keep my quality time with Him a priority. We are sanctified by the Truth, and His Word is Truth. Like Melissa said in a post once, quoting someone I don’t remember, it went like: Sin will keep you from this Book, or this Book will keep you from sin. Amen, Sister! Jesus Christ has to be the center, God as the focus. Very true. I feel like I want to rediscover Him. To know Him. You are right. That is what matters. He is so set apart from us, and endless! Holy.
Blessings, ((HUGS)) to you, love in HIM,
katiegfromtennessee
Loved your post, many years ago while doing one of your studies, you asked us to write down our grestest desire. Well, I penned a prayer poem asking God to “make Jesus my life’s thrill?” Well, here I am years later and He IS!! Just yesterday in Sunday School, I find it so hard to refrain from talking too much about Him, things He has taught me, power of prayer, etc. I was one who resisted ever speaking up in a class before and would never share shome of the things I have shared with this class, not anyone(much, much insecurity.) I find myself almost apologizing to the teacher for being so outspoken. However. I have come to the realization that the words I have been sharing are from Him, not me. I think God has asked me to share some of my poems, share some insights, tell them about what Word Memorization does to/for us, etc. To NOT speak to them would be disopbedience when the Holy Spirit has prompted me to.
I have intentionally shared some of my poems, etc. with people and have received litle or no response concerning them. It has left me questioning God as to why He asked me to share them. This post has really helped me to see that He will do as He pleases. Because He is perfect Love and I am His beloved daughter, I rest assured His pleasure includes my best interest. Surely He is preparing me for things to come, these are baby steps I need to take for now, I want to glorify Him in whatever I do, and I must continue to share what He has called me to share so that others may one day also desire Him as their life’s thrill.
Thank you for sharing. I love God’s mystery. I love the ways He shows Himself. I’m also completely baffled by Him so often. But, I wouldn’t have Him any other way!
Beth, You can’t possibly know how timely this was for me. God has called me to share the Mother’s Day message at church this weekend and I am about sick over it. I’d bail, except I so know He told me to do this that I fear the consequences of disobedience more than the embarrassment of airing my dirty laundry. His whole message is about how God can change us, if we’re willing to let Him do the work. He’s having me use the lessons I have learned in motherhood to show His work of sanctification.
Thank you so much for your ministry. Much of what He has shown me and taught me to bring me into a season of freedom is because of your obedience to the message He gives you.
Blessings!
Getting ready to lead my Esther Bible study tonight, woefully unprepared, but happy to get a chance to connect with a few women and talk about my God. This blog, you three women, are an oxygen mask for a day that quickly tries to squeeze all the breath out of the Spirit, thank you, thank you, thank you! Blessings.
As the wife of a minister for 20+ years I can only say “Amen and Amen!”
I was very sad not to be able to attend the simulcast. Right after I heard about it, thought I couldn’t because of a previous commitment with our church. Then I realized my dates were one week off….I’m over 50 – give me a break here. Before I could sign up, one of my 22 y.o. son’s friends took his own life. We ended up attending the funeral with our son during the simulcast. God knew all along where he wanted me to be….with our son. God is sooo amazing.
Thank you for your faithfulness and encouragement.
Wow…I can be so confused, baffled, amazed, and yet so sure all at the same time. God has been so clear in his Word and in his answers to some prayers, and yet He can be so unexpected and mysterious all at the same time. Yet. Perfect. Always. Its the mystery that excites the passion, and the clarity that gives direction. Do I want more? Yes. Is He enough for me? Yes, but I haven’t received enough yet. I don’t think I ever will, and I don’t think I ever want to feel like I have. I want more. There is so much more to recieve…
Praise and Glory to You, Father..
Sister,
I attended the simulcast in Greensboro, NC with my mom and two friends. From the beginning of the 90 minute drive that morning, I knew that God had something special in store for us. It was in the air and it was tangible. The host church in Greensboro was so welcoming and Spirit was in attendance with us as we watched the countdown on the screen. When we heard that there were an estimated 300,000 (yes…with FIVE zeroes) women participating in the event, it was simple confirmation that something was going to happen.
And it did.
More than a week has passed since the event and I am still processing what The Lord showed me that day. Our little group of four women received a touch (or better yet a punch…but a good punch) from The Spirit. It’s interesting to me that each us walked away with a different nugget of Truth. We sat through the same simulcast and He gave each of us what we needed. That’s a God thang, girlfriend.
What spoke to me was the fact that we all have a calling…a purpose, a ministry, a gift. God gave me a purpose. Me! And since you don’t know me, that idea is probably not blowing your mind. But let me tell you…the idea that God can use me after all the mistakes that I have made is so wonderfully refreshing that my brain can hardly comprehend it. I can live a life worthy of His calling. Through Him, I can live a worthy life.
So long insecurity…I am busy living my worthy life because of the Grace that was extended to me through the Son!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Erin
Honestly, all I can say is Wow! Thank you for all your insight and wisdom.
Sacha
i didnt guard my intimacy with HIM, and now its a battle, that no doubt i deserve…thanks for the reminder…
funny the more muddled it got the more i was gettin it!
I remember one of your first Bible Studies I did and I thought, I want to be just like Beth…..I want to love my God, my Savior like she does. I want that “Infectious” love. I want to “thirst after the word” like she does. Help me lay it all down Lord. Well, He has been faithful on his part and continues to crucify my flesh. He is so awesome!!!!! Thank you for allowing “you” to be slayed and “Him” to be so absolutely forthcoming!!! I am always amazed at how you allow Him to speak through you…..very rarely if ever have I heard Beth speak, but I certainly have heard Him speak repeatedly to me and I have learned so much from your teachings about Him and His WORD!!! Your humility of serving Him has Blessed me beyond measure. THANK YOU for always speaking the truth….whether we like it or not.
Blessings to all of you this week…..I pray our Lord meets you at every corner of the week wherever you need Him to be…..
See you in Grand Rapids……
Bible Bunny in NO MI
You are such a blessing to me. I have recently discovered you on TV – Life Today – and now I am following your blog. This post in particular has divine timing for me. Thank you. God is amazing!
intensely wonderful blog – hit at the moment I am feeling most inadequate in my work with my own teenagers at home and the ones I counsel at a psychiatric hospital. Calling? to be sure. Annointed? I am not sure yet…perhaps time will tell. But I am surrounded by lost teenagers and long for them to see Jesus….to know Him and His love for them in an undeniable way… is he doing that through me? No feedback to indicate that yet but I press on in longing. Thanks for the reminder of truth that there is no magic formula to make “impact” happen…it’s not about manipulating God’s hand to do that which I long to see… it’s about remaining faithful as best I can to the calling I have as best as I understand it.
two words… THANK YOU
Three more… God Bless You!
All I can say is…AMEN Beth!!!!:)
Beth,
The Holy Spirit hit me between the eyes this morning with your post. Been praying about all of those things, and as “Warm in Alaska” said so beautifully…sharing what He tells me to share…is enough. That’s why I loved your summation: “Just keep doing what we’re called to do…keep your heart in it and your big head out of it.” You said it, sister! Amen!
Thank you. If I didn’t know better, (I was in the first part of Romans 8, [1-17] not Ephesians 4:24) I’d think you were there when I was having my heart to heart time with our Lord this morning.
Hope your day is blessed,
Patti
After thinking about your post, God seems to work that way more often than not. Working with pastors I have seen it over and over again. They plan a sermon all week long only to wake up on Sunday morning with the call to preach about something they are not prepared for at all. And how God shows up!!
I have seen it in my own behind the scenes life (which I prefer very much and pray that God never calls be to be out front, thank you very much). I notice that working with our former pastor, that I would feel as if [I] had something profound to tell him. Only to find out several days later that something that I said, that I thought was stupid, was the one thing that the Lord would point out to him and mean something profound to him???
God’s ways are truly a mystery!!
Whew! I feel like I’ve got to catch my breath here a second before I can even respond. That was profound for me, Beth. I actually took notes on your post. Never done that before. You articulated truths that rumble around in my head and occasionally spill out only to those I trust with my inner most thoughts.
To this day I often get a chill and even stutter when describing myself as a ta..ta..teacher. gulp. That has never sat easy with me. There are times I’ve asked God to fire me from teaching for fear I was messing up something waaay to important to fool around with.
Right from the get-go I believe God asked two very specific things of me: to prepare and to show up. Then to leave the rest to Him.(perhaps that’s three things). The game plan has not really changed. I’ve tried to explain to my husband that what occurs during the lesson continues to be a mystery to me. So interesting that you described it the same way. I can come home and vascillate between uphoria and despair depending on whether or not I feel the message got across.
Bless you beyond words for the reminder that because that “mysterious” part belongs to God, I need neither fear the blame nor usurp the credit. And I certainly cannot let my feelings determine whether or not God had His way.
I was just telling my daughter two days ago how much critisism I feared you received. And how blessed we are that you didn’t let it disuade you from staying the course. I told her you’d said that if the enemy suspected discouragement would get us to quit, then that’s exactly how he’d come after us.
So what would it take to make me quit? “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Col 3
Thanks for the shot in the arm, Beth.
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
This reminds me of you…….. love you so much!
karen:)
Thank you for this….it was what I needed today..
Unwavering is your voice
Unwavering is your hand
Unwavering is the heart that bled for the sins of men
Unwavering is your will
Unwavering is your plan
The fount of salvation on which we will stand
“Unwavering” by Matt Maher
Praise you Lord for Unwavering!!!
Isn’t it wonderful how God will miraculously work in our lives? Just thinking about the date related to Eph. 4:24, reminded me of something that happened years ago just after my mother passed away. I visited a church where my mother was good friends with the Pastor and his wife for several years. This Pastor also preached at my mother’s funeral. So, one Christmas I decided to pay them a visit. At the time I enjoyed cross-stitching and I made a Bible verse on this particular creation. This turned out to be the very Bible verse He preached on that Sunday morning…it really was a surprise. God uses the simple things to bring us closer to Him. God is so wonderful!
Beth, thank you for letting God use you.
I have the privilege to lead in some of your Bible studies this year. My church will be studying Esther, which I just love. I completed the study myself, so I could be better prepared to teach others. Please pray God
will have full control and lead others to a closer walk with Him.
Also, I would appreciate the prayers of others as I lead the women during a Mother’s & daughter’s breakfast this Saturday. For without God I can do nothing.
One of my favorite verses says…add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowlege self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-7.
Beth – love today’s blog and totally “get” what you are saying. I taught for 23 years before taking early retirement. My son died tragically 2 years ago at the age of 17. God called me to speak about his story and our family’s story – my son was an organ donor and I volunteer with the organ procurement organization in GA. I speak at schools & civic groups and it has lead to also speaking and going a step furter – giving my testimony – at churches. Wasn’t what I had planned to do, but He had this planned a long time ago, I am sure of. I have talked to my preacher about remaining humble and giving the glory of the situation to God. It is something that is hard to explain to others, hard to put in words. When I start thinking about what I am going to say, by the time God’s fingers have worked the keyboard and His thoughts have crossed out mine, I end up saying something totally different. But it never fails that someone always tells me how blessed they were to hear those words at that particular talk. God is an awesome God. Thank you for your heartfelt talk today – it helped to reaffirm some things I had been thinking about. God knows.
Beth, I never thought of that either Ephesians 4:24 and 4/24 and it was my birthday I should have clued in 🙂 just God ordained is the explanation!!
I love it. Tears are brimming my eyelids… He is SO BEAUTIFULLY mysterious… and something else… we are his Last piece of work in the line of Creation.. and as women… we carry that same character… ask any man, we are mysterious… 🙂 and we don’t really (honestly!?) get ourselves! What a wonderful piece of His Image to carry… I love HIM!!! 🙂 Oh, I love Him! Surprise me today Lord, w/ Your Beautiful Mystery!!
What a great word of encouragement. Your words are encouraging me to do a heart check today.
I was praying for a verse that I could set my mind on today and then you shared Ephesians 4:24 – thank you. Also, my Granny used to make potatoe “fritters” out of leftover mashed potatoes (never wasted anything!). They were flat like pancakes. I was wondering if your Grandmother was saying flatter than a fritter…just a thought.
This was like having an answer to my prayer lately. Not about the mystery of being called to speak, but the mystery of a husband. I have been married almost 17 years to a man who struggles. For our whole marriage I have tried to be the measure of faith, the perfect encourager, the forgiver, and on and on… hoping that that is what it would take for God to truly do something in his life…And lately I have been praying (begging) God for an answer as to why this hasn’t worked. Does it matter what kind of wife I am? Does God need me to be a certain way to completely save my husband? What if my “perfect wife” routine ran right out the door? Will that hinder God?
I guess I got from you this morning that all I can control is my relationship with God, my love life with Jesus and “Trust Him when you can’t even tell He did something small”
Thank you.
This could only be God. This is so awesome. Our God is indeed an Awesome God. I am so thankful, as I have told you many times, for your ministry.
Because of your obedience to God I have learned to absolutely love Bible study. I am now facilitating two Bible studies each week. God lead to me the one where I did my first Beth Moore study. It is an independant, self supporting study which includes ladies from several different churches. A local church allows us the use of their facility. We have been meeting for over 5 years now. Then about 5 months ago, God lead me to start another in the church I am attending. They had no specific study for women only. We will finish up a study of the book of Acts tonight and then begin Esther, which I did with the other group. Ladies are growing in the love of our Saviour and spreading the Word of God in our community all because you were obediant to your calling.
Thank you again for all you do – all of you. I know this ministry takes a village and for your village I am thankful.
Very excited about the simulcast coming out on DVD. I want to purchase a bunch and send them to all my nieces and sisters and cousins!
Love you.
Lawan
Phil 4:8
There are times when I sob and can’t even put a finger on the precise reason why. It happened when I watched The Secret Life of Bees. It happened when I read The Red Tent even though I had to work hard to overlook the scriptural liberties.
It just happened again except I have a clearer understanding of the purpose. I am confident that my God to whom I called out just this morning “I am just not enough for this” used your sweet words to answer once again, “You’re not, but I AM.”
So, dearest Beth, thank you.
I’m going to get a hanky now.
Thank you so much for your sharing! We have a situation in our family (involves precious grandchildren) that is really hard. However, every now and then God lets me know He is working and seems to be saying,”Grandma I love them more than you and I will take care of them; just trust Me.” Appreciate your reminding me too! God Bless You!
Thank you soo much Beth for sharing your heart. I don’t speak in front of a group of people. However, I am trying to take care of four active strong willed boys ages 2, 3, 5,and 6. Without God’s help, our home would be utter chaos and insanity! Actually, it feels like our home is characterized by these traits far too often. I am desperately searching for “God’s daily anointing” so I can be a nurturing mother and raise up my boys to become godly men. It frustrates me that God doesn’t have a formula for anointing. The fact that God wants to fill me through a relationship with Him, keeps me pursuing Him. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Whenever I have to step out in front of a group, I usually:
1. Remind myself that being afraid is not an acceptable excuse (Years ago I heard you say “Do it afraid!”.
2. Remind myself to “act in such a way” — to act as though I’m calm and relaxed even when I feel no such thing. Sometimes I’ll even confess my anxiety to the group.
3. Say a quick prayer just before that whatever I do, don’t do, say, don’t say, that God will be glorified.
In my adult life, I am OFTEN stopped by people who think they know me (but can’t place me) or they think I’m a celebrity. After I’ve convinced them that I’m not famous or that we have not met I say a thank you prayer for I believe it is a small piece of Jesus in me that they see.
Miss Beth. Just what I needed to hear this morning after speaking with my beloved pastor-Dad last night about so much of this mystery. This is something that extends even beyond speaking, right? Thank you for putting words to what so many of us struggle with internally. We are suddenly less alone – and prayerfully more humble than before.
“…prayerfully more humble…” I like that thought!
Adrienne
Oh Gosh Beth,
My eyes are filled with tears. I was reading your post and wondering, “Where are you going here?”
NEVER having had the call to speak to thousands, I was trying to grasp the meaning of your thoughts and focus to follow the next point. And then it all came into focus at nailed me between the eyes.
God has called us to do some pretty difficult things. We are moving to KC, Kansas as my husband got a promotion, but in our core we know it is about equipping our kids for the coming battles. It breaks my heart to move away from Oregon and all our family here. He has given me a Word that has opened my eyes to Heaven being my secure home, there is no address on this Earth that will suffice. Extended family is precious to us, our parents are aging…. and yet God has pointed me to Luke 9:57-62, (as gently as that can be said). Many things have confirmed this is what He wants us to do and yet we have still been praying, “Lord, IF you want us to move to KC please make a way.”
“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but WE AND OUR CHILDREN ARE FOREVER ACCOUNTABLE TO ALL THAT HE HAS REVEALED TO US.” Deuteronomy 29:29 NLT
Thank you for sharing insight from your heart and your world that has deeply encouraged mine.
Jina
Jina, I am going to be praying for you as God has just done the same with me after where He moved me for only 6 months:) No worries my friend, He’s got this:)
OK, God does have a big sense of humor. I am leading a discussion group on SLI and have felt insecure about it.(I see the ironly here, but it’s honestly how I feel) I just read chapter 9. After praying the prayer in the chapter, I am actually feeling a peace and calmness about this week’s discussion and I read your blog. It really encouraged me to prepare, pray, and let God do the rest. I cannot control how others receive God’s truth and they are not rejecting me, but Him.
Beth – I am a Bible study leader who was there in Woodstock on April 24. I saw what God did. And now, reading your ponderings, all I can say is, “That’ll preach, Beth … that’ll preach.”
That was exactly what I needed to read by the time my day was over. It had been one of those weeks where I once again realize that the more I learn/know, the more I really know nothing and there is so much to learn and grow. I don’t see it as a bad thing at all, just yet another conclusion. I was blessed with opportunity to both preach on Wednesday night (in our youth service, my husband is the youth pastor) and teach an Old Testament Survey class Sunday night. The more I know, the less I know and am amazed by the beautiful mystery that is God.
I’m a stay-at-home mom with two busy babies (2 and 4). It is a small miracle my OTS notes didn’t include something about Beauty and the Beast since that was what my kids had been watching.
Thank you for your honesty. It ministered to me more than I can say.
I’m hanging on to this line, “Guard your intimacy with Him like your dying breath.”
Amen…amen..amen…amen…amen…amen…and on and on.
Thank you so much for this post, Beth! I totally get it. I substitute teach for my S.S. class and also facilitate Bible studies and just today I was wondering why sometimes things can go so right and other times they can go so wrong, and sometimes when I’m wanting God to show up the most, I miss Him, but other times He shows up and I’m totally unprepared for it. Sometimes things just flow and other times it’s like being stuck with a flat tire. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me and what if I never do get it right and I don’t live up to God’s expectations of me, etc., etc., etc. I feel so much better after reading this post! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
Mama Beth,
My goodness when God uses you..He uses you. You spoke from the heart and I have to say the 4:24 and the date had not clicked in my mind. That blew me away. When God speaks, He speaks in volumes in short form. Good gracious I am still taking that in. But what really spoke to my heart was when you said to keep going even when we are feeling good, not feeling good, etc I struggle with that sometimes and wonder does it matter but after reading your post, God said see…it does even if you don’t see it….that is not what is important. I suddenly understood that I don’t have to always understand. God will handle things. I just need to do what He asks of me. That was real to me. Thank you Mama Beth for sharing so much of your heart with us siestas. I will never forget 4/24. It is instilled in my heart. I m still looking over notes and Ephesians and putting it in my heart. I love you like my other mother. YOu just have touched me deeply and i thank God for you and your family every day.
Thank you. You are a blessing and God used this post to minister to me.
Love you,
Susan
“Evangelism Chick”
Have you ever heard of British speaker/writer Adrian Plass? You would eat up his humorous (and serious) works with a spoon you previously may have only saved for eating the best cake in Texas. Specifically, his little book “The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Christian Speaker, Aged 45 3/4” EXACTLY addresses the questions and musings brought up in the first half of this blog post. Zondervan has reprinted his stuff for the US and it is usually available on Amazon. A quick, blissfully hilarious, engaging and knock-you-socks-right-off read. Cannot recommend more highly. Wait, let me think….nope, not for this topic. OBTAIN IMMEDIATELY, fellow book lover!!
Amen and amen.
I read this last night and pondered it for a while. My own limited experience lines up with what you shared.
My quiet time can not be prep time. It is relationship time–knowing God through His Word, interacting with Him as I read/study and time to pray and journal.
I need to spend quality time in preparation. But it isn’t about my preparation time; it is about having a whole heart. And then it is about what the Lord leads, not what I prepared.
And I don’t get to grade myself, because it is not about me. And there is certainly not a formula, because the Lord will not be reduced to my formula. How grateful I am for that fact.
Thanks for sharing. How cool is it to be able to love Jesus together.
Terri
Sitting here “slack-jawed” over this post Siesta Mama! I am not called to speak, but am called as a worship leader and I will tell you that we were leading a women’s event that was “competing” with your simulcast! Needless to say, YOU WON! LOL Then this past weekend lead a benefit concert that was competing with a little event golfers call “Quail Hollow” some Tiger was there or something! 😉
Anyway, this post couldn’t have been more miraculous in it’s timing!! God is faithful and I understood every word you were saying! He uses me – in spite of me! Half the time I have no idea what I’ve said between songs and that is a SCARY, yet DIVINE place to be!!! Thank you for encouraging me with this post and all glory be to the One who inspires you to do it!! HE IS FAITHFUL!!!
I love you Beth. It was worth it to ‘bear with you’ and read the entire post. God is so amazing and I love how you magnify HIM and direct all praise to HIM. That Deuteronomy verse is amazing….