I sat on the couch sick again from vertigo, an unending cycle of debilitating illness the doctors could not control. My health had literally been progressively spinning out of control for the last few years. I was sick and sinking into depression over how this disease was changing my life.

It was during this unlikely time that God birthed a dream in me, a dream to start a website. I remember thinking “But I know NOTHING about technical things, Lord, and am barely able to use my own computer.”

To which He replied “You have plenty of time on your hands to learn.”

I’ve learned a few things since that day nine years ago—one lesson in particular I am still growing into: God  wants to do much bigger things in our lives than we imagine, and when we work in tandem with Him, He shows up in big and little ways that always exceeds our expectations.

How about you? Have you ever felt totally inadequate to a dream or calling God has placed on your life? Then you’re in a good place, a place where God can move.

So let’s dive in and look at this process of partnering with God in your dream or calling. To be clear, this blog post is for the person who has already gone through the initial steps of establishing that dream or calling. If you’re not there yet, first work through this post 4 Steps to Starting Something New. Then come back here.

What Was I Thinking?!

But once you’ve started and are into the process, it is an exhilarating, scary place. The enemy will try to fill your head with doubts and at some point you’ll probably wonder “What was I thinking?!” God, however, is more than equal to the the task.

When doubts assail you, here’s an anchor to secure your floundering self to God: “The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple,” Psalm 19:7.

Now don’t be deceived; this one tiny verse is packed with power that can help you overcome hurdles and break through confusion as your pursue your God-given dream. Let’s look at it, two words in particular: making wise.

Making Wise

When I looked up the meaning of the phrase in the Hebrew (Hakam), I was astounded at all that it includes. According to my Keyword Study Bible, Hakam means “to be wise, act wisely, be intelligent, be prudent, become wise, to teach, to be skillful.” Do you already see some ways God is going to equip you for what He has called you to? But it doesn’t end there. I especially love the insight the author shares in the keyword dictionary about Hakam.

Denotes an intelligent attitude toward the experiences of life, including matters of general interest, basic morality, prudence in secular affairs, skills in the arts, moral sensitivity, and spiritual matters. The Hebrew concept of wisdom was very different from other ancient world views. Israelites believed in a personal God who is holy and just, who expected man to live according to His principles. They emphasized the human will rather than just mere intellect. The Hebrew concept of wisdom was therefore very practical, being based on what God had revealed concerning right and wrong.

This is huge for us. God shares His wisdom with us in all areas of life: our work, whether it’s secular or spiritual; our creativity in the arts; our moral compass and minds; and of course, spiritually. God wants us to consult him about every area of our lives, work, family, calling, dreams, relationships, and spiritual matters.

So how can you apply this when you are feeling overwhelmed in the birthing process of your dream or calling?

1. Pray specifically. Set aside time each day to pray and ask God detailed questions about your situation. Whether you’re trying to meet a certain financial goal, you need new customers, or  you want wisdom on how to best serve your small group, God is in the details. And He wants to be your partner in what you are doing. So treat Him like a partner. Ask questions. Discuss perplexing problems. “Prayerstorm,” as Mark Batterson calls it. The excellent book Starting Something New by Beth Booram (see resource below) will help you work through the details of birthing your dream.
2. Listen and write down what you feel like He is saying back to you. I really caught on to this from a free teaching iBloom recently shared. It’s called How to Create a Prayer Strategy for Your Business, but the core principles apply to any area of life. I highly recommend it. It’s changed my life and the way I approach my dreams.
3. Follow through on what the Holy Spirit shows you. Obedience is key when partnering with God. He may give you some ideas on whom to contact, a class to take, someone to pray for, a blog post to write, a resource to study, and so on. As you are obedient, He will continue to bless you and entrust you with more ideas and things to do.

When you realize that God is your source of help and strength and you follow His leading, He’ll take you on an exciting dream journey that will far exceed what you would have ever been able to do yourself

He did that with me. My website has grown into a ministry called Only By Prayer that my sister Mary Kane and I manage together. God continues to bring new things to our journey and He “makes wise the simple” on a daily basis.

How about you? Where are you in the process? Share your thoughts below.

Dream on!

Starting Something New: Spiritual Direction for Your God-Given Dream By Beth A. Booram / InterVarsity PressSpiritual director Beth Booram has written this book to guide you through the spiritual process of defining and acting on the idea stirring within you. Interviews from people who have courageously embraced a God-prompted idea are included with each chapter to add further vision and insight. Carefully designed exercises at the end of each chapter will guide those in the beginning stages as well as provide practical help and support for those who are actively tending a God-given dream.

It was one of those days. I hit the start button on my blender and watched as the contents of my smoothie  propelled out of the too-loose lid, up to the ceiling, back down on me, and all over the counter.

As I began cleaning up the colossal mess, I realized that my spirit was feeling about as stirred up as my shake currently was. Lately, God was whirring up something new in me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.

Something New in You?

Do you ever feel that way? God lays something new on your heart and you think about it, and think about it some more. If you try to ignore it, you may feel as if you’re about to explode with pent-up emotions.

This very thing happened to two men in the Bible, Zerubbabel and Joshua. Haggai 1:14 tells us that the Lord stirred up their spirits because he had a job for them to do — to head up the committee to put God’s temple back in order. It was a big job, but God was with them. They got moving and got it done.

As I was reading this tiny book in the Bible, it made me realize that when God stirs up our spirits, it’s for a reason, and how we handle those feelings is important. I’ve identified a few steps to help you get moving.

Step #1: Pray and Ask

While this may seem like an obvious step, it’s surprising how often we overlook it. First we need to discern that these stirrings are part of God’s plan. Too often I have charged ahead with my own plans or buried my head in the sand because I wasn’t thrilled about being the point person.

Taking the time to be certain of God’s leading on something new is important because

we should not be saying yes to every thing that comes our way, just the things God calls us to.

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I love this quote from Mark Batterson’s book Draw the Circle regarding praying. “Our responsibility is to simply discern what God wants, and then humbly yet boldly to ask Him for it.” So don’t be shy. Be specific in your prayers.

Once you feel confident in His leading (and this may take a while), move on to step  #2.

Step #2: Take a Step of Faith

This step will look different for each one of us, depending on what we’re being called to. It will most likely involve the following:

• Research. Whether you’re starting a business or leading a Bible study, you don’t want to blindly blunder in. Make sure you take the time to explore options, determine costs (both time and money), find needed resources, and line up any help you may need.
• Prepare. Perhaps you need to learn a skill, get a certification, take a refresher course or otherwise prepare for what is next. Seek wise counsel from someone you trust.
• Establish a timeline. When do you want to start? Have a goal in mind otherwise preparing will stretch on indefinitly.

Step #3 Experiment

Do you need to create a product or offer a service? Spend the time you need to create, test, and refine. Where you can, learn from what others have done/are doing so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel on everything. Continue to pray through.

Step #4 Launch Your Something New

There comes a time when you have to hit the Go button! Will you ever feel fully ready? No. Will you struggle with thinking that someone else could be doing this better? Probably. Will you make some mistakes? Most definitely. But what God told the people in the book of Haggai as they responded to the stirring in their hearts is true for us too:

I’d love to hear what God is stirring up in your heart lately. Leave a comment below about your “something new” so we can pray for you!

Resources: Note that Mary and I are affiliates for CBD. We only recommend titles that we use and like.

Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge By Mark Batterson / Zondervan

The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears By Mark Batterson / Zondervan

photo credit: “HK Causeway Bay Hysan Place Eslite Bookstore inside restaurant kitchen Electric blender Aug-2012” by Elite S Moramels – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

photo credit: Stepping out in Chucks via photopin (license)

Being one of those people with a “sensitive nature,” (read that as touchy and taking myself too seriously), I spent many years of my life in inner turmoil of some kind. If I received what I thought was a wrong look, harsh comment, or short response, I stewed on it forever, analyzing and reanalyzing what I did wrong, why  that person didn’t like me, how could they be so mean … you get the picture. I could worry myself into a frenzy.

Worries Everywhere

I’d also worry about any perceived threats: storms, accidents, bad grades, and so on. My mom was always telling me to quit being a worry wart! Maybe you can identify with that struggle. Goodness knows, there’s plenty of things to be anxious about in the world today.

Over time, however, I realized that worry is actually a bad habit, a sin, that God tells us not to do.

As I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve thankfully gotten over myself, although I will always have to keep a check on this area.

I’ve found it’s so much better to live in peace than the constant turmoil of runaway thoughts and petulant grudges.

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Now don’t mistake peace for sweeping things under the carpet. If an issue needs to be addressed, address it. What I’m talking about is the daily drip of worry and anxiety that drains the life out of you and robs you of peace and joy. If your first waking thought is a rehash of all your current worries and problems as you readjust the load into your mental backpack for the day’s hike, then it’s time to break this cycle.

3 Steps To Ditch Worry and Get Peace

We’re going to take our steps from Philippians 4:6-7 NIV:

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Step 1, Pray

This step is pretty straightforward. God tells us to pray. The thing to note here are the words every situation. Nothing is too small or too big for God to handle. Skinned knees, injured animals, and hurt feelings should all be taken to God. So should accidents, job loss, sickness, and death. Everything falls under His jurisdiction.

Step 2, Petition

At first, I didn’t see much difference between this and prayer. But when I looked at the Greek meanings, the subtleties became clear. in the Greek, one definition of petition is “prayer for particular benefits.” God wants us to be very specific in our prayers. Dig in. Rather than praying general prayers of “Help John feel better,” we can pray targeted prayers. “Help John acknowledge this addiction and seek healing for it.”

We can pray a verse of scripture for added power “Lord, we thank you that you sent your word to heal John and deliver him from his destruction,” (Psalm 107:20). If you have a particularly difficult situation and just don’t now how to pray, a prayer strategy may be helpful.

Step 3, Thanksgiving

The third step to peace is that we are to have a heart of thanksgiving. In the Greek, the word is eucharistia, and it means “actively grateful language (to God as an act of worship).” So as we are praying, we salt and pepper our prayers with thanks for what God has already done and is in the process of doing.

In Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, she discovers how offering thanks in every circumstance is necessary to us finding the miracle of a joy-filled life. Notice I did not say offering thanks for the circumstance, but in every circumstance. For example, When a spouse loses a job, we can say “Thank you, God, for the meal the neighbor sent over. Thank you that you are providing for our needs and are working to lead us to a new job.”

Sweet Peace

As we make a practice and habit of continually praying our worries and fears and thanking God for what He’s doing, something happens: the peace of God guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We exchange worry for peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. Does that mean that everything in our lives is perfect? No, it means that we can choose peace no matter the circumstance.

Application

I know worry is a hard habit to break. But we now have the key to breaking this vicious cycle. Let’s make 2016 the year we embrace the peace that only Christ can give.

To make it personal:

1. Step one: Write down a worry.
2. Step two: Write down a specific prayer concerning this worry, incorporating a verse of scripture into the prayer
3. Step three: Write down something you are thankful for.

Repeat your prayer as much as needed, especially when you feel yourself taking the worry back and becoming anxious. With practice you’ll soon be a reformed worry wart, known for your peaceful spirit.

What have you learned over the years about handling worry? Please share any strategies you use to cultivate a peaceful heart in times of stress.

Pray on!

Resources:

The Armor of God, Bible Study Book By Pricilla Shirer / LifewayAll day, every day, an invisible war rages around you. A cunning, devilish enemy seeks to wreak havoc on everything that matters to you – your emotions, your mind, your family, your future. But…when the enemy meets a woman dressed for the occasion, he fails miserably. Join Priscilla Shirer in a 7-session Bible study that will challenge you to suit up, stand firm, and secure victory in your life. This study guide is designed to be used in conjunction with the DVD sessions and includes 5 days of study per session, leader tips, and prayers strategies. In the back are perforated prayer cards for you to craft your own prayers.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are By Ann Voskamp / ZondervanIn One Thousand Gifts, author and blogger Ann Voskamp invites you into her own moments of grace, gently teaching you how to biblically lament loss, turning pain into poetry and intentionally embracing a lifestyle of radical gratitude.Discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to everyday amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of experiencing the constant presence of God that will bring you deep and lasting joy. There is purity in simplicity and a breathtaking beauty that can be found even in life’s slightest details and heartbreaking moments. Ann Voskamp welcomes you in to explore her grace-bathed life of farming, parenting, and writing, and encourages you to live a life filled with gratitude, no matter where you are.Not a book merely to read, One Thousand Gifts begs to be embraced as a dynamic, interactive primer inviting you to engage with truths that will serve up the depths of God’s joy and transform your life forever. Hardcover.

*Just a note, Mary and I are affiliates for CBD bookstore. If you buy any resources from them using our link, we will receive a small donation from them. We only recommend resources we ourselves use and benefit from. Thank you!

Christmas To Do-ers List

Day 8: Go Tell About Him

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” Luke 2:17-18

The night started out just like any other.

At dusk, the shepherds settled themselves and their sheep in for the night, on the alert to possible attacks.  

Extraordinary usurped ordinary when an angel and celestial choir burst upon the quiet night sky

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The shepherds surely shared with Mary and Joseph about the angels’ visit, and unable to contain themselves, they lost no time in sharing this hot-off-the-presses news about the baby King they found in a manger with anyone who would listen.

Jesus has that effect on people. He likes to stir things up. When the sacred intersects the ordinary, spectacular things happen. The lame walk. The blind see. Sinners are forgiven. Addictions are broken. And angels sing—and not just for Jesus’ birth. Luke 15:10 tells us that whenever another soul is won to heaven, heaven celebrates.

What About Us?

Tell about Jesus this Christmas

Perhaps your story isn’t as flashy as a million-watt sky filled with angels. But the reality is, you’re a different person than you were before Jesus, and that is a story that deserves to be told. In the way only you can tell it. Never underestimate the power of a changed life to reach others.

Like the shepherds, be alert to those God has primed for your story. As a matter of fact, pray for God to send those who need a word from you. Let’s look at a few ways to share:

1. Practice your story.Write down a 1-minute version of your story. Your life before Jesus, your conversion and your life after Jesus. And share it when God opens the door for you to do so.
2. Give tangible help. Bring a meal to a family with a new baby or to a family going through a hard time. Pray that God opens a way for you to share with them, either now or in the future.
3. Volunteer to teach a class at your church or lead a neighborhood Bible study. Both children and adults need to hear that Jesus loves them enough to have died for them.
4. Write out your story longhand or on your computer so that future generations of your family will have a copy. You never know when your story will be able to reach through time to influence others.

Mary and I appreciate you joining us over Advent for this series. Be looking for our New Year’s podcast over the next week. Merry Christmas to your and your family!

Christmas To Do-ers List

Day 5: Seek Him

.

Seek.

Seek Him.

Seek the face of God.

Seek the face of God this Christmas.

We don’t need more Christmas spirit, but Holy Spirit.

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Action Points:

1. In order to seek Jesus, we must think of places where He may be found. List a few places or activities in which you can meet with Jesus. Pick one to do today.
2. Jesus can always be found when we seek Him in His Word. Play the beautiful Christmas music embedded below, get your Bible and read Luke 2. Write down what God speaks to your heart as your seek Him.
3. Seek Jesus while enjoying His creation. Unplug. Leave the phone at home and just listen to Him.

How will you seek Jesus today? Please comment below.

Be a doer of the word!

Copyright 2015

All rights reserved

(I originally wrote this post for Ask God Today, and Brenda has graciously let me repost it here!)

Every person, every Christ-follower struggles with sin—whether we recognize it or not. While we tend to think of sin as being hideous and repulsive, which it is, it often masquerades as beauty and light and goodness as shown in 2 Corinthians 11:14. “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” If it feels good, looks good, smells good, it must be good, we reason.

What is clear about sin is that it is instigated by the devil (I John 3:8). God warns us, as he did Cain in Genesis 4:7, “But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

That sounds direct enough, so why do so many believers become entangled in sin? Well, Satan knows our flaws and finagles circumstances targeted to our weak areas. Let’s consider four specific ways Christ followers can get bogged down in sin.

1. Busyness is the Bane of our Society

Throughout the Bible, God points out the importance of His children spending time with Him. Jesus modeled this for us. Mark 1:35 says that “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Author Bob Sorge calls prayer “the constant calibration of the soul.”

I love this word picture “calibration of the soul.”

When we pray, God holistically fine tunes us—our souls, our spirits, our minds, and our bodies.

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Frankly, many of us are just too busy. We’re consumed with family and job responsibilities or mesmerized by entertainment. We simply don’t set aside the time. The other day I got up early because I had several pressing deadlines. I remember thinking to myself as I was getting ready to write a post on praying, “I don’t have time for my quiet time today; I better just get started writing!” What is wrong with that attitude? I certainly needed a recalibration at that point!

When we don’t sit at Jesus’ feet on a regular basis, our souls shrivel up and

The lure of the world pulls us away from the call of the Word.

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2. Natural Weaknesses

Another reason Christians fall into sin is because of our inherent weaknesses. Just as we each have gifts and strengths, we also have character flaws. In her study Armor of God, Priscilla Shirer tells us we would be wise to know our weaknesses and our strengths, because Satan will attack us in both of these areas.

We need to identify our weaknesses so that we are alert to this area of attack. An area of weakness in my life has been fear, and it took several years for God to heal this. Still today, I keep a close watch on this area in my life.

3. Oppression from the Enemy

Thirdly, if we don’t overcome our weaknesses, they can turn into strongholds, a prison inside of us that keeps others from being able to reach us.

Strongholds don’t develop overnight, but rather over time, from allowing wrong thinking, wrong believing, and wrong living to go unchecked. The Holy Spirit will always warn us, but we have the choice of whom we listen to. Strongholds that aren’t uprooted can turn into oppression, a state where our mind and emotions are tormented relentlessly by the enemy.

4. Pride Goeth Before a Fall

Finally, many Christians also fall into sin because of pride. We think “I’ve got this; I can handle this temptation,” when instead we should do as 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee the evil desires of youth.” Did you notice that God did not say “Stay and fight the temptations of youth (or middle age or old age)”? We are to FLEE from temptations.

Our pride tells us to stay and beat it, but God knows that temptation is dangerous. Do not knowingly put yourself in the path of temptation, and if you find yourself there, get out of Dodge as fast as you can before it gets you. Do not try to rationalize sin. Over the years, the news has spotlighted many Christians who thought they were immune to the lure of sin and paid for it with their ministries, their witnesses, and their families. Don’t be the next one.

Any one of these four situations can cause a believer to wind up in serious sin. But I’d also like to consider one other special circumstance.

A Word About Suffering

A trauma in our lives can leave us vulnerable to falling into sin if we don’t suffer in the right way. This may sound crazy, but there is a healthy way and an unhealthy way to walk through a tragedy in our lives. In the book Joyful Journey Listening to Immanuel, the four authors discuss how “any life event that leads us to feeling alone without help can be experienced as traumatic.” We may believe that God has abandoned us, even though the Bible says He has not.

In his study of the brain, Dr. Karl Lehman states that there are pain-processing pathways in our brains that our traumas need to process through in order for complete healing to occur. God needs to take us through these. If we don’t allow Him to, unresolved pain in our lives causes us to search for relief—often in destructive, addictive ways. I discovered this firsthand while walking through the death of my second child. The first few months I was a mess. I couldn’t eat or sleep, was angry, fought with my husband, and was a lost soul. Finally, I joined a Bible Study Fellowship class and that was the beginning of my healing process.

While, I can’t fully address all the information here (the above book is short and well worth the read), it’s important to suffer well without being estranged from God. A few ways we can reignite our “Relational Circuits” with God in the midst of tragedy is through the practice of interactive gratitude, thought rhyming, and practicing appreciation. The book addresses all of these things in depth.

Summary

We have seen how not spending time with God, natural weaknesses, oppression, pride, and suffering can derail Christ-followers and cause us to fall into deep sin.

The good news is that all of these things are choices we make. (While we don’t choose suffering, we can choose how we respond to it.) God has called us to holiness, and we can choose to live and walk that path. “For we are not controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit.” Romans 8:9.

Christ has not been stingy with us. In fact, Ephesians 1:3 tells us that He has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm (think about that for a few minutes) to help us in life, which means He has certainly blessed us with the ability to overcome sin.

Action Steps To Be a Sin Overcomer

1. Make time for Jesus. We’ve already seen the damage that not spending time with Him can cause. Write down a specific goal: I will spend 10 minutes reading the Bible each day. I will learn Interactive Gratitude and practice it four times a weak. I will pray for 15 minutes, and so on. Your goal should be measurable. All of these things will give you an immune booster shot to sin.
2. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t already know, ask God and a trusted friend to show you what your weaknesses are. Bill Hybels calls weaknesses we aren’t aware of yet our “blind spots.” Write these down in a journal. Then ask God to help devise a plan to shore these up and write down the plan. Consider counseling, mentoring, a Bible study group, an accountability partner, whatever it takes; put in the work to overcome your weaknesses and always be alert in these areas to attacks. Realize Satan will also attack us where we are strong. So identify your strengths and write these down too and be alert to attacks.
3. Practice taking every thought captive to Christ. Do not let strongholds form in your mind. Write down and memorize Bible verses that speak to your areas of attack. Actually speak God’s truth over your life, your family, and your ministry. God’s word is alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. It is much stronger than the enemy, and it will protect your mind.

Step up, believer, and stand firm in the faith. God is faithful to finish what He has started in you.

What are your thoughts? Please share any ideas you have on overcoming sin.