“Let Me Be God.”

It was one of many conversations. Over the last year and a half there was so much information, a mountain of questions and countless decisions to be made. They all forced me to lean on wisdom that was beyond me.

But this time things were different. A mask of anguish settled over the nurse’s face as she asked, “Can I be honest with you?” Despite her efforts to carefully choose her words, the four word sentence tumbled out of her mouth like a boulder.

“Your Dad is transitioning.”

I knew.

The thought fleeted across my mind days before. He was sleeping more, refusing to eat and straining to see “the people over there” who were hidden from our eyes.

I knew.

I just didn’t want to know.

I secretly hoped that God would change his mind, you know, perform the miraculous.

I prayed. I asked. I brought God in remembrance of His word. Instead of things getting better, they moved in the opposite direction. The more I sought God, the more the words. “Let me be God.” softly reverberated in my ear.

God was saying no.

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Do you have a need or desire that you’ve placed before the Lord? I’m not referring to that casual thing that side steps your heart. I mean the thing that keeps you up while others are sleeping.

I’m sure you’ve already done your due diligence of confessing, decreeing and declaring the word of faith. But what do you do when your efforts fail to deliver the results you want? How do you respond when God requires that you exchange your will for His?

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Surrender. It’s a word that most of us would rather not use. Our natural inclinations urge us to run away from it. Because surrender requires that we lay down what we long to embrace.

But when we are courageous enough to yield our lives to the sovereign God, we experience blessings that we would otherwise never know.

Five days was the length of time Daddy lingered between heaven and earth. Those days were like a blinding fog. Everything was moving, shifting and changing but for me, time stood still. I had just enough strength to do the next necessary thing.

But on day three, God extended his grace. He allowed moments of alertness, a brief exchange of words and turned Daddy’s distance gaze in my direction as I told him I loved him. That day, I heard his voice and had his audience for the last time. Surrender surprised me with the gift of a cherished moment.

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“Don’t be afraid, the Lord will not leave you and he won’t forsake you.” were the words the small framed woman whispered to me a month prior. I didn’t know her. But, God gave her the word I needed for the days ahead. God was inviting me to trust him.

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My Daddy slipped into eternity moments before I walked into his room. It was just the two of us surrounded by a sacred stillness.

As I wept over my earthly father, my Heavenly Father met me with his presence. God was in the room. He kept His promise.

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There are times when difficult seasons pour in like rain. And it seems that way too often, God denies what we think we can’t live without. But just remember, his ways are perfect and his plans will always work together for your good.

So how will you respond when God says, “No”?

I pray that you will surrender to His will, trust Him and let God be God.

Your Sister Friend,

Sandra

Mundane to Marvelous

The opportunity to combine an ever increasing passion for ministry with advertising and marketing was my dream job. I was already operating in this area on a small scale but, becoming the media director for the outreach arm of our church made it official. And to add a little icing on the cake, the position involved traveling. yes ma’am, I was doing the happy dance

A portion of the job consisted of making sure my pastor‘s preaching materials were packaged to be sold at ministry engagements. Figuring out the logistics was challenging yet exciting until the newest wore off. That’s when the routine and everyday tasks set in.

I became a coordinating, duplicating and shrink wrapping queen. At times the assembly line tasks left my creativity severely dehydrated. sigh

Thoughts like, “This isn’t really what I thought it would be.” took a seat in my mind.

It’s amazing how we ask and even beg God for things and then, once we get what we told God we wanted, start complaining. Lord help us

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After the first service, a lady came over to our ministry table. She began sharing some of the challenges she was facing as if we were old friends. What she needed was right in front of us. Her answer was lying inside one of those shrink wrapped packages, I reluctantly labored over weeks prior.

As she walked away, her countenance was different. She had a joy that wasn’t there before. I on the other hand felt a surge of conviction. For weeks I had inwardly complained and had more than a few moments of down right ungratefulness.

But, while I was privately throwing tantrums, God was answering my prayer. I wanted to be His vessel. He was using me. I wanted to encourage His people. He was positioning me to fulfill that desire.

The mundane methods I thought were taking me nowhere were actually converging to form something marvelous.

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Do you feel like you’re standing still? Are you pouring your efforts into something that doesn’t seem to yield results?

I’m sure it seemed a little odd for Joshua and the Israelites to march around the Wall of Jericho. I mean who would think that marching, blowing trumpets and shouting would cause a wall to collapse?

But their simple consistent acts of obedience made room for the miraculous. God had a plan for the children of Israel and he has a plan for you. - Jeremiah 33:3

Ecclesiastes 7:8 reminds us that, “The end of a thing is better than the beginning.”

So don’t quit because your circumstances aren’t the way you want them to be.

Sometimes greatness is birthed out of the ordinary.

Your Sister Friend,

Sandra

Overcoming Frustration

If you’ve been in church any length of time you’ve heard the story of Hannah.

I Samuel 1:5-6, doesn’t waste any time grabbing your attention with “ ...and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.”

Did you feel that? I mean you can’t help but empathize with Hannah.

However, Elkanah and Peninnah are a completely different story. Honestly, I wasn’t fond of either one. It was hard to get pass Elkanah having two wives and Peninnah...well, she was doing the most.

But recently, I took another look at I Samuel and the Lord revealed something that I hadn’t noticed.

The whole family had a common thread, other than marriage. They were all dealing with frustration. Webster describes it as a “feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something.”

We’ve all experienced it. Right? Frustration arises when you’re constantly passed over for a promotion. It takes a seat in your soul when you think you should be further along, have more money or live in a bigger house. And it presses in hard when your marriage and children are far from what you hoped or wanted.

Frustration has a way of finding us and Elkanah’s household was no exception.

Hannah was Elkanah’s first wife. And, after years of not being able to have a child, Elkanah married Peninnah to sort of help the process along.

Peninnah was frustrated because, even after having several children, she had not won Elkanah’s heart. - I Samuel 1:4-5

And, Elkanah was in the house with one woman that was angry and another one that was grieving. not the best situation

In the midst of all of this, Hannah displayed tremendous grace and gives us some insight on how to overcome frustration.

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Don’t React

Google says, “A reaction is typically quick, without much thought, tense and aggressive.”

On the other hand, “A response is thought out, calm and non-threatening.”

To be completely transparent, I’ve done a lot more reacting than responding. However, the scripture doesn't even hint to the fact that Hannah reacted to Peninnah's tauntings.

In spite of her circumstances, Hannah didn’t loose control or relinquish her peace.

Yeah, it's easy to fly off the handle when we’re frustrated. But that only feeds the situation. And you and I both know that once you've calmed down, you have a hot mess to try to clean up.

Proverbs 29:11 gives us the real deal on reacting, - "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." just say amen or ouch

Reposition

Now you might not be able to physically change your position or separate yourself from the thing or person that is causing you to be frustrated. But, you can redirect your focus and set your attention on the Lord. - Isaiah 50: 7

Take a look at what Hannah did in I Samuel 1:9. "Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house."

Hannah got up, left the dinner table and went to the temple to pray. She put her miracle in motion by changing her position.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait until we get to church to meet with God. We are blessed to freely commune with him no matter where we are. Our closets, cars, bathrooms, or even the beach can become a sanctuary. God doesn’t just allow us to come to him. He invites us to come. And we can trust him to help in our time of need. - Psalm 46:1

Put It Where It Belongs

For some odd reason, we try to figure out our problems and bear the weight of every situation. Can I just tell you that God doesn't want us to live under that kind of pressure? It's too much.

Recently I was reading Morning Manna For Your Day and the question "What areas of your life do you need to bring under His authority?" stopped me in my tracks. I realized that I was frustrated and upset about things that were not even mine to carry.

My friend, God wants us to place every situation, every disappointment and every frustration underneath His authority. That's where it belongs.

I pray that your today and all of your tomorrows will be filled with countless blessings. But just in case frustration makes a surprise visit, remember that you don’t have to simply deal with it or endure it. You can overcome it like Hannah and walk in freedom and victory.

Your Sister Friend,

Sandra