Spirit Lead Me Where My Trust Is Without Borders
January 2014
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Prov. 3:5-6
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8
5am. Me. Jesus. Music. Prayer.
Three times a week I wake up at 5am to do my morning run. This early morning routine has become my prayer time with the Lord. While running, I often find myself praising, thanking, and pouring out. Once finished, I find myself filled with peace, joy, and strength, ready to face the day with fearless faith. One particular morning, I can remember not wanting to get out of bed, just wanting to you know, hit the snooze button and sleep. Nevertheless, I got up anyway, put my big girl pants on, and my ear phones in, and started running. Now, if you know me you know that I looooovvvve Hillsong. Always have and I always will. When I first heard “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” a few months ago I was not immediately in love with it. But during this particular morning, this song started to play and every word resonated with my spirit.
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8
5am. Me. Jesus. Music. Prayer.
Three times a week I wake up at 5am to do my morning run. This early morning routine has become my prayer time with the Lord. While running, I often find myself praising, thanking, and pouring out. Once finished, I find myself filled with peace, joy, and strength, ready to face the day with fearless faith. One particular morning, I can remember not wanting to get out of bed, just wanting to you know, hit the snooze button and sleep. Nevertheless, I got up anyway, put my big girl pants on, and my ear phones in, and started running. Now, if you know me you know that I looooovvvve Hillsong. Always have and I always will. When I first heard “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” a few months ago I was not immediately in love with it. But during this particular morning, this song started to play and every word resonated with my spirit.
You call me out upon the waters. The great unknown where feet may fail.
And there I find You in the mystery. In oceans deep, my faith will stand.
And I will call upon Your name. And keep my eyes above the waves.
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace. For I am Yours and You are mine!
Your grace abounds in deepest waters. Your sovereign hand will be my guide.
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me. You've never failed and You won't start now!
So I will call upon Your name. And keep my eyes above the waves.
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace.
For I am Yours and You are mine. SPIRIT LEAD ME WHERE MY TRUST IS WITHOUT BORDERS…..
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior!
Whew!
I kept repeating this song for the rest of my run and all throughout the day! In wake of 2014, I've prayed and asked the Lord to give me a word to encourage you and I believe that this is it. Has God called you out upon the waters; the great unknown like Peter? We discussed Peter in The Fear Factor. Maybe like Peter God has called you to do something that seems impossible, something that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man. Or maybe your "waters" is a new town, new job, new leadership position at your church, or maybe it's a desire in your heart that seems as though it's no where near manifesting. The future. It makes us excited, happy, but at times if not looked at properly through Eyes of Faith can be overwhelming. The future; the great unknown where feet may fail. I've learned that my feet may fail if I depend on my own strength and ability and not on God's. My feet may fail if I lean on my own understanding, not acknowledging the Lord who promises to make my paths strait. Friend, during this particular run, I thought about the many times I claimed to be trusting and relying on the Lord when all the while I was trusting and relying on myself. I often find myself saying, " Raven, the job that God has called you to do is greater than your ability! Stop relying on your own strength and START RELYING ON HIS!"
I've learned that when I am totally focused on the Lord and keeping my eyes above the "waves" of opinions, people, circumstances, or even MYSELF, that's when my faith stands strong without wavering. I've also learned that "eyes on Jesus" is the Bible's proven antidote to growing weary, to losing heart, or to giving up. Friend, It's time for crazy faith. People whose minds are no longer governed by what makes sense! In order to have crazy faith and no longer be governed by what makes sense our eyes have to be fixed. When our eyes are fixed our faith becomes the spark that ignites the impossible and causes it to become possible. When our eyes are fixed our faith is activated, it sets in motion supernatural power that enables us to do what we normally would never be able to do in our own strength! When our eyes are fixed we are able to rest in His embrace, no matter the waves or oceans of life. When our eyes are fixed we are able to see ourselves through the eyes of Christ, laying aside the opinions of others and the need to impress because we know Who we belong to!
In deepest waters......when it "looks" unlikely, when you "feel" like giving up, when you are afraid and hope seems lost, when it's hard and your joy is stolen.....this is when Psalm 32:7-8 NLT comes in.
"For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you"
In deepest waters.....He will surround us with songs of victory and fill us with joy that is not moved by circumstances. In deepest waters His soveriegn hand will be our guide, guiding us along the best pathway for our life. In deepest waters, He will advise us and watch over us. In deepest waters His grace......unmerited favor, love, supernatural power that enables us to overcome ..... ABOUNDS! His grace....it is plentiful and abundant....it ABOUNDS!
When fear surrounds me...His grace ABOUNDS! Friend, be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. We can rest in the fact that He has never failed and HE WON'T start now! The Word tells us that those who believe in the Lord will never be put to shame. The Word says that the righteous will not be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). The Word says that He always causes us to triumph and that we are above ONLY and not beneath! The Word says that we are more than conquerors. That does not sound like failure to me! Let's settle this right now, no matter how the road of life twists and turns you are a child of the King. Your Daddy has never been defeated. Because of this YOU are destined to win! Failure and defeat are not in your future! Now, when this next part played, I remember stopping and taking a deep breath and making this my prayer before continuing. Friend, I believe that if we are going to walk through open doors that no man can slam shut this year we are going to have to be led by the Holy Spirit and to trust the Lord!
SPIRIT LEAD ME WHERE MY TRUST IS WITHOUT BORDERS…..
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior!
Whew!
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. TRUST WITHOUT BORDERS. I'm not sure about you, but 2013 taught me the importance of being led by the Holy Spirit and that my trust had some borders.
"I need to know," we tell ourselves. "No," God answers softly, "You need to trust."
I said, quoted, preached, encouraged others etc. to trust God, but struggled myself. You see, I am a planner by nature, and when things don't "seem" to go quite right....it shakes me up a little bit.
"We only trust people we know." "'If you're struggling to trust God, it may be because you don't really know God."
That sounds extremely harsh, but it's real. You can be saved and go to church every Sunday, and still not really know Him. Knowing Him does not come from the "knowledge" of Him, it comes from intimacy with Him! Intimacy with God is our life source; without it our spiritual tanks will stay on E. If we don't have intimacy with God we'll always be waiting around for someone else to encourage us, for another message at church, for another book, or Facebook post, while God is drawing us to himself wanting to pour into us, strengthen us, USE US to encourage others, and to do the impossible/miraculous in OUR LIVES! He's doesn't just desire intimacy with sister so-in-so or brother so-in-so....BUT YOU TOO! Isaiah 43:10 says, "You are my witnesses, "declares the Lord, " and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me!" In order to really know God, you must spend time with Him. It's not enough to just go to church, you've got to commune with Him. When you truly know God, you trust His hand and His heart. When you truly know God, you know that He loves you. You know that even when all else fails, He never will. You know that He is for you and not against you. You know that you know that you know that the plans God has for YOU are far greater than those which you have imagined for yourself. You know that it's important to always follow and obey what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. Whatever lies before you, whatever your course in life, you know that if you follow the Holy Spirit, YOU will reach YOUR expected end (Jeremiah 29:11)! You see, people that truly know God, although the road ahead may be unknown, they're focused on the prize that's worth pressing for. The will of God: nothing more, nothing less, nothing else is their mantra. They are determined to be all that God has called them to be!
In 2013, this planner learned that I don't need to know how every detail of God's plan for my life will take place. I just need to trust Him and follow the Holy Spirit as He leads and guides me along life's path. You see, too many times, we ignore the voice of God. We continue with our agenda instead of obeying God's agenda. It's often hard for us to ignore our deadlines! We have so much on our plate at all times that it's hard for us to give up our to-do list. But it's so important that we totally rely on God. To totally rely on God, we have to trust Him enough to follow His leading even when it doesn't make sense according to our plans. Life tends to work out better when it's out of our control and under God's control.
And in times when you don't know what to do, Holy Spirit always knows the best course to take. Ask. Listen. Obey.Yielding to the Holy Spirit means you stop, and allow Him to proceed before you: then follow Him. Notice you’re to follow Him, not go ahead of Him. He is your guide and in order to get to where God has called you, you must yield to His leading. When it comes to decisions, believers don’t make them based on personal experiences or opinions, or the world's standards; we make decisions based on the Word of God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). Because we know that when the Lord leads, there is divine protection, divine guidance, and divine wisdom! If you want to successfully fulfill your calling, you need to lean on the Lord and totally rely on Him....trusting Him without borders! Your border like me, may be your "schedule." Your border could be what people think or the fact that no one else has done it before. Your border could be that you don't truly believe that God can use you like He uses so-in-so. Your border could be your past, discouragement, fear, etc. But friend, in 2014, let's make a commitment to trust God without borders and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit! For it is when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and when we trust without borders that we are enabled to walk upon the waters.....to do the impossible.....wherever He calls us! It is then that we will be taken deeper then our feet could ever wander and our faith will be made STRONGER in the presence of our SAVIOR!
Here's to a new year of trusting God without borders! Here's to a another year of doing the impossible. Here's to another year of giving our full attention----deliberately and intentionally----to Jesus! Let's worship Him, not just with our mouths, but also with our lives 24/7, 365 days of the year!
Be encouraged!
And there I find You in the mystery. In oceans deep, my faith will stand.
And I will call upon Your name. And keep my eyes above the waves.
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace. For I am Yours and You are mine!
Your grace abounds in deepest waters. Your sovereign hand will be my guide.
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me. You've never failed and You won't start now!
So I will call upon Your name. And keep my eyes above the waves.
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace.
For I am Yours and You are mine. SPIRIT LEAD ME WHERE MY TRUST IS WITHOUT BORDERS…..
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior!
Whew!
I kept repeating this song for the rest of my run and all throughout the day! In wake of 2014, I've prayed and asked the Lord to give me a word to encourage you and I believe that this is it. Has God called you out upon the waters; the great unknown like Peter? We discussed Peter in The Fear Factor. Maybe like Peter God has called you to do something that seems impossible, something that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man. Or maybe your "waters" is a new town, new job, new leadership position at your church, or maybe it's a desire in your heart that seems as though it's no where near manifesting. The future. It makes us excited, happy, but at times if not looked at properly through Eyes of Faith can be overwhelming. The future; the great unknown where feet may fail. I've learned that my feet may fail if I depend on my own strength and ability and not on God's. My feet may fail if I lean on my own understanding, not acknowledging the Lord who promises to make my paths strait. Friend, during this particular run, I thought about the many times I claimed to be trusting and relying on the Lord when all the while I was trusting and relying on myself. I often find myself saying, " Raven, the job that God has called you to do is greater than your ability! Stop relying on your own strength and START RELYING ON HIS!"
I've learned that when I am totally focused on the Lord and keeping my eyes above the "waves" of opinions, people, circumstances, or even MYSELF, that's when my faith stands strong without wavering. I've also learned that "eyes on Jesus" is the Bible's proven antidote to growing weary, to losing heart, or to giving up. Friend, It's time for crazy faith. People whose minds are no longer governed by what makes sense! In order to have crazy faith and no longer be governed by what makes sense our eyes have to be fixed. When our eyes are fixed our faith becomes the spark that ignites the impossible and causes it to become possible. When our eyes are fixed our faith is activated, it sets in motion supernatural power that enables us to do what we normally would never be able to do in our own strength! When our eyes are fixed we are able to rest in His embrace, no matter the waves or oceans of life. When our eyes are fixed we are able to see ourselves through the eyes of Christ, laying aside the opinions of others and the need to impress because we know Who we belong to!
In deepest waters......when it "looks" unlikely, when you "feel" like giving up, when you are afraid and hope seems lost, when it's hard and your joy is stolen.....this is when Psalm 32:7-8 NLT comes in.
"For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you"
In deepest waters.....He will surround us with songs of victory and fill us with joy that is not moved by circumstances. In deepest waters His soveriegn hand will be our guide, guiding us along the best pathway for our life. In deepest waters, He will advise us and watch over us. In deepest waters His grace......unmerited favor, love, supernatural power that enables us to overcome ..... ABOUNDS! His grace....it is plentiful and abundant....it ABOUNDS!
When fear surrounds me...His grace ABOUNDS! Friend, be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. We can rest in the fact that He has never failed and HE WON'T start now! The Word tells us that those who believe in the Lord will never be put to shame. The Word says that the righteous will not be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). The Word says that He always causes us to triumph and that we are above ONLY and not beneath! The Word says that we are more than conquerors. That does not sound like failure to me! Let's settle this right now, no matter how the road of life twists and turns you are a child of the King. Your Daddy has never been defeated. Because of this YOU are destined to win! Failure and defeat are not in your future! Now, when this next part played, I remember stopping and taking a deep breath and making this my prayer before continuing. Friend, I believe that if we are going to walk through open doors that no man can slam shut this year we are going to have to be led by the Holy Spirit and to trust the Lord!
SPIRIT LEAD ME WHERE MY TRUST IS WITHOUT BORDERS…..
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior!
Whew!
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. TRUST WITHOUT BORDERS. I'm not sure about you, but 2013 taught me the importance of being led by the Holy Spirit and that my trust had some borders.
"I need to know," we tell ourselves. "No," God answers softly, "You need to trust."
I said, quoted, preached, encouraged others etc. to trust God, but struggled myself. You see, I am a planner by nature, and when things don't "seem" to go quite right....it shakes me up a little bit.
"We only trust people we know." "'If you're struggling to trust God, it may be because you don't really know God."
That sounds extremely harsh, but it's real. You can be saved and go to church every Sunday, and still not really know Him. Knowing Him does not come from the "knowledge" of Him, it comes from intimacy with Him! Intimacy with God is our life source; without it our spiritual tanks will stay on E. If we don't have intimacy with God we'll always be waiting around for someone else to encourage us, for another message at church, for another book, or Facebook post, while God is drawing us to himself wanting to pour into us, strengthen us, USE US to encourage others, and to do the impossible/miraculous in OUR LIVES! He's doesn't just desire intimacy with sister so-in-so or brother so-in-so....BUT YOU TOO! Isaiah 43:10 says, "You are my witnesses, "declares the Lord, " and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me!" In order to really know God, you must spend time with Him. It's not enough to just go to church, you've got to commune with Him. When you truly know God, you trust His hand and His heart. When you truly know God, you know that He loves you. You know that even when all else fails, He never will. You know that He is for you and not against you. You know that you know that you know that the plans God has for YOU are far greater than those which you have imagined for yourself. You know that it's important to always follow and obey what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. Whatever lies before you, whatever your course in life, you know that if you follow the Holy Spirit, YOU will reach YOUR expected end (Jeremiah 29:11)! You see, people that truly know God, although the road ahead may be unknown, they're focused on the prize that's worth pressing for. The will of God: nothing more, nothing less, nothing else is their mantra. They are determined to be all that God has called them to be!
In 2013, this planner learned that I don't need to know how every detail of God's plan for my life will take place. I just need to trust Him and follow the Holy Spirit as He leads and guides me along life's path. You see, too many times, we ignore the voice of God. We continue with our agenda instead of obeying God's agenda. It's often hard for us to ignore our deadlines! We have so much on our plate at all times that it's hard for us to give up our to-do list. But it's so important that we totally rely on God. To totally rely on God, we have to trust Him enough to follow His leading even when it doesn't make sense according to our plans. Life tends to work out better when it's out of our control and under God's control.
And in times when you don't know what to do, Holy Spirit always knows the best course to take. Ask. Listen. Obey.Yielding to the Holy Spirit means you stop, and allow Him to proceed before you: then follow Him. Notice you’re to follow Him, not go ahead of Him. He is your guide and in order to get to where God has called you, you must yield to His leading. When it comes to decisions, believers don’t make them based on personal experiences or opinions, or the world's standards; we make decisions based on the Word of God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). Because we know that when the Lord leads, there is divine protection, divine guidance, and divine wisdom! If you want to successfully fulfill your calling, you need to lean on the Lord and totally rely on Him....trusting Him without borders! Your border like me, may be your "schedule." Your border could be what people think or the fact that no one else has done it before. Your border could be that you don't truly believe that God can use you like He uses so-in-so. Your border could be your past, discouragement, fear, etc. But friend, in 2014, let's make a commitment to trust God without borders and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit! For it is when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and when we trust without borders that we are enabled to walk upon the waters.....to do the impossible.....wherever He calls us! It is then that we will be taken deeper then our feet could ever wander and our faith will be made STRONGER in the presence of our SAVIOR!
Here's to a new year of trusting God without borders! Here's to a another year of doing the impossible. Here's to another year of giving our full attention----deliberately and intentionally----to Jesus! Let's worship Him, not just with our mouths, but also with our lives 24/7, 365 days of the year!
Be encouraged!