Series: Blessed Be
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
There are days (daze) when I read the scripture for the daily lesson that was selected long before that I marvel at God.
That’s because I pray about every scripture, every lesson, and every illustration I write or draw. I do not pretend I am a gifted writer. Even though I spent many many hours in college and graduate school, I know others who are much more gifted when it comes to writing.
What I endeavor to do is to pray and ask God to speak to me, show me, and guide me to the words God has for a specific scripture.
Daily I look to God.
I think it’s highly possible that God’s purpose is to remind me daily of his great care and desire to communicate with me and with every child and person on earth. In other words, the outcome is not the purpose. Communication with God is what God desires most from his children.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
That is exactly what I try to do daily with this blog.
I have to confess when I first started writing I loved the prospect of having a purpose and reason to write every day.
I love to write.
I’ve been a writer of thoughts and stories for as long as I can remember.
Even when I was young when the teacher gave us an assignment to write a story I loved the assignment, especially if it was a challenging topic.
When I was in junior high school I had a science teacher who opened a new doors to my brain. He challenged us to think in new ways. I came to a point where I started to notice the world around me and see the connections God made when he created the heavens and the earth.
Even thought the science teacher didn’t talk in the classroom about what God created, I had always gone to church and I knew without any doubt that it was God who created.
College built on that foundation. I was blessed to sit under great professors who gave me good writing tools in my toolbox. Because I majored in communication, I learned about different ways to communicate. Once again the science classes I took as part of my degree program built on the science skills my wonderful junior high science teacher gave me when I was young.
I came to realize every teacher I sat under (even in elementary school) had given me one of the greatest blessings of my life.
They gave me a thirst to learn.
Each teacher blessed me in some way.
Down the road a piece (long after I finished college) God started telling me he had a gift for me.
Okay, I thought…what’s the gift?
In time and through a long set of events, God revealed that he was calling me to go to Seminary.
My first reaction was, uuuhhh I’m way too old.
Then, God persisted and pressed in on me.
I even had someone who was a gifted ‘listener’ to God come to me to tell me that God had something for me and I needed to do it.
I told her I did not want to go to Seminary. I gave her every excuse in the book. I told her I was too old and since I was single I couldn’t quit my jobs. I was working two jobs and I couldn’t see how I could also be a full time student.
She laughed and told me “We’ll see about that.”
When I applied to go to Seminary I seriously prayed they would reject my application.
Within hours I was accepted.
Seven years later I finished my Master of Divinity degree. It was (is) one of the greatest blessings God gave me. I absolutely loved every minute of it…even studying Ancient Hebrew which was the most difficult set of classes I’ve ever taken. Studying Hebrew gave me a sense of connection to the ancient language of Old Testament scripture. Strangely enough it also gave me a desire to learn more about Koine Greek, so I purchased textbooks and studied the language of the New Testament on my own.
Looking back today I can’t say working two jobs and going to school full-time was easy, but it was so very rewarding. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
I absolutely loved every minute of it!
So, back to the blog.
When God pressed in on me about doing a daily blog, once again I made excuses. First, I had no idea how to set up a blog.
It turned out God and I both knew someone who knew exactly how to do it and she had the blog set up in a few hours.
The bottom line is that God thought of everything…oh, well except doing illustrations. I had no idea where to begin.
Once again, God sent me a young ‘angel’ who helped me. She showed me which art programs were best to get me started.
It turned out that I discovered I loved doing art. I am still learning…but that’s another story for another day!
Spiritual Practice: God Blesses Daily
When we turn to God we are reminded not be anxious but to listen and receive peace. Today, receive the blessing of God’s peace.
In God, Deborah
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