SIGNS FROM ABOVE

~The ONLY Perfect Fit~

   Here is a devotional I received via email from one of the Women's Christian ministries... This goes right along with my previous Birthday post and the truths I have come to believe and KNOW...Blessings! - CJ Patterson

Devotional:

As a little girl, I had longed for a daddy to pick me up, swing me around, and tell me I was lovely and loved. When this childhood longing went unmet, it became an adult emptiness and brokenness that drove me to seek out all kinds of misguided remedies.

My primary remedy was to look for someone or something that would make me feel loved and significant. It's as if I carried around a little heart-shaped cup and extended it to whatever or whomever I perceived might fill it.

I presented the cup to my education: "Will you fill me?"

I offered it to my husband: "Will you fill me?"

I held it out to my child: "Will you fill me?"

I extended it to my material possessions: "Will you fill me?"

I presented it to each of my jobs: "Will you fill me?"

Within these questions were many more entanglements: "Will you right all my wrongs?" "Will you fill up my insecurities?" "Will you make me feel significant?" The more I offered my emptiness hoping something could fill it, the more frustrated I felt.

And when I had grown in my faith, I was especially perplexed. Wasn't being a Christian supposed to fix these kinds of issues in my heart? What was I missing?

Have you ever been there?

Why is it so tempting to look to things of this world for fulfillment? This notion that worldly things can fulfill is all around us. It's on TV, the focus of countless secular songs, and it's what dominates American advertisements. I can't even stand in the grocery store checkout lane without being bombarded with suggestions for a more fulfilling life. A better husband. A better body. A better career. A more beautifully decorated house. The magazines seem so slick, their promises so enticing. They sneak into our thought processes and make us think, "If only I had _______________, I'd be so happy. I'd be so fulfilled."

So, we chase and chase until we bankrupt our relationships, our bank accounts, and our very souls. The reality is every single thing the world offers is temporary. No person, possession, profession, or position can ever fill the cup of a wounded, empty heart--not my heart, not your heart. It's an emptiness only God can fill.

Whatever "if only I had" statement we are struggling with, we can replace it with solid truths from Scripture that will never leave us empty. It's a bold statement to make and might even sound a bit trite, but it's true.

When God's Word gets inside of us, it becomes the new way we process life. It rearranges our thoughts, our motives, our needs, and our desires. Our soul was tailor made to be filled with God and His truth; therefore, it seeps into every part of us and fills us completely. It is the only perfect fit. ~ Lysa TerKeurst

"I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws."  ~ Psalm 119:30

   

Psalm 73:26 ~ My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart
   and my portion forever.

~A BIRTHDAY, ANEW DAY~

Psalm 139~

" ¹³For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother's womb.

 ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.

 ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 ¹⁶your eyes saw my unformed body.
   All the days ordained for me
   were written in your book
   before one of them came to be."

Isn't that a marvelous part of Scripture??? I really have no words to describe how this particular Psalm touches me in my inmost parts...Simply, in Awe of the Fact!!!

Well, here I am...Another year older...And, hopefully wiser...The month of August is my Birthday month. And, I hate to even say which one I celebrated this time around. But, no reason in shying away from it. I celebrated my 39th birthday last Saturday. The beginning of the last year of my thirties. And, I must say, that already, major changes are happening. And for the BETTER!!!  THE OH SO MUCH BETTER!!! 

The month of August has been just WOW for me.  So, amazing. God is so amazing. Jesus is so WONDERFUL...I am just so happy of WHO I AM in CHRIST!!!  You know, even though I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was sixteen years old, I just am NOW beginning to understand WHO I AM in Christ. I must say for years I lived apart from the truth. 

I bought into the whole ball of lies that the world and the father of all lies feeds us. I bought into the world's view of what it means to be successful or good or whatever you want to call it. Yea, by the world's standards, I would be considered very successful. In spite of me buying into the worldly life, He still blessed me so much in all aspects of my life...even though I lived apart from His truth. I can only imagine what my life could have been like if I had willingly submitted and come to the FULLNESS of HIS wonderful truth back at age sixteen. My testimony would undoubtedly be different. Yet, as the above Psalm states,my days were already ordained and written in the Book before I ever was born. Think on that for awhile!  As it is, I feel that my life is just proof positive to me and validates to me what the Word says about our God and our Lord. What a TRUE and an everlasting, patient, loving, mericful (abounding so) God He really is.  He is so GOOD...He is HOLY...and soooooooooooooooo PATIENT!!!!

The outside picture of my life indeed looked good to the world. I can't tell you how many times I have heard over and over again how envious people were of me and my life.  Yes, my life is wonderful and good. And, there is more good than bad!! So, don't get me wrong.  I am very blessed with a wonderful husband, children, family and friends.

BUT, the inside picture of me was totally wrong...My inside picture did not match the outside picture. Or maybe it did? I was very worldly...yet I was spiritually bankrupt...Emotionally dependent on the world and those in it to satisfy my needs and fulfill my longings for acceptance and love. The truth is the world and those in it can NEVER fill your cup. NEVER NEVER NEVER!! It is God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit that can and will fill it up til it runneth over to others in an outpouring of love, humility, patience and kindess...But, you have to KNOW the truth. If you are in Christ, it is ALL there for you. He is just waiting for you to Come and Receive Him and Accept Him and the Holy Spirit.

John 8:32 ^"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

AMEN TO THAT!!!

I am still a baby girl in Christ. But, I know that if you truly desire Him and seek Him with all you have, with a most sincere and humble heart, He will reveal truths to you that will simply amaze you and bring you to your knees in humility and gratefulness. I am so grateful for Him. I can't even begin to properly express this in mere words!!!

I have spent years and years on end trying to please others and prove to others how worthy I am. How great I am. How good I am. How smart I am. How beautiful I am. How savvy I am. How innovative I am. How cool I am. How this or that I am.  Wrong answer!  I was chasing the impossible. Oh, it worked for awhile. Some people bought it. Others didn't. And, some just took advantage of my pleasing efforts.  Can we say co-dependent? Yea, that's me...And, when the ones that didn't buy it, well I tried even harder and harder to prove my worth to them. Only to realize that it didn't matter if I was the most perfect human being to ever walk the planet, I would NEVER NEVER please everyone or find what I was searching for. Someone would always find fault or pick at something I did or failed to do...Or whatever I did just for them just wasn't quite enough. Yea, I ran across a few of those takers on my path to prove my self-worth. The types that you just give and give and give and give to try and earn their love or respect and then when you have nothing else to give, you are no longer any use to them.  But the truth is in all my "giving", I was trying to get something in return...so it was really all based on my own selfish wants and needs...to "fill my cup" so to speak...Well, you see, the world and those in it can NEVER NEVER NEVER fill your cup, fill your void or fill the innermost parts. Only God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit has the power to do that and not only do that but fill you up in abundance to where you are running over and over!!! And then you will runneth over in true love...remember "love is patient, kind, etc." 1 Corinthians 13...That kind of LOVE ONLY COMES FROM GOD!!! PERIOD...the ability to love in that kind of way is God given...we apart from God can not LOVE based on 1 Corinthians 13. Not possible. But with God, its the only kind of LOVE. If its not a GODLY LOVE, then its not LOVE at all. Its just people being selfish with one another trying have their own selfish needs, desires or wants met. To make them feel worthy, powerful, etc. EGO DRIVEN....SELF LOVE...which is not LOVE at all...

1 Corinthians 13~~~~~~~the ONLY WAY TO LOVE!

I am only worthy in Christ.  I am nothing an can do nothing apart from Christ, John 15:5-6...Without Him, it is all vanity of vanities. But in Him, I have EVERYTHING and CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENTGHENS ME!!!!!!!!!!!  (Phillipians 4:13) -

But not to bring me glory but to bring HIM glory....PRAISING HIS GLORY!

Ephesians 1:11-13 -"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

I see things so much more clearly now. And, I know to those who aren't believers, my gushing will be nonsense to them or foolish talk to them. But, for those who believe and are in Christ and have come to the place of giving yourself TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY to Him, you will know what I am talking about.

1 Corinthians 2:14 - "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

I want to share some things that have really helped me understand the truth.  Neil Anderson has written some pretty powerful books,"Victory Over the Darkness"and"The Steps to Freedom in Christ."  These two books have been instrumental in freeing myself of the world's lies and my own lies to myself.  Feelings of unworthiness, hopelessness, a sense of defeat, etc. These books have helped me overcome it and move forward in living in FREEDOM in CHRIST. And, it wasn't really the books persay (although they were great)...They were very helpful tools that allowed the truths to be revealed to me by the Holy Spirit. I highly recommend these books...

Actually, I have been doing ALOT of reading the past few months and will continue to share my favorites...Lots of wonderful Christian books written by anointed authors and ministers to help others.  I know that I have been blessed tremendously by some of the books I have stumbled upon. Sharing is good...I don't know what the tomorrow holds for me and my precious family but I do know that the future looks much brighter now that I KNOW WHO I AM IN CHRIST!!!!

More to come..................

~OUT of the World~

Okay........so, its about two plus months later since I last posted. All I can say is the past few months have been busy, a whirlwind, etc. Our family has been quite busy to say the least. Vacations, birthdays, etc. But, I am back.

During this time, the Holy Spirit has revealed so many many truths. One truth I would like to share is what the Spirit spoke in my heart and soul today. This morning I prayed for the Lord to empty me of all my thoughts and distractions so I could clearly focus on Him and His Voice alone. I prayed that He would reveal to me something that He wanted me to meditate on.  Immediately, the Spirit revealed to me and might I say quite loudly these following words....

"The world will ensare you. Don't be of the world."

My heart nearly skipped a beat and the words were repeated again in my mind.  God really does speak to you if you ask with all your heart and soul.  Of course, I had to go to Scripture to find the Scriptual basis and test what I heard if it was in Truth...And, I as I already knew, it was. There are many verses in the Word to back this concept up...but the first one I came to in the Bible was this...

John 15:19 ~ "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, YOU DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD, but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU OUT OF THE WORLD..."

Simply amazing...my walk and journey is a slow one. I am very stubborn and rebellious child of God sometimes. Blatantly, resisting what I KNOW to be true. Yes, I am in a pruning season now. Painful but necessary.  The world will try to hang on to the OLD you...but once Christ is in you, you are no longer of this world...YOU have been chosen out of the world...And the world will eventually hate this new creation, this new you...but you can't ride the fence forever.  You can't have one foot stuck in the mud mire and the other foot placed on firm ground.  You will never move forward. You will remain in that spot and your growth will be stunted.

You have to choose...And that's where I am at on my journey...and I choose Christ....I choose to leave the mud mire and grab His hand and let Him pull me out of this world and place me on His firm established ground...If you find yourself trying to live in both places, you will find it impossible. If you are truly a child of God, you will find that you just can't get by with it. The Holy Spirit will let you know it. And you won't want to get by with it. You will no longer want the things of this world.  You will want the things of Christ...

Psalm 40:2 "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Romans 12:2 ~ "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

One more BEAUTIFUL verse from the Book of John...this one is just speaking to my soul very strongly now...

John 17:8-10 ~ "For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

Thank you Father for choosing me out of this world...I know I have been a stubborn and rebellious child...keeping one foot in the world and one foot out of the world. You have shown me that is just not possible and it is not what you have planned for me or my family or any of YOURS...Thank you for your mercy, grace and love and for choosing to pull me out of the mud mire and place me on Your firm and established ground that will not move or sink or crumble. You are more than faithful, more than graceful, more than wonderful, more than anything, my little mind can fathom. I pray that this will touch someone out there who like me has been riding the fence. I hope it will encourage someone to turn to You and extend their hand out to You. Because You are faithful and will pull them out of whatever situation or place they are in, and You will place them on firm ground under the shadow of your wings. In your precious Son's name, Jesus, I pray....Amen... ~ cj patterson

Psalm 36:7 ~ "How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings."