Happy Saturday everyone! Things have been super busy at work with the start of our LIHEAP season and I also run another program that is busy at this moment so it has been some long days this week. I have slipped on letting my Faithful and Fit site be all I want it to be but I am hoping it is still offering at least some daily encouragement.
This week we are moving into the fourth chapter of James and we are focusing on the first 3 verses. So, lets get started.
James 4:1-3
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Highlight= What causes fights and quarrels among you? Explain= I am going to ask a stupid question, but I want you to really think about the answer. Think back to when you were a kid, do you remember fighting with you sibling or a best friend? It seems fighting and quarreling starts young and over very meaningless things. I used to fight with my sister over the stupidest things, I particularly remember one time fighting, not over shotgun, but which SIDE of the car to sit on. Apply= Our earthly body instinct is to want what we don't have, so we want to be mad at whoever has it-EVEN WHEN WHAT WE HAVE, GOD HANDPICKED FOR US. Think about that, God has you where he wants you, now what are you going to do with that?. I have also learned over the years that we spend a lot of time being "mad" at people in authority, or with any power because it takes away some of our own power. I do know people who don't even seem to realize it, but they are very leery of everyone around them that has any authority. They themselves are in a position of some authority too, but it worries me that they don't trust anyone else who is, because it makes me wonder if I should really trust them. I think it is a little like judging your kids and what you think they are doing based on what you did as a kid yourself. When we are mad and want to fight with others, it truly is coming from our own desire to "win". Respond= Lord, help me to know when I am fighting battles for your sake, or for my own selfish ambitions. Help me remember that my human body may always have desires for things that are not in your will, and that I need to lean on you for lots of guidance as to what YOU want me to do and what YOU want me to have. Help me remember if it is truly in your will, I won't feel wrong standing up for it and fighting for it and that I will have the right intentions in my heart.
Verse 2
Highlight= You do not have because you do not ask God. Explain= this is a powerful verse. How many times have you struggled with things and not asked God for guidance. Do you ever think some things are too stupid to ask God? You might think, "God doesn't have time to help me find my lost keys", but He does, and He want to show you those things and show you His power, if you will let Him. How many times in your life have you thought, "I see no way this is going to work out" and yet, here you are reading my blog on a normal Saturday, and whatever that was, definitely did work out, and somehow, for your good. Apply= To me, I find that the more I ask God for help, the more blessings i get to see. From little things, like knowing that there is a disgruntled customer on the other end of the phone that I ask God for guidance before I answer to the big things like what is our next steps after something unexpected happens in our family. I feel like when I ask God for that help and guidance, I just have that peace that it is going to work out. As my mom says, He may take us to the 11th hour but I always remember Abraham and remember whatever God is telling me to do, he hasn't told me yet to go make my son a burnt offering. I will be thankful that isn't on the table and do whatever He tells me. And one more thing, God is like a GPS, He isn't going to just say, I want you to go do this and leave you with it, if you have that daily relationship with God, he will tell you daily, sometimes even hourly, where He wants you. The more you learn to talk to Him constantly, the more you will be guided by His will and not your own. Respond= :Lord, thank you for constantly having my back. Thank you for being there as I am heading into a phone call, a conversation or a situation that I need to make sure I am doing your will and not my own. Help me always remember my first order of business is to be a faithful follower of You, not me.
Verse 3
Highlight= because you ask with the wrong motives. Explain= How do you know you are doing what God tells you and that the voice in your head is really God and not the Devil. First of all, are you fully trusting in God to lead you or do you waffle back and forth? That makes it harder because if the Devil knows he can wiggle his way in, he will. Next, look at what you are being told to do. Is someone else going to be hurt because of it? Is it against the law? Is it a sin? Truly, is what you are thinking of doing breaking one of the 10 commandments? The easiest way to know if you are committing a sin is to contemplate those things when you believe you are following God. Apply= Remember things like, God would never decide it is right to be with someone else's spouse. God would never decide it was right to steal, or lie. If the plan in your head is any of those things, it is not coming from God. Sometimes God tells us to do things that puts us in the backseat when our personal desire might be to be the driver but let's go back to the passage about there being different parts to the Church and everyone plays an important part. If you are following what God wants you to do and you keep heading for something and keep hearing Him say no, just know you will never be as happy, even if you have more power, as you would be if you went where you could hear him saying yes. Respond= God, help me learn that Your ways are always best. We know we are seeing a speck on the picture and you see the whole masterpiece you call our lives. Help us constantly and consistently look to your guidance and FOLLOW it!
Hope you all have a great Saturday!
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