W@w - Women@work For God

If I think about a tree, I think about life, fruitfulness, food to eat, strength, durability, shade for rest, and protection. If we compare our lives to that of a tree, what would it take for us to be stand-out trees for God, trees that bear much fruit for the Kingdom?   Jeremiah 17:8 (MSG): “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers— Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.”

What does it mean to know someone? The Merriam Webster dictionary helps us to understand it a little better: "To know someone means to recognize the identity of that person, to be aware of a truth about the person, to have information or knowledge about the person, to be acquainted or familiar with the person, to have an understanding of their importance and to recognize their nature". Do you know our Father God?   Psalm 9:10 (AMP): "And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You."

Desperate times call for desperate actions. Where do you turn first, when you hit the bottom of the pit? When it seems everyone is against you? When it seems there is no hope? When you see no easy outcome and it feels like you have nowhere to go?   Daniel 9:1 (AMP): O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Are you aware of God’s directions and instructions (His sign-posts) as you travel along life’s road? Do you seek His will and allow His spirit to teach you every step of the way?   Isaiah 26:7-8 (MSG): “… We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger in the path sign-posted with your decisions. Who you are and what you’ve done are all we’ll ever want…”  

Have you lately come to a place where you simply just don’t know what to do next? Who do you turn to? Are you relying on your spouse, parents, mentors, leaders or friends for answers? I am not suggesting you don’t seek wise and Godly council – it is a Biblical principle. But where do you go FIRST?   James 1:5-6 (MSG): “If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought…”  

What is disciplined living? Are you open to wise, Godly instruction and counsel? Do you know that disciplined living leads to self-control and good discernment? The Lord instructs us to have teachable and responsive spirits. This implies being open good counsel and correction in the right way of living.   Proverbs 10:17 (MSG): “The road to life is a disciplined life; ignore correction and you are lost for good.”  

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines contentment as: "The state of being happy and satisfied, it’s the freedom from worry or restlessness leading to peaceful satisfaction".   Philippians 4:12b-13 (MSG): “…I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am…”

Do you know that our Father God cares more for us than we could ever understand, that He will never leave nor forsake us? His love for us will never fail, it will never run dry, it will never stop. Our Lord is Love! Love means life, hope, kindness, goodness, grace, mercy, compassion, wisdom, and above all, freedom!  It is ALL we could ever hope for – to be LOVED and to LOVE in return.   1 John 4:17-18 (MSG): "God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day - our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment - is one not yet fully formed in love."

We serve a good good Father. Do you really trust God as your keeper, provider and protector?  Do you expect Him to come through for you, not only in the big and scary things, but really in EVERYTHING, in every second of every day?   Psalm 121:5, 8 (AMP): “The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in [everything that you do]. From this time forth and forever.”

Prayer is powerful! How often do you spend time speaking to our Heavenly Father?   Matthew 6:6 (NIV): “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”

Wisdom is to know our Father God. To know Him, we need to spend time with Him. A God-first life is one in which we seek knowledge, understanding and insight from our Father God.  It involves setting our hearts to live in absolute obedience to His will, and to be 100% dependent on Him for everything.   Proverbs 1:7 (MSG): “Start with GOD - the first step in learning is bowing down to GOD; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning."

Do you sometimes limit yourself or others? Do you do this merely because you don’t believe or dream big enough? Do you truly believe that for our amazing Father God – nothing is impossible?   Luke 1:36-38 (NIV): “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.” And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her.”

We serve a good good Father, who wants the best for us, who holds our plans and dreams in the palm of His hand, and who provides and cares for us. He loves us more than we can ever comprehend!   Psalm 34:8 (MSG): “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good GOD is. Blessed are you who run to him.”

Do you understand how much God truly loves you? There is no greater act of love or kindness than laying your life down so that someone else can live a life of freedom!   1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV): “I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.”  

Have you considered what it really means to be living attached to the one and only true Vine? Jesus says in John 15:4 (MSG): “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me”.   John 15:5-7 (NIV): “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing."  

As we think about Calvary, let’s celebrate and praise the Name of our Lord, JESUS CHRIST.   1 Corinthians 11:26 (Amp): “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again].”  

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines GIFT as: "Something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation". What is the greatest GIFT you have every received?   John 3:16 (AMP): “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life."  

Do you sometimes feel like hiding because you’ve eaten forbidden fruit? Know and believe, that regardless of our sin, shame or fear, we never again need to hide from God. Know that we have LIFE because of the One who gave His life for us (refer to Galatians 1:4).   Genesis 3:11 (NIV): “And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Can we be found in the presence of the One who made us? The One who has a wonderful plan for our lives? Do we really spend enough time with our amazing Father?   Genesis 3:8-9 (NIV): "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”  

Regardless of our mistakes, our inadequacies, our weaknesses or our failures, we have a Father who loves us, and who created us fearfully, wonderfully, and perfectly. He doesn’t make mistakes and He has chosen us!   John 15: 16-17 quotes the words of Jesus: "You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you. But remember the root command: Love one another.“