One hand, two hands or none....PART 1

In church a couple Sundays ago, something was brought to my attention.  It was a moment of great worshipping taking place and God used it to illustrate something to me.  As I opened my eyes, I began to notice all the ways that people were worshipping.  Some just stood there and didn't have any hands raised, some raised one, some had both hands raised.  The ones that hand their hands raised even differentiated.  Some had them down low and some had them stretched as high as they could reach.  Hand raising is not foreign to me.  I grew up Pentecostal and a preacher's kid.  In this moment though, I was reminded of something.  Oftentimes in situations where surrender needs to take place, the universal gesture is to raise our hands.  When a police officer is taking control of a situation, they normally demand that weapons be dropped and the subject to raise their hands.  Surrender is usually not an easy thing to do.  As humans, we view surrender as giving up, losing control, lack of power, basically a negative connotation.  In fact, surrender is defined as to yield to the power or control of another, to give over to something, or to give up completely and agree to forgo especially in favor of another (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary).  Interesting, to give up completely...not part of the way, not three quarters of the way, not even 99 percent of the way but completely and agree to forgo especially in favor of another.  The difference with surrender and God is that it is your choice.  You are not being forced, you come by decision.  I can recall a few specific times in my life when I had to surrender very difficult things to God.  One time comes to mind, Phillip and I had been dealing with the issue of having a child.  Doctors had told me I had two incurable diseases.  However, God told me I was healed.  However, I still struggled.  I struggled with the "what ifs."  Considering I had dealt with anxiety issues for years, these "what ifs" and fears basically plagued my life to the point of normally giving in to them.    What if I get pregnant and the illness returns, what if I don't make it through the labor, what if this, what if that.  Once again, fear, panic, stress and anxiety was beginning to choke out the blessing that God had for me.  You know what though, Sunday was coming....One Sunday morning, I went to the alter with a family member to pray with them.  After praying for her, I remember just standing there and I just began to talk to God.  My heart was heavy and the load was becoming unbearable.  I began to plead to God that I needed an answer, why was HE being so quiet....I had one request after another after another.  Then in my spirit, I began to be reminded of the promises that God had given me.  His word says that by His stripes we were healed, so I stepped in to that healing, in Psalms we are told that when the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles and also then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  God had already put in my spirit that Phillip and I would have a child.  I recently heard a preacher say, "there are no "ifs" in God's word."  You know what, when He says that He will do something and when we are obedient then He will be faithful.  So in that moment at the alter, I lifted both hands as high as I could and instead of asking for more stuff, I began to give thanksgiving and praise.  I told God that I was going to surrender the whole situation over to Him.  My heart was heavy, my mind was tired and spiritually I was drained.  I had nothing good left to give.  All I had to give was my anxiety, my sickness, my worry, and my hurt, but you know what, God took it.  As I stood there, with hands lifted and crying as never before, I was in a place of surrender. I was saying, Jesus I agree to forego in your favor, whatever your will is, I accept it.  In that instant, a peace as I had never experienced before rushed through my body and remained throughout the pregnancy, labor, and delivery.  In Isaiah 55:8-9, it says, " “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  I don't know about you, but I would prefer someone that has thoughts and ways higher than my own to be in control of my life.  He holds my future, walks with and guides me in the present, and has blood covered my past.  When starting to write this blog, something came to mind.  When we come to Jesus, repent and ask Him to be our savior, we are supposed to surrender our lives to Him then.  So then why is it, when we come to trails in life, we tend to hold on to them white knuckle and all and attempt to battle them in our own will.  We might give a portion to Him, but sometimes not all of it.  Is it being afraid of losing control, afraid of what He will do?  Are we saying, Jesus I believe you are the Son of God and my Savior, but this one time I don't trust you on it.  Do you know the word believe when translated Greek to English in the Bible also meant to trust in?  So, that means I believe who you say you are and I trust you with my WHOLE life...even the trails, even my children, even my finances, even my illness, even my hurt from the past, my wounds from life, my family, my marriage, my job....all of it.  God doesn't want to destroy you.  In fact, you know how in the situation with the police they would demand that you drop your weapons?  Well when we surrender to God, He commands the enemy that their weapons will not prosper against us.  Isaiah 54:17 (KJV) says, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." He wants you to surrender to Him, though.  The next time you are faced with something, don't hold on for "dear life," take a deep breath, raise your hands and surrender it to Him.    "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeramiah 29:11).

Just have patience...

How many times have you been going through something and someone will say, "just have patience?"  I can think back through my life and recall a number of times that I have had people tell me this.  When my husband and I were trying to conceive, needing to be healed, needing a breaththrough in ministry, waiting for a loved one to be saved...all were times that I was continuously reminded to just be patient.  Recently, I heard a small still voice whisper this to me while ministering with someone.  In all honestly, I wanted things to be in my timing while neglecting what I already knew, things work best when in HIS timing.  Last night I began to feel the erruption of restlessness again with a ministry situation.  This time, I didn't hear, "just be patient," I heard, "what does patience mean."  So I took a visit to dictionary.com and this is what I found, "the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like and an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay."  WHAT?  I could not even believe what I was reading, I was instantly convicted.  This definition basically ensures that if you are having to need patience then you are probably in some painful or uncomfortable situation.  Furthermore, it says that we are to endure this time without loss of temper, irriation, complaint and to have the ability to suppress the annoyance of the situation.  If you ask me, I only know one way to be able to overcome such an obstacle and that is the strength found in Jesus.  In Galatians 5:22, we are told that patience is one of the many fruits of the Spirit.  Is patience passive?  No, we have to have endurance, persistance, and faith.  In fact, times that call for patience test our faith.  Therefore, patience and faith need to walk hand and hand while enduring the trail that you face.  Psalms 37:7 says, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"  We have to reside in God's perfect will and timing.  You are being molded into someone for a greater purpose.  I was once given a promise that I would have a child.  Considering at the time I was sick and doctors advised against conceiving our own child, I figured the only way we would have a child is to adopt.  Oh, but God had a different plan.  That thought was one of flesh.  It was one of defeat and lacked in faith.  It was a deceiving notion attempting to derail me from God's perfect plan.  One night during a worship service, God revealed to me His perfect plan.  However, did the plan unfold the next day...no, the next month....no, 6 months...no, it took a one full year.  Throughout that year, God tested me time and time again.  My faith was tested, but He did not leave me out in the cold.  When my faith would start to weaken, someone would come and tell me to just be patient.  You see, in essence God was sending a messenger to say, "I know the trail you are going through, but hold on, I know the hurt in your heart, but keep holding on, I see the tears that you cry, I have them numbered, but I am a God of faithfulness, I have given you a promise and I need you to be patient, I need you to be faithful to me, I have GREAT things in store for you, but you just have hang on just a little longer, because I am in the works of perfecting you into what I need you to be, so that you can do great things in MY NAME."  The next time someone tells you to, "just be patient," look at the trails you face, dive deep into your faith, cling to the Word of God, rebuke all attempts of the devil to derail you, and stand patiently on the blessed assurance of Jesus." 


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                              Copyright 2011. Christie Gervase

Feeling defeated?

Have you ever felt that all that you do is just pointless, worthless, and that things or sometimes people will just keep being the same old way.  The last couple of months God has been dealing with me about the spirit of defeat.  I believe that it is one of the greatest tools used against us.  I wondered why God had been slowing teaching me things about defeat and how it can destroy a person.  It's because I would be feeling it soon and I believe its a much needed message that many need to hear.  In ministry, you give it your all.  You sometimes see things in people or what they are doing and how detrimental it is to their walk with God.  You can minister to them until you turn blue, but until the Holy Spirit comes in and transforms their heart and they begin to see sin for what it really is then you just have to be patient.  You see, defeat attacks both sides.  It attacks those needing ministering to and those doing the ministering.  Defeat takes advantage of our weakness.  It attacks when we are weak and usually when we don't have reinforcement around.  Normally, it will begin to creep itself in right when we start to question ourselves or more importantly, question God.  When you get to the point to consider or even ask, "what's the point," then know that defeat is waiting around the corner.  You, your actions and thoughts determine what happens next.  Say you go with it.  What's the point?  I might as well keep living in the flesh, because God hasn't done anything to change it yet.  I might as well keep on the same old  track living in my old ways, because living in righteousness isn't get me anywhere.  Well, that's where the problem is.  In today's time, people are coming to Christ for Him to rescue them from there issues rather than Him saving them from eternal damnation.  Don't get me wrong, Jesus can rescue you from whatever bondage or situation you face, but that should not be the reason you give your life to Christ.  Jesus Christ died for your sins.  He did it so you would have eternal life with Him.  When you continue to sin, you make His death vain.  You essentially are breaking the law of God over and over and ignoring the fact there is a consequence.  The spirit of defeat blinds us from the truth.  It sets us up for failure and traps us in a cycle of sin.  What a better way to derail you from what God has in store for your life then to get you off track with God.  When we give in to defeat, we let go of our faith.  When we give in to defeat we open the door for Satan to steal your blessing and your joy.  Now, let's say you don't give in.  Let's say when you feel or hear those thoughts of, "what's the point," or the smallest glimmer of defeat you fight back and don't fuel it.  You know without fuel then things eventually die.  You say, "God, I don't understand, I thought by now you would have changed things, but I will continue to trust and believe in you....I believe that you have planned great things for my life, you are my Strongtower, you are my very help in time of need, And I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  "I will praise you in the small things, I will praise you when it don't go my way, I praise you because you are God alone and your ways are higher than mine."  "I don't worship you because you are a safety net, I worship you because you are God."  We also need to tell Satan something, we need to tell him and rebuke him from constantly reminding us that we are defeated and remind him that he's already been defeated.  He is a liar, he is a deceiver, and at all cost he will attempt to bring you down with him.  Don't give in, don't give up.  Don't let defeat derail you.  Make your foundation on a rock, Jesus and stand firm.  If weakness comes, ask God to send the Holy Spirit to strengthen you.  For all things are possible with God.  I am believing that God has a breakthrough for you, you just got to keep holding on, praying hard, seeking Him, believing in faith that your promise given by God is on it's way and that defeat or Satan himself can't take it from you.