trust

REASONS are everything …

/ SurrenderedHeartWorship / 2 Comments

It’s a simple fact: Reasons are everything. Often overlooked, reasons explain the WHY in our lives.  If we fail to hone in on our reasons, we may miss some important things about what really matters most to us.  For example: There are reasons why people start a job.  And reasons why they leave.  There are reasons why some people get married young.  And reasons why some wait much longer. There are reasons why some people go away for college.  And why some stay.   You get the idea.  We could go on and on about the WHYs in life.  And before you think, “What does all this really matter?”…think again.  Because it absolutely does.  Reasons guide a great deal of our lives.

Everything begins with “why?”.   Why did God choose to create the earth?  Why did He choose to create YOU?  Why did He give you the family He did?  Why did He make you the way He made you?  Why will you go to great lengths to make sacrifices for this, but not necessarily for that?

If you peek behind the curtain of your life, you may discover your reasons.  Our reasons give us an explanation of why things are the way they are.  Why we do what we do. Why we feel the way we feel.  Why we act the way we act. Maybe even why we react the way we do.  They tell us why we value some things, but not others.

Recently, I began searching for some answers in regards to why I was doing what I was doing, when I no longer felt pulled in that direction. I asked myself why letting go was so difficult, when the passion I once felt was gone. Honestly? I would like to know what you do when you are asking your heart those tough questions. After all, many of us may experience this at one point in our lives or another.

What I discovered is that sometimes our reasons are not so easy to pinpoint. I came to the conclusion that I was going to need God’s help in identifying what my true reasons were. This took some work. And a lot of prayer. It took a good amount of soul-searching. I searched in God’s Word (the Bible), and I listened to Podcasts. I read books on the subject. In short, I wanted to be sure my reasons were in line with what God wanted from me, and for me.

I love what King David asks in Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (NIV)

Once God helps us to clearly see our reasons, we can check them against His Word to see if they line up with how He calls us to walk out our journey of faith. He cares deeply about what is good for us, and what is not. I am convinced He knows me much better than I know myself. Who better to lean on than Him?

Everybody has their reasons.  I have mine.  And you have yours.  But it is always a good idea to stop and take stock of them.  So the next time you ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” or “Why do I feel this way?”,  go ahead and bring God in on the conversation.  He will give you the wisdom and confidence you seek as you move forward.

-Cindy Magsig

Additional Scriptures for Study:

Psalms 139:1, Ecclesiastes 3:6, Romans 8:27, Proverbs 2:6, James 1:5, Proverbs 3:5-6

God is ALWAYS Interceding for YOU!

/ SurrenderedHeartWorship / 5 Comments

…Woke up this morning with this wonderful reminder: When we face trying circumstances and situations that leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless, God is ALWAYS interceding on our behalf in EVERY battle and trial we face. As a child, I can remember hearing a song in church called “And He Is Ever Interceding”. Although I don’t remember that song very well, its message must have still poured into my spirit as a young child. Side note to us worship leaders here: What messages are pouring into the lives of those we serve through the songs we sing? Songs and their messages have lasting power …. or at least, they should.

To intercede means to settle something between two parties, or to intervene. Perhaps even to mobilize in an effort to defend someone from some peril they cannot see objectively. Those who intercede care enough to take action on behalf of another. This is precisely what God does for us SO MANY times without our knowledge.

Think about two of the best football teams fighting for a victory (maybe even a Super Bowl victory) out on the field. Sometimes during the fight for victory, players cannot objectively view what’s really going on, or what strategies the other team might be using. It takes coaches that are standing on the sidelines objectively viewing the whole scope of what’s really happening on the field. They have these headsets on as they dialog with other coaches. And they have clipboards with diagrams of plays to guide their players to make the best decisions possible under pressure. Simply put, they have ways of interceding to point their team toward victory.

When players are in the fight for the victory, it gets exhausting. The amount of physical exertion being spent begins to take its toll on them, and can even begin to weigh them down emotionally as well as physically. They may begin to feel depleted as the clock is ticking away. But the coaches are there to intercede; to keep the players motivated; to keep them in the fight, telling them that victory CAN come if they just keep going, and keep giving it their best. Throwing in the towel is NEVER an option for winning teams!

This is what God does for us. He is ALWAYS interceding for us in our circumstances. He sees when we are emotionally, spiritually, and/or physically spent in the fight. We can’t always see objectively the scope of everything that is going on in our lives. Many times, we can’t even see the strategies the Enemy is using to wear us down. You know, those things that chip away at our faith …. the things that deter our determination.

God has the FULL view. He see everything. He knows everything. His call is the best play you will ever make. His scope and perspective cannot be humanly matched. The Bible tells us He is always working on our behalf. He is working to defend, to settle, and to lead us to victory!

Finally, this closing part comes from my husband: He told me about a term in the game of football called, the 12th man (or the 12th player) of the game. It is a term that refers to the fans in the stadium who also give encouragement to the players on the field (only 11 players are allowed on the field per team). The 12th man (the fans) also play a helpful role in the team’s victory because many times they can give their team an extra measure of confidence when they cheer them on. When the players are physically, mentally, and especially, spiritually exhausted (they begin to lose hope and it affects the way they play), the fans have at times become key to many victories. WE are the 12th man ….. we must remember to encourage one another to keep pressing on.

No matter what you are going through in your fight/battle for victory today, remember this: God is ALWAYS interceding for you! Be encouraged by this truth today!

Love & Blessings!

“Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) NIV

For further Personal Study see also:
Romans 8:26-27 NIV
Romans 8:31-35, 37 NIV
Psalms 44:5-8 NLT

Don’t Hold On!

/ SurrenderedHeartWorship / 4 Comments

…..So a backwards statement gets our attention. Why is that?  Is it because it stands in stark contrast to what you have always known, and always done?  Partly.  Mostly, you just want to make sure it’s not something you’ve missed that really counts, or means the difference between good and bad, better and best.  Backward things don’t always make sense to us.  Like, take Matthew 10:39 for example:

Matthew 10:39

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”  [Jesus speaking]

Seriously, tell me how do I purposefully seek to lose my life to someone in order to find it?  I’m not wired to do that, am I?  Statements like these are, well, … scary!  I mean, the act of surrendering itself is scary.  And even risky many times.  It is innate to “cling”.  I don’t have to think about holding on, but I do have to think about how NOT to hold on!

Oddly enough, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ words is not the first time we are presented with this idea of senseless surrender. There is a story in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 38, of King Zedekiah who was faced with a choice of holding on, or senselessly surrendering his very life!

Just to set it up – the prophet Jeremiah was in trouble.  He was thrown into an empty cistern, with a thick layer of mud at the bottom (which, of course, made him sink) for telling the officials and the people of Jerusalem that everyone who stayed there would die from war, famine, or disease; but those who would surrender to the Babylonians would live. Their reward for surrendering would be life. (verse 2)

Eventually, King Zedekiah had his officials bring Jeremiah to him so he could question Jeremiah about what the LORD had told him. Here’s how that conversation went down:

Jeremiah 38:17-18

“Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down. But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.'”

Okay …. then it gets good! Look at the next couple of verses:

Jeremiah 38:19-20

“But I am afraid to surrender,” the king said, “for the Babylonians may hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me!”  Jeremiah replied, “You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.”

Sometimes, surrendering feels like a death trap when we consider the possible outcomes that are very much out of our control. Incidentally, Jeremiah told the king that if he chose NOT to surrender, a whole list of other problems awaited. (verses 21-23)

What’s the point of all this?  Glad you asked!  The moral of the story is not that we must surrender to our enemies. It is that we must surrender to the sovereign authority and instruction of God, and choose obedience even when we are terrified of the potential outcome!  A surrendered heart is one that TRUSTS GOD no matter what!  Is that you?  If not, what is it that you are holding on to?  Is holding on worth losing your life?  Is letting go worth finding it?  Tough questions, I know.  But, obedience is obedience, pure and simple.  Either we will obey, or we won’t.  Either we will let Him have all of us, or we won’t.

Which brings us back to Matthew 10:39 when Jesus said, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it.”

Don’t be afraid to surrender to Him. He has AMAZING blessings for you on the other side of surrender and obedience!

Love & Blessings!

-Cindy Magsig