"The Glory Shall Be all Your Own, the Blessing Shall Be Ours"

These are some of the words to a song that my choir here at home sings. Today for some reason these words came to my mind. Is everything I do done for the glory of God? Wow. What a confronting question. I immediately thought "no. Of course not. No one is perfect, so not everything is done for His glory." Then I was struck by the thought that maybe it should be! Just because I am not perfect being a simple human being, does not mean that I should not strive to be like Christ - PERFECT. Christ was perfect in every aspect of life. He respected His parents and obeyed them, He did what was right in EVERY situation, He loved other people even when they hated Him. I am very far from that. I do not always respond correctly in every situation, I do not always respect and obey my mom perfectly, and I certainly find it hard to love other people when they do not like me or are mean to me. This was a challenging thought. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink or WHATSOEVER ye do, do all to the glory of God." No matter what I am doing, and no matter who I am doing something for, my ultimate goal should be the glory of God. I should not be doing things to make myself look good. I should not do things so that other people will praise me. I should do everything so that people will look at what I do and say "God did that. There is no way she did that on her own." I know that I cannot do anything on my own, but am I living like that is true? May God get all the glory in my life!

"You are worthy to be praised with my every thought and deed! Oh great God of highest Heaven, glorify Your name through me!"

~ Stephanie ~

   *Phil. 3:13-14*

"Come unto me...and I will give you rest!" (Matthew 11:28-30)

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

These verses have meant a lot to me lately and I have been extremely challenged by realizing what they mean, so I thought I would share with you what I have learned! :)

"Come unto me..." This is obviously a command to come to Christ. ;)

"...all ye that labour..." This was a new one for me. The word here "labour" means overworked. Having too much to do. Who in college doesn't? lol

"...and are heavy laden..." This was also something I never realized. "Heavy laden" means overburdened. Having a lot of burdens and maybe not knowing what to do about some of them. This happens to me A LOT!

"...and I will give you rest." Okay. So if those who are overworked and overburdened come to Christ, He will give them rest. This makes sense, but sometimes I just take that part of the passage and when I don't experience that rest, then I get upset with God and wonder why I have not gotten rest. But I have to keep reading.

"Take my yoke upon you..." Okay. Stop for a second. What is a yoke? I looked up what this is, and it is the wooden instrument placed around an ox's neck to let him work and plow fields. But these are not light things.  They are heavy. And in Bible times, each yoke was made to fit one specific ox. If the ox tried to wear a different yoke, it would be uncomfortable to work in - either too heavy or too tight, etc. So I am supposed to take on CHRIST'S yoke? But I already have my own yoke! That would make my yoke heavier, wouldn't it? Read on...

"...and learn of me..." So I am supposed to learn from Christ. But learn what? Keep reading! :)

"...for I am meek..." This word meek has the implication of humility and being under control. I am supposed to be humble and controlled by God's Spirit just like Christ!

"...and lowly in heart..." The words lowly in heart mean in this context humble and controlled as well. So again, I am to be humble and controlled by the Spirit. But what does this have to do with yokes and burdens and work? Well, one thing I realized was that I, in my pride and selfishness wanted to hold onto my yoke and to decide which yoke to put on, when Christ was, the whole time, trying to get me to put His yoke on. He is like the farmer who made the yoke for the ox, and the dumb ox says "I don't want that yoke. I want this one!(the one for the elephant)" That is dumb! The yoke for the elephant will be much too heavy for the ox to wear and work with. And the farmer knew that and made a yoke specifically for that ox just like Christ made a burden and life just for me. I have to simply humble myself and take His yoke. Then it occurred to me: how will I find have rest if I still have a yoke around my neck? Well, Christ says it is His yoke. So...if it is His yoke, isn't He wearing it? Yes, and no. He is helping me to bear it. He is right there with me helping me along. THAT is why I can rest.

"...and ye shall find rest unto your souls." "Find" This word struck me. I am not going to get it for myself. It will be given to me in the right time - when I am submitted.

"For my yoke is easy..." This word easy means bearable. Not hard.

"...and my burden is light." This word light means easy to be beared or not heavy.These two phrases seem like a paradox. A yoke being easy and light? That doesn't make sense. But it does in this context. If my burden seems to heavy it is because I am not taking on His yoke, but I have taken back my own yoke, and I am trying to bear it on my own. In Bible times a farmer would yoke a new ox to an older and stronger ox to help it to bear the yoke. That is what Christ does when we take His yoke. He is the older and stronger and wiser one who is bearing the heavy weight for us making it "bearable."

This passage was such a rebuke to me! Am I resting in Him? Who's yoke am I trying to bear? Do my burdens seem too heavy to bear? Chances are, I am trying to do things my way and in my strength. WRONG CHOICE! I cannot do anything in my own strength. I DESPERATELY need Him to help me! I hope this was also an encouragement and maybe a challenge to you as well. If you would like to know more about this, or have any questions about this, feel free to leave a comment and ask! I am always open to questions! :)

~ Stephanie ~

   *Phil. 3:13-14*

God is good...all the time??

"God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good." My friend and I say this to each other all the time especially when we are having an exceptionally hard day. But do I live it? Is God really good to me all the time? Why is it that I can be at Northland, and everything is good, and God is good, and then I get home and everything falls apart? Is God only God at Northland? Is He only God while I am surrounded by godly friends who encourage me? Is He only God when I am submersed in His Word and learning a lot about His Word? Why do I slip back to these places where I am struggling to believe and hold on to what I know? Why can I not just get over it and believe God? I am so human! I am so amazed by my lack of trust in God! Why can I not just trust Him like I should? Why can I not just obey Him? Why can I not just trust what He says to be true? WHY? I don't have answers to these questions. All I know is that I know all the right things to say and to do. I know that God is true. I know that His Word is true. I know that I cannot run forever. But why do I keep running? I need to stop running and face my problems head on. But why am I not doing that? I cannot run forever. Eventually it will catch up with me.

~ Stephanie ~

   *Phil. 3:13-14*

Broken

Broken...what does it really mean? According to Dictionary.com broken means "reduced to fragments; fragmented. Ruptured, torn, fractured." Wow...this struck me as I read the meaning. Have I been broken? Do I become broken over my sin? What does it take to break me? Once broken, how do you put back the pieces? How do you use something that is broken? How can a potter use something that is broken? These are questions that I have asked myself over and over. My life as a vessel has been broken over and over, and often of my own doing. Many times the potter has to break us so He CAN use us. If He tried to use or sell an ugly vessel, that would not go very well. So He has to break the vessel so He can remake it into something better. So being broken IS a good thing! I often look at being broken as something that is unpleasant, painful and not good, but sometimes being broken is the best thing for me. If I continue to live unbroken, then I will continue to live as an ugly vessel that cannot be used. There is only one rational response to this knowledge: submission. If I submit to God's breaking, then He can break me and make me more beautiful for Him. Whereas if i resist His breaking, it only makes the breaking even more painful. It seems to make sense: submit to God's process of breaking, and it won't be as painful. So then why is it so hard to do just that: submit? Why do I resist God's breaking? Why do I fight something that I know will be good for me in the end? There is only one answer; pride. Me in my stubborn pride just won't let go. I don't want the discomfort even though I know the end will be so worth it. I would rather be in my sin and be comfortable "for a season," than to be broken now and experience the forgiveness and peace of God. Honestly, that is stupid! And I can only say that because I have done it so many times. It is hard not to resist pain. It is hard to just let the pain come for now and keep my mind focused on the "eternal weight of glory." Lord, break me and help me to yield to Your breaking. "Make me as clay in the Potter's hands."

"Over and over He molds and He makes me. Into His likeness, He fashions the clay. A vessel of mercy I am today all because Jesus did not throw the clay away."


Thank You, Lord, for not throwing this piece of clay away. Thank You for not giving up on me when I failed You so much.

~ Stephanie ~

   *Phil. 3:13-14*