Author: servantsongs

Humans will never satisfy. Only God can do that. 

Many of us have learned the hard way that people disappoint. It’s easy to put our hopes and joy in humans, as they give us a tangible and immediate form of love. It seems too difficult or time consuming sometimes to cultivate a relationship with a God that can fill every empty spot and break every chain. 

So again and again, we rely on the people close to us to do that. We use others to satisfy our self worth, intimacy, and success. How many of you know a perfect person? 

Just like you and I have many faults, so will every human you come into contact with. 1 John 1:8 says:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

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God has a plan and a purpose for the relationships in your life. He created family and friendships and marriage. He longs for your relationships to be healthy and holy. He wants them to thrive, but He doesn’t want them to take the place of Him. They can’t take the place of Him. 

Your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, best friend, etc. can’t fill your life like Jesus can. You can try to gain satisfaction from this world, but you’ll never attain it. 

In John 4, Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman. This passage tells that she had had five husbands and was currently with a man who was not her husband. This woman was searching for her contentment through means that did not satisfy. When this woman came to the well, she found truth. 

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

John‬ ‭4:13-14‬ ‭

You can keep searching for the missing piece through relationships, success, education, but the truth is you’ll never find it. You’ll never be truly fulfilled until you come and drink from the well that will satisfy. Know Jesus. Know Him personally. Spend time in His word, speak with Him and let Him fill you. 

Thank God for learning experiences. 
Some of our greatest faith comes from our greatest hurt. Some of our strengths come from our disappointments. There are some days, or weeks that we just blow it. Usually those are the moments we learn from the most. 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Unfortunately, because we are human, mistakes are inevitable. We will say all the wrong things, we will sin, we will certainly fall short in so many ways. Some days, we will fall flat on our face and our walk with God will feel impossible. I’ve had one of those weeks where I feel like I keep saying and doing all the wrong things. One day this week, I literally fell smack on my face in front of our bible study group (it was pretty embarrassing, but also a perfect metaphor for the week). These moments will occur in our life, but 2 Corinthians tells us that Christ’s power is shown through our weaknesses (and we have many). 

In our greatest disappointment, in our most difficult hardship, in our most gripping sin, Christ is greater and can be shown victorious in our lives. There’s nothing like a severely hard time to wake us up to change things the second time around. 
Grace is there for a reason. Grace is not there so we can keep on sinning. 

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Romans‬ ‭6:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Grace is there to prove that God is greater. Although it was a horrible time, God power is made known through your weakness. You are now better because of what you learned and you can now encourage others to not make the same mistakes. 

As soon as you ask for forgiveness, God forgets. You need to take the step to forgive yourself (which can be the hardest part) and now move into the destiny that God has planned for you. Don’t live in guilt, but delight in the fact that God has done a mighty work in you. 

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 

Psalm 130:5

I came across this verse last night, while reading a fantastic devotional. I love when my quiet time matches perfectly with what I am going through. I’ve been in a period of waiting for some time now. I am seeing mountains move and situations being put in order, but the waiting period can definitely be a confusing and frustrating one.

It can be filled with moments where everything seems out of place, and the events in your life feel contradictory to the plan. Interestingly enough, God ordains all the moments to point toward the plan he has for you. Jeremiah 29:11 shares that he knows the plan. We’ve heard the verse so many times before, but it’s still reassuring to hear that He KNOWS the plan. It’s already in His will.  It’s already being put in place. As much as we want to argue and think it’s not true, your hopeful plan is already in the works. It’s happening. God is moving. That is a fact declared in His word. 

So, once we accept that truth, where do we go?

What do we do in the wait? 

Serve. 

Thank. 

Worship. 

Press on. 

Tell others about the truth. 

While God is putting everything together for your good (Romans 8:28), we need to live our life fully knowing that truth and furthering the Kingdom of God. Here comes my favorite verse…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

We won’t necessarily understand what he’s doing, but in the anticipation, submit everything to Him, and He will put everything in order.  Don’t walk away because of the difficulty and miss what He has for you. Stay faithful. 

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

 Acts 1:4 

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 

1 Corinthians 16:13

It’s coming! This time period is not wasted. It’s a learning experience. You are in training. God is putting in place the people that need to be in your life and He is guiding you through the experiences necessary to build your faith. He is also longing for you to dig deep into His word, so that you are equipt with the knowledge and wisdom necessary to do His work. Also, He’s calling you daily to be fisher’s of men (Matthew 4:18-22) and to tell the world about Him. How else will they find the treasure that you have in Christ? 

This song explains it perfectly:

While I’m Waiting- John Waller

Admittedly, I’m a huge fan of the Bible app, because of the convenience of having the Word with you whenever you need it. Unfortunately, sometimes I take advantage of its accessibility and use it as an excuse to “fit Jesus in” to my schedule. Today, although, while opening my bible app, the verse of the day really spoke to me. 

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Isaiah‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In reading this, it occurred to me how often we put our Christianity on display, without molding our lives to what God really wants. Personally, I am so guilty of this. We talk about how much we love Jesus, we honestly sing out worship songs, and we’ll even post about our experiences on social media, but our hearts are not fully in tuned to Him. 
How do we know the location of our heart? 

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Matthew 6:21 NIV

I was reminded of this verse this past week at an awesome church. The pastor was giving a message on generosity, but on an individual level, it made me aware of the condition of my heart. What is your treasure? What is the thing you do the most often? Talk about most often? Think about most often? 

If your treasure is set on things above, then you are thinking about the Word, talking about the Word, reading the Word, and doing what it says. If you set your priorities on your relationship with Christ, your life won’t look the same. 

When diving into a relationship with Jesus, He takes you right where you are. He wants you willingly and not forcefully. He’s looking for a relationship and not a dictatorship, but there are side effects to falling in love. If you’ve ever fallen in love, you know what I mean. 

You will want to please Him. If your heart is where it’s suppose to be, you will treasure what is right. It won’t be about the “human rules” that Isaiah 29 suggests, but you will be following the path He has set out for you. You will know that path, because with a relationship, comes an understanding of His voice and the way He speaks to you.

I feel like I’m constantly repeating myself, which is definitely an indication of what I need to work on in my own life, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to share with all of you. ☺️

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29

Many believe that this verse is only referring to foul language, such as curse words. Although a goal of this verse definitely is to convict us about our language, it is also speaking about words that tear down others. This verse explains that we should only speak things to people that encourage and build them up. It is not only speaking about foul language.

We have to be intentional about this. How often do we say things that do not benefit the people around us? We do it without thinking. I can recall plenty of instances in my own life where venting turned into gossiping, and instruction turned into judgment. Something that has innocent intent, turns into language that is corrupt and ultimately sin.

How many times do we get frustrated and paint situations in a more negative light than necessary? It is not limited to the people you are directly speaking to. Talking about others, or gossip is discouraging to those who are listening (even if they are not the one you are speaking about). To help with our unwholesome talk epidemic, we need to become more aware of the call that God has put on each one of our lives. He calls us to be living testimonies to His Kingdom.

With everything that we do and everything that we say, we are ambassadors for Him. We should walk around in the mindset that people are watching us all the time, because they are. They want to know how you respond to difficulty and how you treat others. Most of the time, the best way to reach the lost is not by preaching to them, but by showing Jesus through your words and actions.

You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

James 21:22-24

It’s not just about just our faith, but how we apply and live out our faith. Our lives are what we have to show for. The words we speak are one of the biggest factors of our testimony. Are we glorifying Him with ALL the things we say?

In Numbers 21, the Israelites had been traveling through the wilderness. They were thirsty. God sprung a well among them and they praised Him for it. Sometimes we are in the “wilderness” in our own lives. We feel lost and unfilled. We feel dry and disconnected from the move of God and unsure of His plans. All Christians go through these wilderness experiences.

He can spring up a well in your life, just as he did with the Israelites. If you truly feel like you are in that wilderness place, sing the song that the Israelites sang: “Spring up, oh well.” He gives us a promise in Isaiah 43:19:

See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

If you read the verses in Numbers that proceed 17 and 18, you will see that the Israelites complained A LOT. Honestly, you can see throughout the majority of the Old Testament that the Israelites complained all the time. In your own life, how often are you complaining rather than praising.

God punished them for their complaining. In Numbers 4-6, they complained that He had brought them into the wilderness to die. They had forgotten the great miracle God had done for them when He saved them from their bondage in Egypt. They were extremely ungrateful. So, God disciplined them and sent poisonous snakes into their camp.

Even so, when they gathered for Him in praise, He provided water for them and they were able to leave the wilderness. Even in your disobedience, and even in your complaining, He can spring up a new love and a new fire in your life.

Look at the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. She was not perfect. She had made many mistakes in her life, but Jesus still sprung a well in her. John 4:13-14 says:

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

God wants you to long for a relationship with Him. That’s why He gave us free will. He doesn’t want to force anything. He wants to develop something that is personal and intimate. James 4:8 says:

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Just press into Him and He will spring up a well in you.

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭27:14‬ ‭
“If you love me, obey my commandments” John 14:15

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-7‬

We often associate 1 Corinthians 13 with weddings and romantic relationships. Although it is true, the verses are talking about love in general.

1 John 4:8 says that God is love. ‬‬

How can we truly apply “the love verses” to our relationships with others if we haven’t applied it to our relationship with God.

All these attributes of love are attributes of God. God is patient with us and He is out hope. He has a lot to deal with in our selfishness, yet He never gives up on us. As we try to love God as fully and consuming as we can, we need to act in these ways toward Him.

Although He has great things in store, they may not come right away. We need to be patient in the wait. This isn’t an instinct. It is not a natural reaction. Our patience will come through truly loving Him. It will come through a strong and seasoned relationship.

In order to recognize and apply love in the way it is intended, we need to learn to love God. We need to first understand and accept His sacrifice on the cross and then fervently jump into a relationship. We develop in a relationship by learning more about the person and working out an exchange in conversation and in action. Then, as a result, you will be able to adequately love one another. We live our lives in constant dissatisfaction.

It is positive thing to long for more in your relationship with Christ, but impatience is an attribute and an attitude of lack of trust and lack of love.

We are imperfect and the one who is Love has patience with us.

He is perfect, but we find ourselves constantly frustrated with the wait. Do you believe the God has the plan in place? Do you trust that He will work everything for your good? Do you love Him?

Love is patient.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭6:14-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus was betrayed in the worst way possible by those who were closest to him. He was sold out and denied by the people whom He shared His message. Yet through these great disappointments, He was able to say “Father, forgive them.”

Though they spat on Him, beat Him, mocked Him and nailed Him to a cross, He died for them. Jesus was a man. He understands our tendencies and temptations. He lived on this hurtful earth for 33 years and can relate to your circumstances. Yet, in the midst of the worst betrayal, He forgave.

Can you do the same?

There’s no excuse. We can’t justify our inability to forgive in light of what was demonstrated for us. How can I have odd against the love one who hurt me, when Jesus forgave the very people who put Him to death?

Even now, we crucify Him daily with our words, actions, and lack of trust. He loves us so much that He died for us! How is it that some days we find ourselves too busy to even acknowledge Him? Guess what He continues to do? Forgive. Despite your worst.

What’s your excuse?

Forgive.

A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.  (Proverbs‬ ‭17:27-28‬)

Not only is it important to keep quiet in the presence of the Lord in order to hear his words and direction, but Proverbs 17 points out that quietness with those around you can be wise. 

In our lives, we come across arguments with people. Maybe it’s your best friend, or your parents, your spouse or your boyfriend. There may be a disconnect in understanding, or times when you just don’t see eye to eye. In our minds, we believe that if we could find the right words, everything could change. We automatically go to a place of conflict to solve our confusion. 

At moments, we find it our place to give instruction or guidance to an unwilling audience. At other times, the people in our lives decide that WE are the ones who need instruction and we know that the advice is unwarranted. 

Proverbs points out that “a wise person uses few words” and also has an even temper, meaning that you’re not easily angry. Sometimes the best thing you can do in conflict is stay silent. It’s not our job to change the personality in those around us. We won’t succeed. That’s a much bigger job for our God. He will work out His will and His plan and sometimes He needs us to be silent in order to do this. 

Sometimes we need to be quiet, not so we can sit there and do nothing, but so that He can give us the correct words spoken in wisdom and not anger. 

God wanted me to strengthen my time with Him and admittedly my time with my husband. He made it so evidently clear that even my voice was taken away. I took this as a clear confirmation that God was speaking. 

This “quiet” time has been so strong on my heart. As humans, we argue, we complain, and we are naturally needy. It’s such an overwhelming aspect of our personality that we can’t stop and stay quiet long enough to let God do what He needs to do in our lives and the lives around us. 

In the past few weeks, God has been stressing to me the imporance of being still and quiet to listen for the answers we are fervently searching for and the relationship we are desperately seeking. Two close friends of mine (in completely different instances) pointed out to me that it’s called “quiet time” for a reason. 

Of course! We know this, but how often do we sit down and rest in His presence? How often do we LISTEN? Who is doing most of the talking in your relationship with God? 

Personally, I had been longing for a connection with God that I had felt I had been missing for a while. In my head, I was expecting something huge and extravagant from God, but He had something different in mind. I started the Daniel Fast in order to find what I was looking for. (Side note: I learned that God definitely works through sacrifice, so if you need a breakthrough in your relationship with Christ, fasting is a fantastic way to get priorities straight.) 

I found myself becoming frustrated throughout the fast, because I wasn’t getting what I selfishly wanted out of it. Finally, I shut up. I sat back and I listened. God revealed to me that it did not have to be huge and extravagant. The breakthrough was found in the relationship. My relationship with Christ needed to be strengthened. We needed to spend time with each other. 

It was not the situations in my life that needed to change, it was the way I responded to them and the way I responded to my God. 

God definitely wants to hear what’s on your heart and he wants you to speak to Him, but the answers come, when you are quiet. 

Over a course of three days being in His presence, I felt closer to God than I had felt in a long time. It was not in the flashes of lightning and roaring thunder; it was in the simplicity of knowing Him.  

This word “quiet” has been an overwhelming revelation in my life that has affected more than just my relationship with God, but also my relationship with my spouse and the people around me. Check back for part 2!!