When your MESS becomes a MESSAGE...

You were created for God's glory. You were created to bring Him praise. How do you glorify God? You glorify God with your testimonies. But you cannot have a testimony without a test, neither can you have a message without a mess.

This is why you first have to pass through the VALLEY just to make it to the MOUNTAIN TOP! Because when you get to the mountain top your kids are going to ask you, "dad, how did you get here?" Your friends are going to nag you, "ol boy, look at the way you're on TOP, how did you make it there?" Then you will be humbled by the goodness of God, and your lips will begin to tell of how you narrowly missed the arrows of the Egyptians and how God made a way in the middle of the red sea, and then how you got to the wilderness without any money or food, but God made a way for you where there seemed to be no way." You'll start to tell them that it is worth it to wait on God, it is definitely worth it to keep trusting Him. Your mouth will become the epistle of a brand new novel, and your lips will become the chapters of a book just like psalm 45:1 says,

"my heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer."

I have had to tag along a little behind at some educational stages of my life, despite the fact that I'm still as young as a baby. Take for instance how I had to re-take some medical school classes, or how I've had to defer my current MPH program to the spring semester because I am waiting for certain documents to come in. Then all of a sudden, God opens one more door...another masters program that I can do while I wait for the spring, because I have to take courses this semester to remain in status (see how God works). So in the midst of all this chaos I am looking at my future, and what I now see is that I am on this crazy path to becoming a threefold virtuoso: a doctor, a policy maker, and at the same time an administrator over a health facility. I used to be so one-sided in the past, but now God has shown me the different ways to get to the mountain top. I may not become a CEO if I don't do a masters in health care administration...I may not become a health policy maker if I don't get a Masters in Public health, and I may not know the dimensions of "healing" if my path of medicine is not completed. There are different paths to achieving these things, but maybe this is the path God has chosen for me. With these three degrees, God can use me to accomplish the different things He planned for me to accomplish someday...the purpose for which He created me for. Everyone has their own path, your eyes just need to be watching God and asking Him what path you need to take. Your path WILL be different from mine, and mine will be different from yours. But remember that you need to pass a test before your testimony comes. It may just seem like I'm in the valley...but it's only the designated path to get to the mountain top.

It is not easy to go through the valley, but what will keep you alive is your HOPE in God, "that He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me." (Hebrews 13:5). As you reflect on that more and more, your wings will spread out just like an eagle's, and you will gather the energy to fly to the highest of skies without an iota of fear. Only then can your mess be eventually transformed into a message, and your mind will be totally blown into pieces because of how God works miracles.

Psalm 126:1 "When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream."

So you think you're only a baby???

Today, I was reading something in Matthew that struck a resonance with my very being. It was when Jesus said this prayer, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes...even so Father, for it seemed good in your sight" (Matthew 11:25-26)
God can use anything. If He could cause a donkey to speak to a man, why can't He use anything else He chooses to use? If He can raise up stones to give Him His praise, then why can't He reveal His secrets to the least noble of men? It made me realize that sometimes human beings may clamor for the highest titles, but yet God can skip all highly titled persons, and go right to the young dame or lad who has yet not one title. At least He has a resume/CV of doing that in the past. Wasn't He the One who skipped all of David's mighty brothers and selected David while he was yet tending sheep in the backyard?
Imagine this scenario...a father calling his 5-yr old son and saying, "hey buddy, I wanna tell you a secret." The 5-yr old runs straight right onto daddy's laps and squeezes his ears on daddy's lips. And daddy finally whispers, "I bought a new car for mummy but we can't let her know until tomorrow, okay?" And the little boy grins and goes back to playing with his toys.

In that scenario, the father trusted his young 5 yr-old not to tell his mum this fabulous surprise secret. Of course not all 5 yr-olds can be trusted in that fashion, if he was a very loud-mouthed child his dad would make it a surprise for both mum and child. But in this case, we see that the father trusted his son not to tell. There must have been a reason for that trust. In the past, there may have been a minor occurrence that caused the father to know the character of his son, despite how young he was.

In the same way, God can definitely place His trust in babes. You may be a baby in the knowledge of His word, but God was the One who formed your inward parts and made you in secret (ps 139), He knows your strengths and your weaknesses, and He knows you more than you even know yourself! He knows your character, your intelligence, and your capacities. And He knows when and if you can be trusted.

You need not have any title in a church, neither do you need any title in your office or in your bank account. You don't need to know all the scriptures in the bible, neither do you need to be a graduate from a bible-reading college. You don't need a voice, neither do you need a note-book. You don't need a car, neither do you need a jet. You don't need the most fashionable clothes, neither do you need to be a run-way model. You don't need a degree in theology, neither do you need a degree in math or science. You just need to have the capacity to be trusted by God...you just need to thirst for His water. You know how babies thirst for their mother's milk? Yes, in the same fashion...you just need to look up to God, hungry for His word.

Those who are known to be wise and prudent sometimes don't understand when they make a mistake, or when they don't understand. They may get caught up in the facade that they know everything, which is usually not true. Only God knows everything. It is good to be considered "wise," but let it never reach a level where you are not TEACHABLE (reminds me of Kafo's post).

I want to be a babe that can be trusted... I want to be a babe in the womb leaping for joy at the sound of His voice... I want to be a babe, not overly familiar with the voice of God... I want to be a babe, not too familiar with the anointing of my pastor... I want to be a babe, not too familiar with the doctrines of the church... I want to be a babe, not too familiar with the parables and the word... I want to be a babe...able to hold the secrets and revelations of God in high esteem...

Picture credit: Jennifer Loomis photography 2004

The Uniqueness called "You!"

A few days ago, I had a very strong urge to ask myself a very deep question. Why can't people see things the same way I see them? Why can't they think in a particular dimension? Why can't they act in a specific way? Why does someone choose 'pink' as a best color, when there is 'velvet?' Why don't my family or friends like the same foods I like? Why can't we like the same physical and spiritual characteristics in someone we would like to call our 'other half?' Why is it that when we are all given an essay with the same topic, everyone chooses to write from a different perspective and with a different twist? Why is it that these different essays tend to say the same thing but in a different way? Why do the same words mean different things to different people? Why are the most important things to you the least important things to others? Why would I laugh at a joke, and someone else utters not even a word of humor? Hmmm...

I considered these thoughts in my head. Now I know this is a tale of the uniqueness called "YOU." It is a tale of the One who designed it to be beautifully so...about the Creator and His creation...about His style and individual artworks (you & I) which cannot be copyrighted by a lesser power...

"YOU" is a generic term that describes anyone reading this blog right now. But even though it describes each person reading this piece, it still differentiates us as separate and different individuals. Imagine one word having 6 billion meanings (representing 6 billion people worldwide) and the word you'd be imagining would be 'you.' The best architect that ever existed and will ever exist is God. The best construction worker and interior decorator is God. Just look at how He formed my inward being to be so different from yours. Why people interpret things in different ways still beats me. That tells me that in God's books, He took time creating EACH one of us. This realization by David was made as He wrote in Psalm 139:13, "For you formed my inward parts, you covered me in my mother's womb; I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well; My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret..."

Take a look at that word 'secret,' YOU were formed and fashioned in a secret place that no one else knows except God. Others were not there when God was designing your most intricate structures, no one but God. That's why you are so UNIQUE. That's why no one else knows you as much as God knows you.

So the next time you think someone should be thinking the way you do, free yourself of the pain and emotions and know that there is a uniqueness in you. You're different from them, and they are different from you. It's the reason why friends tend to annoy each other sometimes...take it all with a grain of salt. The world would be such a boring place if we were all robots with the same minds. God is the most Creative Author and Finisher EVER...don't ever let your emotions destroy the uniqueness in you. You were designed to be YOU and no one else. Any person trying to be like an original copy would only be a cheap imitation at best...

Here's my invitation to you to celebrate your uniqueness...
Cheers to the best architect, God!!!
Love, me.

The best jacuzzi ever...

**This post is a friday series post on Light Her Lamp. This friday, may you experience the best jacuzzi ever**

Something happened at the end of the TERC meeting today that partially ignited the thoughts of this post, the other inspiration came from my mind that usually travels as far as the North pole.

So, after all the discussions and interpretations of what everyone understood certain scriptures to be, T said a prayer...and while she was praying we all felt this jolting relaxing feeling, like we were in the presence of Someone Who is bigger than each of us, Someone Who is much more important than our problems...we felt we were in the presence of God...

Have u ever experienced God's presence...maybe with ur eyes closed while lying on your bed or your very soft sofa, or maybe while on an airplane or a train, just as your imagination travels to things of nature all around you and how beautiful they look? I definitely felt His relaxing presence today...it made me dream of a distant get-away resort on an island. Then I began to concur up images of a pool filled with warm water like a sauna where water is poured over heated stones to produce relaxing/healing heat, or a hot tub or spa/jacuzzi, and the edges of the pool in my imagination were shaped in the form of sofas/cushions (orange-colored), and once you wade in the warm water for a while you can take your rest at the orange sofa at the end of the pool, and guess what? The orange sofa was also in the form of a warm water-bed. Also in the vicinity, I imagined a soft wind blowing from the North...

Forgive my crazy images, but that's how I feel about God's presence. God's presence relaxes your storms. When God shows up, all other insignificant things become quiet and only Him becomes significant. When God shows up, mountains skip, storms cease, the deer gives birth, trees bow, and winds blow. Doesn't have to be physical things, even the things in the invisible are commanded to bow in the presence of God. It doesn't matter what it is, or how tall the giant is, or how hard the battle may be, at the sound of His Name every knee must bow. The soft wind I imagined was blowing in the vicinity was God's wind that was refreshing the people...

So this friday, all you have to do is buy this dream ticket and travel to God's resort island...to a place where nothing can shake you, but where everything obeys His commands...you can go to that place right now, by faith and by believing that He can bring you to that place. The bible says in 1 Peter 5:7 that you should "cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you..." But you MUST first believe, Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Everything may not be the way you envisioned for it to be at this stage in your life, but when you take a vacation from work, you leave behind all your office drama. Do the same today, leave ur problems and take a vacation with God. In due time, your problems will be solved, if you can only wait for God.

Psalm 37:7a "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him"

The One Sentence Essay: "The Possible Impossibility"

"If you can only just grasp, think, meditate, reflect, envision, visualize, encapsulate, identify, imagine, picture, and comprehend how God tore, split, and divided the Red Sea completely into two, so that the sea rose on both sides as two tall walls, allowing the Israelites to walk right at the center, in the midst of roaring sea creatures and the noise of raving waters, but yet unharmed, defying all the rules of physics and chemistry, then indeed you will know that there is such a phrase as "possible impossibilities" found in the dictionary of God, and therefore you will be able to understand that the one thing that you think is impossible in your situation is actually really possible..."

Let ur mind travel far for a minute, then imagine this scenario again...

© 2007 by Jaycee, all rights reserved.