god gifts you

Lessons from Cherith

The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.  Psalm 145:14

We had come to Colorado after receiving the news – my mother-in-law’s constant bowel pain was the result of peritoneal cancer, a rare and deadly disease. She had never fully recovered from her bout with uterine cancer diagnosed just 18 months prior. Her markers were clear but this painful and never-ending pain in her stomach kept her sidelined. We will never know why it wasn’t discovered sooner but there are blessings even in that.

And so, after setting her up on hospice and determining that additional in-home care wouldn’t be sufficient and was well beyond what my father-in-law could afford, I offered to stay longer. As I said goodbye to my husband who needed to get back to San Diego for work, I was faced with my usual self-doubt. “I’m not good at this kind of thing” I said to myself. “I’m not a sweet, kind, compassionate person” I lamented. “I never know what to say in difficult times” I fretted.

I was scared to face day-to-day the woman I love as my own mother as she lay living out her last days. I was worried about how to be around my quiet father-in-law. I definitely was concerned how to handle all her friends who wanted to visit and needed a shoulder to cry on. And then I finally remembered God.

He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
⁵He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever. Psalm 111: 4-5

I went for a walk and soaked in the beauty of the Colorado mountains and realized I didn’t need to have all those gifts. He has blessed me with so many other gifts that were needed – organizing, communication, and more. And what I now needed was to lean on Him for the rest of what was required.

My BSGs had just finished Shirley Giles Davis’ study book, God. Gifts. You. Which takes a deep dive into the list of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit. Coincidently she lives and works in Boulder, Colorado, just a few miles from where I now found myself needing the strength of God’s gifts. She reminded us that our gifts can be used for good and have their own pitfalls if used incorrectly. She showed us how God’s beautiful world can only function properly when we appreciate and honor the intricate ways all people’s gifts are used in harmony.

As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.  Psalms 55:16

And so, I called on God in humility. I thanked Him for the blessings of financial security that helped me be there. I listed in thankfulness the gifts of the Holy Spirit which have been endowed to me. And I prayerfully spoke the following:

“Lord, I cannot do this without you. I don’t have the right words for the right moments so I need the Holy Spirit to speak for me. I don’t have the strength for this gracious Father. I need you to keep me strong and lifted or I will fail. Only through your loving grace, using my gifts that I have been blessed with and you filling in the rest will I be able to glorify you and help Bev and all those around her. Please Lord speak in place of my words and be my strength.” Amen

His intervention was immediate as He surrounded me with His love and peace. All those worries and fears dissipated. And for the next three weeks the Holy Spirit held me up and spoke for me. He spoke to the friends who left Bev’s room crying in despair. He spoke to family members who handle grief differently than me. He spoke to Bev while I read her Psalms each day to comfort her. And He kept me from being tired and weak. I could wake at any hour with ease to administer medication, keep the house clean, and make meals for the ever changing number of people at the house. He provided, just as He promises, just as He always has.

You are my strength, I sing praises to you; you, God are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.  Psalms 59:17

My BSGs recently completed Priscilla Shirer’s study on Elijah. In her week 6 video she mentions the definition of faith as aligning our entire life with God’s 8,000 promises found in His Word. Our faith doesn’t need to be some mysterious feeling that is undefinable. It’s simple, when we believe God’s promises and live like we do then that is faith. That’s what Elijah did when he went, as directed by God, to Cherith — a lonely, dry, desolate place. God provided in ways only He can with food delivered by ravens and just enough water to get by for about two years. Elijah knew he couldn’t make it on his own. He needed God to survive. All his knowledge and gifts weren’t going to help him. God would need to fill in where he was lacking.

Friends, God promises over and over to provide for us. The Bible is filled with endless stories of His provision. Our own lives are testimonies to those provisions. Sometimes we just need to remember to humbly ask for Him to provide where we are weak and not gifted.

The morning my beloved Bev went to our Father I was blessed again to have God show me how much He had answered my prayer. I needed some alone time so I decided to take a shower. As I stood in the bathroom waiting for the water to warm up, I suddenly felt a huge weight press on me – like an anvil was placed on each shoulder. I cried out in surprise and then it was gone. I knew He was showing me what He had sheltered me from for the last few weeks. And although I am still experiencing the grief of Bev being gone from this earth, that heavy weight has never returned. I can thank God and the Holy Spirit for being my weight bearers. And I can thank God that He will provide in our weakest moments.

Where in your life to do you need to ask for God’s provision?
Where do you feel insufficient and weak? Ask Him today He will provide!

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” Exodus 1:22

Whenever I picture Moses, Charlton Heston comes to mind. For those of you too young to know that reference, Mr. Heston personified Moses in the blockbuster 1956 movie The 10 Commandments. He was sweaty and swarthy and muscular. He was bold and without fear. Some of his final scenes show him standing fiercely on top of a mountain, wind blowing his impressive white beard and long gorgeous hair as he calls on the name of God. A hero. A rescuer. A man not to be trifled with because God was with him. As usual, the big screen skips over a few of the finer points of history for the sake of the storyline. Like the fact that Moses, even though God Himself had been his rescuer many times, really didn’t want the job of Israel’s savior. Of being the leader of the new beginning for an entire people.

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11

That interaction alone might lead the reader to think Moses well, he’s just being humble. But by my count Moses tries to turn God to someone much more suited, much more capable than him eight times! I can’t! What if! I’m not! Why should I? Sound familiar to anyone out there?

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”  Exodus 4:1

My BSGs (Bible Study Girls) and I have embarked on a new study by Shirley Giles Davis called, God. Gifts. You. In our first week we were asked: “Where are you hearing God, but your excuse for delaying sounds a lot like “Lord, I’m afraid.”?” Moses afraid? Not that guy. God saved him from death as a baby. God placed him in the care of royalty. God gave him incredible opportunities for gaining knowledge and physical strength. He saved him from capture. There’s no way Moses was afraid of yet another challenging new beginning, right?

Eight times. Standing in front of bush that was talking to him even! I don’t know about you but if I told my husband when he walked in the door from work that one of my bushes in the yard was on fire and speaking to me about going to the governor’s office demanding, “let my people go!” he’d be very, very concerned. In fact, this was a point of discussion with my BSGs. Not burning bushes mind you but whether or not God still speaks audibly to us. And if he does, do people think we are crazy? It’s an unfortunate state we are in that some pastors and biblical teachers try to assure us that God doesn’t speak out loud to us anymore. We must discern His word in other ways. And while I agree we need to use God’s character, gleaned from His written Word to verify the voice we hear I completely disagree that we no longer hear His audible voice. I know. I’ve heard Him. Some of my BSGs have heard Him. To me the real question is now that you’ve heard Him, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to accept the challenge of this new beginning or find another excuse?

Moses, although a pretty amazing and instrumental piece of God’s plan, stumbled even with God’s past provisions clearly given to him and the promise of God’s presence and help spoken to him. Moses, sometimes called the “Lesser Jesus,” is so often seen in parallel with the Messiah. Their birth stories are almost identical with a king demanding their death. Moses was to rescue people from slavery. Jesus from the slavery of sin. Moses led the Israelites through the parted waters toward the promised land. Jesus is our living water giving us the promised land. Moses was tested. Jesus was tested. So, where’s the problem with his hesitation?

But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” Exodus 4:13

If you remember from Noah or even Abraham when called they went. And in Isaiah 6:8 Isaiah raises his hand proudly and says, “me Lord, send me!” It’s hard for a lot of people, I believe to relate to those guys. We regular folks sometimes are more like Moses. We list our reasons God’s plan won’t work. We aren’t smart enough, strong enough, likeable enough, talented enough. But like with Adam, if God wants us in His service He won’t let go. He wants us to be part of a new beginning. And so, he nudges us to the right people and places. He puts other saints in front of us to help open doors. For Moses? He said, “Fine, I’ll give you Aaron to use as your spokesperson.”

But here’s the thing. Even though Moses is the one remembered and exalted, it was Aaron that got to wear the priestly, holy robes. It was Aaron that was allowed into the most holy place. Think if Moses had responded like Isaiah – “Me! Me! I can do it Lord because you have rescued me so many times!” Moses would’ve been allowed into the whole glory of God, the first priest of Israel. True, his relationship with God was pretty amazing. But God clearly wanted even more for him.

His new beginning, as Moses led the Israelites toward the promised land, would require him to call on the Lord for strength and rescue many times. I find it interesting that Moses had to listen to all the people constantly complaining to him about why he took them down this path. Do you think he occasionally thought, “That sounds a lot like I was with God.”?

Friend, whether it’s a nudging or a clear directive from God I want to urge you to step up in faith and raise your hand. To use all your resources (prayer, scripture, pastors, teachers) plus God’s past intervention in your life to discern what He is asking of you. In your new beginning when you step out in faith you can then say “I overcame my fears and allowed God to take my weakness and turn it into strength.” This blog and podcast was my big step. Let Him work a New Beginning in you and He will let His glory shine brightly through you!

Tag: god gifts you

He Will Provide

Not Me, Lord