... on me, ... and (of course) on all who belong to His Son, Yeshua (Jesus) The Messiah.
The Lord is so patient & merciful, that He will continue to form & shape me, according to His Will, in order to produce (when He is finished with me, He will have produced...) a lovely vessel of honor. (honorable in His Sight, which is truly "perfect," i.e., complete, mature)
He is willing to continue chipping away at my rough edges, so He can, in time, bring forth a brilliant gemstone, much like a diamond, but more rare, like a ruby.
By the way, being from Texas, and living near Arkansas, I have become aware that it is true that, underground in those states, there are quite a few diamonds.
Wish I knew where. (hee hee!)
Diamonds are not rare.
Rubies are.
Some other gemstones are rare, also.
God made them all.
They are only rare in the eyes of humans, who determine rareness by how many of a given type of gemstone have been found and made public.
;o)
If I have been found by my Master Yeshua, Who made me & fashioned me, & designed me to glorify His Name, by how I let Him shine through my attitude, my actions & my words, ... then He wants me to demonstrate His good Character in public.
Do I always do that? No. (I wish I did!) But He is able to enable me to, as I submit my spirit and soul to Him, moment by moment, more and more, as He is changing me more and more into His Image. I know He is Patient, because He is still willing to work with me with so much LovingKindness! HalleluYah!
If I keep it all to myself, then how am I having a positive effect on anyone else?
How could I be used by Him to turn other ladies or young ladies or girls toward The Lord's Son, Yeshua (Jesus), if I do not let Him use me in public? (among others, in some way)
When a believing lady lets The Lord Adonai YHVH use her, does she have to become a well-known speaker, or one who sings before people (some gather in large numbers), write a book that sells quite a few copies, or lead a ladies' Bible study, or help lead a congregation's ladies' retreat, speaking from her heart about some issue she has seen The Lord Yeshua help her work through?
Not necessarily.
Each lady, mom, whom Yeshua has called His own & whom He has chosen & "ordained to go & bring forth fruit" must seek His Face & learn of Him. ...because He will "give" to those who "ask." He will let them "find," who "seek." He will "open," unto those who "knock."
However, we must not figure we should "seek" for fame, or try to find or get opportunities to speak before groups of women. What if that is not The Lord YHVH's "calling" for us, in particular?
What if our Adonai YHVH has chosen for us (one person, in particular) to be at home raising our own children, and doing what we can to follow The Lord, as He leads us?
Should we try to learn writing skills, to write a message that someone else may read (online)? Maybe so.
If we check our motives, our reasons, for doing it, or think about "why" we choose to learn some skill, we should discover whether or not those motives or goals have originated in The Lord YHVH's "Heart," or in ours.
Should we try to learn how to speak to other women, to share a message from our heart? Maybe so.
If we check our motives, our goals, for doing it, we should be able to discern whether or not that idea came from The Lord, or from our own thoughts.
While we moms (or dads) are busily training our very young children, or our older children, and (meanwhile) also doing what we can to educate them in The Lord YHVH's Wisdom, spiritual Understanding and the Knowledge of His Will, ... then, we can be sure He will be quite willing to lead us.
But ... will we follow?
I've found that I have a tendency to let myself look at "the moment," instead of keeping the overall vision or "picture" of what will come to pass, in time, Lord willing. I tend to forget that, though things may look (for now) not like I believe Adonai YHVH would want them to look like, yet, He is still in control of all the lives within our family, and all else that's going on in this universe.
... He does (definitely) want me to choose, moment by moment, to keep my focus only on Him (as The Only One I should plan to please, above all else) ... and to trust Him more fully, each new day. As I do "whatever my hands find to do," I am still seeking to obey Him in all things.
He wants all my life.
He wants all areas of my life.
Have I yielded my rights to my plans for lessons, this coming week?
Have I yielded my rights to my schedule for our lessons, for this year's studies?
Have I remained yielded to His Will, during this past year, or this past week?
Have I been willing, each day, to yield *all* my rights & expectations, as king David had to learn to do, ... to my Master (Adonai YHVH), Who is in control of all things & all people in the universe He designed & continues to sustain?
Am I forgetting He notices just what is (or has been) going on that affects my life and the lives of my husband and my children?
Am I forgetting that what goes on does not depend on whether or not I remain alive, tomorrow? (I know this may sound odd; that's okay; I do intend "good" by writing this this way)
Am I willing to see that I am just a part of something Good The Lord is doing, producing, in this world He has made?
In other words, the universe (& this world) does not depend on me, to continue on. It depends on The Lord, for "by Him all things consist." (from Colossians 1:17) " ... All things were created by Him, and for Him." (from Colossians 1:16)
(see also Romans 11:36)
Am I willing to work with Him, or do I expect Him to arrange things so I get several things I wish He would provide, ...? (oops!)
Am I truly submitting *all* areas of my life to my Lord? ... cheerfully?
Do I thank Him "in" all things and "for" all things? (ouch!)
Am I treating Him as The One He is, in Truth -- as my Lord / Master / Adonai?
Do I let Him lead?
Do I ever go ahead of Him, or find myself trying to " help" Him work things out so the situations I want to happen come about? (Don't do this! It will not result in your happiness!)
Am I allowing Him to speak visions / dreams into my soul, to let me work / cooperate "with" Him in? Or would I prefer my plans to be played out? (ouch! -- just being honest, here, as if thinking while I write this.)
Have found out, through trial & error methods I tend to use (not realizing I do that; just by living day to day), that The Lord, Who still loves me even when I am unlovable (at times, even after salvation, ... okay? -- it's true!), is still willing to re-route my direction. Why? ... because He sees the danger(s) ahead, that I do not see, yet. (how amazingly caring He is! Praise His Name!)
He is willing to open my spiritual eyes, to see something I was not noticing, even in my own character (not the good part), that tries to creep in, again, to try to de-rail me off His "track!"
He, then, moves me back "on course."
And, He even enables me to "want to" stay on His Course!
He also enables me to "do" it, for His glory! (willingly!) Hallelujah!!!
He is willing to help me walk, day to day, in His Footsteps, though mine falter at times.
He is willing to reprove me with His Gentle, Loving Way, so I will not make that same mistake again, when I am faced with a temptation to think the wrong way.
He is willing to let me walk alongside Him, as His friend, as long as I am willing to do whatsoever He commands me to do. Am I willing?
As I allow His Spirit to teach me, to counsel me, to comfort me ("with" "strength," as He gives me strength to make the right choices & think His Way, uprightly), The Lord YHVH, & my Redeemer Yeshua, is able to call me His friend. Will I allow His Spirit to teach me? King Solomon was said to have a hearing heart; most teach that that indicates he had a teachable heart. (humble, as well, and meek, I think, at that time in his life)
Some Reflections:
Have grieved His Holy Spirit more than a few times. (ouch!)
Have quenched His Holy Spirit more than a few times, also. (ouch!!)
Yet, as I agree with His Truth and confess what I have done wrong, He always (willingly) welcomes me back into His Loving, Merciful Arms!!!
He is truly awesome!!!
He lets me begin again! He knows He can enable me to do much, much better, the next opportunity He gives me to "pass the test."
Does He test me? If Psalm 139:23-24 is true, and it is, He does. He does it for the good of His own children! In verse 23, the word "try" seems to come from a word that means "to test."
When we are preparing to bake yeast bread, it has to be proofed. (as some say it) The yeast must show that it is able to cause the dough we've mixed to rise enough to bake a good load of bread. As it is rising, we check it, after a while, to see if it looks like the yeast is working well.
The Lord does this with us, in a different way.
He allows us to make decisions.
He watches us to see how we are doing.
He already knows. But He does give us the freedom to make decisions. He is there if we need Him to rescue us, or deliver us from harm.
When He sees we are on "the wrong track," He can change our "course."
He may allow us to continue to go in the wrong direction, at times, because He also knows He can deliver us. He may want us to learn another lesson, through this.
He can even deliver us after things have gone from what we'd call 'bad' to 'worse!' I have seen Him do this in my own life!
He is our Deliverer! (from Psalm 46:1, 5, 10 -- He is our refuge & help: our shelter; the One Who surrounds us to protect / aid us; our defense; our hope; a high fort .... These are some definitions of the word offered for "help" and "refuge" in that Psalm)
Am so-o thankful (I want to be more grateful to Him! Thankful is more like a thought or feeling. Gratefulness is expressed in an action.) my Lord Adonai YHVH is so patient, so Merciful, so Kind-hearted, so Giving & willing, & so Loving, in all His Ways!
I may, at times, see what He allows as something I don't want Him to allow to occur. But as I surrender my rights & my will, again, to Him, to His Righteousness and His (perfect) Will, He continually accepts me, again, as His now-obedient, submissive child! His Countenance is, again, lifted up upon me! (as mentioned in the blessing our Father God, YHVH, commanded to be spoken over His people, shared in Numbers 6:24-27)
He even welcomes me with His Loving, open Arms!
(see Psalms 98:1-9)
(see Deuteronomy 33:27)
I hope something here might be a blessing to someone else.
The Lord is still at work, trying to produce the character of Messiah Yeshua in me! That reminds me of what king David shares in the Psalms: His Mercy endureth for ever!
Have you ever thought about "why" it says "endureth?"
I think it is because there must be at least one more person, on the earth, who is a bit like me. His Mercy "must" endure our imperfections (for years!) and our slowness in learning some "life" lessons He allows us to go through. ;o)
The Lord surely is quite determined, persevering & responsible! He will finish what He has begun! (in me)
(see Philippians 1:6)
James 4:6-10 is helpful to memorize, so The Lord can use those verses to get our thinking back on His "track." ;o)
~ This is meant (written) in Love for those who are also learning to walk in His Ways more & more ...
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