Nae's Notes

Do you ever feel like you need to be strong all the time and never show weakness? It would be hard to find someone who admitted they love to show their weaknesses in front of others. Most people do not like to show others that they cannot do something or are struggling to stay positive. God is the only one who does not have weaknesses. We are human and are naturally going to have things that we cannot do because we were all made for a different purpose. God knows what that purpose is even when we do not. It is the times when we do not have it all together that He comes in to build us up. Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength,” ESV. The Common English Bible states, “giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted.” Tired and exhausted do not sound as exciting as “power to the faint” but are words that are more common in daily language. God anticipated the fact that we would have times when our strength was weak, and we would need to lean on Him because those words were not written recently. We can survive trying to lean on our own strength. We will thrive when we lean on His!

“Entrust your efforts to the Lord, and your plans will succeed,” Proverbs 16:3 GW translation.

This makes it sound like you will succeed in whatever you do if you give it to God. But what if what you planned for the day isn’t what God wants you to do for the day? The extra words added in the Amplified version help add some clarity.

“Commit your works to the Lord (submit and trust them to Him), and your plans will succeed (if you respond to His will and guidance). “

When we submit our actions to God, our plans and His plans align to make our days more successful. You have to be committed each day to what God wants us to do in order to avoid feeling defeated-like the day was wasted. We all wake up with an agenda of what needs to be accomplished and get frustrated if the list is not complete at the end of the day. This verse reminds us that the days don’t really belong to us. We are here for the purpose set forth by God and need to honor Him with our efforts. You don’t have to abandon those things you want to accomplish. You just need to commit your efforts to Him and follow His agenda as He leads throughout the day. We can survive each day trying to make it through our list. We will thrive throughout the day when our efforts are committed to Him to accomplish what He has for us that day!

Distractions: “Confusion from a multiplicity of objects crowding on the mind and calling the attention different ways.” (Websters 1828 Dictionary). That was written almost 200 years ago. Think about the amount of distractions in the world today compared to when that definition was written. We have created and become involved in so many different things today that could not even be imagined by people who lived in that era. Yet that 200 year old definition is exactly where many of us find ourselves each day.

On the surface, distractions do not seem to be a big deal. So we did not accomplish everything today we set out to do. It will still be there tomorrow. However, what do distractions do to our lives that we may not initially realize? They can bring about negative emotions and frustrations when we do not make it to everything we wanted to accomplish. Items that did not get addressed get moved to another day, crowding that schedule and causing us to feel we are already behind before we get to that day. What else can distractions do to our lives? Ultimately, distractions keep us from not only accomplishing our worldly list but also our Godly list. God has us here for a purpose, one predestined for us before we were created. Our daily distractions keep us from fulfilling that purpose, which causes us to feel unsettled or unfulfilled. It is important to renew our minds daily, as we are reminded in the following scripture, “Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]”, Col 3:2 (AMP). I love the use of the word “habitually” in this version. Make a habit of setting your mind on Godly things, so you can do more than survive–you can thrive!

There are many places in the Bible where God tells people to write down what He says to them. Habakkuk 2 is one passage where we read the following instructions,

‘And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:2-3 ASV)

Why does He tell him to write it down? There is usually a delay between when God gives the vision and when it is actually fulfilled. When we write it down, we are able to stay focused on what God is going to do for us or through us. When we don’t write it down, it is easy to lose focus or give up on what we think God told us. Those are also God’s words to us, which don’t return void. Isaiah 55:11 in the Amplified Version says, ” ‘So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. ‘”

God will not go back on his word. Distractions from this world come to get us off track and try to make us forget what He promised. Writing it down will keep us focused and hopeful as we wait for the fulfillment of the promise or vision He gave us. He wants us to remember His words and hold tight to them. Even when it looks like things are going in the opposite way, we can go back to what we wrote down and renew our vision. You can survive if you don’t write it down, but you will thrive when you have those words to keep you focused on His plan for your life!

Some people thrive on making sure every last piece is in place, so there is nothing left to chance. That is a great quality to have. No matter how much we plan and try to anticipate everything needed, there will usually be something that comes up to interrupt the plan.

For example, your morning routine is something you have worked hard to perfect. After all, not much usually changes in our mornings from day to day. You have it timed down to the minute when you can leave and still make it to work on time or even a few minutes early. What you don’t know is that today is the day the city decided to fix the potholes in the road and all traffic has been funneled from two lanes down to one. Unfortunately, no one else knew that either. Now all the people who would be on the road way before you are now delayed too, which makes twice the traffic. Not the end of the world, but frustrating nonetheless.

The same can be true for the course of our lives. We are headed in the direction we are supposed to go and something comes up to get us off track. Thankfully, we serve a God who loves details! The last chapter of Ezekiel talks about how the land is to be divided between the tribes of Israel and all the details for the temple in the holy city. God explicitly lays out where each tribe’s inheritance is supposed to be and all the details of the size of the temple, even down to the gates. He left nothing to chance or interpretation. The same is true for our lives. We may get off course due to traffic and have to take a detour, or we spend too long on something that was supposed to be completed quickly. God has all the details already figured into our lives. He hasn’t left anything to chance or circumstance. Our part is to seek Him and stay focused on the details He wants us taking care of in the moment. We can survive the circumstances that arise and still finish our race. We will thrive when we seek God and let Him have the details!

Psalm 138:8, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me…” (NIV). It does not say might or could-it says will. One of the definitions of “will” in the Webster’s’ 1828 dictionary is “divine determination”. When applied to this verse, it can be said that God is divinely determined to fulfill his purpose for us. Are we just as determined to fulfill his purpose in us as he is to fulfill it? Sometimes we lose our purpose and forget why we are here. We are not here to live a life that pleases ourselves. We are here to fulfill the purpose God has for us. We get caught up in the world and pursue things that are not in his purpose or want things that other people have. God did not create all of us to have the same things or do the same jobs. The only job we have is to seek Him, obey Him, and work each day to honor Him in all we do. We can survive trying to find our own purpose, but we will thrive when we decide to fulfill God’s purpose first!

Do you ever feel like your life is paused? I am not referring to times when we feel overwhelmed or unsure and need to take a break. I am talking about when you feel like you are not moving forward in some areas of your life. Some people might refer to this as a crossroad where you don’t know what path to take next. If you are a planner and like to know what is coming, paused is a frustrating state. Paused does not mean you cannot keep working toward something. There is always something in our lives that needs to be adjusted, but those things sometimes get lost in our day to day lives. If you find yourself in a paused state, take the time to examine the little things that you could improve to make your life more efficient. The Bible says,

“In the morning, O Lord, hear my voice. In the morning I lay my needs in front of you, and I wait.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬ ‭GW‬‬

If we put our needs in front of the Lord each day, He will make sure our paused state is not wasted. Do not just survive your pause…fix your eyes on God and thrive!

As humans we come into this world not knowing anything. Our first teachers are our parents or guardians who are tasked with raising us. After a short time we enter school where new adults and friends we meet become our teachers. During these early periods of our lives, we are willing to learn because we were born with no knowledge. As we get older our willingness to learn tends to decrease because we have gained information throughout our early years. Our need for knowledge then shifts from learning more about the world to learning more about ourselves and how we fit into God’s plan for our lives, which is something others cannot teach us. Isaiah 48:17 reminds us that the Lord is the one who is our ultimate teacher because He knows what is good for us and what paths to take to get there.
“This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” Isaiah‬ ‭48‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬
The question then becomes, “Are you willing to learn?”. Psalm 32:8 says,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you [who are willing to learn] with My eye upon you.” Psalms‬ ‭32‬:‭8‬ ‭AMP
‭‭God cannot instruct and teach us unless we are willing to learn His ways and His voice, which is done through prayer and the study of His word. Spending time with God shows Him you are willing to learn his ways. Instead of just surviving, spend some time with God today so He can teach you how to thrive!

I haven’t been able to get away from the concept of qualified verses called. The disciples weren’t trained as ministers; yet they were called to accompany Jesus and help him spread the message of the Father’s love. We tend to put ourselves and others into the qualifications box. Just like a job description has a list of qualifications, we can sometimes see others through their list of qualifications. This can lead to feelings of injustice within us that cause us to judge others through our lens of understanding. We say things like,” How did he get that job? She doesn’t have any experience in that area.” This judgement can lend itself to bitterness. I’m sure the pharisees had some of these thoughts when looking at Jesus and his disciples. They had studied for years to become experts but were not chosen as experts to spread the gospel. Much like the pharisees, our judgment of others and their qualifications blinds us to the reality of the message God is trying to get to us. God created each person for a specific purpose known only to God and revealed at the appropriate times. How many times do we miss the purpose because we have forgotten Ephesians 4:31, ” Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (NIV)? These things impede our ability to draw closer to God in order to fulfill the purpose He has for each person. Many times God calls us to do something outside of the qualifications we see to do His work. His calling fills in all the qualifications that aren’t seen by the human eye. Being plugged in to Him and putting aside our human feelings is the only way to become spiritually qualified to fulfill His calling. If we rely on our own qualifications then we won’t need to rely on Him or the Holy Spirit. He pairs our qualifications with His power to create and fulfill the calling on our lives. Don’t be stuck in your qualifications to merely survive. Lean into Him to fulfill your calling and fully thrive!