Carol J German

Alisa’s quote is so true. This is why I gave you an action step last week with journaling. When you write down your thoughts, wishes, disappointments and everything in between, you are denying our enemy his wimpy power. Which means God is able to step in and work His mighty power within you. Recording how God is moving within your life is a very powerful thing. He infuses you with strength and motivation. Your feet start tapping to a new beat because you are taking what you are learning in your head and getting it into your heart. And this is where God resides and begins His great work within you.

It’s time to put your yoga pants on as we learn how to stretch and move in new ways. We are going to exercise our minds, my friends. It’s time to remove the old ways of thinking and doing so we can see new things, important things, that will make your life fulfilling. And if your life is fulfilling, it will spill out onto those around you creating satisfied relationships where unity is evident and love is at the core.

This particular exercise will help you to get Biblical truth from your head down to your heart. I learned this exercise many years ago while going through a study called, “One On One With God“. This exercise is preparing you for next week when we start studying John.

Now that you have your comfy pants on and perhaps a coffee in hand, position yourself where it’s quiet and you won’t be disturbed. Mute your phone. Open your Bible to Matthew 27. We will be reading verses 32-50. Now before we begin, I am going to have you read scripture in a new way. Our minds are like a movie theater. When we read, we picture ourselves in the scene, watching it play out. We are drawn into the story. I want you to focus on what you are reading. Pay attention to the detail of the setting and the characters. Before we dive in, it’s imperative to talk to God in prayer. Ask God to reveal what He wants you to see and for the Holy Spirit to lead you. Growing in faith means that we position ourselves in a humble mindset with an understanding that life is not about us and all about Him.

Read Matthew 27:32-50. Where were you in that scene? What was your vantage point? How are you feeling? Can you describe your senses in any way? God is speaking to you through these questions. Let Him lead you and show you what He wants you to know and see. It may take some time and talking with Him to reveal things. If this is puzzling you, that’s ok. The important thing is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to His endless supply of treasures that are just for you! Don’t miss this. What God is telling you is made JUST FOR YOU! He thinks you are amazing and awesome all rolled up in one! You bring value and joy to His family and to this world. He needs you. Hear me, He needs you to be looking up first at Him so He can lead you in living out the life He gave you. If we each would live our life like this, we would have heaven on earth. We would live in unity and love. All our relationships would be fulfilling and satisfied and God would be glorified.

To help with this exercise, I will share what God revealed to me when I did this. At the time of going through this myself, I was a mama with young children. I was new in my own faith walk trying to figure out who God is and who I am and how we are to walk as one. My viewpoint was with the gamblers throwing the dice. I would keep looking up at Jesus. I knew who He was but I kept looking down at the dice being thrown too. This confused me because I’m not a gambler. I have found that questioning things is good. It leads you to look up.

We have a gracious and wonderful Father who wants to share intimately with you like He did with me. “Carol, my daughter, you are by the gamblers because you are such a Martha. So busy focused on what needs to be done and what others are doing. You are distracted by trivial things. Yes, you know who I am but the things of this world has a hold on you.” Those were the greatest words my Lord could have spoken to me! This has led me to pursuing Him all the more, desiring to be like Mary at His feet. And as the years have gone by and my kids are grown, my Lord has never failed me. He has proven Himself time and time again that He is with me and He loves me more than I will ever know. He has changed my heart and I am forever thankful.

Several other women doing this exercise with me saw themselves at different viewpoints. One was standing with Mary, Jesus’ mother, feeling her pain. Another woman stood in the background just watching and then walked away. I had heard several years later, that woman suffered with alcohol abuse in her life and she struggled in her faith walk because of it. The world’s pull to love something other than Christ is our greatest distraction. What distracts you?

We are becoming more like Christ when we choose to relinquish the control of what the world deems important. Christ is all we need. And in Him we are free to live and love.

I would love to hear back on what God is teaching you from this exercise. At the end of this blog post is a place where you can reply. I will receive an email letting me know you sent one. I will reply back. Remember, this will get posted for all to see. Don’t let that deter you. Sharing with one another is good for your soul and mine and the enemy’s wimpy power gets deflated!