May you have an Ephraim Day~Monday words for the soul

Joseph named his second son Ephraim. Ephraim was given to him after he had been delivered from his suffering of 13 years. Joseph said that he named him this because God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering. Ephraim means “twice fruitful.”

Joseph was fruitful in two instances. He was fruitful during his time of adversity and in his prosperity. When God brings us into a time of suffering, it can be a fruitful time. It’s rare for us to see the fruit during the suffering period. But know that the roots are going deep into the spiritual soil of our soul because of our pressing in to God during our time of suffering. This is producing a work in our character that cannot be seen until it finishes the process. Such was the case for Joseph.

If you find yourself in a time of suffering, now is the time to press into God. Let your roots grow deeper. Whenever there is a famine, tree roots are forced to drive deeper into the soil to find water. These times are designed to create such a deep-rooted faith that our natures will be changed forever. ~Os Hillman

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More Monday Words for the Soul

A Word from The Sponsor~October 28

We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. ~Psalm 66:12b

The verse today~Psalm 66:12b~has a little “b” at the end. It is the “b” that provides the happy ending that makes great movies and great stories.

To get the full story, it is important to read the entire Psalm.

Psalm 66:10-12a: “For you, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance.”

Os Hillman explained, “God’s economy of abundance often has little to do with material blessing. In God’s economy, abundance is often measured in wisdom and knowledge of Himself. It is then that we are truly blessed. Wisdom cannot be gained through intellectual pursuits. Wisdom comes only through experience. Real wisdom comes from the kinds of experiences that come only through the deepest tests. Lessons of refinement, including prison accompanied by burdens, lead us through the fire and water. This is the territory that must be traveled to reach that place of abundance.”

Stay strong and thankful if you, like me, find yourself in the Remaining Place. The darkest hour is just before daybreak.

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See Additional Words from The Sponsor by gently clicking here!

Monday Words for the Soul~August 27

Back to School

Dear God, today I lift up all teachers to you. I pray for your anointing upon their lives, their work, their ministry. I pray you will give them wisdom, knowledge, guidance, patience, love, protection, understanding, insight and everything they need to be a positive life-changing influence upon those they teach. I pray you will keep them safe from all harm and evil. I pray you will bring to their minds the lessons and information they need to teach and the ability and skills to do what is good, right, and best in every situation. I pray that each one will not see their profession and standing as just a job, but as an opportunity to make a difference in lives and show your love to others. May they be salt and light in this world. May they rely on your strength and grace each and every day to accomplish that which you would have them do. Bless them, father, as your servants and children. And may they be a blessing to others with whom they work and teach. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. A Prayer by Os Hillman for teachers~

Would you pray for a teacher today (and slow down in crosswalks?)

Other posts featuring Os Hillman

Mid-week Question of the Week~Darkness

What unchartered places call to you?
Are you afraid of the dark?

The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. ~ Exodus 20:21

We do not need to fear entering the presence of God even if it means entering through a period of darkness. Above all else we must believe that God is a God of love. If He calls us into darkness in order to enter His presence, then that darkness will become an entry to new levels of relationship with a God who longs for fellowship with you and me. ~Os Hillman

When you’re confronted by a difficult task, what are the effects of considering it an opportunity for God to stretch your faith? ~Jon Walker

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Previous Questions to Consider
Other thoughts from Os Hillman
Other thoughts from Jon Walker

Image Source: VegaStar Carpentier

A Word from The Sponsor~August 19

…”Everything is all right”…. 2 Kings 4:26

Faith looks at situations through God’s eyes, not the eyes of our limited understanding.
~Os Hillman

Smile by faith when you can’t smile by feelings. You have a future full of hope. Promise. ~Tony Evans

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Additional Words from The Sponsor

Monday Words for the Soul~Remain Vertical

Remaining Vertical With God
by Os Hillman

When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to The One who judges justly. ~1 Peter 2:23

Have you ever been wrongfully accused? Oh, the need to defend and justify becomes so great. “What will people think if they believe these things are true?” we reason. Imagine what Jesus thought as they hurled insults and threats upon Him. The God of the universe had visited planet earth only to be slandered and accused of blasphemy.

Jesus could have done two things in response. He could have used His power to put the people in their place. He could have responded “horizontally.” He could have fixed the problem right then. However, He chose to respond in a different way. He chose to “entrust Himself to Him who judges justly.” It requires great faith to entrust ourselves to God in the midst of personal assault. However, if we can do this, we will discover a level of grace and wisdom that will be birthed from this experience that we never thought possible. We will discover a freedom in God we never knew before. Whenever we suffer for righteousness without seeking to protect our reputation and rights, we are placing our total faith in the one who can redeem us. This activates God’s grace in our lives and enables us to experience God’s presence like never before.

Ask God to give you the grace to stay vertical with Him. Avoid the temptation of responding horizontally each time some event comes into your life that you want to “fix.” Entrust yourself to the one who judges justly. It may be a divine appointment for your growth to another level in grace.

Strength Despite All the Broken Pieces

The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
~1 Samuel 2:4

When we are broken, we see the frailty of human strength and come to grips with the reality that we can do nothing in our own strength. Then, new strength emerges that God uses mightily. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Do not fear brokenness, for it may be the missing ingredient to a life that emerges with a new kind of strength and experience not known before. Pray for a broken and contrite heart that God can bless. ~Os Hillman

(I love the New Living Translation of 1 Samuel 2:4)

The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong.
May you grow stronger with each stumble… :)… Because of Grace

Overcoming Our Pests

Been getting acquainted with growing degrees of increasing strength in one area of my life: my reading glasses…

At this half-decade point of life, I reluctantly bid farewell to the cute, fashionable “Readers” and moved on to the “sensible shoes” of the glasses world: reading glasses. It has been a trial-and-error of deciding when I want to see and when I want to see clearly. During a recent talk, I almost had an aerobic workout bobbing my glasses on/off and on/off as I desperately tried to decide if I wanted to, you know, see the beautiful faces of my audience or speak from a blurred mesh of outline notes.

Sometimes I also mistype words. It is comical at best, glaringly mistaken at worst.

Sunday night, emancipated from my glasses, I wrote to my (married) friend Jon and typed an “H” in his name instead.

 “Hi Jon” morphed in to “Hi Hon”…I gasped so loud I woke the dog.

Because of Grace there is “ctrl/z”.
In a techno-spin on royal taste-testers, I need a royal proofreader.

Today, in a pre-dawn, pre-coffee, pre-glasses haze, I misread one of Os Hillman’s email devotionals titles. The blog post title Hillman intended as “Overcoming Our Past” I misread as “Overcoming Our Pests”.

My initial confusion yielded to God’s Grace-filled silent nudge: there are pests to swat away…

…little foxes that destroy the vine  …little time-wasters, thought-intruders, rabbit holes of redundancy…that steer me away from God

and Grace

In addition to the “big” deals of illness, trauma, addiction, parenting, work, etc… there are little pest annoyances that multiply into a swarm of distraction/busyness/worry/doubt/dread/play/trivia.

For me, it begins as a single thought, then a recurrence, then a growing pursuit or an increasingly dark feeling of dread.

True to Hillman’s misread title, my daily pests must be disciplined and overcome.

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…Hebrews 12:1

In awareness and willingness to reverse, Because of Grace, God taps me to see with spiritual Readers.

It is said that if we were to help the butterfly remove itself from the cocoon, the butterfly would not be strong enough to survive. It is the struggle that prepares the butterfly to become strong enough to fly. Without the struggle in the cocoon, it could not survive as a butterfly.

The Lord prepares each of us in similar ways. He does make all things beautiful in His time if we are willing to be patient. ~Os Hillman

Do you ever notice annoying pests? Do you ever need your spiritual Readers? What spiritual pest-swatter works for you?

Are You My Mother? Another as Mother?

A major corporation conducted a study on the flight of geese. In their study they found that geese fly in a “V” formation with one goose in the lead. After a period of time, this goose relinquishes the lead to another goose. During flight they noticed head movements of the leader that seem to give signals to the other geese flying, perhaps to let the others know how he was doing. They estimate that the formation flight pattern reduces wind drag due to the lift the other birds receive and believe it increases their performance by up to 70 percent. Whenever one goose drops out, another goes with it. These two geese do not catch up to the original pack, but join another group later. (from a devotional by Os Hillman)

Another
Perhaps, Because of Grace, Another is the Holy Spir’s Love.
Like a Mother’s Love…Maybe in the cycle we have many Anothers

Maybe the lessons for me are:

Sometimes is it ok to drop out
Another is Love and the Holy Spirit
Another is a faithful friend
I can watch when another drops out and fly alongside with them for awhile
I can not worry about catching up to the original pack
I can fly with Another for awhile
I can join a new group later

Perhaps these cycles continue at long and short intervals throughout life. (Is this also the cycle of motherhood… of personhood?)

Maybe in the cycle we have many Anothers

Wondering…

Your comments, wonderings, and thoughts are always welcome!

The Soil of His Grace

Quote by Os Hillman