HE LOVES YOU

O LORD, You have searched me and know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6)

Ever since I can remember, I have always struggled with letting others see the authentic me for fear that I would be rejected, laughed at, ridiculed and judged. The funny thing is I desperately want others to see me for who I am; to see me, imperfections and all, and just love me for me. Isn’t that what we all really want, to be loved for who we are; for who God created us to be? Yet, even after 37 years, I find myself still longing to be known; to be known by my husband, my friends, my family, my colleagues, my neighbors. My desire is not to be famous or to be known for what I do; but to be known for who I am at heart. However, I am faced with the realization that I rarely show others who I am at heart making it difficult for anyone other than God, my creator who formed my inward parts, to really see me for me and love me with all my scars and imperfections.

I was reflecting on this today and I realized that I want people to see through the mask, the façade I often wear. I want people to stop with the niceties and the fluff that has no meaning, no heart and call me out in love! Even as I say that it terrifies me and excites me at the same time, as I have become quite comfortable hiding behind my mask.

Yet, no matter if I feel known by others or not, there is such a comfort in the reality that God does know me and He really sees me at heart. He not only knows what I do, but He knows my thoughts before I think them and my words before I speak them; He knows everything about me. No matter what mask or façade I present to the world, God sees right through it. The truly amazing and wonderful thing is even after seeing me, all of me, He loves me more than I can fathom. I am just overwhelmed with amazement and joy when I think about His love for me; after all, despite all my faults, my failings and imperfections He loves me, He really loves me!

God made each of us and knows us intimately. He is constantly thinking precious thoughts of us. No matter what masks we wear or façade we put on for the rest of the world, He sees us for who we really are at heart and He loves us! I would say that is good news and is definitely cause for joy, celebration and thanksgiving. Won’t you join me in celebrating God’s love this week?


COACH’S CALL TO ACTION

• Dive in and fully immerse yourself in God’s love for you this week. What does that mean for you? What does this look like?


• Meditate on Psalm 139 and journal around God’s love for you.


• Select at least one day this week where you will leave all your masks at home, packed away. Give each of your masks a name and write each one down on a separate piece of paper. Then, pack each one away in a bag or a box and put it in your closet for the day. What was revealed to you in this process? What did you discover?
  
  Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

What are you wearing?

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14)

As I read these words, I am struck by the importance of the right garment. I don’t know about you, but when I get a wedding invitation, I tuck it away somewhere where I can come back to it and consider it at a later date and hopefully not forget to respond. Yet, despite my best intentions I often totally forget about that invitation until the last possible moment, the last possible day to RSVP. So then I hurriedly respond to the anxiously awaiting couple, with little thought to anything other than my meal choice when given the option. Then the wedding is forgotten yet again until the long awaited day comes and I am somehow caught by surprise and have no idea what I am going to wear. So I hurriedly rummage through my closet trying to ascertain what dress I should wear. When I finally settle on a dress and head off to the wedding, I find myself insecure and wondering if I chose wisely. As I am seated in the church and await the start of the ceremony, I find myself looking around me to determine if I made the right choice, hoping to be comforted by the attire of others. I find it so funny to really think about the process I go through from the time I receive the invitation to the time of the actual ceremony and unfortunately, how totally self-absorbed I can be.

Our invitation has been delivered; it was delivered long before we even existed and has been waiting in our mailbox for the time when we will retrieve it from the box and RSVP. My invitation sat in my mailbox for 36 years before I actually accepted and received it. Oh what a beautiful invitation it is; more beautiful than any invitation I have ever seen! We don’t need to put any thought into our meal choice; our every need has been met. While there is a dress code, the wedding garment was sent with the invitation; we only need to put it on. But wait, no date is specified…there must be an oversight. How do we know when to get ready, how do we know how long we can procrastinate, how do we know when to put on our wedding garment? The reality is we don’t know when we will be called home to be with the Lord, but if we have not put on Christ, if we have not put on our wedding garment, we will be cast out into the darkness. Therefore, we must put on our garment now and wear it always that we will be prepared and ready when we are called. However, the wedding garment only fits when you remove your old clothes; we must put off our old self and put on Christ.

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14)

What are you wearing? Are you ready? Do you have your wedding garment on?

COACH’S CALL TO ACTION

• Where is your invitation? Is it still sitting in the mailbox, have you tucked it away for a later date, or have you accepted and received it?
  


• What are the old clothes that you are wearing that prevent you from putting on your wedding garment, that prevent you from putting on Christ?
  


• What would it look like to remove, to put off, those old clothes and put on Christ today?

Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

Walk as Children of Light

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.’” (Ephesians 5:8-14)

We are living in a time when darkness permeates all aspects of our world. There is less and less light visible in the world around us as the darkness continues to grow. Darkness has crept into our schools, into our entertainment, into our government, and into our homes and our families. If you look closely, you may even see darkness creeping into the church as we continue to compromise God’s Word as a nation.

Yet, amongst all the darkness in this world, we are to walk as children of light; for we are no longer part of the darkness, but light in the Lord through His saving grace. So what does it mean to walk as children of light? Paul reminds us that we are to be: finding out what is acceptable to the Lord, having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness and instead, exposing the unfruitful works of darkness for what they are.

So what is acceptable to the Lord and how can we find out? Well, we cannot find what is acceptable to the Lord by looking at the world that’s for sure. We must find the answers we seek in God’s Word. Only through consistent study and meditation on God’s Word can we truly discover what is acceptable to the Lord our God. For as we grow to know and understand the Lord more and more through the study of His Word, we develop a deeper relationship and knowing of who He is and therefore greater wisdom in what is acceptable to Him.

What does it mean to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness? Does it mean that maybe we can dabble in a little of this and a little of that, maybe throw in some of the other…I mean after all, it’s not like it rules my life right? WRONG, we cannot walk in darkness and in light! When we compromise even a little and allow ourselves to fellowship even in the slightest with the unfruitful works of darkness, we are allowing darkness to gain a foothold in us that will take us away from fellowship with the Lord one little compromise at a time. So, in order to say “yes” to God and walk as children of light, we must say “no” and put off ALL unfruitful works of darkness. Then, we must expose them, for all things that are exposed are made clear by the light.

God is calling to us to awake from our spiritual sleep, our spiritual slumber; to arise from the dead, arise from the darkness; and Christ will give us light. It is time to stop sleep walking through life and start sharing my light with the world. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16) How about you, are you ready to let your light shine?


COACH’S CALL TO ACTION

• What does it look like for you to walk as a child of light?
  
• What would others notice about you?
  
• Pray the Lord would expose any fellowship you may have with the unfruitful works of darkness and journal what the Lord reveals to you this week.

Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

TURN AWAY MY EYES

“Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness.” (Psalm 119:33-40)

Wow, reading these verses in Psalm 119 really resonated with me today. I find that my eyes have not been focused on the Lord, but on worthless things that have drawn me away from Him. It never ceases to amaze me how easily I am distracted by those “worthless things” in my life. In fact, just in the last month I have wallowed in overwhelm and fear and allowed myself to be sidetracked by worthless e-mails, worthless thoughts and fears, worthless internet searches, and worthless television shows that keep me from being who God is calling me to be and the work God has for me for His purpose; ultimately leaving me empty and feeling alone as though God has forsaken me. The harsh reality is, God had forsaken me only because I had forsaken Him, I had abandoned Him. “The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2a-c) I willingly chose worthless things over my relationship with God. I was empty and alone because I chose to be! Wow, now that is something to chew on for a while.

We often think that separation from God only happens to those who don’t believe, to those who haven’t accepted Jesus as their savior. After all, what Christian would ever willingly choose to be separated from their Father in heaven? The reality is we are all susceptible to momentary separation from God. When we allow our eyes to lose focus on God and instead look to worthless things, we are willingly choosing the worthless things over our Creator, our Savior, our God. Yet, if we turn our focus back to God, repent for our sins and ask for forgiveness; He will restore us. He will revive us in His word and in His righteousness.

I, like the Psalmist, now yearn for the Lord: to teach me, to make me walk in the path of His commandments, to turn away my eyes from worthless things, and to help me abandon my shameful ways. I long for God’s word, for His instruction, and for His law! He has revived me and I am so very grateful. If your eyes are on worthless things and you find yourself separated from God, I pray that you too will be revived in God’s word and in His righteousness. Seek the Lord with all your Heart and you will find Him. “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity.” (Jeremiah 19:12-14a)

COACH’S CALL TO ACTION

• What are the worthless things in your life that take your eyes off God?


• How long will you allow these worthless things to separate you from God?


• Pray and meditate on Psalm 119:33-40 this week and journal what God reveals to you.

Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.