MY STRENGTH AND MY PORTION FOREVER

“My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

-Psalm 73:26 (NKJV)

I was reminded of my mortality recently as I lay on the couch in my living room with a box of tissues at my side and praying with every cough and sneeze that the Lord would come soon. My aching body reminded me that my body here on this earth is temporary and it will fail. I cannot rely on my body or my heart to get me through from one day to the next; nor can I count on either to lead me down the path everlasting. My flesh and my heart fail me regularly, yet I keep looking for strength from within. How silly is this; to keep doing what I have always done and expect the outcome to somehow be different?

The Psalmist reminds us that while our flesh and heart fail, we can rely on God; for He is our strength and portion forever. I have had many hours to reflect and meditate on these words over the past weeks and through this reflection time, the Lord has revealed to me how I have relied on my flesh and my heart continually and then I find myself shocked and disappointed when I fail. I keep trying to control my eating, to wake up early for dedicated time with the Lord, to manage my schedule, to manage my house, to train my children in and of myself; my own strength. Then I wonder why I keep binging on sweets, oversleeping, stressing out trying to get my schedule to work, falling short on my household duties, and struggling not to lose my temper with the kids. I look around me, at my life, and notice all the little things that scream “failure!” But what makes one a success or a failure? Is the measure of one’s success his wealth, his home, his possessions? I have come to realize the only true measure of success is living for Christ; being obedient to God’s calling on your life whether that makes you a success or failure by the world’s standard. So, I am surrendering my struggle with sweets, my desire to sleep in, my schedule, my household duties, and the training of my children. I am surrendering it all to Him; my strength and my portion forever. I am trusting that He is wiser and stronger than I and I am turning my life over to Him in complete surrender for the things of this world are temporary, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!

Freedom awaits, will you join me today in surrendering all, everything; every burden, every desire, every struggle, every fear, every challenge, every decision to the Lord?

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• Pray and ask the Lord to reveal what He wants you to surrender, what He wants you to let go of and give over to Him.
  
• Listen…what is His answer?
  
• Each and every thing He has revealed, surrender it all to Him in prayer.

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

HAVE YOU LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE?

“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent.”

-Revelation 2:2-5 (NKJV)

As I sat listening to the sermon in church this past Sunday, I came to realize that like the church at Ephesus, I have left my first love. My passion for the Lord, that once burned hot and bright, has waned to a small flickering flame that barely has the strength to endure. Wow, I cannot begin to express how this pains me to know that I have allowed myself to leave my first love; I have allowed myself to be lured away from my Lord, my God! Yes, I am still doing the same “good works” that I did before, but it is without the passion for the Lord that I once had. So where do I go from here? How do I return to my first love? How do I rekindle the flame that is threatening to extinguish? The answer I seek is found as I read on to Revelation 2:5, “Remember from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent.” I remember from where I have fallen, it is now time for me to repent and return to my first love; my Lord, my God!

It is so easy to get distracted by the things of this life and lured away from our first love. I encourage you today to search your heart and ask yourself, “Is my passion for the Lord just as strong today or stronger than it once was or have I left my first love?” If you find your passion and love for the Lord have waned, I exhort you today to remember from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works.

May you never leave your first love and may your passion for the Lord burn bright for all to see! “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 NKJV)

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• From where have you fallen?
  
• What does a life passionate for Christ look like for you?
  
• When will you begin?

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

PATIENTLY WAITING ON THE LORD

And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore, I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
-1 Samuel 13:11-12 (NKJV)

Here in 1 Samuel 13, we see how Saul made a foolish error in judgment. Saul panicked when he saw his people scattering from him in fear of the Philistines. He didn’t know what to do when Samuel was delayed and did not arrive when expected. So, rather than wait patiently on the Lord and trust that Samuel would come, Saul decided to take matters into his own hands. Saul took it upon himself to offer up a burnt offering which he was not qualified to do. Because of this error in judgment, Saul’s dynasty would end.

Have you ever felt compelled to take action without God’s direction? I know I have. There are definitely times when I grow impatient, I get excited about something, or I panic out of fear; when I get tired of waiting and I take action…my action. I would definitely not consider these shining moments in my life because the Lord was not a part of them, His hand wasn’t in them. This reminds me of a story my brother shared with me a few months back that I now share with his permission.

Several years back, my brother (Steven) and his wife (Kim) had a wonderful yellow lab named Riley that would travel around with Steven when he went to visit his Home Care patients. Riley and Steven were pretty much inseparable. However, there came a time when Steven and Kim had to make the difficult decision to give Riley away to a family with older children since Riley had started to growl and act aggressive toward their young daughter. After this difficult time, Steven and Kim decided not to get another dog and went many years without one. Then several months ago, they went to a breeder to see some puppies that were for sale at the suggestion of a friend. Of course, when faced with the opportunity to take one of these adorable little puppies home, they could not resist. So, they purchased this cute little puppy and welcomed him into their family. However, they soon realized they had made a mistake. The Lord did not lead them nor direct them to purchase a puppy; He was not part of this decision. After having the puppy in their home for only one week, it became apparent to them that they had rushed into things. They had made this decision to buy this puppy because it was what they wanted, not where the Lord was leading them. Fortunately for the puppy, Steven and Kim had friends that were happy to take the little dog and give him a wonderful and loving home.

So often we take action out of impulse, impatience or fear but if God is not directing that action, it will most certainly not end the way we want it to. The Lord our God wants faithful servants who will trust and obey Him. Are you a faithful servant?

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• What is it that you are feeling compelled to do?
  
• What is it that is compelling you?
  
• What would it look like to trust and obey the Lord and wait for His direction?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

GO TO THE ANT

“Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep - So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.”

-Proverbs 6:6-11 (NKJV)

The ant does what it must to survive when it must do it, it doesn’t wait until it feels like gathering food to actually gather the food, it gathers food in the harvest...when it is time to gather food. You won’t find the ant making excuses or finding reasons to sleep longer, hitting the snooze button on the alarm and rolling over for just a couple more minutes of sleep. Yet, I often find myself wanting to sleep just a few minutes more...usually because I haven’t gone to bed early enough the night prior. I struggle with staying up late and watching television with my husband. This creates a slippery slope for me, because I stay up late watching television, I find it difficult to wake up and get going in the morning so I sleep in until the last possible second and then I rush around trying to get everything done in a very small window of time. No wonder I feel stressed in the mornings. No wonder my life is in chaos, my house is in disarray, and I am always rushing to where I need to go. I am a sluggard, convicted of choosing sleep over not only my workouts, but time with the Lord! When I choose sleep, I fail to put the Lord first in my life; I fail to give Him my first fruits. The Lord has revealed to me that I must say “NO” to staying up late watching television with my husband for me to say “YES” to being healthy, to getting my workouts in and most importantly, to say “YES” to the Lord and the plan He has for my life.

After 13 years in the Health and Fitness field, I have heard all of the barriers, excuses, reasons people have for not exercising, for not eating right, etc. The funny thing is, now as a life coach I see those same reasons stopping people from being who they are truly longing to be and more importantly, being who God has called them to be. So often we choose to be the sluggard rather than the ant and we either sooth and comfort ourselves for making those choices with reasons or excuses for doing so or we beat ourselves up for it until we feel even more miserable. The irony is, few choose to take the steps necessary to change the destructive cycles they are in and whether they choose to comfort and sooth or choose to condemn their choices, it often leads right back to the same behaviors. I am sure you have heard the saying “Knowledge is Power,” well, having the knowledge does not give us the power nor the strength to change. Knowledge only tells us what we should do, it is up to us to decide what we do with that knowledge; it is up to us to take action and apply it to our life and get the support we need when we are weak. Knowledge is found in the Word and the strength when we are weak is found in the Lord. So, it ultimately comes down to this: knowing God’s Word by hearing and reading the Bible, taking action and applying the Word of God to our life, and turning to the Lord in prayer for support and strength when we are weak.

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• Where are you choosing to be the sluggard?
  
• What would the ant be doing differently?
  
• What action will you take today, this week to be more like the ant?
  
• How will you seek out support to give you strength when you are weak?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.