I HAVE EVERYTHING I NEED

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

-Psalm 23:1 (NKJV)

The Lord is our shepherd, our great provider. He gives us everything we need: guidance, rest, drink, strength, comfort, protection, shelter, food. Our God is the same God that provided for David even in the face of his enemies...how wonderful it is to know that He is on the throne and providing for us like He did for David.

Today I awoke with Psalm 23 playing in my head and I realized that I really do have everything I need and everything I have is truly a gift from God. Yet, I still find myself wanting more at times and not truly appreciating how God has provided for me, His sheep. He has blessed me with so much today and today I choose to be thankful and grateful for all my blessings. Each morning brings a new today and if, when I awake each morning, I choose to give thanks and be grateful for how the Lord has provided in my life I know that I am going to have a totally different attitude than if I start out worried about where the money is going to come from to pay for this, that or anything else that is looming over me at the time. By starting each morning being thankful, I have no need to worry because I know the Lord will provide for every need I have. God has blessed me with so much, but what I realized this morning is the He is my greatest blessing of all.

LORD, thank you for being my shepherd, my great provider. Thank you for giving me everything I need; for giving me shelter, food when I am hungry, drink when I thirst, guidance, comfort in Your arms, strength when I am weak, and rest when I am weary. I am so grateful that you provide for me the way you did for David and I know that even in the face of my enemies I have nothing to fear for you are with me each and every day of my life. What a blessing it is to have YOU as my shepherd, as my protector, as my provider. I lift up my arms to praise you Lord and thank you, Amen.

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• How is the Lord your shepherd, your provider?
  
• What are you thankful for today?
  
• How does being thankful and grateful for what the Lord has provided change the way things appear?

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

ARE YOU USING THE RIGHT MAP?

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.

-Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 (NKJV)

There is nothing new under the sun…we still see the same sin, the same corruption, the same desires of the flesh, the same wickedness today as thousands of years ago recorded in God’s word. When you look at life today and then, what is different? Yes, on the surface the world today looks very different, but when you look deeper; beneath the surface to the heart of man, there is nothing new. Solomon, like so many of us today, had devoted his life to the pursuit of pleasure and riches only to discover it was empty; there was no fulfillment in it. Here he was near the end of his life looking back at a life wasted chasing after worldly pleasures and realizing all is vanity when you lose sight of God.

A few years ago, I found myself feeling empty and unfulfilled in my job, my marriage, and my life. I was working sixty to seventy hours a week and when I was home physically; my mind was still at work. We had just moved in to a newer, larger home; I had just received a promotion at work; I had a loving husband who did more than his share around the house; and I had two beautiful, healthy children…but there was an emptiness inside of me. On the surface, I had everything, so what was missing? While I didn’t know it at the time, God was the missing piece. I was empty and unfulfilled because my life was lacking real purpose without God. I was searching for the treasure of fulfillment but I had the wrong map! I was running around in circles, lost and not knowing which way to turn. However, God is faithful and as He revealed Himself to me and drew me closer to Him, I realized that fulfillment didn’t come from a newer, bigger house; my job or a promotion at work; or even my family. Fulfillment comes from God and living your life for Christ.

So often we strive for bigger, better and more in life; hoping the void we feel inside will be filled. The only way to fill that void; the only way to truly experience fulfillment is with Christ at the center of your life. I used to tell myself, “If I can just get through this week, it will be ok; everything will be better.” One week turned into a month which turned into a year until several years had passed me by, wasted. I am so thankful I didn’t waste any more of my life searching for the treasure with the wrong map. The true treasure is Christ and the map is God’s word. Are you searching for the right treasure? Are you using the right map?

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• What is the treasure you have been seeking after?
  
• What treasure map have you used to guide you to your treasure?
  
• How will you know when you have found your treasure?

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

TO LAY DOWN ONE'S LIFE

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

John 15:13 (NKJV)

Freedom, it seems there is always a price to be paid for freedom. Throughout history, many have laid down their life for our freedom. And while we may not always agree with the politics involved in the military conflicts sending our brothers and sisters into battle, that does not diminish the sacrifice these men and women in the United States military willingly made and make for their country...for you, for me. Our brothers and sisters in the armed forces are willing to die for us and many have died for us; for our freedom.

As we here in the U.S. take pause this Veteran’s Day to remember and honor those who fought for our freedom, let us not forget the One who made the ultimate sacrifice and freed us all from the chains of our sin. The Son has made us free and we are free indeed. (John 8:36) So, this Veteran’s Day may we honor and remember all of the men and women who willingly gave of themselves, who willingly risked their own safety, their life, for us. And, may we remember and honor the Lord our God every day for the sacrifice He made for all mankind, that everyone, in the U.S. and throughout the world could be free from the bondage of sin through Him. Thank you Jesus!

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• Pray for the veteran’s who were willing to lay down their own life for us; who fought for you, for me and our children.
  
  
• How will you remember and honor the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for you; the Lord your God?

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

THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS

…”looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;”

-Hebrews 12:15 (NKJV)

I spoke to a dear sister in Christ recently who was really struggling with some decisions her husband had made and as she spoke, I could not help but notice the anger and the bitterness she had in her heart toward her husband at that moment. This conversation made a profound impact on my day and my life as I contemplated her situation and prayed for her, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my own sin. I too had bitterness toward my husband beginning to sprout in my heart. What started as a righteous desire for my husband and my family had turned into an ugly weed of bitterness, but how did this happen? Oh yes, instead of taking that righteous desire to the Lord in prayer and allowing Him to do the work in my husband, I decided to try to make him change in my own strength with the words from my mouth and when that didn’t work, bitterness began to grow almost unnoticed until that very moment. As I began to examine this root of bitterness, I noticed that there was a small blossom emerging. What could this tiny blossom be? Oh now I recognize it, that tiny blossom emerging that looks so pretty on the outside was the blossom of self-righteousness. While my initial desires were righteous, I had allowed them to sow a seed of bitterness that was not of the Lord which if left alone to grow and flourish would only produce more bitterness, self-righteousness and ultimately trouble for my marriage and my family. This root of bitterness needed to be exterminated and I needed a professional, so I took it to the Lord and after repenting and asking for forgiveness, the Lord was faithful to exterminate the root of bitterness that had begun to sprout in my heart and it’s emerging blossoms of self-righteousness, leaving behind a heart of humility and thankfulness for the blessing of my husband.

It is so easy to allow bitterness to take root in your heart. It may begin with an unfulfilled desire, covetousness, or the residual pain after you have been hurt by another. Whatever the cause, the root of bitterness may spring up in your heart and go unnoticed until it causes trouble and it cannot be ignored any longer. However, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is critical here, for He must reveal the root of bitterness before we can take it to the Lord for extraction. Do you have a root of bitterness springing up in your heart? Not sure? Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you any bitterness within.

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you any bitterness within.
  
• What was revealed to you?
  
• If any root of bitterness is revealed, repent and ask for forgiveness.
  
• What did the Lord replace your root of bitterness with?

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