Are You Ready???

(Proverbs 30:21-23) 'Under three things the earth is DISQUIETED, and under four it CANNOT BEAR Up... Under a servant when he reigns, a [empty-headed] fool when he is filled with food, AN UNLOVED and REPUGNANT WOMAN WHEN SHE IS MARRIED, and a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.'

 
When I read the above scripture verse this morning, it seemed to JUMP off the page straight to my heart. I now look back over my life and realize that when I really was aching to be loved and married, I WAS NOT READY! I've since learned that God postpones our desires when we are not delighted in Him first. Psalm 37:4 reminds us of it...."Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart."

I know a lot of single mothers (myself included) who are now or were left alone raising children mainly because they were looking for some man to fulfill a space that only God can fulfill. We often look outside ourselves to fulfill our desires for love, when LOVE is activated best when we are IN-Love with the One who is LOVE. How can we attract love when we don't actually have it from within first? Every physical manifestation of this life starts from within first. God wants to do the HEART work ON YOU FIRST so that you will be ready to attract what you REALLY desire. So I ask you have you done the HEART work to be ready for him who you desire?

If you haven’t, let's dig deeper and LOOK at the two words that God's Word says about women that DISQUIETS the earth and it CANNOT BEAR UP....

RE•PUG•NANT (r-pgnnt) adj. 1 Incompatible, Inconsistent 2 Hostile 3 Arousing disgust or aversion; offensive or repulsive

UNLOVED (unˈluvd) adj. 1 not loved or cared for 2 feeling neglected

Now, let's LOOK at the word we all desire....

LOVE (luv) n. 1. a person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; BELOVED. Often used as a term of endearment. 2. a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

LOVE (luv) vb. 1. to hold dear, cherish 2. to feel affection or experience desire

LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) 4 LOVE endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. 5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. 6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. 8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].


God's LOVE REQUIRES A LOT!!! More than most of us as mothers are NOT ready to give this kind of love. We say we desire love but are we LOVE? God EMPOWERS us to give the LOVE that He wishes for us to experience. If we go after love WITHOUT Him, we become REPUGNANT and UNLOVED. This makes us DISQUIETED in our hearts and spirit. We then display it on the earth for the man that arrives into our lives. When he then experiences your display he CANNOT BEAR UP under it to be all that you desire him to be. It’s no wonder so many of us are left alone because we have not tapped into the POWER SOURCE to sustain us to give and experience love in a way that is BELOVED as God sees it.

So, I ask you again are you ready for LOVE? Have you done the HARD HEART work that is required to arrive to the place you desire? Are you willing to put in time to STUDY GOD and His ways by getting to know Him better through reading His Word and asking Him to guide your steps and keeping you in the shadow of His wings until you are ready? Being alone is an opportunity to PREPARE ourselves for the One our heart desires. We can then receive the one God has prepared to LOVE us as we desire.

Be encouraged and EMPOWERED moms, he is on his way to you as you move closer to the One who will send him. But God first desires to shower His Love on you so that you will be able to recognize him when he shows up. Remember….without God we are “repugnant and unloved”… not too appealing to him who is God sent. So, go and prepare for him, then you will be READY!

"Is Your Love REALLY Love or is it Manipulation?"

(Acts 17:28) - "For in Him we live and MOVE and have our being....We are his offspring."

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8) - "LOVE is PATIENT, LOVE is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love NEVER fails..."

Have you ever tried to get someone to do something you want them to do? Do you believe your actions are best for what you want to achieve? Have a seat and let's examine what may be the root of the issue for this action. 

Quite often we try to move others by our efforts rather than by the efforts of the Spirit. If we are not careful, we may show disrespect to others and to God by not allowing others to be moved in their heart first. Trying to be "Holy Spirit Jr." makes us tired, frustrated, and most of out of the will of God. It proves we are unable to handle what is meant to be done in God's power. If we don't pray and seek God first, we can be tempted to try to manipulate or control others into doing what we want in the time and plan we desire. So why do we do it given the destructive results?

We as women have a big temptation to control things/people in order to get things done in our timing. It is part of the curse placed on us in the garden when God said, "Your DESIRE will be for your husband, and he will RULE over you.” (Genesis 3:16) This scripture shows a biblical example of the submission we are to have towards a higher authority beyond what we want/desire.

There is a reason Self-Control is part of the Fruit of the Spirit. Quite often we try to control others when we are actually called to control ourselves. Maybe we are being called to pray about it instead of say anything about it. Or act loving towards someone who has hurt us. Or maybe patiently listen when we are in a hurry to respond with our answer. Or submit our prayers to the Lord for Him to protect and guide our teenager's choices versus trying to control their every move.

The root of manipulation is fear. Fear that breeds selfishness and power. Fear is an evil lurking in our hearts seeking whom it may devourer. Did you know that manipulation or as the bible calls it the Jezebel spirit is a form of withcraft? Seems a little shocking doesn't it? We don't like to look at for what it truly is. Witchcraft is the practice used to control or have power over others/things. Since God is the only Sovereign being, we were best designed to submit our control over to Him. When we manipulate, we are trying to stand in the place that is reserved for God and His Power.

Manipulation is a tactic of the enemy and will always be revealed for what it is...a deception. When other's realize they are being manipulated the temporary power one believes they have will burn up against the flame of God's Love. Where there is manipulation there is no Peace. There will be evidence of anger, frustration, worry, and all the things that are not part of the Fruit of the Spirit. Peace is from God and is another ingredient of the Fruit of the Spirit. 2 Kings 9:22 tells us, "When Joram saw Jehu he asked, 'Have you come in peace Jehu? HOW CAN THERE BE PEACE,' Jehu replied, 'as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?'”

God often allows frustrations in life as an opportunity to bring us to a point of submission to Him so that we can then be a greater overflow of His Love to others. If this article is speaking to your heart, go before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness and repent. Ask Him to help you to change from this action and begin to reflect the character that looks like His image. Look up scriptures related to Love, control, & power to see what speaks to your heart on the subject. May your search for God's Love enrich and encourage you to a life that has BEAUTY for the ashes of your past actions. STAY in His Blessing!