Unglued.

When crafting or creating something I almost always use some sort of glue or something to hold my creation together. When I created a wreath- I used wire to hold it together, created a card-used tape to seal it shut, created a blanket-used thread to sew it together, etc. This past week, I've had some real aha heart moments that I would like to share with you all today....

As I attempted to get a devotion figured out that I was asked to lead at my church the other morning, and figure out what the Lord was putting on my heart, some road blocks hit me, one being my sweet children and their needs.... Does quiet time ever really happen? 

One morning, I got frustrated at being distracted yet again and I snapped at Riley for distracting me from my Bible study, I then felt guilty for reacting that way with a Bible in my lap and then came the feelings of being unworthy to lead a devotional time since I clearly don't have it all together. In fact, I'm kind of “unglued”. I got this idea of being an “unglued” women from Lisa Terkeurst's book “Unglued” I encourage everyone to read it!

I often find myself letting my feelings and emotions dictate what my reactions to hard times, hormonal times, stressful times, you name it times, will be and I then end up reacting by letting it all out in an emotional outburst, or pushing it all in for protection. Either way I often find myself in a bit of an “unglued”, crazy, emotional state. Clearly the creation that I long to be needs a little glue. I need Jesus to be the glue in my life. I need him to hold me together so that I can honor the Lord in my actions and reactions to everyday life. I want my God-given emotions help me to fully experience life, not destroy it. I want Jesus to be my glue and I think that a perfect example of someone who has let God be their glue instead of coming unglued like I so often do is Jehoshaphat.

{You should READ 2^nd CHRONICLES 20:1-30}

Before we go deeper into Jehoshaphat, I need to tell you a little story. I woke up the other morning to Tyler announcing from the living room that he had spilled coffee all over my computer. To put this accident into perspective, we have replaced three computers and 2 cracked screens all within the last 5 years. So with that little nugget of experience I flew out of bed in effort to help save the computer. But I was just so annoyed that I yelled, I kinda freaked out, I panicked, Riley tried helping the situation by announcing that it was ok, cause we can just buy a new one and Tyler obviously felt horrible and it all just came unglued because of my reaction. So here I was starting my day off completely wrong and in a frenzy. The thing is, after I was able to calm down and listen to the Holy Spirit, I was reminded that just yesterday, the Lord was telling me how I am redeemed. I long to be changed from my tendency to lose it and spew on those I love or stuff it and become bitter toward others. I just said “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”, there's great power in that name and I forget to tap into that. I often pray for miracles and healing for others, but I forget to ask the Lord that I need a miracle too. I'm not a patient or gentle person by nature, but I don't have to be a slave to the old Aubrey, I have been given the power through God to be a changed person. I can glorify God, I can be patient because God is patient, I can be gentle because Jesus is gentle. I forget that I am redeemed. I forget that I am made new. A lot of items I've come across on Pinterest are things that have been made from old pallets. I read somewhere that so many people are making things from old pallets that they've actually become a bit hard to come by now. So when we are able to get our hands on one, we get excited because we can take something old and ugly and make it new and usable. I think God does just the same with us. He can fix our brokenness and make us usable for His kingdom. Maybe you are different from me and when life hits you in the face, you stuff how you feel and let those feelings build walls around your heart and cause bitterness. I tend to come unglued, but I don't have to come undone because that's how “I've always been” I can be made new, I can stay held together and I can glorify the Lord. That's exactly what Jehoshaphat did. In a time when he was facing ruin and coming unglued might have been completely understandable, he did 5 things;

He remembered who God is

Read 20:3-4 “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord...” He was alarmed, He had emotions and feelings, but he wasn't ruled by those feelings, instead he turned to God. “Resolved” means “firmly determined to do something” Something we can learn from Jehoshaphat is that before he was put in emotional, tough situations, he had decided how he would respond. Back in ch 18:4 when King Ahab is asking Jehoshaphat to go to war with him, he states that Ahab should “first seek the counsel of the Lord” then in 19:3 Jehu is both rebuking him and praising him, “...have set your heart on seeking God.” Jehoshaphat had predetermined that he would be a man that sought the Lord. And in this moment of fear of being taken over, he was firmly determined to remember who God is in vs 6. So when I start to feel like life is a little crazy and out of control, I can firmly determine myself to remember who God is. Making up our mind at how we will respond before we are in the thick of life is important; Luke 21:13 tells us to “make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves” I want to defend myself against the enemy through remembering who God is.

 

He focused on God

Read 20:12 Jehoshaphat tells God that he doesn't know what to do but that he is going to focus on Him. We can focus on God through reading the Bible, through prayer, through even just saying “Jesus”. When I get stressed about finances, I can read the Bible and about God's promise to provide for all my needs. But sometimes I am at such a loss at what to say or do that “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” is all that comes out and there is just such power in that name. Just saying His name helps me to calm down a lot and really put my focus and attention on God.

He recognized that its not his battle to fight

Read 20:12 God's job is to fight the battle, ours is to bring glory to and obey Him. I need to obey God, but in situations like the coffee incident, I instantly try to fix it or make a solution and I totally miss the opportunities to show my children and husband the power of Jesus by not reacting as I normally would and instead just trust the Lord. I think often times we get in God's way by trying to manipulate and fight whatever battle it is, on our own and in our own way. Jehoshaphat doesn't try and figure a way to overcome the seeming defeat, instead he recognized that this battle is God's and his job was to do exactly as God had instructed. And God's instruction was to send out the choir to the front lines of battle...I don't know about you, but this military tactic seems a little crazy, but Jehoshaphat did just as he's told and....

He praised and thanked God

Read 20:21 I don't know about you all, but for me when I feel overwhelmed and crazy, singing praises to God and thanking Him really helps me to change my prospective. My circumstance doesn't always change immediately, but when my prospective is changed, whatever it is that I'm going through becomes all the more bearable.

He realized his reaction impacted many others for God

Read 20:29-30 Many, many people were so impacted at this story that they feared God. We have such opportunities to impact those around us for Jesus in our daily reactions and actions. Its in these critical moments and decisions to turn to the Lord for help that we can either testify to the love and power of God or we can disprove the authentic walk that we have with Jesus. I so badly want the first in my life. While I realize that I will mess up again and just because I've read about Jehoshaphat I'm not going to suddenly be perfect, but I can certainly draw near to Jesus, and let more of him show through and less of me. I want to remember to turn to God to hold me together and to be the glue in my life so others can see that I live with Jesus. In Acts 4:13 people are astonished at the courage of Peter and John, and even though they are ordinary, unschooled, ugly pallet men, these people took note that Peter and John had been with Jesus. I want my life to reveal that I too, have been with Jesus.

{I gave this devotional at my church's craft day yesterday and already I've been "given" many times to implement this in my life. God's word is so alive and wow have I learned from King Jehoshaphat}