But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Exalt

Exalt:
1. To raise in rank, character or status; elevate.
2. To glorify, praise or honor.

Biblical meaning of exalt:
In Jesus' kingdom, those who exalt themselves will eventually find themselves humbled, and those that humble themselves will eventually be exalted. To be first we must be last.

As church started tonight the first two worship songs were about exalting the Lord. I began to wonder what the meaning of exalt was. So many times I throw around "christian" words and have no clue what their real meaning is. So, I googled exalt and found the definitions above. I then searched biblegateway.com for verses with exalt and there were tons. They all used the word exalt when talking about the Lord. When reading the meanings I realized exalt isn't just a word to use for anyone. Even the dictionary says glorify, praise or honor. The only person I should glorify is the Lord. I began went back to the song we sang in church tonight:

"He is exalted the king is exalted on high, I will praise him. He is exalted, forever exalted and I will praise his name. He is the Lord, forever his truth shall reign, heaven and earth, rejoice in his holy name. He is exalted the king is exalted on high."

I realized that I don't always exalt the Lord. Sometimes I get lazy and I don't speak about the Lord or talk to him in a way that exalts him (elevates, glorifies, praises, honors). And many times I find me exalting myself, and not practicing humility which is another topic the Lord has been working on me in.

So, my prayer is that I find myself exalting Jesus more, and in doing that I become humble.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Endurance

God has been talking to me a lot lately. I have been seeking him daily and it's always worth it. I just wanted to share something that I got out of journaling and reading the other day. I was having a breakdown the other night. I felt so defeated. School work was overwhelming and I ended up in my bed crying out to the Lord. It was getting really late but I knew God had work to do on me. I was honestly ready to quit school. The devil kept feeding me lies and I felt like I had no energy left to fight. After a long cry session on the phone with my mom, the Lord gave me peace. The next morning I went to journal and noticed a word that my friend Victoria had shared with me the day before. Endurance. That was it! My rhema word for the day. I began to look up scripture with that word and I found this:

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." Romans 5:3

What the Lord showed me through this verse and some others is this:
Gods Strength=endurance=perseverance=stability

Wow! I knew exactly what to ask God for, His strength. Throughout the day I continued to trade in my lack for his strength. That night didn't end in a crawl across the finish line like I had expected it to, but I was running and full of joy and peace. He is so faithful to meet us exactly where we are. If my faith is lacking, he knows, and he will make up the difference.