Today’s Theme: The Power Connection
Today’s Dare: Dare to Plug into the Power Source
I am enjoying the comments that you are leaving here on the faith dare blog! Fellowship with others over spiritual growth inspires me and launches my focus upward…again and again. We are all in this together. Someday we will be with Jesus, no more tears, sorrows, etc. But, in the meantime, we live here on earth with real issues facing us on a regular basis. I don’t know about you, but I need to learn how to live, in the meantime…and Scripture tells me a very important starting place: PLUG IN TO THE POWER SOURCE!
I admit that it’s embarassing how often I don’t plug in and just go along on self-strength. And, I confess that my self-strength gets me too tangled up in the things and cares of ths world. I want to come untangled, stay untangled and live in the power of being carefree, trusting in the CARE of my Lord, Jesus Christ.
Today I plug in, once again, for this day. And, when life gets on overload, I push the spiritual “re-set” button and get His power again. When someone or something trips me up and the cord seems to come upluggged and my attitude unglued…I re-plug in the cord of my life to the power source of my maker.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” John 15:16
Our creator made us to bear fruit, that is what we were created for. The hair dryer I used this morning was manufactured to blow hot air to dry wet hair, and likewise can not be dried if the power cord is not plugged in. You and I , can not fulfill the creator’s plan for our lives unless we are plugged in! The power is HIS, but we must plug in. He chose us, and we choose to remain plugged into the one who chose us.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you…” John 15
There is a big IF….we need to pay attention. This is basic Bible, but it is the Basic Bible that we need to walk out on the real roads of our personal experience.
Living up! Yay!
I dare you to Live Up today too!
Debbie
As I woke this a.m. realizing I’m stuck in the same old place once again, I sat and prayed for the counselor to come along side me as I sat with Faith Dare. I asked why this again? Please show me. Surely I am progressing with my relationship with YOU. But why this gloomy hopeless cycle of emotions? Faithfully, I was led back to the first pages of the book. I am reverting to the familiar feelings and thinking “coping with life by performing, pleasing others, and perfection… dead inside… dealing with a secret; varying grades of depression.” Returning to “my natural default caused by my fear of not being enough, being left out, or having to prove myself” at the center of my life and my heart.
Today, I admit I have been caught in this vortex of self-reliance and self-dependence at a level I have never seen or understood before today. Survival mode is so familiar that letting go of me seeing myself through uncertainty and pain, keeps God out and me alone. I have had many glimpses of this cycle, but not like today’s God revealing experience.
The truth is; He has always been there, I just have not been aware of Him. “I believe God is who He says He is!”
“I know things will not change until I power down from self and restart with the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Debbie has “made this summer one of the most life-changing times of my life.” From the bottom of my heart thank you. Lisa too!
“Fasting from self!”
As we gathered together as a group last night we were all thankful for your obedience to God in writing this. Daring to fast from self, learning the purpose of testing our faith…not easy but so rewarding. The first seven days of living up and God exposing areas of my life where I was missing the mark, kind of like being just on the outside looking in. Feeling everything was just fine, I was doing just fine. Then God revealing just fine was not what He intended for me!
One thing we all agreed on last night was how good it felt to know that there are so many women doing the same thing on the same day, and being so personal to each one of us!
I love the visual of plugging a hair dryer into a power source in order for it to work properly. I think of that every time I use my hair dryer. Today, I took the last dare on page 94 and stepped out of my comfort zone. My friend called this afternoon with bad diagnosis about her daughter’s biopsy and I prayer for her on the phone. This is a big step for me and I know I could not have done it without plugging into Jesus first. Thanks for encouraging and inspiring me.
I am humbly amazed by how God puts things together. I was not in a very good place personally when I was writing the Faith Dare this time last year. But, God kept challenging me and now it’s so exciting to see how God Himself is challenging others and me….NOW. God is so good. I thank Him for His power. Without Him…nothing.
Janice, I am so excited that God is moving in your life! Yay!
I remember this lesson vividly when you were teaching 12 years ago or so. For this dare today, God gave me the image of a breadmaker machine. It sits in my cupboard, unused. If I am a breadmaker, and I plug into God, I am saying “I am ready to be used by you, Lord.” And then He fills me up as I read the Word, the Truth, listen to praise songs, pray, and only then will I have a loaf of bread…to feed my family, to feed friends in need, to nourish others around me and to also keep me healthy and strong in the Lord.
I love the analogy of the hair dryer and plugging in to the power source. The new thought for me is REMAIN.
We need to plug in to recharge. I had to recharge my camera battery yesterday. It was low and I needed my camera for a special afternoon. I forgot to put it in the charger earlier and figured I could put it in for the few moments I had to give me enough power for my task. I got what I was after, yet the whole time I was using it, I was anxious, wondering if it was going to quit just when I needed that perfect shot!
So it is with our connection with God. If we sit with Him a little, we may get a boost of charge, but we live in anxiousness and fear, not fully trusting Him in all circumstances. Plugging in for the full day strengthens our faith for that day.
I know that I need to plug in and be connected to Him, but God is asking that I stay connected the whole day each day. The challenge is not to let the circumstances of the day cause me to trip over the cord and disconnect my power source.
My challenge for the day is to be prepared for the “toys on the floor” so to speak, that are not where I think they should be, causing my to trip and disconnect. I won’t disconnect whey I remain connected to the One Whose plans for my day can’t be changed. See how the previous days all work together?
My devotion time today had a few things that I wanted to share with you.
From Streams in the Desert July 19
Strange and difficult indeed
We may find it,
But the blessing that we need
Is behind it.
Also, The school of suffering graduates exceptional scholars.
From Jesus Calling
Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel. If you persist, your feelings will eventually fall in line with your faith.
A woman who is leading faith dare with a group shared her illustration with me and I loved it….She has this little hot wax pot that is used for floral arranging. It is a little bowl with a cord attached that when plugged in heats up the hard wax in the pot. So while it is plugged in, the wax is soft and moldable.In this state it is useful. But, once it is unplugged it gets hardened and the wax is like a brick or a block and is not useful for anything. To be useful it must be heated up and made pliable. That can only be done by being plugged in.
As I touched the little pot with hard cold wax I was reminded of how I can get stiff like that when I am not energized by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Left to myself for very long without power….and the warmth of God…I am hard and not useful too.
I got this from a friend. Love the illustration!
I’m reading a book called, “The Divine Embrace” by Ken Gire, in which he says our walk with God is really more like a dance. When we lose ourselves in His embrace, gaze constantly into His eyes and let Him lead (instead of me!!) and follow the rythm of His music and voice, that’s when we stay connected, plugged in and take one step at a time – by faith. It’s really a beautiful idea.
I just “plugged in” to Faith Dare #8…
Debbie, God bless you for listening for our Lord’s lead and more blessedly…for obeying His call…your humble, caring, teaching heart gets right to the core of real concerns with Godly solutions. With all my heart, thank you!
A few days ago an extended family member’s recurring unkindness popped up in my life once again…my usual response is to “graciously” cut and run…ah, that works:)…not:)!
The reality is, this person is not going to change…When I’m “powered” by rightous indignation…(nothing rightous about it:))…my angst intensifies and nothing goes forward.
But when I’m plugged into God’s Word and bowed before Him in prayer, “Take me out Jesus and put You in…” the Spirit calms my spirit and everything goes so much better…so much!
Your Faith Dare came just in time!