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Little Task; Big Task
Obedience in the Little Tasks
It is an exciting time for Leola right now. She is coming into the work God gave her many years ago. She is staring out the window from her Jesus chair remembering all the work she has done to prepare for this day yet knowing it still isn’t enough to prepare her for the future. She still knows there is a long way to go. God has had her do works she had no idea would prepare her for today. She created Strategic Life Skills Workshops she has never taught, under His direction. She has written newsletters never seen before by the public. She has gone places and done many things under His orders. She has also disobeyed God in many instances because she didn’t think what He was asking her to do was appropriate for her direction. As she thinks about her disobedience she wonders what she had not learned the easy way because she chose to disobey. She understands today obedience is not about understanding it is about doing.
Leola is thinking about boundaries again because they tie in with obedience. She knows from experience if boundaries do not surround her goals the goals they will never be met. How often do people set goals and never attain them because they neglect to include boundaries with their goals? Each goal is set with the expectation it will be reached but they never are because the way is not prepared. When God told Leola she would speak in public her first reaction was to join Toastmasters to practice speaking. There she learned how to write a speech and speak properly, use appropriate language and props, and how to dress. She posted videos on YouTube to practice teaching the Bible. Each time she did what God required she got more adept at doing His will and more prepared for His big task. She always wondered when the time would come when everything He told her would come into fruition. She never stopped doing what He told her to do because each little task was the preparation work for the big task.
Obedience and preparation go hand in hand with God. Those who wait on the Lord are not sitting on the couch watching television they are preparing themselves for the big task the Lord will ask them to do. Each person the Lord called He also prepared with information about the future. Moses was told He would lead God’s people to the Promised Land. Gideon knew He was going to free God’s people. Paul knew He was going to bring the Gentiles the Gospel. If you know one character in the Bible that was perplexed about His duties please let me know because I haven’t found him or her yet. Even Jesus knew He would die and why. Each Bible character had boundaries set up to make sure they went in the direction God told them to go, not going to the right or to the left but straight ahead. When God tells you His goal (the big task) for you, you can do nothing but get prepared for it. It is about the work we do to learn, the work we do to practice and the work we do to become an expert at what God is calling us to do.
Getting Prepared for the Big Task
The big task is what Leola is super excited about. All the little tasks are sometimes boring and time consuming however each one of them has to be done to get prepared for the big task. Leola eventually got to the place in her walk with God of complete obedience so she will eventually get to the big task. She wants to be prepared for it lest she be of no effect to the women she is serving. It is about God but more so about His children. She is here to serve God in a specific capacity for His children. She has learned she is serving His women to serve Him but she wants to serve the women He wants her to serve. To do that she needs to know who He wants her to serve and in what capacity. Serving His women means she needs to be prepared to deal with what they bring. Are they disobeying Him? She can serve. Are they guilty of sin? She can serve. Are they ignorant of God’s message? She can serve because she has been there and done that. Do they ignore Him? She can serve. She has gone from serving self to serving God to serving women. His great teachings have prepared her to serve Him and His women at the same time. Her obedience in the little tasks over the last 15 years has prepared her to serve His women in her big task. Bring it on!
Perhaps, you do not know what God has prepared for you. Perhaps, He has removed your memory as a result of your disobedience to Him (Matthew 13:12, 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 19:26). If God has removed your memory of the big task, implore Him to remind you again, and set your heart to preparing for it. Learn how to set boundaries around the goal He has for you. This is my job in the body of Christ. I am here to help you prepare for the big task God has laid upon your heart but if you do not know it you cannot prepare for it. I am currently writing about creating boundaries as the first book in a series about Leola and Veronica’s business named Crown for Life. Expect “The White Picket Fence” in the fall to help you with setting and defending boundaries to get to your goals. We are all here for a reason and that reason is to serve God and… No one is here to serve God alone but to serve His people as well. Jesus said when we serve people we serve Him (Matthew 25:31-46). Even when you are prepared and in the big task God prepares you for another big task. You will spend your life becoming prepared from one task to another. Don’t get tired from doing the small tasks. Be the wise servant who can be trusted with little so when much comes Jesus knows you are prepared to be trusted with it.
Meditation Verses: Matthew 13:12, 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 19:26; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16
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Becoming an Overcomer is Easier than you think!
Revelation Chapter 1, 2 and 3 call us to be overcomers. Have you read it? Take some time now and read it before reading on. They are hefty chapters to read but describe what our walk, as Christian’s, should look like. For a glimpse of your reward in full colour for eternity, should you choose to be an overcomer, read chapter 21 and 22 as well.
I have been a happy person most of my life because I make the choice to be happy. That absolutely, doesn’t mean I don’t get sad or angry or depressed because I do. I go through a process that is very helpful to me to overcome the bad thoughts, the bad habits and the bad actions I will take that I KNOW I am going to regret later! Jesus was an overcomer and we are too! It is easier than you think but it does take practice and perseverance!
Practice Recognizing Your Mental Status
One of the things I struggled with most of the time was failing to recognize, in a timely manner, my negative mental status before I did something stupid. With practice I was able to recognized it and change the way I was feeling/thinking! Mind you, it took some time to be able to do it but I persevered and am pretty quick at it now. I have gone from days/weeks to minutes! Memorizing 2 Timothy 1:7 really helps, For God did not give me a spirit of fear but of power and of love and a sound mind. [Modifications mine] Power and love and a sound mind are ours to have because we have the Spirit living in us.
When my mental status is not good I would do my very best to recognize it as quick as possible and begin saying, “I do not have the spirit of fear in me but power and love and a sound mind.” There are other verses you can memorize such as Philippians 4:8; Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 3:5 but 2 Timothy for me was fast and powerful. Recently, I have begun praying (Focus on Doing My Best Blog) over everything I do and I cannot tell you how much that has changed my mental status as well.
The only way we can change our thinking is to change our thinking! I know that sounds simply said but it is the biggest truth you will ever have to recognize. I know right now you are saying, “I cannot control what is in my head.” The Father says you can and, from experience, with full confidence I can say it too! Replace the negative thoughts filling your head and you will change the thoughts filling your head. Philippians 4:8 will be your train of thought if you make it so.
Practice Your Plan Prepared in Advance
Once I got mediocre at recognizing my down turn in thinking I discovered the need for rules of engagement during negative mental status days. I knew it was going to take some time for me to recognize it and change it so I needed a plan to avoid the regrettable things I would do. During the good times of thinking I knew that I would come upon one of those times when my thinking would spiral down so I devised a set of rules to save me. Engagement rule one was the most important rule for me: avoid any major decisions. Number two was no purchases above $25. Another rule was to avoid social outings if possible. I persevered at these rules and made new ones when warranted because I absolutely abhorred hurting people with my words or actions. It was during the implementation of these rules that I started writing life skills workshops (About me) to help me overcome.
I had nothing better to do in these times than to cry out to God. When you implement ways to assist in overcoming God starts talking. He revealed so many mysteries to me. Jeremiah 33:3 came to life to me (Read about that) and it will for you too. I cannot tell you enough – go to Elohim in prayer about this and He will help you recognize quicker and reveal to you what you need to do to overcome the negative and avoid the undesirable behaviours.
Practice Seeing the Insignificant Until it Becomes Significant!
The insignificant is the significant in this case. I was starting small to celebrate every single time I did something against what my self-serving soul wanted me to do. Every single time I made an advance in the direction of a sound mind I celebrated. I could see change almost every single day. I argued less, hollered less, spent less money, gossiped less and I cannot be sure but I think I hated people less too. I made a habit of seeing every insignificant step I made so I could document my progress. I needed to see my progress because I knew I would give up if I didn’t.
Each of us has to see our progress, as insignificant as it is, to remain encouraged about where we are headed. Job had heard of God, like we have heard of others who succeed at this, but Job went through all manner of negative mental statuses before God allowed him to ‘see’ Him. When Job was at the most receptive point in his struggle, God allowed him to see how deep His love is for Him and the world. When we persevere at seeing the insignificant, we can celebrate each one of them until we see the significance of God all around us. I cannot tell you how truly amazing that actually is, but as an overcomer, you can find that out for yourself.
You Can Do It Too!
Each day I dealt with my negative mental status, it became clear to me that using Scripture and God’s testimony was a major game changer. I tried in the past to use pithy sayings and quotes from people I admired but nothing changed my thinking faster and more permanently than the Words of God and the testimony of God. David said it perfectly in Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. This fact has given way to the person I am today and what I want to accomplish in His will. I am convinced you can use Scripture as well to mould your mind into the sound mind that God created in you. With practice and perseverance recognizing your negative thinking, using rules to control it and celebrating each success you too will be an overcomer and go beyond Heaven.
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A Mantra to get into His Will!
By Kathleen Derbyshire
Have you ever noticed that when things are going well our communication with God is so much better but when things are not so well it is hard to pray? I find my mind wondering back to my problem over again. I think about things that will help solve my problem rather than asking the Holy Spirit to give me the way to solve my problem. As a matter of fact I forget to ask Him in the good times too. Revelation is what I need more than anything else so going it on my own looks less and less useful. We know deep down that God’s ways are the best ways so we should just ask God!
Jeremiah 33:3 should be our mantra if revelation is what we want to solve our problems. I love this verse because it tells me how to get revelation. I am not looking for new information I am looking for information I do not know. I am looking for information regarding the salvation of my problems. I am looking for information regarding the building up of my character. I am looking for information to manage with the world and those who live in it. I’m sure that you are looking for the same thing. We need to know how not to make mistakes or how to recover from the ones we already made. This can only be done if we get revelation from the Father. Let’s pick this verse apart and add others to make sure we fully understand what revelation is and how we can utilize it to do what Jesus really wants us to do. In other words we need revelation to remain in the will of God.
Our mantra Jeremiah 33:3 says, Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
Let us start with the simple but powerful words from our Lord ‘call to Me.’ He says this because He is the only One who can guide us in a direction that will result in solutions for our troubles. I wish that this was my first line of defense but it is not right now. I call on the Lord when I cannot figure it out on my own. My own strength is my immediate resource for issue resolution. If God has gifted you will administration and exhortation as He has with me you are nodding your head right now but if you have another gifting like mercy, compassion or helps you might go to God first and you are finger wagging me. We are all gifted differently and those giftings lead us in specific directions resulting in not really needing God to be productive BUT that is not what He wants from us. He wants us to call on Him because He is the one who knows what our future holds, what our past was and what our present status is. Psalm 34:17 says emphatically, the righteous cry out and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all of their troubles [emphasis mine]. All we need to do is cry out or call to Him to begin the process of Him hearing us and answering us.
Without the hearing He cannot answer us! Our biggest problem may not be the crying out part but the listening part. Three verses come to mind in this stage of our mantra, Psalm 91:1 and Psalm 42:7-8. The former tells us that we need to dwell in His secret place to learn how to hear Him. His secret place is a hard place to find and be inside of. We have to be persistent in looking and resolute in staying, which means we need to be determined to hear Him. My mind is a terrible place sometimes but that is where the secret place is. We can find a place on this earth that makes us happy and peaceful but the minute we leave it our peace and happiness disappear like a puff of smoke. In this secret place with the Father our hope, peace and joy remain and we carry it with us where ever we go because it is in us not in the world. This is also where that latter verse picks up. In the secret place Deep [God] calls unto deep [us] with the noise of His waterfalls. And all of His waves and billows go over us. If we are indeed in the secret place we will hear everything He has to say. We are being called into the deep with the Father and His deep will go over us resulting in us seeing the great and mighty things He needs to show us.
The vision of God for us is what we need to solve our problems. We want to see what He is doing in the World so that we can go in that direction. We need to see, He is doing His works on this earth, and whether we participate or not, His works will get done (Isaiah 55:10-11). All of our problems stem from being out of the will of God so when we are in the will of God we are participating in His works therefore outside of the problems we have created. When He shows us great and mighty things that we did not know it is His workings on the Earth. If we want to see His workings in Heaven look around because whatever is worked out in heaven is now on the Earth (Matthew 6:10). The great and mighty things are happening but we just don’t see them. If we want to see them then we must dwell in the secret place until we believe and trust in Him. Once this process is done He will give us vision of what He is doing, the things which we do not know.
Our mantra from now on should be Jeremiah 33:3 (HCSB). Our first defence with problem solving is to cry out to God and He will hear us and answer us! He will open our eyes to see what He is doing on the Earth today so we can go that way as well. All of this takes time as well as Spiritually enhanced problem-solving skills that we can only be given to us from the Father. He gives us revelation to go in His direction, which in itself is a problem solving skill that we must nurture in our secret place with Him. As we are called in to the deep His Words wash over us with the shadow of the Almighty. God has, over the years, Revealed in Me that getting revelation is a process every Christian needs to learn! I have enhanced my problem solving skills in the secret place and so can you! If you want to move into the will of God get into that secret place with God and see how He moves!
