Ecclesiastes 4:6

November 6, 2015 by Kim Spring

“God does not intend that you experience mediocre relationships. He created you for far greater things. Building lasting relationships requires compassion, wisdom, empathy, kindness, courtesy, perseverance, and forgiveness. If it sounds like a lot of work, it is – which is perfectly fine with God. Why? Because He knows you are capable of doing that work and because He knows that the fruits of your labours will enrich the lives of your loved ones and the lives of generations unborn.”

“30 Essential Lessons from Women of the Bible”
Freeman-Smith Publishing

It’s Friday morning…the coffee is brewing, and the front door is open, and women gather together in my home. We do life together and it truly is so much better. I have to pinch myself sometimes because of how blessed I am to lead this community group. All of us have different stories and we all come from different places BUT we all have met Jesus and we have been changed. And what better way to help each other than to share our stories of forgiveness and redemption. Stories of hope that may lift another up from the pit of hopelessness. Taking someone else’s hand and walking them through the same things you have walked through. Reminds me of the story of Ruth and Naomi. Here’s part of their story. I encourage you to read their whole story in your Bible.

But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me
to leave you or go back and not follow you.
For wherever you go, I will go,
and wherever you live, I will live;
your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Yahweh punish me, and do so severely,
if anything but death separates you and me.
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her,
she stopped trying to persuade her.
Ruth 1:16-18

Have you ever been in such a deep pit that you really didn’t want anyone to save you? Maybe you are so tired of the way your life is going and it seems like everyone else’s lives are moving forward…But not yours. You are so down that all you want to do it sit alone and cry. Well, my friend, that is exactly where the enemy wants you. He can speak so loudly to you there and you might start believing his lies. But God wants so much more for you.

See, He didn’t create us to be alone. He intended for us to walk this life together sharing each other’s burdens. The reason that we go through some of the hard things is so we can give someone else hope that it will be okay and they will get though it…just like you did. It’s time for us to step out of ourselves and start being available to others. Pray earnestly for God to bring you a woman who you can guide and mentor. Someone who needs to hear what you have to share. For there is freedom is sharing your story and the enemy loses his grip when we are open and honest. Walls come down and we become a force for Jesus. This world can’t hold us back from sharing His good news!

So which one are you today? Are you the one sitting at home alone, isolating from the rest of the world? I encourage you to pray right now that God will guide you to a group of women or even one special one to share with you. Or are you a woman who has been a Jesus follower for some time and you have so much to share. You have really seen Jesus’s hand in your life and you need to share it with someone else. I join you today in prayer that God will bring you someone to mentor. Friends, let’s do this together!

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated,
but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.
Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *

Let us pray: Dear Lord, You are so amazing and so full of love for us. You are worthy to be praised. We love You so much and we want to share the hope that You have given us so freely. Lord, thank You that You have given each one of us a story to share and You have never left us in one place for too long. Give us the courage to step out and help another one of Your daughters who is hurting. Give those who are hurting today the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other and the courage to share their burdens. Bring us together, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Stress Management

Dear Megan,

I have been feeling really overloaded and burned out lately and I’m not sure what to do to make it stop. I was on your GCH call last week and I completed the exercise you gave us and talked about in your blog last Friday…. but I just feel stuck with what to do next. I know I need to delegate more and God showed me some tasks He does not intend for me to do, but I feel like I could be handling it all (especially the stress) better. I’m hoping you can give me some advice on this!

~M.

Sweet sister,

Thank you for taking the first step by doing that exercise from last week ! I pray it was a blessing for you to be able to see in black and white how you are spending your precious resource of time. Our world makes it easy for us to feel overloaded, over burdened and over worked! What I heard through your cry for help is that you are looking for some practical stress-management tools to help you now that you are beginning to spend your time more wisely (as God intends you to).

Adopting healthy stress management skills will enable you to slow down, stop, yield and reduce speed at appropriate intervals on your path of life. In turn, your pace will be regulated and you will be lifted out of the ditch of overload and burnout. As you work through this exercise, you will see how you can begin to walk the road to transformation in the peaceful assurance that God will never call you to do more than He gives you time and ability to do (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

SLOW

{Slow down and make the necessary changes for good physical health}

Do you eat a balanced and healthy diet?
Do you exercise at least three times a week?
Do you take at least one day of rest per week?
Do you get adequate restful sleep most nights?

Psalm 127:2

In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.

{Slow down and evaluate your priorities}

Do the exercise from last week if you have not done so (Link up above)
Consider other priorities that should be on the list
Choose your commitments with careful prayer
Eliminate unnecessary stressful obligations
Don’t accept impossible deadlines
Don’t give in to the pressure of urgency
Tackle only one problem at a time

Ecclesiastes 4:6

Better one handful with tranquility
than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

{Slow down and nourish your spiritual life}

Remind yourself daily to “be still, and know that (He is) God” {Psalm 46:10}
Open lines of honest communication with God about your concerns, needs, and fears
Set aside time daily for personal prayer and Scripture meditation
Memorize Scripture that builds assurance of God’s love {Psalm 36:7; Jeremiah 31:3; John 14:21; Romans 8:39}

Psalm 119:71

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees

STOP

{Stop and look at the real reason you are experiencing stress}

Do you try to meet your own needs instead of waiting on the Lord?
Do you think God cannot accomplish His purposes without your over-achieving?
Do you seek self-worth through proving your adequacy and effectiveness?
Are you Spirit-led or people-pressured?

Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

{Stop, confess and turn away from any known sin in your life}

Do you manipulate or control others?
Do you feel envious or jealous of others?
Do you express your feelings inappropriately?
Do you overreact to criticism?
Do you have impure motives?

Proverbs 28:13

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

YIELD

{Yield to God’s sovereign control over your circumstances}

What is God doing in your circumstances?
In what way does God want you to change?
How does God want you to respond?
Do you have impure motives?

Proverbs 21:1

A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever He chooses.

{Yield to God your rights and expectations}

Dear God,

“I yield my right to control my circumstances.”
“I yield my right to be accepted by others.”
“I yield my right to be successful.”
“I yield my right to be heard and understood.”
“I yield my right to be right.”

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding

RESUME SPEED

{Resume speed, living in the presence of God}

Dear God,

“I choose to let Christ live His life through me.”
“I choose to live in the present, not worrying about tomorrow.”
“I choose to refocus my thoughts away from my pressures to Your purposes for allowing these pressures.”
“I choose to have a thankful heart regardless of the pressure I feel.”
“I choose to call on You, Lord, for wisdom and peace.”
“I choose to commit to talking less and listening more.”

Psalm 62:1

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂