‘Tis the season for writing out wishlists, filling the calendar, and stuffing our stomachs! Our to-do lists our longer than usual. At this time of year, we tend to spend more time thinking about we need, want, or plan on than usual.

Sometimes it’s refreshing and helpful to remember what we already have.

What We Have as God’s Children

• The Spirit

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” –Romans 8:6

• God’s Own Word

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” –2 Timothy 3:16

• The Riches of Christ

“Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.” –Ephesians 3:8

• A Place in God’s Kingdom

“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” –James 2:5

• Faith, Grace, Hope, and a Testimony

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” –Romans 5:2

Ideas for Thinking on God’s Good, Perfect Gifts

• A few years ago I heard someone on the radio say that when they found themselves dwelling on lists of hurts or worries, they tried to switch and think on a list of blessings from God.
• Memorize Scripture! God gives His Word to us as a good gift and we can never spend too much time learning from Him through it.
• Focus on someone you love- thank God for them, pray for them, consider what a blessing they are to you.
• Recall your testimony. Remember how God has saved you. Praise Him for answered prayers and times when He has especially apparently worked in your life.
• Look up one of the names or character traits of God and consider the glory, matchless implications of God being who God is.

What else would you add? Any tips for re-orienting your mind to think on what you already have in Christ?

{A version of this post was previously published here}

LINKUP PARTY opens on November 23 at 6 am!

Christian Bloggers, come share your Blog with our audience below:

1. Add your Link.

2. Visit the blogger before or after and encourage them with a comment.

3. Share on social media. Click below to share on Twitter that you are joining us! We would love to have you follow the ministry on Twitter and Facebook as well: Soaring with Him FB Page

Let's pause to think on what we already have. Join my friend @BethanyMcIlrath as we take a moment to praise God in a busy season. Share your blog! #rechargewednesday #Grateful @bethanymcilrath
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The post Thinking on What We Already Have {Recharge Wednesday} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

Moses met with God there.

The Samaritans and Jews argued over which one people should worship on.

People have called them holy.

Jesus went up them to pray.

We marvel at photos of them, take vacations to climb them, and even use them in reference to the best points of our lives.

Called “mountaintop experiences,” we see ascending to the highest heights we can reach as arriving at the pinnacles of life. It’s there we feel close to the Lord and immensely blessed. Mountaintop experiences tend to fan the flame in our hearts and energize us. They feel like an achievement and a reward all in one.

But what’s so special about a mountaintop? 

I think it’s the view.

What's so special about a mountaintop? I think it's the view...
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When perched on a mountaintop, we look out over the valleys. From up high, they’re beautiful. All the gullies, forests, desserts, roads, and rivers we struggled to ford and forge look small and surmountable. They’re wonderfully placed, textures in a scene hand-drawn by God.

From up high, we feel a bit like we get to glimpse of God’s perspective.

“From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” –Psalm 33:13-15

Looking down from on high, we get to watch as the Lord does. We can peer into others’ lives, into grander plans, to see how all the lows of life are glorious to behold when they are etched out on the landscape of the Lord.

The perspective gives us pause to consider what all the valleys are for and how beautiful the walk of faith is. We get a peek into how life works, and how marvelous His design is. The distance reminds us of the One who is forming the terrain of this world and human hearts still.

Our view from a mountaintop reveals that God is, indeed, making all things new.

Our view from a mountaintop reveals that God is, indeed, making all things new.
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As we trudge through the lowlands, our feet fixed on a path ever moving upward. Let’s take heart in that fact.

The God who made the mountain and its panoramic view is making us in the valleys too. May that be a comfort and joy to you as the new year begins!

The God who made the mountain and its panoramic view is making us in the valleys too.
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{A version of this post was previously published here}

LINKUP PARTY opens on Wednesdays at 6 am!

Christian Bloggers, come share your Blog with our audience below:

1. Add your Link.

2. Visit the blogger before or after and encourage them with a comment.

3. Share on social media. Click below to share on Twitter that you are joining us! We would love to have you follow the ministry on Twitter and Facebook as well: Soaring with Him FB Page

LINK UP is open! For this year's last #Linkup, my friend @BethanyMcIlrath shares a beautiful post about life's valleys from God's perspective. Join us and share your blog!
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The post View from a Mountaintop {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

The king continued walking through his garden, dismayed by its desolate state, when he came across a small violet. Its tiny frame was beautifully bright and full of life. The king told the small flower: “You look radiant! You don’t seem to be the least disheartened about the misery and discouragement around you.” The violet replied: “No, I am not. I know I’m small, yet, I imagine that if you wanted an oak tree or a pine tree where I am, you would have planted one. Since I know you wanted a violet, I am determined to be the very best violet I can be.”

This allegory gives me pause. It makes me think of how much time and energy we waste wishing for something we cannot attain, or striving to be someone we were never meant to be.

We hear stories of beautiful women who submit themselves to excruciatingly painful procedures to change their body’s shape. We watch as people’s faces become deformed because they cannot accept aging as a natural process of life. We hear about young teenagers who starve themselves in an attempt to look like celebrities and models in magazines. We witness preachers striving to copy famous preachers, parents pushing their kids to the extremes of competition, and employees begrudging their peers for being promoted.

Envy and jealousy sear in a society that insists on believing that the grass is always greener on the other side. #MondayDevotional #MondayMotivation
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I can’t help but imagine God as the king in the story, sadly walking through his garden and watching his plants become gloomy and lifeless where he planted them.

He watches as we sneer at His provision and His unique design for each of our lives, and as His work becomes repetitious and dull, rather than vibrantly unique.

It’s not that we shouldn’t strive to become better. I am certainly not against all plastic surgery, seeking better job opportunities or admiring those who are great examples of leadership for the work of the kingdom. We should indeed look at successful people and appreciate their unique virtues and, whenever their success is more than skin deep, even look up to them as great examples to follow. But the issue becomes when we are so engrossed comparing ourselves to others and desiring their shade of glory, that we forget that God has a unique plan for each one of us, and that our job is to be the very best we can be, wherever he plants us.

Sometimes we are so engrossed comparing ourselves to others and desiring their shade of glory, that we forget that God has a unique plan for each one of us. #MondayMotivation #MondayDevotional
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It’s true — the happiest, most successful and fulfilled human beings are those who embrace their uniqueness, play on their strengths and find contentment wherever God places them. Whether as a mighty oak tree or a small violet planted on the corner of the garden, their secret is accepting themselves and their place of service with grateful hearts, remembering that if and when God wants them to bear fruit elsewhere, he will make provision to move them to a broader field.

Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God. ~ Proverbs 30:8-9

The post Are You Content with Your Portion? appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. “ Philippians 4:12 (NASB)

One of my favorite songs that our church’s choir sings, by Richard Smallwood, is entitled “The Center of My Joy”. In its chorus, the composer was divinely inspired to sum up Paul’s feelings as he wrote the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Philippians:

Jesus, You’re the center of my joy.
All that’s good and perfect comes from You.
You’re the heart of my contentment.
Hope for all I do.
Jesus, You’re the center of my joy.

Historians agree that Paul wrote Philippians and three other epistles (Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon) as a prisoner in Rome. He had been beaten, scourged, hungry, and cold. Not to mention that, according to chronological studies of his life, he was over 60 years old when he wrote the epistles.

Think about it. Even though there was no peace nor joy to be found in his circumstances, this man wrote the most encouraging letters to his flock. As a beacon of hope, his epistles have been guiding God’s people for 2,000 years. His strong and assertive writings certainly do not resemble what you and I would normally say in the midst of a crisis:

“For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am”

That statement is so much easier to parade on a bumper sticker than in one’s heart. Yet – Paul insists that it is the secret of true contentment – to anchor our hope, joy and faith on the Rock that never changes.

Because this type of contentment is not natural to us, we must research a bit deeper into how Paul was able to find it. As we do so, we find out that there are some very particular characteristics of the type of contentment that Paul is talking about:

1. His Contentment was independent of external circumstances:

The Joy that Paul found in knowing Jesus built an armor that protected his heart against life’s trials. He knew that his sufferings were temporary and that they would bring him a crown in glory which would greatly surpass the troubles and victories in this life:

“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8 – NASB – emphasis mine)

Paul learned that one of the keys of being content regardless of the circumstances was to become Christ-sufficient, rather than self-sufficient.

He knew that on his own strength, he would never be able to make it. However, because He knew the source of His strength and the unlimited power that this Source provides, he could be sure of the victory in store for him.

2. There is a Divine Spring of help available to all who know the Son:

In the original Greek, the famous verse 13 of this chapter reveals that God gives supernatural strength to all His children as they reach out to Him: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” can also be read as “I can do all things in Him that infuses strength in me”.

This interpretation shows a God who continually and deliberately pours upon our hearts and minds the strength that we need to bear our loads. Christ infuses His strength in the midst of our valleys by His teachings in the Holy Scriptures, by His examples of patience and long suffering and by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives . That is why, when God’s faithful servants are in the midst of the hardest trials, there is still a peace and strength where lost people would despair.

If you feel discontent today, rather than focusing on what you don’t have, drink from the Divine Spring that is yours for the taking.

3. Contentment does not come naturally. It’s a deliberate pursuit.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (vs. 4-7 – NASB – emphasis mine)

On verse 4, Paul urges the church of Philippi to rejoice in the Lord. These verses show a deliberate pursuit for contentment, one that does not start with the Lord, but with you and me! On verse 6, Paul urges us to “BE anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving LET your requests be made known to God.”

The fact that Paul uses action verbs in this verse shows me that the pursuit and conquest of contentment does not come naturally – we must diligently seek it until we find it!

Indeed, contentment is not a magical feeling bestowed upon the believer upon Salvation. You don’t become content because you are saved. You become content when you choose to bring each of your problems to God (in prayer and supplication); instead of letting your circumstances flood your thinking and emotions.

Next, you deliberately recognize Who you are talking to, as you meditate on the attributes of God and His adequacy. Then, you start thanking God as you recognize that, although your circumstances may be hindering your view, God has not changed and never will.

He has not moved, His power has not decreased. He is still on the throne and always will be. And only after you do these things, “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” V.7 (NASB)

You see – Paul did not “magically” become content. It wasn’t that, all of a sudden one day, contentment filled his soul regardless of how little he had or how much he was suffering. No!

Actually, Paul was just a good student in Christ’s academy. He said “I have learned to be content” (v. 11). You and I can also learn how to be content in every circumstance. But in order to reach that state of mind and heart, when the troubles of this world crush us down, we must plug into the Source of eternal joy and peace.

We must intentionally pursue Him, whether we “feel like it” or not.

Need peace and joy? Then intentionally pursue Him, whether you feel like it or not.
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Are there days when you don’t want to pray?

Pray anyway!

Are there days when your troubles so overwhelm you that you can’t “feel” God’s presence?

Stop “feeling” and start remembering what you KNOW: 

…That unless you are living in deliberate sin, you are still connected to our amazing God, who is:

All Loving…

All Powerful…

All-sufficient…

Eternal …

All knowing…

All Good…

Unchangeable…

Just…

Merciful….

Want even greater news?

Here you go: Jehovah God, Who is all things above… and more… is on our side! We will not and cannot lose!

Joy is found when we become Christ-sufficient, rather than self-sufficient.
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