I take comfort in knowing that God keeps His promises. It is the waiting for the promise that can be frustrating. You see, I know faith is required to endure the waiting process but it is not easy. I am conditioned to not be patient.  I am bombarded with products that are supposed to make my life easier but only make it more confusing. Nothing I do and nothing I have can replace the desire for God's promises. That is why it is frustrating. I try to work for the promise but God wants to give the promise.

When we stop looking for the promise, we will see the promise. We don't have to work for it but surrender to it. God has great things in store for us and if we keep the faith.

​God told Abram I will make you a great nation. The revelation is I am the promise. We are the promise.  When we surrender to what God has spoken over our lives.  God will make us great, we just follow where He leads.

"In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.  And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." John 5:3-8
I can get complacent, waiting for something to inspire me to action.  I am not waiting on God, God is waiting for me to act.
The man was sitting waiting for a man to come put him in the pool at the right time so that he could be healed.  He believed in someone else's ability to help him but did not believe he could help himself.  Think about how many people passed this man ignoring him and his situation.
Sometimes I feel like this man, waiting for someone to notice my situation and be willing to help me overcome my challenges, and no one comes to my rescue.  But God does not want me to remain impotent he wants me to be whole.
"Get off your butt and get to work."
I don't need someone to come rescue me for I have already been rescued.  Like the impotent man God has already given me the gift of healing, I just have to accept it and use it.  Whatever I desire God has already placed it in my heart and when I get to business my needs are met continually.
So, if you find yourself, stuck, looking for a sign or something to inspire you to action.  Realize that you already have what you need, you just have to get off your butt and get to work.

​God is greater than the adversity before me, He rests upon my situation. 
Giving me the strength to learn from all things. 
In the midst of the storm, I discover peace that quiets my soul. 
I am filled not by words, not by rewards, but by the presence of His loving hand. 
In his arms, I find rest which calms my fears. 
I am known not by the masses but by my creator. 
He loves me and with His support, I am delivered from the sea of images and placed in the light of His grace. 
​I see a reflection that it sings of who I AM.

​"Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit." Ecclesiastes 4:6
As I reflect on this passage I think about all the times I have worked so hard to get my hands full.  By the time my hands are full, I am too exhausted to enjoy what I have.  When I study this verse it is not saying you have little but rather you have a handful.  One hand is full while the other is free. Which to me means I have more than enough and I have peace to go along with it.
When my children play with their toys, they gather all their toys in both hands so no one can play with their toys but them.  They are so worried about someone taking what they have that they can't play with their toys.   I rather have one "toy" and get to play with it than ten "toys" and never get to enjoy them.
Life is meant to be enjoyed.
Today appreciate the handful that life has to offer and embrace the peace as it comes with it.

​“Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a might man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.  And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.” (Judges 11:1-2)
 
The truth about Jephthah was that he was the son of a harlot.  No matter how great and mighty of a man he was, Jephthah could not escape his past.  Imagine the scorn and rejection he had to endure while growing up, just because of who his mother was.  Nevertheless, in spite of his “condition,” God still conditioned him.  God set him apart from his brothers because of His plans to use Jephthah in a spectacular way.  Jephthah became the vessel God used, in spite of his past, to deliver his brothers and the people of Israel from the hand of their enemies.  

Have you ever done anything that didn’t reflect who you really were?  I struggled in knowing who I was, and what my purpose was, and I got tired of falling into “pits” that I could not get myself out of.  So, I turned to God, and my journey has led me back to the person that He created me to be; a person who is content in his own skin.  The child that had once imagined greatness has been awakened and freed to explore the depths of life!  Not to impress or receive the acceptance of others, but to find the “treasure” of God that is hidden inside of me.  Life now, is limitless and unrestricted according to the faith that works in me.

​Walking in our calling will not only reveal the truth of God and His grace, but it will present the truth about us.  What is the truth about you? 
 
 
›          Are you scarred from the pain of losing loved ones?  
›          Have you been abused? 
›          Are you in deep financial debt? 
›          Maybe you are bitter from the wounds inflicted by friends or family members. 
›          Are you boasters and have exalted yourself as better than others? 
›          Are you the “black sheep” of the family that no one understands? 
›          Are you jobless and hopeless? 
›          Are you fearful, weak, depressed, or stressed? 
›          Are you lonely, confused, self-conscious, proud, passive, emotional, overweight, skinny, short or cruel? 
›          What is the truth? 
 
We all have a long list of “issues” from our past.  Some lists may be longer than others, but without a list, we would be of no use in our future.  Understanding our past is the gateway to living the life of a Chosen One. (Proverbs 9:6)  When we confront and deal with our past, it will no longer have power over us, for God takes dominion over it.  When you are chosen, God will transform you into what He wants you to be.