Abide

One word can have huge impact. For example: Stop! That's a powerful word. Your toddler is running along and hears the shout from your heart - "STOP!" Immediately (hopefully) the child freezes and the car goes whizzing by. A tragedy averted though four simple letters strung together, birthed from the heart and amplified through the air.

 Recently, a five letter shout pierced my spirit as I heard my heavenly Daddy cry out - "ABIDE!" It caught me up short and I knew I had no place to run except to His Word. I found 1John 2:27. "Now as for you, the anointing that you received from him resides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, you reside in him."

 Through this passage Daddy reminded me that HIS Spirit dwells in me. HIS Spirit IS the anointing, therefore, He is continually guiding, leading, teaching, speaking, guarding and doing oh, so much more in me, for me, and through me.

 I looked up "abide" in the dictionary and the words that resonated with me were "Remain, stay, wait, endure and sustain." He then brought one line from the warrior passage in Ephesians 6 to mind, "...and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then..." That's when His power packed 5 letter shout allowed me to see the car whizzing by.

 Do you see it too?

When you don't know what else to do - ABIDE. STAND. STAND FIRM. REMAIN. STAY. WAIT. ENDURE. SUSTAIN. ABIDE.

Do you see it now? Sometimes when we are fighting a battle, we are not suppose to advance, but rather stop. Abide.

There's lots to do in abiding, like tightening up the buckle of Truth, repositioning righteousness (Hint: it's you that needs to be reminded of your position of righteousness cuz HIS righteousness doesn't shift), dusting off the sandals of peace, securing the helmet of salvation, believing your shield has got all that assaults you AND praying continually. unceasingly. Without stopping. Abidingly pray. Ultimately all He wants is for us to trust Him. Triumph happens when we pause and reposition our gaze on Him.

I believe a few of my "Sister's" needed to hear Daddy's heart today. He's shouting out, "ABIDE!" What amazes me is that your response will bring forth the victory! All you need to do is STOP.

Where Faith and Effort Flow

There's a balance between Faith and effort where the pendulum resides. I have lived on both sides. Faith without effort (at times) can be birthed from entitlement and effort without faith can be birthed from self reliance. Neither is Kingdom minded.

I have stood on the mountain of faith and believed grand things while my sight was on the horizon and my heart not set on heaven. Disappointed ensued. Frustration raised it's fist at a God that was silent. My heart was wounded from a God who doesn't care. What I didn't realize is that my heart was set on an idol. My heart gravitated to idols on the horizon. Idols don't care. Idols are silent. They were masked as life, hope and happiness. My heart learned that it's impossible for idols to give - they only take.

 I have stood in the tread-marks of effort. Deep wells of wheels spinning were created through daily striving. Forward progress was hampered while deeper ruts formed. Footprints of religion surrounded grand ideas. Handprints of sacrifice marked the territory but failure avalanched all around. Frustration raised it's fist at a God that had spoken and said, "Go!" A heart was wounded from a God who didn't help. I found out that idols are not only found on horizons. The truth is an idol camouflaged as God turns hearts away from believing.

The pendulum has a fixed point from which a hanging weight can swing freely. When my eyes remain heavenward I can move freely between faith and effort. There are times when more faith is needed and there are times when I am called to pull up my sleeves and put the shoulder to the plow. It's only when my heart is fixed on God that faith and effort flow freely. It is there that I have rest.

Wanna swing with me on His pendulum and experience freedom? "...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12:2

Spiritual Leadership

For years I longed for my husband to be the spiritual leader of our home. I asked for it, demanded it, cried for it, waited for it and complained for it. But "it" never transpired. The church preached it, books eluded to it but no one explained it - well, unless you count the long list of do's and don'ts. "It" was elusive.

We were not raised in environments where spiritual leadership was demonstrated. Perhaps you weren't either. What I've learned through working with inmates is that context creates the environment for understanding. For example, I'm currently working with a former incarcerated youth who upon release had no understanding of career. Job, he understood. His family had jobs. Jobs pay money. Jobs are hard to find. Jobs don't pay enough money. Jobs are for a select few. He got out of jail and got his first job. However, when I stopped by his job and said, "What do you want to do for a career?" He stared at me blankly. His environment didn't create a place of understanding. It's the same for spiritual leadership. I knew our family needed it. My husband knew our family needed it. But what exactly did "it" look like? Funny how Satan can use a godly thing to make us run with exhaustion. We had no idea what we were running after, we just knew we needed to run and run hard.

We are less than four years away from an empty nest and I finally know what "it" looks like. Dad's do you want to know what it looks like to be the spiritual leader of your home? Husbands, do you want to stop your wife from pressuring you to rise up and lead? It can be summed up in one word- Listen. That's it.

Listening is the foundation of spiritual leadership within the home. You may say, "I've been listening to her for years and she's driving me crazy!" Sorry girls, you're the wrong source for this foundation.

Not too long ago I asked my husband to pray for me before I went into another jail facility. A long pause ensued as I settled in under his hand. It was so long that I had to ask him if he was still awake. He responded with, "I'm listening and I haven't heard anything yet." When he did pray what he heard God saying, I was moved, floored, surprised, encouraged, strengthened and felt greatly valued by God and my husband.

His ear to hear The Lord IS spiritual leadership. It sets the tone and course for all of us. Had we known then what we know now it would have saved us years of heart ache and pain. It would have saved our children years of heart ache and pain too. We did the best we could as we strived to capture an understanding of spiritual leadership but too often we came up short. However, we also know that it's NEVER too late to lead. It's NEVER too late to listen. It's NEVER too late to leave a legacy! And so he listens.

As my husband has learned to listen to The Lord he is listening better to me and to his kids. Isn't that what a wife wants anyway?

So Dad's here's your homework: Go home and lay a hand on your child and pray only what you hear The Lord say.

Husband's here's your homework: Go home and lay a hand on your wife and pray only what you hear The Lord say.

That's "IT"! Spiritual leadership in the home chiseled down to one word: Listen. I promise that you will see a transformation come about in your home as you do this one thing.

So throw out the stack of books that tell you everything you should "be" and "do" and implement this one thing of "listening. YOU will be transformed, and not because your wife has stopped pressuring you, although that will be the icing on the cake.