Significant to Our Father

"Dear God, I want to be prophesied over!" "I've never had a prophetic word spoken over me and I want one." "I'm over here, Prophet! Please don't overlook me again, God, because I need to hear from you!"

Sound familiar? Perhaps you've had some similar thoughts at services where prophetic words are spoken. I know I have, more than once. We are all looking for validation and recognition. We don't want to be seen as insignificant in our world. All of us have had times when other people have made us feel insignificant, when even our credentials, if we have any, don't seem to help. Other times we may feel insignificant because we don't think we've done anything important. We think just a little recognition from God through one of His prophets, especially in front of others so they'll hear how special we are, will solve our problems. WRONG!

Problems occur when we allow our significance to be determined by what we've done or by what others think of us. No matter what we've done there will always be people who don't value us. But the God who made us, knows us, and loves us deeply and completely! We fare much better when we derive our sense of worth from Him because that is how we were originally designed to function. Father God is always ready to accept us, regardless of our emotional state of failure. We have to pour our hearts out to Him. He is always ready to listen, dry our tears and encourage us with His love. He won't ever make us feel insignificant or without value for it is He that formed us in our mother's womb. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image! That is a great starting point to experience the unconditional, fulfilling and significant love of our extraordinary God!

Love Covers Like Vaseline

The Greek word for cover in Scripture, "kalupto" means to veil and to conceal. When something is veiled, it obscures a clear view but doesn't hide. It obscures imperfections instead of flaunting and magnifying them. The film industry used to apply Vaseline to the camera's lens in order to obscure the lines and imperfections that age and use had left on the actors' faces. It gave a much softer and more youthful look to their features. Today they have special lenses that do the same thing without the grease. Instead of magnifying and exposing the real or imagined sin of others, we need to be exposing the love of God that covers and leads to repentance and salvation. I Peter 4:8 states: "Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]." This is a message for the Church. We're not to forget what Christ has done for us in covering our sin and setting us free from its bondage. When we remember what He has done, we are more willing to be a veil and covering for our family, friends and the Church - not blind, but compassionate, not hidden, but forgiven! "Clothe yourselves therefore, as God's own chosen ones (His own picked representatives) who are purified and holy and well-beloved by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways and patience which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes with good temper. Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a grievance or complaint against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has freely forgiven you, so must you forgive. And above all these put on love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony." (Colossians 3:12-14, Amp.) Let's start clothing ourselves in this manner for our extraordinary God while making sure we have a big jar of vaseline!

The Almond Tree

The first chapter of Jeremiah is one of my favorites in the Old Testament. I was reading the chapter recently and in verse 11, Jeremiah is asked what he sees. He answers that he sees the branch of an almond tree. The Lord replies that Jeremiah has seen well, for He is ready to perform His word. My curiosity piqued, I looked up some information about the almond tree. What I found excited me! The almond tree blossoms & gets ready to set its fruit in late winter, not when expected! It gave me great encouragement to realize that, like the almond tree, God is ready to perform His word in our lives no matter what season of life we've entered into. He's ready and this ordinary woman is ready, too!