Trade Worry for Worship

I enjoy looking at Joyce Meyer's tv-programs. I learn a lot from them, and am also reminded (thru programs I already saw) of practical applications for daily Christian living.

A few weeks ago Joyce suggested the audience to "Trade Worry for Worship". It served as a timely reminder for me since I'd been worrying a bit about accommodation I wanted to arrange for relatives I was expecting from abroad. Considering the limited space at my apartment (among other things), I desired to arrange hotel accommodations for them. My Lord knows my heart, and knew the other reasons I had for wanting to do so. The problem was that I didn't have the spare cash to handle this expense.

I started shopping around about 1 month prior to their arrival and didn't get anything I could really afford without going waaaaay to deep in my pocket. Whilst shopping around I remembered a comment I heard about a certain hotel. This lead me to check on the rates thru a friend that happens to work there.

About a week before their arrival, I decided to follow-up with her and was glad to know that she was working on it for me. I decided to wait patiently, but didn’t understand why she didn’t just give me the applicable rates. While waiting, I caught myself worrying on a few occassions, and immediately "traded my worry for worship" each time by thanking God for taking care of my cares for me.

She called me before the end of the week and was pleased to report that she was able to make reservations for a studio pending my approval. Naturally, I inquired about the cost and was shocked yet pleasantly surprised to learn that it would cost only USD 50,- (for the entire 5 days stay). It happens to be a timeshare resort facility and she arranged it as a courtesy to me (even though I'm not a timeshare owner). Needless to say: I wholeheartedly praised God for this wonderful Blessing! HE took care of things above and beyond my expectations! Brethren it really pays to "trade worry for worship", and I encourage you to do so with EVERY care you have for the Lord is faithfull to careth for them AND you!

Workplace Ministry

I for one am convinced that God is Divinely moving in this area.
Following please find a copy of a message I posted on the Blog of Kathie Thomas, a fellow Believer and new acquaintance. Below the copy of my post, you will find subsequent posts by Kathie that are self-explanatory as to the sequence of events.

In my humble opinion this is valuable information to many within the Kingdom of God. May it Bless each of you within the reading audience that are called for this ministry.

Sincerely,
Sophia


--Copy of my post to the Blog: God-Incidence by Kathie Thomas (location: Australia)

Hi Kathie!

First, a quick intro: my name is Sophia, I'm a fellow believer, a fellow VA, and currently reside in St. Maarten (a beautiful Caribbean island – www.st-maarten.com: the official site of St. Maarten’s Tourist Bureau).

I have to admit that it truly was a God-Incidence experience to me when I "stumbled" on your blog last night -- this for many reasons for it also represented an answer to a prayer.

I fully agree with you: God indeed got something cooking! Due to a recent set of events, I realized that HE's currently Divinely moving in the business/workplace for such a time as this – I honestly believe that we’re at the verge of experiencing a worldwide revolution in this area. (In this case I prefer the use of the word “revolution” instead of “revival”.)

Your testimony “Full Circle” served as a confirmation to me regarding this Divine worldwide move of God. In addition to yours, “A New Breed of Workplace Believers” by Os Hillman also served as a confirmation to me. I hope you’ll have time to read it – it really provoked me unto continued good works. You can find it on the site www.marketplaceleaders.org -- look for the title under the navigation bar “TGIF archives”.

I thank you for being a blessing to me thru your blog, and I pray and hope for prosperity in every area of your life.

Godspeed,
Sophia, April 8th ’06 at 02:07 PM AST


---Subsequent posts by Kathie Thomas. Simply click on the text to read them.

It dawned on me last night - posted on May 9th '06
New blog - posted on May 22nd '06

Selective Hearing

The title of this article is the subject of what the Lord recently discussed with me.

A few weeks ago I experienced a day that was filled with evidence that the Lord had addressed a number of matters. As the day progressed, I knew that HE spoke to me about “Love” as well as other topics. At the end of the day, I was feeling confused, and was wondering what I was supposed to focus on. Hence, I approached HIM and asked: “what’s the point, Lord?”

HE helped me to understand that I was actually “limiting” myself from hearing HIM properly due to a bad perception of how HE speaks. For whatever reason, I’d been under the impression that HE handles one thing at-the-time.

While in HIS Presence, I found myself thinking about conversations I have with other people, and realized that I can have a conversation with duration of for instance 10 minutes and talk about 15 different (and unrelated) things during that 10 minute conversation.

In reply to my question “what’s the point, Lord?”, HE revealed to me that I had been suffering of “selective hearing”. I’m sure glad HE delivered me from that, and by HIS grace I no longer suffer of that “syndrome”. Today I hear HIM accurately, and I'm no longer confused as to “what” HE’s talking about – Alleluia!

My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. - John 10:27