Funnels and Rivers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHEiPZ4U4Kk&list=RDOHEiPZ4U4Kk&start_radio=1&t=2

Overflow ~ Victory Worship

The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. ~ Isaiah 50:4 NIV

I didn't own a funnel till I moved back to Wisconsin. When my aunt offered to teach me about canning, I needed one. Funnels are useful because of their design, which is wider on top and narrower at the bottom, enabling the contents of larger containers to be poured, easily, into a smaller one. Like how water moves from one area to another through rivers and streams.

Rivers and streams constantly have life—water, fish, etc.—flowing through it from one source to another. Because of the constant movement, rivers and streams are continuously being refreshed, unlike a pond. Ponds, though receiving water, don't typically have water flowing out, keeping its contents the same, and contained. That's why fish kills are more prevalent in ponds.

Have you ever considered how your life is meant to be lived like a funnel or river? Though there are seasons for receiving, most of what you learn from God is meant to be shared. This isn't just for the benefit of those hearing the news, but also yours. I've heard—and experienced—that those sharing the message get just as much out of it as those receiving it. As you share Truth, the message has a way opening more of your understanding, possibly changing you through conviction, and blessing your life in the process.

Who, in your sphere of influence, needs a touch from Jesus? Who needs to hear of His love and promises for them? It's time to remove the fear-stopper—the one I must remove before sending out each devotional. It's time to become a river, which carries the refreshing truth and promises of God. To whom will you be a refreshing river, today?

©Heather Potts 2020

Posture to Receive

 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith… Just consider and meditate on Him… ~ Hebrews 12:2-3 AMP

Sick babies.

Sick and/or worn down parents.

Little to no sleep.

Exhaustion has given way to…anxiety…and worry that tonight will be like the previous two: awakened every hour…

And at 10:33 tonight I find myself asking my Father, “Why?” And He stirs worship—a need for worship—in my heart. As the music sweeps over me, I hear the lyrics, “Would you come and tear down the boxes that I have tried to put You in / Let love come teach me who You are again /…/ Come and do whatever You want to,” (In Over My Head, Jenn Johnson). As the music crescendos into the climax, I can feel Holy Spirit rush into the room and crash over me.

Control. All my life, I’ve liked control. But God told me to let go. During a recent fast, God showed me I have been holding on to too many things too tightly. And He said it was cutting off my life’s supply. He showed me that a clenched hand can neither give nor receive life. He reminded me of when I would choke on water while swimming as a child. When choking, you’re instructed to raise your hands above your head, which opens up your airways to receive oxygen, to receive life. The same is true in spiritual matters. When we lift our hands in surrender, turning over control to Jesus, we have finally put ourselves in a posture to receive from our Father.

Let Go. In his book, Circle Maker, Mark Batterson said, “If you seek answers, you won’t find them, but if you seek God, the answers will find you…You need to let go and let God…by resisting the temptation to manufacture your own answers to your own prayers,” (65). Trust and surrender go hand in hand. If I never let go, I can never expect to be amazed by all the ways God wants to answer my prayers.

If, like me, you’ve found yourself holding on to things you need to let go of, simply lift your hands in surrender to Him. Breathe His life in deeply, fill your lungs fully, and exhale slowly. Now rest and receive from Him.

©Heather Potts 2017

The Every Days

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace ~ Isaiah 55:12 NIV

The every days. We all have them.

It’s realizing that the enemy has a plan for you, but God’s plan is still greater.

It’s suffering for a night, but waking up to joy and Jesus singing over you in the morning.

It’s the picnics with your kids celebrating nothing more than Tuesday.

It’s the weird charges in your bank account causing you to be in the hole, followed by blessings from Father God.

It’s potty training and wanting to cry when your 3-year-old pees right in front of the toilet.

It’s a text from your spouse, just to let you know they think you are the greatest!

It’s burnt dinners, belated birthday wishes, and that relative who still spells your daughter’s name wrong.

It’s when everything at the monthly meeting goes wrong AGAIN, no matter how much you prepared in advance to ensure it wouldn’t this month.

It’s running late for work and getting stuck in traffic.

It’s exercising when NOTHING in you wants to, but then feeling so good you know you’ll do it again.

It’s celebrating as your friend’s dreams come true!

It’s laundry and dishes and toys everywhere.

It’s a warm cup of coffee in the morning before sunrise.

It’s discovering that plate of food in the freezer, where you put it to cool but then forgot to serve it to your kids the night before.

It’s overcoming what you seriously thought was going to end you and then knowing how to deeply and personally pray for someone else.

It’s standing up to the liar when he tells you that you’re nothing.

It’s the moments when you question God’s calling and He says, “It’s not your reputation on the line; it’s Mine.”

It’s waiting for God to show you the next step.

It’s perseveringly pursuing the passion burning deep inside you.

It’s the sweet moments when Father God reminds you that He loves you, always and forever, no matter what.

It’s realizing that no matter what, God still holds the whole world—you and me—in His hands.

The every days.

©Heather Potts 2016