Placing Yourself Under the Right Authority

Over the last nine months, God has been teaching me about the importance of placing myself under the right authority in all areas of my life - one where the authority is under Him alone. This included my employer, church leadership and my life partner. I realised that I needed to make significant changes in my life and to stand up against the things that did not submit to the full authority of God. 

In John Eldredge's book, Walking with God, he mentioned that “When you place yourself under a church (by joining it), or under a company (by taking employment there), you come under their spiritual authority. This can be good or it can be bad. It depends on what the leaders choose to let in, spiritually speaking."

This was something that I had to take seriously. There were heart issues that I had to deal with like forgiveness, which ended the flashbacks that were taunting me and the darts that I was mentally firing away every time when I thought about a situation. I found my peace in the following Bible passage:

Ephesians 1:9-11 - ⁹ God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. ¹⁰ And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

Finally, this song sums this post nicely: 

In your everlasting arms, all the pieces of my life, from beginning to the end, I can trust you. In your never failing love, You work everything for good. God whatever comes my way, I will trust you ♪  - Sovereign by Chris Tomlin 

Fruit of the Spirit

I've been going through the book "Stress Point" by Sarah Francis Martin and today's chapter was about using the fruit of the Spirit as a guideline for setting boundaries in our lives. 

Galations 5:22-23 - ^"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

She mentions that "when we are doing anything in life that keeps us from living out the fruit of the Spirit, God is displeased."  

What does this look like in areas such as eating, drinking, working, exercising, shopping and in our conversations with our friends? 

For me, it was staying in a job role that I no longer had peace about, which resulted in a lack of joy. To leave something that I had become so familiar with and the people who became my family during my working life was very hard to let go initially. However, I am slowly learning that this loss is nothing in comparison to the greater plans that God has for me ahead. In order for me to move forward into something new, I needed to let go first. 

"God often waits for us to step out in faith - to begin moving without specific direction - before He provides the destination." - Tyler Braun

Back to the Cross

"Living He loved me, dying He saved me

And buried He carried my sins far away

Rising He justified freely forever

One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day"

♥ Glorious Day by Casting Crowns ♥


"What am I bringing? What are we bringing wherever we go? Do we show people God and His love and passion or something else?"
~ J.Conner ~

The Cross Should Affect You:

✝ In the way that you view yourself

✝ In the way that you treat other people

✝ In the way that you live your life

Persevering in Hard Times

Not too long ago, I was having troubles at work, which would leave me feeling quite frustrated. I didn't know what I had done wrong during the day to leave me with the outcome of an unbalanced cash drawer at the end of it. I wanted God to get me out of this job so I asked Him to give me a new job, one that was moulded more for me. However, my answer came in more rejection emails. This Bible passage was so applicable to what I was going through at the time. 

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 - "8Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. ⁹Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.¹⁰ That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

A couple of weeks later, one of the staff from the other branch came as a customer to the branch that I happened to be working at that day. She said, "Joanne, I didn't know that you are now working here. I've been wanting to tell you that we found the money deeper down in the cash drawer so it wasn't your fault." I was so relieved that I didn't have that hanging over me anymore. No doubt she was definitely God sent. 

In the footnotes of my Bible, I read the following quote. "If we turn to God, pray, remember His promises, and trust Him, we will find His grace sufficient for our needs. The Lord may not do what we ask, when we want it, but He will do what needs to be done and help us glorify His name."

From all of this, I've learnt that if I cover every shift in prayer, God is in the good and the bad but most of all that He's got it all covered no matter the outcome. I learnt that perseverance leads to seeing positive results. No matter how far our answers may seem, God doesn't work by our time. Weeks, months or years even is nothing in the context of eternity. Most of all, I've learnt that it's not about asking the question "When will I get out of this?" but "What can I learn from this?" 

It's All God's

I am reminded that everything that I have belongs to God - my finances, time, giftings, possessions. I've been thinking about the implications of this reminder. If God requests for ten percent of my salary to go back into church, then it shall be done because that is what God desires for His finances. I know that in the past, when I haven't had much, ten percent felt like a huge chunk. But then again, how many times have I spent money on things that don't have eternal value or were just for temporary satisfaction? It's the same in regards to my time. What is the ratio that I spend on mindless activities compared to activities that last for eternity? I am actually borrowing what is God's in order for "His kingdom to come, His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven." In this I am comforted that if I need something or if I lose something that is of importance, that God has already got it covered. I am also constantly encouraged by Luke 16:10 - “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities."

God in Everyday Life

I love this space that God has given me. I've been actively seeking God on a day to day basis; in the events that happen, in the people that I meet, in my job, in life. When I was taking the train home on Thursday, an elderly man saw another passenger and said to him, "When I saw you, I knew that I was on the right train." I think that is how God works with many of us. Some people may get huge revelations about where they're heading in life. For others like myself, God is in the little things. He drops us hints, a sign or a thought to guide or affirm us in the direction that we're heading. However we have to look out for them, something that I often forget to do, especially when I'm worried or frustrated. Many times we ask and wait for God to give us in your face guidance about where we should go. But He's not like that. His Spirit is gentle and if we just quietened our own spirits, then maybe we'd just be able to hear or see Him a little clearer. I loved what Josiah Connor preached last Wednesday at Oxygen Live about how "the story that we see ourselves is what we live" and it's about us aligning with God's story and not about trying to get God to align with ours. I've also been inspired by Ken Duncan's story tonight at church. He showed us these amazing photos that he took. What stood out for me tonight was about how awesome and real God is, whose existence is evident in all of creation and how our hope should only be placed in Him. In this, our fears and worries will seem very small when we believe that our God is in complete control. By having that assurance, He will give us that perfect peace that only He can provide. A final challenging thought that Ken mentioned was about putting ourselves in a position where we need a miracle in order to see one and about how God doesn't work around our capacity but His. Here's one of my favourite Ken Duncan photographs!