Have you
ever given someone a word of advice or encouragement and then realized that it
applied to you as well? When our words of counsel are God-breathed they will
bless both the speaker and the listener! This week I was sharing with a friend
about the hilltop moments and valleys of our lives. As we talked I was reminded
that fruit comes in every season of our lives; however we choose if we bear the
fruit of bitterness and anger or of contentment and love. The attitude we have
in each season of our lives will determine the kind of fruit we will bear.
We all
love the moments where we have reached a pinnacle with God and for God. We feel
as light as a leaf dancing on the breeze and we have such clarity as we take a
glimpse of the bigger picture. Our hearts are so full of love and gratitude for
God that we feel it may burst, it’s overwhelming! I believe this is just one
way that God rewards us for being obedient to Him, and once you’ve had a
hilltop moment you long to stay there with Him forever! Take a minute to think
about your last hilltop moment with God. It’s a sweet memory isn’t it?
We also
have times in our lives when we travel through valleys. These are the times
when we seem to struggle more and hear from God less. We may be caught up in a
stronghold of sin or God may be choosing to be silent. It’s during these
difficult times when our faith begins to mold and shape us. How we act when we
aren’t hearing God’s voice or seeing His hands move says a lot about our
relationship with Him: Think back to the days in elementary school. Remember
when your favorite teacher would be gone for the day and a substitute would
come in? The substitute would not have the same rules and procedures as your
favorite teacher but in the back of your mind you still knew what your teacher
would expect from you. So were you the kid who followed the rules you already
knew, or where you the kid who gave the substitute a hard time and pretended
that you didn’t know better? Even when God is silent, we still know what He
expects from us!
Regardless
if you’re well on your way to another hilltop moment with God or if you’re
camping out in the valley, God will use everything we go through for His glory
if we let Him. Just think, even while the Egyptians were in slavery they were
able to invent the concept of Geometry to get their job done. Talk about not
wasting time! God used a season that lasted for years and years and gleaned
something that still benefits the world today…amazing! Whether you’re in a
season of victory or a season of defeat, God is working in you right now for
His glory. We just need to embrace the season we’re in and let Him do what He
needs to do in us! Hilltop or valley… it’s all for His purposes!
Be
blessed,
Jennifer
Jennifer
“I know what it is to
be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of
being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Philippians 4:12
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