God Sees, God Responds...
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 8:48AM 
Happy Wednesday, Friends! Susie Larson here!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a post, share an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and a friend! Thanks and bless you!
Thanks to those of you who guest-posted for me last week. I'll be contacting several of you for interviews in the coming days.
Now on to my topic...
Some time ago, I had a conversation with a friend about her journey through the wilderness. It's been a slow and sometimes agonizing passage for her. The thing is, if she didn't love and fear God, she could take a few steps to the right and land herself on the fast highway that leads to a counterfeit version of her desires. But truth be told, that would be her way, not God's way. And above all, she wants God's highest and best will for her.
As she shared about the weariness in her steps, I leaned in, grabbed her arm, and said, "Listen to me, friend. Your sacrifice of praise and your sacrificial obedience have not gone unnoticed by God. There is NO sacrifice you could make to Him that will not met with a totally disproportionate response of His great love, and grace and provision! Any gift you give, any offering you make, and initiative you take to obey Him when it costs you, will be responded to in ways you cannot imagine. He is a disproportionate God! Understand your wealth in Him. Though you feel the pain of this sacrifice now, get a vision for the response He is preparing for you!"
I felt especially inspired to share that with you today as well.
Some of you are making huge sacrifices for His Name's sake. Some of you could easily grab for yourself a counterfeit version of something He has promised you, but ultimately, you want to wait for God's best for you. Do it, my friend. Wait for God's best and see if He won't absolutely blow your mind with His goodness, His grace, and His attention to detail.
If at all possible, get your eyes off of what it's costing you right now, and lift your eyes to the Heavens, your unlimited supply. If you're lacking in strength or perspective, get alone with God. Spend extended time camping in His presence. Open your hands to receive more of what He so lovingly wants to give. Remind yourself of His Word and His promise to you. Strengthen yourself in Him by reminding yourself who you are TO HIM!
There is no gift you can give, no prayer you can pray, no act of obedience that you can initiate that will not be met by overwhelming love, provision, goodness, grace, and power. You may not see its evidence right away, but it is there, affecting change, making a difference, and moving mountains. One day your eyes will see it. So know it now. Stand on the faithfulness of God now. Today. Believe Him for big things. Entrust your cares, your sacrifices, and your gifts to Him.
There is no better, no safer place than with Jesus. And, you'll not receive a better return on your investment of trust, time, and talents. God is in the business of exponential, over and above, beyond our wildest dreams, kinds of answers. Your everything is safe with Him.
Open your arms wide. Look up. Trust Him. He is good and He is crazy in love with you!
~Until next week.
Reader Comments (12)
Thank you, Susie! Reading your blog today made me cry. Thank you for your God-given words of encouragement.
I absolutely love this post! Thank you, Susie! Ever since I first heard the verses below I have held onto them tightly, knowing His promise is true and His fruits are good. Bless you!
Lamentations 3:22-25 - The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.
Isaiah 61:7 - Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a DOUBLE PORTION of honor. You will possess a DOUBLE PORTION of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
Zechariah 9:12 - Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay TWO blessings for EACH of your troubles.
There is a story in the Bible about a woman who gave expensive perfume to Jesus. She poured it on Jesus feet. It was probably the most expensive thing that she owned and one of the disciples said that she had wasted it. Jesus said that here gift was not wasted and that wherever the story of Jesus is preached this story would be told... Nothing we do for Christ is wasted.
What settles deep within me here is how God is a disproportionate God! In our favor!! How our return on investment with Christ is out of our comprehension!! Such a great reminder Susie as we act in the immediate out of obedience to Christ even though it may cost us or bring us pain in the immediate. The immediate isn't what always counts most. In fact we have an eternal God with treasures in heaven awaiting us that matters most! A focus we need reminding of in our todays!! Thanks for sparking a contagious Spirit of Christ Susie!
Thanks for your words of encouragement. God is so good to send a word my way that fits what I am going through. Thanks for being a vessel for him to use to bless and encourage others. God Bless! Pam
Wow... these words just shot through to the middle of my heart.... Sometimes I have to just sit back... and open my eyes to all God has done for me , and remember, all I am doing, is for HIM... my life, my actions, my attitude... it all goes back to Him and what He has in store for me. All my life, people.. total strangers would come up to me and tell me.. "God has something BIG planned for you" quite unsettling when you are a teenager.. Through out my life, I would think.. Oh.. THIS is the thing... but when I was diagnosed with cancer when my baby was only 3 months old... I wondered, if THAT was the thing... That diagnosis was the portal for change in my life.. God has shown me throughout, what an amazing God he really is.. how His love for me is indescribable... and wow... how my life has changed for THE BETTER because of HIM and how he brought me through that scary time in my life. My faith in him has grown daily, and these words? well, they just cemented what I have been feeling the last few weeks... We serve an incredible God. :)
Thank you for this post, Susie. I needed a message like this today. I won't go into all of details of why, only that this has been an extremely difficult year, but God continues to show me the benefits of doing things His way, even in a circumstances that I didn't want and that often seem unfair.
Thank you for starting my day off with these much-needed words.
Have a blessed day,
Jeanette
You never fail to make me tear up. This encouragement is needed for all who follow after Jesus. We must share our struggles with each other so that we can share encouragement. Thanks for sharing today Susie!
Always an encouragement, and a good reminder. Our "sacrifices" in God's name become the building blocks in His Kingdom...in ways we cannot begin to imagine. Looking forward to what God has in store, and how He will use these days in what is to come....
Suzie, this is the first time I have ever read your blog or even your website. I have heard your CD on Growing Grateful Children and shared it with friends and my husband. Sitting here now after reading the blog and thanking God for how He directed me today. Your post was touching and true. Trusting God, feels so good!!!!!!!!!!! Definetely feeling connected with You and IJM, as something that has been in my prayers and heart for so many years. Would appreciate a chance to chat with you on several topics. Thank you for the amazing work that you, which is so pleasing to the Lord.
This was an encouraging post for me. In the past month I stopped going to counseling, i.e. psychotherapy and decided to choose prayer therapy. At first I felt the grief of losing my relationships at the clinic but I wanted to prove that if I chose prayer He would make a difference in my life. Since I've made that decision my desire to pray has increased so much. I've sought out a prayer partner, a mentor at church, deliverance prayer ministry, and I want to be a part of prayer meetings like never before. I'm dependent on Him to show me, show my social worker, show my job coach, show my family and friends just what God can do if we pray. That He's in charge of making the changes as I am willing. I want a testimony of what He did in my life. In His temple everyone shouts "Glory". I know God can do immeasurably more than I can even imagine so I wait while He reorders my life and in the meantime, out of expectation, I shout "Glory!"
He OOZES Love!!! That is what comes to mind.
I also just want to wrap my arms around your commenters on here, such beautiful faith in their hearts amidst the struggles. I prayed for each one, that the times of refreshing would come, that God's word would be a great source of encouragement and that their lights would continue to shine ever brighter.
..and I love this: "Get a vision of the response He is preparing for you!"...
I pray for vision in my own heart, and in the hearts of my children, for the vision acts as a gps for our daily decisions.
Love your passion, and your ministry!
~Kathy