Greetings, Dear 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 comment, share a story or insight, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and a friend! 

It's time to announce the winner for the month of August. Drum roll, please...

Kelly Black, you've won a $10.00 gift card from Starbucks! Email me at: info@susielarson.com with your mailing address and we'll get the card out within 1-2 weeks. (PS - you must claim your prize before I announce next month's winner). Blessings one and all!

As most of you know, I have a new radio show, Live the Promise with Susie Larson. The program airs every Saturday morning from noon to 1:00 CST. And guess what? We are going live on weekdays starting in October! More details to follow...

And, a quick note about this week's show! You won't want to miss my interview with Lisa Cherry and her daughter Kalyn as they talk about how a family friend from church, who was three times Kayln's age, lured her into a phone-sex relationship that almost destroyed her life. Kalyn's mom is a popular speaker with Acquire the Fire and this was a powerful interview about protecting your family. Listen in on KTIS AM 900, or listen online at: www.faith900.com 

Now on to my topic...

Okay, I'm going to get this out of the way at the outset: what I'm about to share may or may not make sense to you, but this is what God has been speaking to me these days, and it's what I feel I'm supposed to share with you. So here goes...

I've just come through a transitional season of life. And I learned that with such a season, comes the temptation to wonder too much; to worry too much; and to grab for a quick solution rather than wait for God's best solution. During times of transition when things don't exactly feel predictable, it's easy to look to your right and to your left, and to commit the sin of comparison.

One morning while praying my way through my process, the Lord spoke this to my heart, "Your place during this season is to stay especially close to Me. Your posture is to be that of a 'Grateful Slave.' 

I loved how Jude introduced himself at the beginning of the book of Jude. He identified himself as follows: A bondservant of the Most High God and the brother of James. 

We are too quick to lay claim to our successes and also, too quick to bear the shame of our past sins. And yet, under the new covenant, we can claim neither of those as our own. We are made new and hidden in Christ. 

I am a grateful bondservant of the Most High God; so thankful to even be linked in fellowship with Him. I refuse to look to the right or to the left, or to compare myself with those who are more or less successful than I am. (I've said this here before, but...) Those comparisons bear rotten fruit: either pride or despair. 

As I keep my face in His hands I remember who I am to Him and who He is to me. 

The Bible says that God actually has to humble Himself to behold the things of Heaven! Imagine that! He is so awesome and mighty, He has to stoop down to look upon heaven and earth (Psalm 113). This is the God I serve.

When I narrow the distance between us, and I take my rightful place as a humble servant of the Most High God, there is no room for stomping feet and shaking fists, because I have no entitlement, no claim to anything except His love - which is everything. When I narrow the distance between us, I have no room in my life for fear, doubt, worry, or insecurity because I am beloved of the One who is higher than the Heavens. 

When you take your position as a Grateful Slave - He gets the credit, He gets the glory. There's no room for comparison, competition, or jealousy. This is HIS Kingdom we serve, His Kingdom we are building; we are miraculously blessed to be a part. Only what is done for Christ will last. We are blessed to be a blessing. 

We get out of sync with our 'rights and our purposes' when we get out of step with His love and His greatness. We are everything to Him, but nothing without Him.

Our safest place, our most significant place is that of a Grateful Slave; bound to Him in love, connected to Him by faith; kept by His grace, established in His purposes.

The amazing thing is, when we humble ourselves before Him, He sets us in high places, with the princes of His people (Psalm 113). When we take our rightful place before Him, He lifts us up to places we have no business being if not for His endorsement and favor. But first and foremost, every day, and always, we are humbly His. He gets to decide how we serve, where we serve, and when we serve. 

I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God, than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. All sunshine and sovereign is God; generous in gifts and glory (Psalm 84:10 MSG).

~Until next week