OVERFLOW           


















I prayed all week for the Lord to give me a topic for my next post.  He dropped it into my heart Friday night with one word:  overflow.  After thanking Him for it, I have pondered it and prayed about it since.  Why did he pick "overflow" instead of "overflowing"?  Typically, when we think of this concept, we think of it as "overflowing", right? 


I did some research with the Strong Concordance and the Webster 1828 Dictionary (which is supposed to be the dictionary with the nearest definition to what the word meant in the Bible). And, of course, I knew that "overflow" is a noun, and "overflowing" is a verb or adjective (depending on how it is used in the sentence). "Overflowing" means spilling over.  We all know that, without even looking it up, and we know that God wants Christians to be overflowing onto others, leading them to Christ and eternal life by accepting his free gift of salvation through the sacrifice Jesus made for each of us by the shedding of his innocent blood. God wants us to live our lives so that others will want what we have, giving us the opportunity to share the source of any blessing in our life.


So, what is the Lord trying to tell us by using the topic "Overflow"?  The meaning of "overflow" is superabundance.  We cannot be overflowing until we have overflow, which is, superabundance.  Joy cannot be overflowing out of us onto others unless we have a superabundance of joy first.  The same can be said about any good thing:  peace, scripture, encouragement.....you get the idea. We have to be more than just full.  We must be MORE than full, to the point that we cannot contain it anymore!!  The superabundance is what starts overflowing onto others and ministering to them.


How do we have that superabundance in our life?  We get it by continually drinking and feasting from God's Word - then meditating on it, studying it, and applying it to our lives.  If we only read it, we will forget it.  We must do all these other things, too, to get it inside us.  If it is not inside us, it will not fill us up.  If we do not get filled up, we cannot overflow. 


We also need time in prayer.  Prayer is two-way communication with God.  It is not just us telling him our needs.  We also need to be still and listen.  He wants to speak to our hearts.  And we need to praise Him.  We have so much to thank Him for because He is so good to us. 


I encourage you to give Him time every day, if you are not already doing so, and put enough of His Word, prayer, and praise into your spirit so that you cannot contain it all, and then watch it spill over onto others and fill your heart and life with so much joy.  Please feel free to share a comment of something good the Lord has done for you.  I would love to hear if you like my blog, and I pray you have a great week in the Lord!

                STILL MAGNOLIAS                             



My good friend Diane recently shared some thoughts the Lord showed her during a quiet time with Him.  Instead of always trying to do things in our own power - and often failing - , God wants us to be "still magnolias", quiet and still before Him in worship, prayer, and studying and meditating on His Word, allowing Him to enable us by His Holy Spirit with His Power to tackle the needs in our lives.  Diane was gracious enough to give me permission to take her revelation and turn it into a devotion for the ladies auxiliary meeting at the church I attend.  I hope it blesses you in some way.

Steel is hard, cold, tough, inflexible, insensible, and unyielding.  In some of life's circumstances, women feel they have to be "steel magnolias", like the women in the movie of the same name.  We can tackle any problem and solve it, while enduring heartache and stress and never taking time for ourselves. Yet the problems don't stay solved.  We face the same ones over and over.

A still magnolia is silent before God, protected by Him, calm, at rest, and waiting on Him in service and expectation of His Goodness.  She trusts the Lord with all of her cares, and He meets her every need by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through her.  As she rests calmly in Him, she grows and matures, blessing others God puts in her path.

Which type of magnolia do YOU want to be?

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Still - Psalms 4:4  "Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with you own heart upon your bed, and be still." KJV

Silent - Psalms 30:12  "To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent, O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever."

Protection - 1 Samuel 2:9  "He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail."

Quieted (Spiritual Maturity)  "Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother; my soul is even as a weaned child."

Calm - Psalms 107:29  " He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still."

Rest - Psalms 37:7  "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass."

Wait - Psalms 62:5  "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."
                                                        
          To sum it all up, be still and silent before the Lord in a quiet place and examine your own heart.  Listen with your heart, and He will guide you in all your ways.  Worship Him and continually give Him thanks.  He will protect you by His Power.  You will mature as a Christian and be able to help others and share your faith with them.  By continuing in Him every day, you will have faith to sustain you in times of need and be calm.  Being confident that He has everything under control, you can rest and wait for Him.

                                            

Under Construction

Please come back in a few days and check out my blog. My aim is to provide a place where women can reflect on the blessings in their lives while they meditate on God's goodness.

I named this page White Hydrangeas because I associate them with peace, calmness, and pleasure - all things a woman needs in her day. I hope you will come back soon! God bless!