Alone, By Yourself

Mt. Moriah Ministries

Media

Alone, By Yourself

by Meredith Giles

December 18, 2024

Give

Alone, By Yourself

Acts 7:30

And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.

Before Moses could be the one to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he spent 40 years in the wilderness tending sheep. When Moses was still living in Egypt, a much younger man, Acts 7:23 tells us, “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.” He saw an Egyptian abusing an Israelite and became very upset, so upset, that he beat the Egyptian, killing him. Moses then fled for his life right out into the desert. When we take matters into our own hands, and we move on our “big ideas,” we often find out that our big ideas were not God’s ideas and plans. This is when God takes us, or should I say drives us into a place of solitude, where He can talk to us concerning us. This is a process that is not always a comfortable one. In fact, it many times, feels like real suffering. He can isolate you, shut things down around you, distance you from other people, and put you in a place where you have to listen, or maybe we should say, you will want to listen and hear what the Lord, your heavenly Father, has to say to you. It’s amazing how the human mind can become so preoccupied with every possible noise, person, happening, etc. all around you constantly, and miss the most important Voice of all for them…. the Lord’s. It took 40 years for Moses ability to develop to hear, to slow down, to let go of all the wrestling of the why’s and the what’s, all the questions about his life, to come down to a slow grind and finally a stop. This is when Moses noticed the burning bush, and he finally could hear the voice of the Lord speaking from it. This was no ordinary angel speaking, for when we see a capital A used in the word Angel in the Bible, they are telling us that it is actually Jesus Himself, not just a regular angel. How amazing this is! The Lord had come to make Himself real to Moses, giving the commissioning of Moses’ assignment to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Now, this is God’s way, His revelation for His people, and not Moses’ taking matters into his own hands. In a way, I feel sorry for Moses. His heart was in the right place, but he had not come into a place of complete yieldedness and surrender to the Lord to wait on God’s timing and be able in that quiet place before the Lord, to hear what God’s plan was, to get the when, the where, and the how. I can only imagine that there were days when Moses felt completely alone, maybe even resentful and confused. Haven’t we all been there? I have. Hebrews 4 tells us about laboring into God’s rest. This is learning to surrender all to Him, and learning to rest in Him, not doing life on our “I think,” but waiting for God to speak His direction and His way in all things. You can trust Him today. Just get quiet and let Him speak and work in your life.

What about you? Are you struggling today? Are you depressed or discouraged? I have had days like this. This best thing to do is immediately surrender it all to the Lord, trusting Him to work. Get your mind on Him and what He will speak to you. Remember, He will take us to a place of aloneness and quietness, so that we will be able to hear Him. Trust Him in all His ways. He knows what He is doing. Have a blessed day in Him.

My Presence Will Go With You

December 22, 2024

My Presence Will Go With You Exodus 33:15 KJV Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” I have heard it said, “So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence.” I have lived my whole life in church. From my earliest memories to my present life, I have spent a good portion of my time in church from dead, dry services where a boring form was followed, that seemed like to me, it had be done a million times with the same outcome. There have also been seasons of my daily personal time with the Lord that was as dry as burnt toast. I don’t like it. I know there are times when God withdraws His Presence, I believe so that we will run after Him, press into Him and do what it takes to find Him. It’s a learning and testing time before Him to trust Him in the dark and a time for Him to access the hunger level we have for Him. I’m with Moses. What’s the sense of doing life in our own strength. We only receive back our own human reasoning, relying on our own intellect, still coming up empty. I am asking and seeking Him today to increase my awareness of His Presence so I can move with the utmost sensitivity to Him, the Prince of Peace. He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. Its true, He always is near. My heart needs to settle into the understanding of this and practice it, not from my human emotions, but from my spirit as I learn to receive Him by faith, quiet myself and listen and watch expectantly for Him. He will speak. He will guide and lead us. He will come in whatever way we need Him to come. Maybe its just that we need to quiet enough, slow down long enough and trust in faith long enough for Him to do His thing. What’s the sense of pushing on without His Presence, without His direction and His sense of wellbeing that He places on our lives? I, for one, am so done with manmade ideas, good ideas, maybe, but not God breathed direction. Wouldn’t it be much better to lay out our life situations before Him, not coming to Him, telling Him what and what not to do, like He doesn’t know anything about what the challenge may be? Then practice listening carefully to what He will say and direct. Yes, this means we have to slow down and really watch and listen in faith that He will speak, that He will guide. I’ve gone down too many roads of good ideas to only come up empty when its all been said and done. I have a certainty in heart now because of many learning experiences, that our heavenly Father will show Himself faithful, if I will but trust Him. Don’t move forward today in your life without His Presence. It leads to nowhere you really want to be. What about you? Do you have areas of your life you need to talk to Him about, people you need to surrender completely to Him, and then listen and watch for what He will say and for how He will lead? Let me reassure you, He can always be trusted. Let His Presence guide you today.

In Wisdom’s House

December 21, 2024

In Wisdom’s House Proverbs 21:20 TPT In wisdom’s house you’ll find delightful treasures and the oil of the Holy Spirit. But the stupid squander what they’ve been given. There are those specific people who you meet in life who you can be at ease with. You can laugh deep belly laughs with them at some hilarious story, and you can also cry hot, gushing tears with them over a traumatic happening in your life. They don’t have to fix you or have all the answers. Just their presence and real transparency of heart bring great peace and solace to your needy spirit. They are a treasure. I have had a few, very few souls like this in my life. Some are now home with the Lord, and oh, how I miss them and their sweet, priceless fellowship. Full of wisdom and delightful treasures, they were wells of sweet, sweet water. They were lamps whose precious oil of the Holy Spirit never ran dry. I want to be just that. Not someone who points a judgmental finger at someone going through rough waters, or a person who turns their back to those who need them at critical times, when instead, a delightful treasure needs to be brought to the forefront to encourage and comfort. We, as Christians, can sometimes come across as “better than thou” in our actions and words when we don’t even fully know someone’s story or heart, or what they’re living through in this season of their life. I believe our criticisms of others come from our own insecurities, when consciously or subconsciously we think we are so much better, and far more mature because we are not in the kind of situation and ramifications of poor choices, such as the ones we are presently criticizing. Wow! This for sure is not wisdom. Can we discipline ourselves to not judge others so quickly, functioning in our “know-it-all” fashion? In wisdom’s house, there are delightful treasures. Wisdom would reach out in gentleness and kindness, not in harsh criticism from a scoffing posture. If we have been in the Presence of the Holy Spirit, soaking, listening, learning, would it stand to reason that we would illuminate the essence of Him rather than our own fleshiness? Sometimes to say nothing is the wisest posture one can take. Whatever an individual’s challenges may be, whatever the mistakes one has made, the poor choices taken, wisdom says it is not helpful to lay layer upon layer of inflated, belligerent “know-it-allism,” but to be a listening ear and a neutral sounding board for this struggling soul. Here you have an opportunity to be healing balm and a refreshing spring in the midst of turmoil. Wisdom says—be that! Remember, God sees and hears all. Let’s not squander the wisdom He has afforded us. Be wise for this day and every day. What about you? Would you consider yourself “wise?” Do you just have to state your opinion and “get everyone told?” Are you gentle and kind, or quick to judge and respond in harsh ways to someone who is struggling? Don’t squander the wisdom God has made available to you. Be a conduit of His love and mercy today and every day. Value the wisdom He has given you. Blessings on your day.

According to His Will

December 20, 2024

According to His Will Ephesians 1:11 NKJV In Him also we obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. When the Word of God speaks about “the counsel of His will,” it is telling us that God has an eternal and unchangeable plan. There is a pretty heavy thought in theology and doctrine that can take us years, (and may not even then), be able to understand it completely. The word for this is “predestination.” Ephesians 1:5 speaks of God, “having predestined us to adoption.” Also we see this thought conveyed in Ephesians 1:9, “Having made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” Father God’s thoughts and ways go far beyond our human finite ability to comprehend. Isaiah 46:10 says, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and ancient times things that are not yet done saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure. 11b Indeed I have spoken it. I have purposed it; I will also do it.’” Romans 8:28 which is a very much quoted verse in Christendom, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God has a deliberate plan, a proposition, an advance plan, an intention, a design for our lives. As we stay in His Word, and have tender hearts and listening ears for His voice, He will give us wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. He will direct our paths. The eyes of your understanding will be enlightened. This simply means that there will be a “thinking through” the challenges of life and the decisions that will need to be made. Father God goes before us and prepares the way as well as comes behind us and brings up the rear, so to speak. He knows all of the things we have lived through—the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wants to heal us from all of those rough things that have happened in our lives. He knows just how to do that. He was there with you all the time. Someone may be questioning today, “Well, if He was there, why didn’t He stop these hard, harsh things from happening in my life?” Here’s the answer: God has given man a free will; he allows man to make His own decisions for good or bad; for kindness or cruelty. It’s up to each of us how we will live and treat others. I believe He weeps when He sees people suffer in such hard ways. But I also know that He is the Healer and Comforter and will restore us from those devastating crises we endured. Our verse today tells us that “He works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Joseph in Genesis 50:20, told his brothers, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” There is a freedom and release that comes to the heart of man when we understand the truth that God has a specific plan for each one of us personally, and that we can rest assured that in the times of affliction and struggle, He is building something in us, causing us to gain strength and wisdom for the upcoming plan God has for our lives. Are you at peace today? Do you have inner struggles over life’s situations? Can you ask God to give you a glimpse of His future for you and embrace it by faith, knowing He is teaching you and preparing you for His purpose to come to pass in your life? Be strong and restful in the Lord today.