One thing I have seen that needs to be addressed is the fact that we all need to walk in our own shoes.  WE have to learn to walk in what God has personally ordained for each one of us.

Do not want what someone else has got.  You might see someone and think, I want to do what they are doing.  For example, I would see great and mighty men and women who were out preaching the Gospel of Christ, and I wanted to be them. 

But, when I tried to put their shoes on, they were too tight, they really didn’t fit and at the end of the day I would cry out to the Father, “Help me, Jesus, they’re too tight!”  My feet were sweaty, I had rubbed blisters on them and I finally discovered the last thing I wanted to do was put them on again the next day.

In order to fulfill God’s divine destiny for your life you have to seek God and get His will on what YOU should be doing.  If He is slow in telling you (which is what I have witnessed), then keep going and keep showing Him that you are willing to work out His Word. What do I mean by this?  Examples are, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them…” (Matthew 7:12) and “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). The list goes on and on.  “As you go along” He will start to unfold your specific path.  You are a unique individual to the Father but if you are trying to wear someone else’s shoes, all you will end up with is pain and great frustration.  Cinderella’s shoes were only meant for Cinderella.  Remember when the wicked step-sister tried to shove her foot into one of them?

With any new pair of shoes, you will have to break them in so they fit you, but the more you wear them, the more comfortable they fit and you will discover you are walking in your shoes, not someone else’s.

You have to realize some are called to fund the Gospel, others are called to BE the Gospel and still others are called to preach and teach the Gospel.  We all have different parts to play.  Find out where your particular feet belong and place them under the bed God has designed just for you.

Molly Painter

We just passed the Labor Day sales events.  I can tell you that years ago, just the expectation of them got me all fired up and antsy.  What could I buy? What was going to be on sale that I just had to have?  The possibilities seemed endless.  I could hardly wait for the end of summer to arrive...wishing time away.  What was it I thought I had to have that could not wait?

Like it or not, impulse buying described me to a T.  I didn’t realize there was another way.  When the Holy Spirit started tearing me down in order to mold me, it hurt.  It not only hurt emotionally but financially He placed me on the bottom rung of life.  He had to change particular ways I did things and how I thought in order to show me how He wanted things done. Ouch!   I couldn’t just go out and spend money just because I wanted something.   I learned to pray FIRST when I wanted something, and then learned to shut up and listen for Him to speak.  And by golly, He did and even told me where to buy a pair of Reebok tennis shoes for $13.00. 

Get confirmation as to God’s will before you purchase anything.  It is a divine inheritance as His child.  Think God doesn’t care about the small stuff?  Well, for the past fifteen years, as long as I was obedient and faithful to Him, He always got me an answer.  He may not have given me exactly what I wanted (but it was close to it), or at times His answer was “no” because it was not the right time for me to receive what I had asked for.

God is not tied to holiday sales and when it’s truly God, it’s always a holiday sale.  You won’t have to wait for Labor Day!

Molly Malvern Painter

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