Hey friends!
Hope you guys are having a wonderful weekend. Mine didn’t exactly go as planned, but it is still a great weekend! :) I’ll share more with you guys later about that.
Today, I want to chat about Chapter 1 in our bookclub book, The List by Marian Jordan.
This book is so eye opening and challenging. We are loving it here in our group that meets on Sunday night. So, I’m very excited to share with you guys every Sunday.
Chapter 1 “Shine”.
“To make your season beautiful, become a girl who lives for the glory of God.”
All of us have an innate and natural desire to shine in some way. We like attention. We want to be “known”. It is so obvious in our culture today. Take for example all the reality TV shows that are constantly on television, or Marian gives the example of the Pussycat Dolls song “When I Grow Up”. We live in a culture that tells us to “make much of ourselves”.
However, this is not why we were made or why we exist. As Christians, we believe that God created us for HIS glory. Not our own.
I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
(Isaiah 43:6-7 ESV)
We were created to bring glory to God and to make much of Him. This is totally different than what our culture tells us to do!!
Our “Lists” are full of things to be checked off and are consuming us. To be “happy” we need to check these items off our “Lists”. Marian tells us that the secret to life is not the consuming of possessions, glory, or relationships, but being consumed by God. What does this mean exactly??
Instead of exalting our desires and letting them consume us, we exalt God and allow His glory and His purpose consume us. Sounds pretty easy right?? Ha!
We are at war ladies (and gents)! Satan knows how much our Heavenly Father loves us, and if he can put doubt into our minds, he will. We have to battle everyday and fight the same temptation- glorify self or glorify God? What exactly does that mean? Well, we can choose to live for our desire and our wants, or we can choose to live for God and for His purpose for our lives. Marian tells us that, “in seeking our own glory we find emptiness, destruction, and death simply because we are choosing to turn the purpose of life upside down.”
I have great news for you though.. the battle has already been won! Even though we have to fight the battle every day, God has already been victorious. Marian couldn’t have said it better! ”It is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that the ultimate war for God’s glory is WON!
Paul, the writter of Romans, tells us:
…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8 ESV)
Even though we mess up daily, he chose to die for us. He chose to set us free from our “Lists”, from sin, from bondage, from shame, and from the death and destruction that comes from decisions we make.
I don’t think I have ever heard any better news, ladies!
We have to focus on God, and not let Satan’s lies tempt us to be discontent. Satan will do anything to try to destroy your joy and diminish God’s glory in your life. He will whisper lies in your ear. He will tell you that God doesn’t have blessings in store for you. He will draw attention to everyone else getting what you want and make you feel forgotten. Don’t let him do this. Trust God!
When we fall into Satan’s lies, we become miserable women (and men). BUT when we choose to believe the truth about God that He is good and he has plans for us, we can surrender our desires and our “Lists” to God. We can trust that His plan and His timing is best!
We can recieve everything on our “Lists” and still be miserable women (and men) if our “Lists” are all about us. Why? Marian says that self-glorification makes us miserable because it is the opposite of our designed purpose!
I don’t want to be a miserable woman! I want to rest in God’s peace and live our my true purpose in life! I want to Shine for God’s glory!
Has anyone every felt miserable due to something on your “List”?
Do you relate to anything in this chapter?
Tomorrow is a very special Marvelous In My Monday! :)
