Karen’s Parables

 

Greetings. 

In the event you have read my entries in the past, you might be wondering why it has been such a long time since I updated my website.  I am happy to inform you that I am alive and well, and the Lord has blessed and prospered me during this period of silence.  During the past number of months, life’s commitments, coupled with an abrupt change of ‘my’ plans, drew me away for a little while.  Additionally, it seemed as though the Holy Spirit had put my writing on hold for a season.  However, I do believe I am back! 

In January, one of God’s “suddenlies” hit me and rocked my little world.  I began having dreams and visions where I was tucked away in a cabin on a lake, sitting in His presence day after day after day.  I was well aware that in order to carve out this large a chunk of time, I would need to retire from my job.  My plan was to work for another couple of years, but it was beginning to look like God had a different plan in mind for me. 

As I would question what seemed like an outlandish idea, the Lord would challenge me to check it out.  Because my sister lives on a beautiful lake in Oklahoma, I asked her if she knew of anyone who had a cabin for rent at a price I could afford.  As God would have it, she did know of such a person and such a cabin.  I nearly fainted when I received the pictures – this cabin looked almost exactly like the one I had seen in my visions, and the rent was affordable.  When God sets a plan in motion, He also arranges for all the provisions.  

I must admit that I argued with the Lord over the idea of my retiring.  From my perspective, this was just about the worst time imaginable to voluntarily step away from a really good job when so many others were fighting to keep theirs.  Our nation’s economy is dropping like a lead weight, and my husband and I have not exactly stored up a sufficient nest egg to put together a smart financial plan.   God would just laugh at my arguments, and tell me that each point I presented was merely one more reason He wanted me to retire now.  (This is where Kingdom thinking and worldly thinking collide!)  He showed me that anyone can set up the ‘perfect’ plan to retire and ride off into the sunset.  However, when the world sees someone step out in obedience, walking in faith and trusting in God to provide for his needs, that gets people’s attention.  He said too many believers are talking about trusting in Him while they are storing up worldly treasures to fall back on.  I had to plead guilty as charged.

So… I chose to place my trust in the God whose voice called forth the creation and whose hands formed me in His own image – the same God who was inviting me to come out of the workplace and into new Kingdom opportunities.  I announced my retirement effective September 1, and I spent the next two months on sabbatical.  I did indeed spend much of my time tucked away in that little cabin, looking out on the lake, lost in the glory of His presence.  Although I did very little writing during that time, I did journal during my days at the cabin.  In the days and weeks to come, I look forward to transcribing those notes.  I expect to be pleasantly surprised at the depth of His messages to me as we experienced that intimate time together.

Today I am experiencing retirement, getting accustomed to my new life.  The Lord has already given my husband and me more ministry opportunities than we ever expected.  I do believe there is much more for me to write, both old and new ‘words’ to share.  I will post a new piece very soon.  Because I have no way of knowing who is reading my stories, I would very much enjoy it if you would email me to let me know you are out there, and also give me some feedback about the writings I have previously posted.  My email address is:  karen@karensparables.com  

God is on the move, and I choose to join Him in this exciting journey.  As the news broadcasts report stories of fear and uncertainty, we believers already know the end of the Redemption story.  As we watch it play out just as it was written, we are invited to come along and participate in bringing in the harvest.  Bless you, dear fellow traveler. 

 

In the middle of a time of bed rest after being sick for more than a week, I woke up with an assignment from the Lord.   Apparently while dreaming, I found myself worried about how I had gotten sick, so I sought the Lord to ask if I had opened any spiritual door to allow in a spirit of infirmity.  Soon I sensed that nothing was wrong; I had simply caught a flu bug and my body was recovering.  I was relieved about that, but as my mind sometimes tends to do, I then began to wonder how I would justify that to others who might assume I was in sin.  (In the middle of typing the previous sentence, the Lord reminded me about how Job’s friends also assumed his trials were a result of sin in his life.  I guess I am in good company!)

It was during this time of questioning that the Holy Spirit asked me to remember what He called my ‘foundation stones’, or those truths I stand on as being foundational to my core beliefs.  When I know who I am and what I believe, my spirit can remain peaceful, and the fear of man’s opinion simply has no hold on me.  The Holy Spirit led me to begin ‘laying down’ (listing on paper) beliefs I could read and re-read during trying times.  Reminding myself what I believe, and what I stand for, will always help me stay on course.  He said that my sharing the list would also be a simple way to pass on to others the beliefs that lift my soul.  No doubt my list will be ongoing.

I was led to allow you the dignity of searching these things out for yourselves, so I have not added scriptures to this writing, as I usually do.

I encourage you to ask the Lord to give you revelation as you examine each ‘stone’.  Take what your spirit agrees with and disregard the others.  As always, my Father blesses me for being willing to spend the time to record my thoughts and share my list, but I get no personal credit for the contents.  I cannot claim even one to be my very own original thought.  All of my wisdom and spiritual understanding come directly from the Lord, and many of my thoughts were passed on to me from other believers.  You will probably recognize most of them, especially if you know me or if you listen to and admire the same saints that catch my attention. 

Be blessed as you lay down your own foundation.  The points that follow are not listed in any particular order of importance, but simply in the order in which they came to me as I wrote.  You will find that some resonate with you more than others.  Personally, my mind moves from subject to subject, so a truth that is grabbing hold of me this week will probably give way next week to something else the Lord is pressing upon my heart.

MY FOUNDATION STONES

·   God is good – all the time – and His ways are perfect, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what I see with my physical eyes or hear with my physical ears.

·   I am determined to not blame God for what happens to me by the will of the enemy or sinful man; even though I know that nothing happens without God’s allowing it.  God gave each of us an absolute free will, and bad things often happen as a result of God’s allowing us to exercise that free will.

·    God cannot love me more than He already does, and He will not love me less, no matter what I have done.

·    Jesus Christ is my cornerstone, the Rock of my foundation.  He is the rock I fall upon to break my hardened pride.

·    I will always have trials – they should never surprise me, or cause me to worry.

·    God will always apply the least amount of pressure for the shortest amount of time in order to bring in the greatest harvest.

·    When it is time for me to confront sin in my life, God and I partner in that process.  My part is repentance and behavior modification; His part is to heal me and change my heart.

·    If my ways are pleasing to God – if my heart is set to walk in holiness, then God will often cause even my enemies to be at peace with me.

·    In God’s ears, my heart is always louder than my mouth.  With people, however, it is quite the contrary.

·    Truth without love is cruel; love without truth is deception.  I must use truth and love like walking sticks.

·    Love covers a multitude of sins; grace allows me to walk out of those sins.

·    God’s grace heals everything I apply it to.

·    This life time is only a breath compared to eternity.  Since I am in training for eternity, I should make my decisions with an eternal perspective.

·    When I reach out to others, if they are not drawn closer to Jesus, then I have not produced much fruit.

·    I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, no matter the circumstances.

·    At all times I must be found worshipping the Creator and not His creation.

·    Unless I know God’s love for me (personally), I will give up early, or I will minister out of an attitude of religious pride.

·    I must have an unoffendable heart.  Jesus offended people all the time, and that always exposed their hearts.

·    The day I accepted Jesus as my Lord is the day I died to my fleshly ways.  A dead man does not care what you say to him.

·    Humility must always be my garment.

·    I will be known by my fruit.  I will be judged according to my actions rather than my words. 

·    No matter what I say, know that my heart and my actions do not contradict one another.  The depth of my love for the Lord is proven by the degree in which you can see Him in me.

·    In every situation that I can handle myself, I do not need a Savior.

·    Jesus is my everything – my absolute first love.  If he is not everything, then in truth, He is nothing.

·    God never promised to bless my plans.  He will never be my sugar daddy.

·    When people honor me publicly, I will thank them for their kindness.  Then as soon as I am alone, I will hand off that praise to Jesus.  I always know that all honor is His, and I do not need to assume a pose of false humility by brushing aside that person’s compliment.

·    God’s law was never intended to be the answer to sin.  It is the teacher that leads me to Jesus.

·    We do not engage in spiritual warfare in order to win, but rather to enforce the victory Jesus already won for us.

·    If I spend more than a few minutes dissecting my sin, I am guilty of pride because I am focused on myself rather than on my Savior.  It only takes a minute to deal with sin, to stop, repent, ask the Father’s forgiveness, and receive that forgiveness.  Then I can immediately focus my attention on Jesus again. 

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and no doubt as soon as I publish, I will remember a dozen other things I will wish I would have included.  But you get the drift.  Now you can begin the process of pondering each point, and deciding which stones you will add to your foundation.  May you be richly rewarded for taking the time to examine my stones and for conducting a serious inspection of your own.  Make Jesus your Cornerstone, and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and revelation to set a firm foundation all around you.  Then, when the storms of life come at you in full force, you will be able to stand through it all.  May the Lord find you still standing when He comes for you.

 

For what seems like a very long time now, I have had this unquenchable thirst for more of God.  I absolutely must know more about His ways, and I am desperate to hear His voice more clearly, and more often.  I am unwilling to travel through this life without His constant leading, and I am unable to understand His ways on my own. 

Although it is a very good thing to be hungry and thirsty for more of Him, it can also be quite frustrating.  I find that the more I read and the more I learn, the more questions I have, and the more pressure I experience in my spirit to know and understand Him better.  It is a sweet problem to have; however, I find that most of the time I feel like I am on the cusp of something big but I just cannot quite grasp that golden ring.  There is no doubt in my mind that God is the instigator of this drama, and that He is continually drawing me closer, inviting me to dive into deeper intimacy with my Maker.  Since I am in training for eternity, the rewards will no doubt be worth the effort.  The more intimate I become with my Abba, with my Beloved Jesus, and with my best friend Holy Spirit, the greater is my reward here and in the hereafter.  So, as I continue my pursuit of the deep things of God, I will take pleasure in the joy of the hunt for His hidden treasure.

During my continual search for resources, I happened upon a book with a title that talked about satisfying that ravenously hungry place in my soul.  I was excited about my find, and I could hardly wait to dig into it.  I took the book with me on vacation, looking forward to the enrichment it had to offer.  But much to my dismay, it turned out to be another ‘doing’ book.  Do this – do that – prepare yourself – say the right words – worship this way or that way – implement this activity to attain that result.  How exasperating – and how exhausting! 

(I am already an over-doer; that is part of my problem.  Because I grew up with very little comprehension of my value to God, or to anybody else for that matter, I always assumed I needed to do twice as much to be half as good as everybody else.  Consequently, too often I find myself trying to do more, or do better, or do something else – in what seems like an attempt to induce God to love and accept me more.  My brain is too often on overload, striving, and frustrated.  I absolutely do not need one more new methodology, or one more thing to do!)

Admittedly, that book had some good points, and I incorporated a few suggestions into my basic mindset.  But I cannot describe how infuriating it was to have one more author suggest that my failure to have a deeper relationship with God was the result of my not doing enough of this or that.  Disgusted over what I was reading, I closed the book and threw it in the corner.  Once again, I had to stop and remind myself that I was not a failure simply because of my lack of knowledge, or my inactivity.  There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So, there I was, crying as I leaned over the veranda of our cruise ship stateroom, looking out at the stunning beauty of the ocean … still searching … still hungry even after recently gorging myself with the ship’s fare … still desperately in need of a new encounter with God … and out another twenty bucks spent on one more book.  Deep in my soul, I knew there was more to intimacy than devising a routine of ‘doing.’  I am convinced that once I have invited the Lord to come in His glory, He will not first ask me to say more or do more.  The Word says that if I draw closer to Him, He will draw closer to me.  Unlike witchcraft, I do not need to set a better atmosphere or recite certain words or conjure up a more emotional drama to get His attention.  Instead, deep calls unto deep.  He hears my heart cry and that touches His heart, causing him answer my call and draw nearer to me.  Why do I continue to try to make this so difficult?  Is it because I really do not believe that He is as anxious to fellowship with me as I am to fellowship with Him?  Do I think He is too busy for me, or that He enjoys hiding from me to see how long I will beg for His attention?  This is most definitely not the character of a Daddy who loves me and made me in His own image.  And yet, it seems that much too often I open a new book or listen to another teaching, and am inundated with more about ‘doing’ and less about relationship.

Determined to shake off this heaviness, I curled up on the sofa and began to call His name.  Nothing happened.  I paced back and forth in that tiny stateroom and then sank back into a chair.  I called again.  Nothing happened.  I resisted the urge to beg or plead, or worse yet, to fall prey to some religious ritual that may have seemed to catch His eye some other time.  I took a deep breath and settled deeper into the cushions, determined to remain there until peace came over me.  As I waited, a holy calm seemed to drape over my body and I felt like I had been enveloped in a cloud.  After a while, a ‘knowing’ came over me and I began to realize that I still had not yet learned how to wait on Him.  I had to admit that usually, after about two minutes of waiting, I get impatient and my brain begins to wander off to the next item on my mental calendar.  Who knows how many times Jesus has responded to my call, only to find that I have already moved on to the next event?

Sometimes I simply give up and fall asleep.  Jesus asked His disciples to wait for Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, to watch and pray.  But they fell asleep.  He asked Peter, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?”  Sometimes I cannot wait a few minutes, let alone an hour.

 

Psalm 63:1

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

Isaiah 44:3

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

Psalm 73:28

But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works.

James 4:8a

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2 Samuel 22:7

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears.

Psalm 42:7

Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me.

Isaiah 45:3

I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God if Israel.

Matthew 13:44

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.