BeyondSeeLevel

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? – Matthew 6:26

Have you ever wondered why birds sing so loudly? Especially when you’re trying to get some sleep or you just want some peace and quiet. But sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of life you may find yourself not really even hearing the birds at all. And if you do, it’s just another faint noise in the distance that’s just part of the daily environmental chaos–nothing you really to pay attention to. Sometimes, you don’t even notice the clouds in the sky or the stars twinkling at night. Sometimes, all we consistently pay attention to is the sun. We see the sun because it gives light to our mornings and reminds us that we lived to see another day. The sun charts the course of our day. Sunrise and sunset provokes us to discipline our priorities, responsibilities and our duties of the day. Our senses confirm that the sun is shining. When it shines, we shade our eyes. When it’s beaming, we cover our skin to protect ourselves. When it’s warming, we bask in it. But whenever our ears give attention to the sounds of a bird what we hear and what’s being said may be two different things. We may hear sounds of nature. But when birds sing, God’s voice is speaking. It speaks volumes right in the middle of our hardships, desperation and doubts. God is simply singing a song to us to proclaim that He is our provider. He sings to us early in the mornings. He sings to us late at night when we’re fast asleep. He sings beautifully and methodically. When we listen, we’re able to hear a plethora of ranges from the highest high to the lowest low. We hear a symphony of chirps and squawks permeating the air with creative vibrato that’s Divinely purposed to remind God’s children that He will provide for them. Sometimes, we see the birds but we don’t hear them. It’s not because they’ve stopped singing. It’s because we’ve stopped listening. The birds won’t stop singing because God won’t stop being a Provider. Take time to listen for the birds. And while you’re listening for the birds, hear the voice of God. He provides.

*Tressa Jo

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” – 2 Kings 4:3-4

Sometimes, when God positions us for deliverance or to receive a blessing, He’ll position us behind closed doors. Now, there will definitely be a time for you to testify of the goodness of God on the other side of your door. But not every part of your journey is for others to see. Sometimes the part that God orchestrates behind closed doors won’t make any sense to those that are watching. And because they don’t understand the process of your journey, if they were to get a front row seat, all they’d have to offer is mockery, doubt, negatively and criticisms. It just doesn’t make sense for you to stack all those empty jars and have absolutely nothing to put in them. But they don’t understand that God can do something mighty and miraculous with an empty vessel. So sometimes, part of the journey to your deliverance or your blessing is reserved for just you and God behind closed doors. It’s ok if you have to collect your jars from your neighbors on the outside. But those jars become vessels to be filled by God on the inside, behind closed doors. Sometimes, your neighbor should only go as far as the door–even if they’re the one that gave you the empty jar. Sometimes, the neighbor on the outside of the door can be the difference between you borrowing a jar to bring into the house and you borrowing a vessel to be filled behind closed doors. Therefore, sometimes, you have to be ok with shutting the door behind you in order to secure a Divine opportunity to have your vessel filled to capacity.

*Tressa Jo

Sometimes, the hardest place to stand is between our pursuits and God’s plans. We position ourselves in prayer. And we put our feet to the pavement pursuing what we pray. We do our part and wait for God to do His. Every now and then, God will put the brakes on our pursuits and put chains on our strengths. Most times, we think that it’s the enemy attacking us and standing in the way of what God has for us. But quite the contrary. Sometimes, it’s not the enemy. Sometimes, it’s God orchestrating His Divine staying hand to position us in the places that require us to exercise the faith we profess to have. God knows that we believe in Him. But He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to rely on Him. We don’t come into a place of trust and reliance with the things we can do for ourselves. But it’s when God intentionally disables our strengths and abilities, that we find ourselves searching for strength and power elsewhere. It is then, knowing what we know and knowing Who we know, that we approach God with all of our weaknesses, inabilities and inadequacies asking Him to do what we cannot do for ourselves. And when His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses, we learn to appreciate our weaknesses. And we learn to rely on His strengths. We come to an understanding that had we not been disabled, we’d never come to the know that God is more than able. God will present us with opportunities to trust Him, but He will not force us to trust Him.

*Tressa Jo