"Remain"

"and he (REMAINED) and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was" Acts 18:3

I am reminded often through the early church how God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways. You and I are ordinary too....and that is good news. On thing that makes God's ordinary people so extraordinary is their extraordinary faith in Him. A faith that depends upon prayer...and the power of His Word....and surrender to the Father's will.

Years ago, I remember walking into Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale and throughout the message God was impressing on my heart not only the words of Paul's writings but the character and faith of this godly servant whose faith endured despite all his trials, despite the appointed places he found himself, despite being in chains and imprisoned...he was able to rejoice in all things...and I finally understood what a bondservant of Christ meant...a depth to a faith that could always go 'deeper yet' because a bondservant of Christ co-labors with God for Gods intended purposes. I knew instantly that my faith in God through accepting Him into my heart meant that God was calling me to be in the middle of the work He was doing in this age of grace...to trust Him with the plans He had for me...and that He trusted me to use me as He planned. This thought is so amazing and yet so humbling and comes with an abandonment of self. Paul's extraordinary faith was lived through Christs example and is a beautiful example to us all. His example continues to be impressed upon my heart each day and especially when I need to be reminded what a bondservant of Christ truly looks like. As a new believer over 32 years ago I was so amazed to learn of this man's faith...a faith that was tried and a faith that remained...a faith that was lived out so that others would see the Lord. I knew of him...and read his writings as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen the very words of God...but God had me quickly learn that this great work and his ministry came with a great example of a life devoted to Christ...and it came with a price.

I knew he was a great hero of the faith and that he penned much of the New Testament but the Lord was speaking to my heart of how our belief in God alone through salvation is a faith and belief in Him that then endures...it remains in Him and it is lived out daily through the events of each day....through all things. A faith that believes that God lifts the valleys and makes the crooked ways strait and He too blesses us on the mountaintop experiences. This faith is able to 'rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice' in the most darkest of prison places. The prison places in our hearts when darkness surrounds us and there seems no way of escape...when circumstances are so heavy and persecution is great...and especially when we feel the attacks from the enemies of our soul. When we feel swallowed up and our enemy hounds us...when thoughts come against us and the pit of despair threatens to engulf us. A faith that turns fear into faith...a faith that remains and believes that God is for us...and believes that there is nothing that man can do to us...for our hope is in the Lord alone and we will not be afraid. A faith that continues to pray and remain and believe on the promises of His unfailing Word. God often uses seemingly ordinary people in the most mundane places to do the most extraordinary things and in doing so this raises the faith and courage of others. And I desire this faith...a faith that only believes in God to do the impossible as I remain in Him.

The Lord recently gave me such a profound Word for my heart as He does so often when we need to hear from Him...a beautiful Word that as I remain He will 'deliver' … He met me as the enemies attacks tried hard to enter my heart and fill my mind...God gave me the clearest vision of the most beautiful promise of who He is...Our Deliverer. Deliverance is promised in the battle...if He delivered my soul from death...He is surely capable of delivering me out of the depths of my trials...and I must believe and be not afraid....for my "vows made to You Lord are binding upon me...for You have delivered my soul from death and You have kept my feet from falling that I may walk before my God" " Ps 56:12-13. And Lord You will do it again and again and again. He gave me the Words of David in Psalm 56 that evening as I fell upon my knees...and prayed and opened my Bible....a Word to me came of David complaining of his enemies. His despair was great as his enemies came against him and his situation was dangerous as his enemies were seeking to destroy him ...but God knew it, allowed it and He promised David deliverance.

So often when we are in situations where we pray to God for deliverance we can often feel as though God doesn't love us or He has forgot us...and doubts fill our minds with thoughts that are not from heaven. But God moves in mysterious ways and His wonders are His to perform...He treasures us and works His sovereign will and how He wants His saints to have courage and faith in Him. Yes, the clouds may be great and the waters may be closing in over our head but as we call upon the name of the Lord from the depths of the pit He will never close His ears or cut us off from His sight....No! Our God He hears our cries for mercy and deliverance as we look to His holy temple...and bow in holy reverence to Him. When we call upon the Lord in times of distress, He answers.

Acts 18 is a reminder to us all of Paul's obedience and life of surrender to the calling and cause of Christ upon his life. In David we also see a man of God who persevered in faith...He answered to Gods calling upon his life to become a follower of Christ and to put his trust in God. And he believed that God brings deliverance. This is such a gift to continue to believe not just when the sun is shining but it is such a different level of spiritual belief to trust God and believe Him from the belly of the whale as Jonah, from in the lions den as Daniel, from the cave as you are being pursued by your enemies as David, and from prison when chains bind you and it is dark and you cannot see beyond the bars that hold you in...to still believe and call upon the Lord believing that He is good and in control and that He is using our lives as we remain and give our upmost for His highest.

I am so thankful for the prayers of the saints...for God's grace who enables. Long ago, Randy and I gave ourselves without reservation to do the will of God and fully surrender our lives at all costs in our service to Him. This has been a glorious calling as is continues to bring me joy to see the fruit of his labor and the work God is doing in so many lives. 1 Thessalonians is one verse that I have always clung to as to why we always endure....for in our endurance there is a joy that is received when our lives are used to touch another for Christ, "for what thanksgiving can we return to God, for all the joy we feel, for your sake before our God" 1 Thessalonians 3:9. Paul's love and care he had for the early church came through the ministry of the word, and through him sharing his life with them and through all his trials he could still speak of the happiness he had in learning of the steadfastness of their faith and witnessing their faith move forward. This was Randy's heart for a new church and so early in its beginnings and throughout his ministry until he was called home and it's my heart today to see God's people growing in Him and to allow the Lord to continue to grow my own heart as He has so much more to do as I remain.

We see a disciple of Christ who was used through the suffering of many hardships but who gave himself up for the body of Christ...despite tests, temptations and trials but everything He did was done for God and others and yet Luke wrote of him as a tentmaker by trade. He seemed very ordinary by trade...his job not important or prestigious. Religiously speaking he was not popular in the religious circles of the elite nor was he dictated by the philosophies of the world...or the traditions of men.

His job description is spoken of a disciple of Christ, a tentmaker by trade. This is us as followers of Christ. "and he remained and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was" Acts 18:3 Does this description sound familiar? Do we think our descriptions are so ordinary and that the Lord could not use us in the lot that He has placed us in...do we embrace each day as we 'make tents' while serving God...serving Him with our body, soul and mind...wherever our appointed places are? Paul's heart was a disciple first and after accepting Christ he did not abandon his tentmaking. He used it to advance the kingdom and used it to come in contact with other people who were spiritually hungry for truth....he did not compartmentalize his life but was all things to all people at all times and in all places and this was a gift my husband had and taught many. All Christians are equipped to declare the praises of Jesus Christ ---everyday, everywhere, at any time...and beginning in our homes.

You may think your life is such an ordinary life...among ordinary people...but God uses a life that is yielded to Gods spirit in extraordinary ways. Paul's boldness and courage greatly affected many for Christ as He worked with his hands by trade but shared Christ through his words and actions no matter where he was. His life was lived as an example to us all. Where has God placed you today? Are you embracing your lot in life? Where has God has placed you today and are you giving your upmost for His highest and whatever the cost. I have always been so encouraged and have always felt so privileged with the ministry God has given me...wherever I found myself in the day. First as God's Daughter, then as a wife and a mother....as a servant of the Lord serving Him. Serving my family. Serving women. To embrace my lot in life and my appointed place and to REMAIN. To remain in the situation God puts me in....in the place in which I was called. Its all for His glory as we lay our lives down on the altar. Isn't that beautiful to know....that our callings are sure and our places appointed...and doesn't that eliminate doubt and discontentment and the lies of the enemy to have us think that our situations are nothing but by chance or mistakes or mishaps...on the contrary...they are ordained by God. This was the belief that all the great heroes of faith held on to....instead of running to change their circumstance and kick against the Lord they embraced their situations and remained and gave them to God to work out His perfect will...to transform lives and transform events...for His glory.

1 Corinthians 7:20 tells us that "it is the Lord who has distributed to every man as the Lord has called each...so in that place we must walk...to remain, to stay, to abide in Him, to wait upon Him". To serve Him and do all that is required of us...to serve God in the responsibilities we have in that place. In our homes, in our roles as husbands and wives, as fathers and mothers, in our workplace, in our daily responsibilities wherever the day may take us...in our ministries and service to God in church. To remain in those places...to remain in Christ...to remember it is Christ in us and His desire to work through us in that place and to depend upon His power, will and way in that place....in that place He brings contentment and an understanding of Gods will for us....not us being discontent, and our faith faltering and our trust in God slipping away and doubts filling our minds because of the lies the enemy wants us to believe...a lie that our joy will be complete when we are in different set of circumstances....the Word tells us that our joy in complete only in the Lord. This is a great question...a question my husband often asked me...."Is my joy complete in God alone?"...not in my circumstance...not in my feelings...only in God and if not then it's my heart that needs change.

My husband was so wise to remind me often, always what I needed to hear...there are not 'what if's' in Gods vocabulary. Its in the presence of the moment that we continue to be all we need to be for the Lord...Its not waiting for our circumstance to change...it walking in the moment with Him..in the place where we are at....its in the people we can touch that are before us...this is our ministry....and its abiding quietly and contently in the condition in which He has placed us by His Divine Providence. It is being all for all people...at all times...our lives are our ministries unto the Lord.

I shared recently with some sweet sister's when asked how can I remain and continue serving Christ through the most painful time of my life....and the answer is the same as it always has been...'its Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances'.(E.E.) Its allowing all pain to have its perfect work in me....and to 'REMAIN'. Its allowing God to use my pain for others. Its having the hope of knowing that our pain is not wasted with the Lord but it does is greatest work. Godly sorrow will bring a turning to Him and in Gods truth I must remain and push through my flesh and feelings. It's bowing to the Lord instead of dethroning Him in my heart and acting according to my own will which is rebellion and unbelief. For me, the questions as to why....and why did the Lord take Randy home when He did cannot be fully answered in my heart but as I shared, the mysteries of God are part of His purposes and the answer to our "Why?" is always God Himself.

This is very hard at times when our circumstances are not what we intended or desired. When our life at the moment is not what we expected...but if we believe in a sovereign God who has called us to use us for His purposes...we remain in our calling...and it is more of our will that needs to be yielded to His. Its less wandering and more remaining. Its in the remaining where we need Him the most and where He promises that His presence will go before us...and He will give us rest. Rest is not when we have the answers or the solution or the desire for our way...its when we remain, abide and trust in Him...doing our part faithfully while trusting God to do His.

Paul did not live to work for an impressive title nor did he strive to exalt himself in an impressive career. He loved the Lord and desired to be used by Him wherever He was....He knew his first calling, to serve the Lord in faithful service through obedience in his calling and with a surrendered will. Whether stitching tents, or in a prison, or preaching the Word in front of many, whether in a ship that was headed to be wrecked in a storm, or sharing Christ with a jailer, or encouraging the brethren and the leaders throughout the early church...whether praying, preaching, planting churches...whether being persecuted...he shared the word and God was glorified and souls were drawn into His kingdom...through the best of times and the through the toughest of times.

God delivers as we remain...do we believe? Are you waiting and praying for a situation you are in...where you are today..in that exact place...in that exact circumstance...know God has allowed it. Remain trusting and believing while you wait on the Lord. . There is always a very good reason for all God does and where He has you..in remaining He will orchestrate the details and do the work He intends. Remaining is abiding in Him and allowing His peace to keep you. As we believe in the most impossible situations for God to deliver...we become mature in our faith and we realize that we can trust God and we can trust His workings and even in His delays...it all is for His good and glory.

I like to think that whatever God is doing in my life it also is for the good of others. God might be dealing with our selfish hearts, our pride, our unbelief, or a sin in our life...as we feel He is delaying in our prayers prayed to Him and as His delays cause us to wait...but in our waiting He is purifying our hearts and His church and preparing His people for greater things to come. This is what faith believes. This is what deliverance brings. He is working through all things...through judgement and righteousness...weaving together all the events in our lives each day for His Eternal plan....His purpose.

This was the same Paul that was named Saul before his conversion. A man who lived for the law and legalism of the traditions of men...he persecuted the Christians...and was zealous for his cause. On the road to Damascus we read how the Lord touched him and called him...and his life was transformed by grace as he believed. We read how he followed God and remained...He remained faithful through all things.

This was the same Paul that grew to learn of the power of prayer and the faithfulness of God through His Word...as he fully committed his life to Christ...that his life was no longer his own. Paul was a bondservant of Christ a disciple of His. He knew that His life was now the Lord's, to do as He willed...for the redemption of the world. Jesus was His example and He followed His leading....and He believed in the Word and in the power of prayer. He did not live by sight...but by faith. He remained in each circumstance only to give each circumstance to God. He grew to learn that he could do nothing on his own but how all things could be done according to God's will through prayer...and through the church praying. He was a man of prayer and the Word....a tentmaker by trade...a follower of Christ in the calling God had upon His life as a bondservant of Christ...a follower of His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

People who God uses are people who cling to His Word and people who pray. People who believe and people who remain, not striving to change their appointed places thinking there is something bigger and better...or thinking that God cannot deliver....or something more is needed aside from Christ ..something more that they need to complete their usefulness or purpose as a Christian or some added help from another. Are you content in remaining this day wherever you are? To desire more of Christ to deliver you...to minister to you, to use you. Believing in the Almighty God to do the impossible...the God of the Bible to deliver. This kind of faith changes lives, it moves mountains, breaks chains, releases prisoners, it changes the course of the world.

God is looking for ordinary people who have extraordinary faith in Him...even tentmakers by trade...to show the world who He is...to show His glory in this world who so desperately needs Him. The church in China today is illegal, their circumstance is difficult and dangerous as persecution is on the rise...yet they remain and believe that for such a time as this God is working mightily in this time of history where God has placed them...where God is moving greatly...despite the trials, persecution, despite the difficulties they face...they are one of the fastest growing churches in the world...because great persecution has meant they ONLY have the word & prayer and God Himself and how this appointed place and dependency on God must greatly please the heart of God...how God desires to work when we are depleted of ourselves......the church in China remains and abides and trusts...despite “being chained as evil doers believing that Gods Word cannot be chained” as Paul wrote & witnessed...and encouraged us all in....and through all appointed places...seeds are planted and others are being saved.

Seeds being planted and lives being saved begins in the ministry within our homes and reaches out...all in our appointed places. How God has worked mightily in our midst and in our church and in His church throughout the world and He will continue as we remain and as we believe....as we maneuver through our regular routines, fulfilling God's agendas, praying for Gods will to be done...praying in Gods name and not our own name. I continue to bear witness to the power of prayer and the power of Gods word...to the power of His promises that He gives His people and that He has given me....so many miracles I have witnessed in my life...in the lives of others...and as the days grow darker we need Him more...we must remain and as we do how God sends something supernatural from heaven. He sends His work, His peace, presence, dreams, conviction, repentance...wakening hearts spiritually sleeping...many chains falling....God brings deliverance ...deliverance to each of our situations...He cannot do anything else, He cannot fail His people, He cannot....hallelujah!

I stand in awe of His good deeds..I bear witness to His wonderous works..to the redemption and deliverance He has given many...how He has restored lives and healed broken hearts...how He has remained faithful to me as I remain in Him.....and I continue to ask, as Habakkuk asked, Repeat Your deeds in our day...in my day...in each of my days make them known. The Sovereign Lord is my strength....when I cry our to the Lord how our enemies will turn back...give us all strength to Remain...and to remember that our vows to God are binding...our God delivers and His mercy reaches to the heavens.

May we embrace our calling, our appointed places in this world...as we walk with Christ each day and allow Him to do His perfect work in our lives...and we will stand in awe of His deeds...may God continue to teach us, change us, and transform us...and I am praying for you all as you apply Gods Word to your life and daily walk with Him...may He impact your life is amazing ways as you embrace your life and remain in the calling in which you have been called to this day......in this may you remain and abide in Him.

Michelle A. Guerra