Miracles In Your Everyday, Ordinary Life
“Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.” So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.” Genesis 24: 16-20
You may be wondering how the scripture above can be applied to your everyday, ordinary life, but if you will take a closer look at this story with me, I will show you how miracles can happen around you while you perform the mundane tasks of your day. First, let me mention that Rebekah is the eldest daughter in her home and she is simply going about her daily ritual of drawing water from the well. Upon her return she notices a foreign gentlemen approaching her along the path. He asks her for a drink of water from her pitcher and amazingly Rebekah not only agrees to draw water for him to drink, but also for his camels as well!
May I just add here, that no one would have known if she chose to deny this stranger a sip of water. Perhaps Rebekah was having a bad hair day or had a list of things yet to accomplish on her to-do list, but instead of wallowing in self-piety or self-preoccupation, Rebekah chose to serve a complete stranger for no reward or wage.
Our Rebekah is a beautiful picture of a servant who is faithful to perform not only her daily tasks, but available to serve others. Yet what she did not know was that this man was on assignment from God to select a wife for Issac. And it was her faithfulness in her everyday, ordinary life that positioned her to be God’s choice for His Kingdom purposes. The fact that she gave this stranger water from her pitcher and then went above and beyond his request shows us the integrity and quality of her character, and why God would place her in the right place, at the right time, with the right person who would unlock her destiny.
It was through Rebekah’s willingness to embrace her everyday, ordinary life that opened wide her destiny for the Kingdom of God! You see, although Rebekah was a mighty woman in her own right, she would later become the mother of Jacob and the grandmother to Joseph, who wore the coat of many colors. Her family line and legacy of faith is still teaching and influencing our generation today.
I know that it is easy to become bored with our daily routine in life. And many of you today may be wondering if you are making a difference for the Kingdom of God? But I am here to declare to you today: You are a blessing! And if you also will be faithful in your everyday, ordinary life, God will meet you there and miracles will be revealed before your eyes. God will put you in the right place, at the right time and in front of the right people for Kingdom purposes!
Prayer:
“Lord, help me to be faithful in my everyday, ordinary life. I confess that I have lost my ability to expect miracles as I go about my day. Open my eyes to see that You are always with me. Open my ears to hear Your direction for me today. Open my heart to have the same willingness of Rebekah to serve a stranger in need. As I am faithful in little, God can entrust me with much. Amen.”
Tuesdays With Tracy Announcement
Hello Precious Readers,
I am thrilled to announce the launch of my book, Tuesdays With Tracy: Real-life Devotions that Touch the Heart of a Woman.
Please watch my video on viddler.com, just click play on the video below:
For those of you who are unable to watch the video, please take a moment and read below how you can personally get involved in making this a successful book launch. Click here to take a closer look at the book and buy your copy today!
How can I get involved?
1. You can leave a comment on www.tuesdayswithtracy.com and more importantly on www.amazon.com encouraging women to buy a copy for themselves.
2. You can talk to bookstore owners near you about selling my book in their store. Also, if the Women’s Department at your church is looking for a speaker, feel free to pass along my name and website. I would love to come and speak to the women at your church!
3. You may have contacts in the media or book industry that can help get Tuesdays with Tracy into the hands of women across the globe. I am currently booking television, radio and speaking engagements for Spring 2009.
4. You can agree with me in prayer for God’s favor to be upon the book. My prayer is that He will place Tuesdays With Tracy in the hands of women who are longing to draw closer to Him.
5. Buy a copy today for you, your family and friends! It’s easy to buy Tuesdays with Tracy! Just click here or on the book icon on my website tracyhurst.com. You can purchase a copy online through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Xulonpress.com and coming soon to Target.com and Borders.com.
Please know that it is an honor to be with you every Tuesday as we dig into God’s Word and learn how to apply it to everyday life. I am so grateful that our paths have crossed for such a time as this. Many thanks to you for helping me to create a successful launch for Tuesdays With Tracy!
Blessings!
Tracy Hurst
Twenty minutes or twenty years….
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6
Has God given you a dream that has yet to come to pass? If your answer is “yes,” then I am sure you are aware that a God-inspired dream can be fulfilled in just 20 minutes or it can take up to 20 years! The problem is that during our waiting season, we often get anxious and try to fulfill our God-given dreams without God! But our self-effort only leads to frustration and failure!
Lets face it, if God gives us a dream; it is ridiculous for us to think that we can do it without His help! Zechariah 4:6 clearly tells us that it is not by might (wealth, position or prestige) or by power (our own physical strength and intelligence), but it is by the Spirit of God (His supernatural movement) that our God-given dreams will be accomplished here on earth.
Just take a moment right now and think about the dreams and desires God has placed within your heart. Go ahead and think about it and I will wait for you right here. Okay, now let me ask you: Have you given up on your dreams? Have you tried to fulfill them on your own? Are you waiting expectantly for God to bring them to pass? No matter your response, I want to encourage you today that your God-given dream is worth the wait! It is time for you to dream again. It is time for you to wait in anticipation of your dreams because they WILL come to pass in due time. Whether it is twenty minutes or twenty years for you to see the fulfillment – God is faithful and He will fulfill His promise!
Prayer:
“Lord, I give you the dreams that you have placed within my heart. I declare that You will bring them to pass in due time. You are faithful and I trust that I will see the fulfillment of my dreams according to Your Spirit. No matter how long I must wait I declare that it will be worth it! Amen.”
My Destiny is Secure
“Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!” Psalm 16:5-6 NLT
I think all of us have heard the phrase, “When someone mimics or copies you, it is the best form of a compliment.” And although this statement may be true, when someone imitates us in one way or another, we have a choice to make: Will we become fearful and insecure or will we remain confident that our destiny is secure in Christ and speak blessings over them?
It is sad to say that many times without even realizing it, we can give into the spirit of fear and begin to speak badly of these individuals. We can fall prey to gossip, slander and even vengeance, all of which stem from our battle with doubt and fear. Yet all the while God has promised to guard all that is ours! Selah (pause and think about this for a moment).
Our destiny is not in the hands of men; the King of Kings is guarding our destiny! Psalm 16 clearly states, “You (God) guard all that is mine.” Your life is secure in Christ. Isn’t that a breathe of fresh air to your weary soul? We can rest assured that we have a good inheritance and that Jesus is our cup of blessing.
Remain close to God in this season. Talk to him, spend time in His Word, and choose to bless and not curse. And let us continue to meditate on this truth: “My life is secure in Christ and He guards all that is mine.”
Prayer:“Lord, I am so grateful for the Blood of Jesus and for that fact that I am forgiven, healed and made whole through the power of the Cross. I declare today that I have a good inheritance. You guard all that is mine and the land that you have given me is pleasant land. I choose to give freely to others because You have freely given to me. You have not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, power and a sound mind. Thank you for a wonderful inheritance! Amen.”
No Strings Attached
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32
Our culture today tells us to: “Look out for #1, don’t trust anyone and I’ll scratch your back, if you scratch mine.” What people don’t realize is that this type of living is fear-based. 1 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Fear encourages us to horde, withhold and to only give with strings attached. But as children of God, we are able to freely give because our Father in heaven freely gave His son, Jesus on the cross for us.
Giving with no strings attached is freedom not only for you, but also for the person to whom you are giving the gift, because there is no form of control or manipulation involved. Giving freely is under the covenant of grace, but giving with strings attached is under the law. Nothing can hold us captive if we can freely give with no strings attached. No position, amount of money, title, or status symbol can have control over us if we are able to freely give.
I want to encourage you to bless someone today and when you give to him or her, do it freely, expecting nothing in return. Maybe you can help someone pay a bill, pray for someone in a time of need or drop off some groceries to a person in need – just because!
The truth is, we can give with no stings attached because we can trust that our Father in heaven will always provide for us. He will always take care of us in abundance. Psalm 37:25-26 states, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendant begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and His descendants are blessed.” You are not forgotten. Trust in God and keep your eyes on Him. He will bring whatever you need to pass as you freely give to others.
Prayer:”Lord, thank you for loving me with no strings attached. I am secure in the fact that You love me and have good plans for my life. Help me to not give into fear, but allow Your power, love and a sound mind to change the way I think. Show me someone who is in need today. I choose to give freely because You gave freely to me. I love you Jesus. Amen.”
Trusting God At All Times
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11, NLT
It is one thing to say that we trust God, but it is another thing to trust Him during the darkest hours of our lives. Our faith is kind of like hand-selecting an orange to eat. It may appear that we have picked a perfect orange, but we truly do not know the state of the fruit inside until the orange is either peeled or crushed. We may think we trust God, but when our circumstances come crushing down on us, it is only then that we are truly aware of our level of faith in Him.
The truth is that I cannot boast of my faith in God, but I can boast in His faith in me. Selah (pause and think about this for a moment). Personally, I have found that the key to trusting God is for me to focus on Gods love and trust in me rather than my love and trust in Him. Lets think about this for a moment, shall we? God entrusted His only Son, Jesus to die on a cross for you and me. He did this in order to regain relationship with us. God loves us and John 3:16 clearly states that God so loved the world (you and me) that He gave His only begotten son that we might have eternal life. When life hits us hard, we can trust in God because He loves us with an everlasting love. Just let this truth sink in: God loves me. I can trust God during hard times simply because He loves me and God trusts me to carry His Presence wherever I go.
If you are struggling to trust God, be at rest my friend and begin to meditate on God’s love for you. It is out of His love for you, that you can trust Him at all times. He is a faithful father and everything you need this day.
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for the cross. Thank you for praying for me daily. I long to trust You at all times. Help me to fully understand the height and depth of your love for me. I want to be still and know that You are God in my life. I can boast in the fact that You love me and that my sins are covered in Your Blood. I am the righteousness of God. I love you Jesus and I will declare Your name to those I come into contact with this day. Amen.”
God Loves You
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgement. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends with God. Romans 5:8-11, NLT
Do you know that God loves you? Seriously, do you really understand that there is nothing you can do about the fact that God loves you? His love for you will never change. For years I knew that God loved me, but I thought I had to “do” things in order to keep His love, but I have come to realize that no matter what, God loves me.
This revelation has brought much freedom and peace. You see, I am a doer by nature and in the past I was totally consumed with works of self and doing things in order to please God. Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful to spend time in prayer, to read the Bible and to fast, but these things do not make God love you. His love for us is constant and is not dependent on us participating in various spiritual disciplines. Here is the question I have learned to ask myself, “Am I doing this spiritual discipline in order to get something from God or am I doing it out of my love for Him?” If we participate in works in order to receive something from God, we are missing the point! God loves us no matter what. Spiritual disciplines are only to be done out of our love for Him, and let’s remember that He first loved us. Selah (pause and think about that for a moment).
Let me remind you today that Jesus went to the cross and bore your sin, sickness and every curse of the devil. His precious blood has given us relationship with God without the works of the law. When God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees us covered in the blood of Jesus. Our faith is never to be in our works, but in God’s grace. There is nothing we can “do” to be saved, but it is by the grace of God that we are saved.
It is because of God’s unconditional love for us, that we want to pray, read His Word and spend time in fellowship with Him (not out of obligation or to make Him love us), but out of thankfulness for Jesus and His blood. His grace is greater than your sin, sickness or anything you encounter on earth. He loves you my friend. I pray that you relish in this awesome truth today. Be free from works of the flesh and simply receive the greatest gift ever given – grace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for your love and grace. I am amazed that you love me unconditionally. This means that even if I were to mess up today – you still love me. Help me to receive this truth. I declare Your grace over my life today. Cover me with Your blood. I am forgiven, redeemed, healed and restored through the cross. You did the last “work” ever needed. You went to the cross for me and all I need to do is enjoy my relationship with You. Your love is amazing! Amen.”
A Pack of Lies
“My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one.” John 10:27-30, NLT
As most of you know, it is a great passion of mine to encourage others to fulfill their destiny in Christ. Yet recently I have battled feelings of inadequacy in that particular area. I began to wonder if I am truly impacting others for eternity and I even considered stopping Tuesday’s with Tracy.
But before I made any rash decisions, I decided to take my questions and concerns to God. I needed to hear His thoughts for my life. Within twenty-four hours of running to God, He showed me that I had been listening to the accuser of the brethren (the devil) rather than Him. God also pointed out that the discouragement I was battling was due to the fact that I had entertained a pack of lies from the enemy. The Bible clearly states in John 10:10 that, “The devil has come to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to bring life and life more abundantly.”
With this revelation from God, I immediately rebuked the devil and his pack of lies. I ran to the truth of God’s Word and my spirit lifted as I encouraged myself through scripture. God even provided encouragement for me through an email to stay the course with all that God has called me to do at this time.
Now you have a choice to make: whose voice will you honor today? It is a choice that no one else can make for you. If you listen to a pack of lies from the devil you will feel overwhelmed, defeated, depressed and discouraged, but if you listen to the Truth from your heavenly Father, you will rest in His peace, love and encouragement, as you trust in Him.
Prayer:
“Lord, I take authority over the voice of the enemy this day. I want to hear only Your thoughts concerning the direction of my life. I bind confusion and call forth clarity in its place. Thank you for leading me in Your peace that passes all understanding today and forevermore. Amen.”
Promises…Promises
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
When I was in third grade, my most important possession was my little pink bike with pom-poms. I remember riding it to school and feeling as if I didn’t have a care in the world! Then one day I began to notice that all the older kids were riding ten-speeds. Suddenly, my little pink bike went from cute and wonderful to old and outdated. It then became my goal to convince my mom that I was ready for my very own ten-speed for my ninth birthday, which happened to be just a few months away.
I remember waking up the morning of my birthday filled with excitement. I proceeded down the stairs and looked all over the house for my bike, but to my dismay no bicycle was in sight. My special day was filled with birthday festivities and just before I headed upstairs to bed, my mom called me into the living room. And there it was…my royal blue ten-speed bike with a huge bow on it!! My birthday (so I thought) had just been made complete!
The next morning, my mom began to show me the various differences between my little pink bike and my new ten-speed. She explained how I was now supposed to brake by using my hands instead of my feet and that I needed to change gears depending on the type of terrain I was riding on. I felt a bit overwhelmed, but I did not want my mom to know I was afraid – after all, I had begged her everyday for this bike. My first ride was going well until I began to fly down a hill and the vision of me flipping over the handlebars due to breaking too fast filled my mind. I barely stopped the bike before a traffic intersection. I remember looking over to my mom and crying, “Mom, I’m not ready for a ten-speed.” The truth was, I wasn’t ready to handle such a large bike at that time. And little did I know, but I was learning a very important spiritual lesson that has helped me tremendously throughout my adult life.
How many times have we begged God for something and when we didn’t receive it in our time frame, we began to either pout or doubt? I believe from the bottom of my heart that God never withholds anything good from us; He only sets us up to be blessed. God is the ultimate promise keeper. If He has promised us something, we will receive it in due time. Sometimes when our promises are delayed, it’s because God knows that we are not ready to handle them.
It is through the times of waiting that we are humbled and tested to see what is within our hearts (Deuteronomy 8:2). Will we grumble and complain or will we trust Him as we wait? When God brings forth His promises, He loves us enough to make sure that we are mature enough to handle them because He wants us to succeed.
Whatever promise from heaven you are waiting on, remember that God is faithful to fulfill His promise and He never withholds anything good from those who trust in Him.
Prayer:
“Lord, I am so grateful that every good and perfect gift comes from heaven above! Please forgive me for pouting or doubting when I don’t get what I want! I choose to trust You this day and ask that you prepare me to receive every promise that is mine. Amen.”
To Whom Do You Run?
“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy of praise, for he saves me from my enemies.” Psalm 18:13, NLT
When the going gets tough, to whom or what do you run to for help? For so many of us, without even thinking, we run to a list of faulty sources, such as, food, television, unhealthy relationships, busyness, alcohol, vanity, performance, spending or making money or anything that helps us temporarily feel better about ourselves and our situation. However, these temporary solutions are just that – TEMPORARY! And these faulty solutions often become long-term problems if we are not careful.
I don’t know about you, but there have been many difficult days when all I could do was say the name “Jesus” out loud as an act of running to Him. When we reach the point that we are too tired to read the Word, search for a scripture concerning our situation or even call a friend for prayer, we can run to God just by speaking “Jesus” out loud. When we do this, we are proclaiming that HE is the solution and the One we need to run to. I have personally found that when I speak the name “Jesus” out loud throughout my day, His peace is able to fill my mind, as I trust in Him.
The truth is, there is nothing wrong with eating chocolate:), buying a new outfit or watching a fun movie, but when we turn to these sources as our solution, we will end up gravely disappointed! God is the only solution that will never disappoint. When we run to Him, we won’t gain any weight (hallelujah) or have buyer’s remorse:) God is the Solution that is always moving on our behalf. He is our Rock, our Shield, our Protection and the Lifter of our head.
Prayer:
“Lord, forgive me for running to everyone and everything but You. I choose to stop running to faulty sources and I run to You for everything I need today. I declare “Jesus,” over every situation I am dealing with at this time. I am forever grateful that You are always with me. Amen.”
About
Tracy became a Christian at the age of 16 and her life was changed forever. She went from being a depressed, suicidal, rebellious teenager to a dynamic leader for Christ. Immediately after accepting Jesus as her Savior, Tracy fought the school board in order to begin a Bible study on school grounds at her high school in Illinois. The dramatic transformation in Tracy's life has inspired many, including her own mother, to give their lives to Christ.
