Author: The Manna Chef

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Stop Looking!

The Manna Chef

Today I want to encourage you to stop looking back at the graves in your past.  You may not call them graves, but you are familiar with many of them.  They include the graves of shame, fear, sickness, unforgiveness, struggle, low self-esteem, and mediocrity, to name but a few.  Let’s look at Luke 24:1-6a (NKJV) for a moment:

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!”

So, you may be asking, “How does that verse apply to the challenges in my life?”  Well, I’m glad you asked that question!  I wonder if we, the daughters of the Most High God, really understand that we carry that same Resurrection power on the inside of us. 

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Restore

The Manna Chef

I asked God for a word today, and I was determined to be still until He answered.  I didn’t ask Him for a Scripture; I asked for a word because I knew that word would send me right to the Word.  I waited for quite some time, and then I heard today’s word in a small, still voice:  RESTORE.

Those who know me personally know that I happen to love words!  So, I went right to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary to look at all of the literal meanings of the word restore.  Here’s what I found:

  1. To give back, return
  2. To put or bring back into existence or use
  3. To bring back to or put back into a former or original state; renew
  4. To put again in possession of something

All of those definitions give us a glimpse of just what it means to restore.  But let’s look deeper, because God Himself promised to restore His people.  And I need restoration in my life today, don’t you? 

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Don’t Forget

The Manna Chef

How many times has the Lord come through for you?  If you really begin to think about that in sincerity, that list will go on and on.  Today, I encourage you to focus on God’s faithfulness to you—even when you may have struggled to be faithful to Him.  God always comes through for His children—not sometimes, always! 

Sisters, I am well aware that sometimes life throws you a curve ball that may catch you by surprise, but God is never caught off guard.  He knows what you need before you even need it.  Isn’t that amazing?  Think about those times when you didn’t exactly know how a need would be met, and then God showed up right on time.  I recently experienced His supernatural move!  God told me that He was taking care of every detail in a matter, and He most certainly did—in grand fashion too!  It left me asking, “Who wouldn’t serve a God like this?” 

When I was younger, my mother used to sing “Jesus, I’ll Never Forget” during testimony service.  (She loved that song!)

Jesus, I’ll never forget what You’ve done for me.  Jesus, I’ll never forget how You set me free.  Jesus, I’ll never forget how You brought me out.  Jesus, I’ll never forget, no, never…

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Now THAT’S Faith!

The Manna Chef

Today, I was thinking about Jesus’s first miracle—turning water to wine at a wedding.  It must have been some reception since they drank all the wine, right?  In case you need a reminder, here’s the account in John 2:1-9 (NLT).

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.  Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.  The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”

“Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied.  “My time has not yet come.”

But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”  When the jars had been filled, He said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.”  So the servants followed his instructions.

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Leaning on What I Know

The Manna Chef

I was having one of those days—you know that day when you can’t seem to catch your breath because there is simply too much going on around you?  It was like every time I turned around, the phone was ringing with news of another crisis or tragedy.  I actually said to God, “Lord, this is too much.  I cannot deal with one more thing right now.” 

I was feeling exasperated, and my emotions were all over the place.  When a dear friend asked me, “How are you?” I couldn’t even put into words how I was really feeling, so I landed on, “I’m ok and not ok at the same time.” 

Those who know me personally know that I’m not one of those folks who says, “I’m blessed and highly favored” anytime someone asks how I’m doing.  Yes, I am blessed and highly favored, but if you ask how I’m feeling, and I’m not feeling blessed and highly favored, I will simply tell you the truth.  So, I had to be honest.  I was ok and not ok.  The next day, my answer was “overwhelmed.”  Another day, it was “really sad today.”  And later, “my head is spinning today—I feel like I can’t catch my breath.” (figuratively) 

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