‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name’.
John 15:16
God’s choosing of us is not based on anything we have done, because we were chosen by Him even before the world was made. And we were chosen not just to be saved, but to be completely clean before him, because of the blood of Jesus. This is not a vain hope, this is God’s plan for each one of us, accomplished by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
We are called not just to receive salvation though but also to bear fruit. His fruit. We are called to become more like Christ. And God promises all the resources we need to be good ‘fruit-bearers’, if only we will ask and expect Him to work in our lives
In Ephesians 2:10. Paul writes “For we are God”s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”.
We are created to do good works. In GB we are encouraging one another to” Live the Mission” to join in with what God is doing in His world, amongst girls who need to encounter Him. In GB It’s what we are called to do and how incredible it is to know that we have all the resources of God available to us as we follow him expectantly.
God is committed to the task. God has equipped us with special gifts and talents. We need to ask God to help us identify these gifts and to be disciplined and open enough to develop them.
Questions to help us reflect:
What good works has God lined up for each one of us this year …. Or in the next 4 years ?
How will we recognise them when they come along?
What are expecting God to do? Read Ephesians 2. And in your own words note down some thoughts about what to expect from God as you follow Him
Prayer to share
Lord God, help us to hear your voice today. Open our hearts to receive your Spirit so that we can recognise the opportunities you give us to join in with you calling on our lives. Fill us with your power Lord, to be people who do your good works amongst girls and in our community.
Amen
Fear not!
Isaiah 43:2 Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.
Isaiah 43:4 You are precious in my sight and I love you.
John 10:3 The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name.
For many girls in Tanzania, it is not their usual experience to feel loved, valued or precious. More often they feel unloved, un-valued, and worthless. They feel that no one cares and that they are not special to anyone. It is hard for them to have any expectations of good things in their lives.
Let me share with you the testimony of one of our GB Centre students. I shall call her Glorious (not her real name).
When Glorious was young her father died, leaving her mother with no means of support and a young daughter to bring up. After a little while she had the opportunity to marry again, but on the condition that she not take her daughter with her. It was a difficult choice to make, but she left Glorious in the care of her grandmother and went to start a new life and a new family with her new husband. Glorious grew up with her grandmother caring for her, but without her own mother and father to love and nurture her.
Her grandmother brought Glorious along to study at GB centre. After a couple of weeks it became apparent that Glorious was pregnant, along with another of our students. When we took the whole school for their medical checks, including pregnancy both these girls showed negative results. How was that? It seems they had falsified their specimens. But why? Fearing that they may even plan to have an illegal abortion we planned to take them back for another test. Somehow Glorious heard about this so she didn’t come to school that day. At which point we rang her grandmother and explained to her our fears. Her grandmother took matters into her own hands and took a nurse home to test Glorious who was indeed pregnant.
We sat in our office with a tearful Glorious and a rather distressed grandmother. As we talked with Glorious she said that she had a relationship with the boy, but when she rang him to tell him about the pregnancy, he cut off any communication or relationship with her.
Grandmother also confessed to us that when she sent Glorious to her interview for the school, she told her not to tell us about the child she already had in case we would not accept her.
My heart went out to Glorious – she had been rejected by her mother and her step father, left by the father of her first child, had to pretend she didn’t have a child, then been rejected by the father of her second pregnancy, and now in danger of having to leave school.
As we talked and counselled Glorious and her grandmother we affirmed to her that she is indeed precious and loved. She remained at school for another month but then it was too difficult for her so she had to withdraw from her studies.
But two years later, Glorious is again enrolled and doing very well in her course. She will graduate at the end of the year and be able to begin her own sewing business. As well as learning sewing skills, Glorious has grown in her relationship with Jesus. She has learned of his love for her and of her value and worth. She will be able to care for her children. She will be able to build up her life and make choices. We pray that God will bring her a loving Christian husband to embrace her children and that they may have more children together.
Jesus knows Glorious, calls her by name and loves her children and has a plan for her life. We can see God doing great things in the life of Glorious and expect him to do much more as she walks with him.
Courage and comfort zones
Be Expectant – God is Faithful
“Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” – John 15:16 ASV
Have you ever been asked to assume a leadership role you did not want to accept?
The fear of leaving my comfort zone and trying new things always prompts my heart to say “No”, but I have learnt the importance of acting in obedience to God’s call – to do what God wants, not what is easiest for me; To take that first step of faith to commit everything to Him; To submit to him in humility and trust that He will go before me to enable and equip me for the challenges that lie ahead.
We will all face challenges and tough decisions everyday of our lives. Alone, we are weak and uncertain, but if we wait and listen expectantly to God’s voice, He will always be faithful to guide us according to His will. God calls each one of us to be different. We work as different parts of a body and use our different gifts to enhance the work we are called to do.
When God calls us and we respond, He works within our hearts to strengthen and empower us.
Is God calling you out of your comfort zone?
WAIT on Him.
Watch and pray, Worship God, Work at being the best for Him
Align to God’s will. Act with boldness in accordance to God’s will. Ask for prayer support on your journey.
Inculcate good habits and spiritual discipline. Be Intentional in all you say and do.
Trust in the Lord and stay True to your calling. Allow God to transform you as He leads you daily.
In the Girls’Brigade, we believe that we are on God’s Business (GB) everyday. Be expectant of His working in every moment of life, for God takes our ordinary lives and makes it extraordinary.
Be strong and be of good courage, be not afraid neither be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
May God Bless you.
Prayerfully,
Mrs Tay Poh Imm President, The Girls’ Brigade Singapore. IVP, Asia Fellowship
Beauty for ashes
[Place a piece of coal or soiled rock in visibly prominent position]
Expectantly wait on the Lord, to reveal his glory and beauty in every situation. Isaiah 61:3 KJV reflects God’s desire for His people:
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
As we reflect on Christ’s presence in our lives as leaders and women, gaze for a moment on the block of coal held in the soiled hands above. Not, particularly attractive is it? Certainly, not what comes to mind when we think of beauty or even something to look forward to. However, if we reflect on Isaiah 61:3 or even on Jeremiah 18:4 is that not precisely what God asks of us? To expectantly allow and trust Him to use every situation in our lives to mould and shape us, as the potter carefully sculpts the clay in His loving hands.
Father God, we pray for hearts which embrace Jeremiah 18:4 and Isaiah 61:3 and with patience expectantly wait on the Lord amidst every circumstance, even when positive results are not obvious. Instead, let us trust You to mould situations like the lump of coal in rugged hands, coal which when heated by the pressures and gases of this earth and forced violently to the surface produces the purest and most precious commodity – the DIAMOND!! Help us not to quit along the way, and look only upon the coal in our lives or the ugly circumstances representing the ashy coals. Help us not to miss the opportunity to become DIAMONDS rising with beauty from the ashes.
When we embrace the joy of being Expectant we too can see the DIAMONDS in every girl crossing our path and introduce them to Christ who is waiting to give them ‘beauty for ashes.’ We close this reflection with the Crystal Lewis, song Beauty for Ashes (words are below).
Beauty for Ashes, Crystal Lewis
He gives beauty for ashes, strength for fear
Galadness for mourning, peace for despair
He gives beauty for ashes, strength for fear
Gladness for mourning, peace for despair
When sorrow seems to surround you
When suffering hangs heavy on your head
Know that tomorrow brings wholeness and healing
God knows you’re♯ near, just believe what he said
When what you’ve done keeps you from moving on
When fear wants to make itself at home in your heart
Know that forgiveness brings wholeness and healing
God knows you’re near, just believe what he said
I once was lost, but God has found me
I was bound, I’ve been set free
I’ve been made righteous in his sight
A display of His splendor all can see (repeat)
…peace for despair, peace for despair, he gives peace for despair
Expect the unexpected
Anna (Luke 2:22,36-38) had been a widow for many years. She lived in a society that placed her on the lower level due to her gender, her lack of family, and her advanced age.
Yet Anna didn’t care nor worry what the world saw, she spent her time in the temple worshiping her Lord and expecting to see great things. Anna was aware that one day the promised Messiah would come.
Anna had a willingness to be in God’s presence, to be a servant and to worship expectantly.
Anna’s focus in life was to spend quality time with God. Her relationship wasn’t affected by her circumstances or the situation she found herself in. Anna knew she must stay in line with God.
Anna dared to be a servant till the end. Instead of enjoying retirement Anna remained focused on serving the Lord. Her passion was to share with others the good news of the coming Messiah, regardless of how long it was before he came. Anna is an example of a Godly women who worked for the Lord and expected great things to occur. Anna was richly rewarded when she saw and recognised the Messiah who through his life would scatter darkness and transform Gods people.
Anna worshiped the Lord with an expectant heart. She prayed, worshiped, and listened to her Maker. Do your life situations get in the way of worshiping our God?
Are you expecting to be used by God within your part of the world and within your circumstances?
Do you eagerly look forward to doing God’s mission with an expectation that you will make a difference in someone’s life?
Are you expecting Christ’s light and love to shine in all you do?
Embrace where Christ has placed you and expect to see the unexpected.
Ali Margetts
Don’t be discouraged
I’ll be honest with you- things haven’t been so good between me and God lately. He’s seemed pretty absent, so I haven’t really bothered with Him either. That might seem a pretty bleak tale, but I promise there’s a much happier ending. Let me tell you why…
First off, I know I’m not alone in this, no matter how few Christians would confess to going through a period of God seeming ‘hidden’. I find the beginning of Psalm 13 particularly encouraging:
How long, LORD? Will you forget me for ever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? (Psalm 13:1-2, NIV)
It’s not just me, and it’s not just you- we all go through periods when God seems absent to us. What personal experiences do you have of God feeling hidden?
Secondly, I know that God’s hands have been at work in my life before- when I was homesick during my first year of University and I looked to God for comfort; when people responded with immense generosity as I fundraised for a trip; when I was offered my dream job!
Despite all of the times God has shown up in our lives, we still become so easily discouraged. I feel a bit like the Israelites who, after being freed from slavery and the awful regime of the Pharaoh, stand in the desert and doubt that God will provide them with food. Yet what does God do? He shows up, saying ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you.’ (Exodus 16:4). When we look back at what God has evidently done in our lives, we should be encouraged! Looking back, what has God done in your life that you are thankful for?
Finally, like the Psalmist, I am going to choose to be expectant of what God can and will do. Psalm 13 ends with:
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13:5-6, NIV)
God has been good to me- sometimes it’s useful to look back and be thankful, to help us look forward and be expectant.
Will you, too, choose to be expectant of what God will do in your life?
Charlotte Hendy
Don’t settle for unfulfilled life
The story of the Fig Tree (Mark 11:20 -24)
Did you know that Expectancy is the key to the doorway of receiving God’s blessings?! The story of the Fig tree is an interesting one. Jesus and his disciples, having spent an eventful day the previous day, were on their way from Jerusalem to Bethany. They must have chosen the route with a certain fig tree in mind, because they were hungry. Unfortunately, they found no figs on this tree! What a disappointment!
Jesus and his friends were expectant as they drew closer to the tree, but alas, the tree was fruitless. Jesus curses the tree.
The lesson in the story is on the way back when they find the tree dried up! When the disciples see that the tree has withered, they are surprised.
Yet Jesus, tells them, “Have faith in God”. In other words, expect God to act when you pray. The only stipulation for moving mountains is expectancy and not doubt. Expectancy is the attitude you need after you have stepped out in faith; this is the attitude that needs to carry you clear to the completion of God’s promises.
Jesus said, “therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”. In other words, be expectant. Ask God to do something and believe he will answer your prayer.
What is it that you are expecting God to do in your life, this year?
How are you preparing for that?
It’s easy to settle for living an unfilled life, because we don’t raise our expectancy of ourselves or of God, so I encourage you – expect great things to happen in your life.
Most of us believe that God is powerful, but at the same time, we do not trust him to move the mountains that hinder us from experiencing fullness of life. Take God at his word and expect an abundant life. Go ahead and be expectant, God will come through for you.
Ruth Chikasa GB Zambia Past president Girls’ Brigade International
Expect to Reap
You will need
Some seeds, pots or a place to do some planting, water and soil.
Activity
Ask members of your group to look at some seeds. If possible allow them to plant some. Discuss what they would EXPECT to happen to their planted seeds. Lead your group into a discussion about the farmer’s work, how he or she prepares the field, sows seeds and is expecting and anticipating a harvest of fruits. What kind of plant do you expect to get from your seed?
Application/reflection
Display Galatians 6:7 ‘A person will reap exactly what he sows.’
As we live our lives we are planting seeds. Some people live their lives focused on their personal desires and are motivated by selfishness and self sufficiency. Others use their resources to spread love and kindness to others. If you are working with young people encourage the group to examine what kind of seeds they have planted in the last week and what expectation they have as a result. What we sow is what comes back in our life. Sowing selfish seeds will lead to a harvest of similar actions and will displease God whilst sowing seeds of kindness will reap blessing. If you are working with GB leaders consider what seed you are sowing and what fruit you are expecting in your GB group in the coming session. Let us be guided by the Spirit of God so that we use our resources in Girls’ Brigade with the expectation of seeing an increase of God’s kingdom here on earth.
The desires of your heart
Activity
Display the words of Psalm37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Read the words to the group slowly and deliberately. Next read the words together.
Application/Reflection
If this is God’s promise to us (and it is) what is it that we are EXPECTING Him to give us? If we don’t know what it is we expect we won’t know when He has done His thing! Encourage everyone to think what the desire of their heart is. What do they want from God? After a few minutes of personal reflection change the question and as a group or in twos and threes ask: What is it that we desire for God to do through GB in our company, district, region or country? What are we EXPECTING Him to do?
Be Expectant
Preparation
Have the words of Matthew 24:44, the memory verse, on pictures of suitcases. Before the session begins, hide the words around the church or hall ’So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him’.
Activity
Talk about how we need to be prepared when we travel on holidays or camps. Produce a suitcase which you have pre-packed with selected items that would be needed for a trip (e.g.: clothes, shoes, nightwear, washing kit, passport, torch, money, ticket, Bible etc). Pull each item out when the items are mentioned as being needed and discuss why they are important.
Application/reflection
Ask the group to find the words of the memory verse which are hidden round the room. Order the words and read the verse together. Explain to the group how we need to be prepared for when Jesus returns. We need to be ready, to expect him, because we do not know when He will return. As we need to prepare when we are going away so we need to prepare for the return of Jesus. Ask the group, what they will need to do to be prepared for Jesus’ return – live the kind of life that puts others first and do things which please God.
