You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘God’ tag.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13
A few times every year an event happens that excites every true sports fan. During this event, they may sit glued to their screens in anxious anticipation. Some will leave angry or disappointed. Some will leave excited. All will leave hopeful. This strange event I’m talking about isn’t a football game or baseball game or a hockey game. No one is dressed in team uniforms. There are no officials. If you haven’t figured it out yet, what I’m talking about is the draft. By design, the draft is created to allow teams to add to their rosters players that will best suit their needs. Teams that have bad records get the first choices, teams that have good records get the last choices, unless of course there are trades.
But this devotional isn’t about the draft or athletes. It’s about potential. You see players are drafted with hopes that they will live up to their potential. Sometimes players who are expected to do well, do poorly. Sometimes players who are expected to be average, become superstars. The difference is potential over actual.
In the Christian life it’s no different really. We all have a tremendous amount of potential. Not because of our own abilities, but because of the driving force behind our potential. The difference is that we have God on our side. In fact, the very Spirit of God dwells in us. Think about it. The same power that created the world; the same power that erased Jesus from the dead, lives in you as a Christ-follower.
If we follow him he’ll help us to reach our best potential possible. Relying on him for our strength and our direction will help us each to be a superstar in his eyes. And that’s all that really counts. Potential over actual. God is the difference between being average and reaching your potential. In Jesus you can rise above mediocrity and be awesome.
“We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.” Psalms 123:2
Our family loves to camp. When our youngest was very young she was very afraid of the dark so she would sleep with her mom. As long as she was touching her mom she was fine, but if mom made the slightest move it would not be long before a hand or a foot would be touching her. As long as she could touch her mom, she had nothing to worry about. She needed that constant affirmation that mom was there to protect her.
In the same way, we as believers in the Lord God of heaven need constant reminders of his love and mercy. The writer of this song, reminds us of how important it is to always remember that God is near. His mercy is never more than a touch away.
Sometimes that’s easy to forget. Life gets hard. Relationships fail. Our bodies grow old..Voices scream at us with doubts about his presence, his wisdom or even if he cares about what we are going through.
A good servant, knows his master. When life circumstances attack, the trusting servant doesn’t look at the problem. He looks st his master. If the master doesn’t seem concerned, the servant is at peace. He’s ‘in touch’ with the master and things will be okay.
On the other hand, if the master seems alarmed, the servant will also be concerned and spring into action..
The psalmist reminds us to keep our focus off of life circumstances and on the Father. We know his mercy is available. We know his grace is plentiful..we know his power and wisdom are unmatched. Our God is merciful in the big things and the little things. Don’t miss them! Stay in touch. Watch for the sign.
““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” John 14:1
It’s no secret at all that we live in difficult times. Fear, anger, hatred, and discouragement seem rampant. I remember rowing a boat across my grandfathers small lake. It would take a few t red hours to get from one end of the lake back to his cabin. By the time you got close to the end your arms and legs were aching. But I remember looking over my shoulder and seeing the dock getting closer and realizing I could make it!
It is much easier to get through the difficult times when you see the end in sight. And for us as believers to know who’s waiting for us on the other side makes it even easier. Someone once said, nothing worth attaining issue gotten without pain.
When you’re in a tunnel it’s dark and scary. But when you see the light at the end you realize you’re going to make it through.
That’s the way it is when we follow Christ. There will be dark times there will be rough seas there will be rocky trails. But we know who waits for us at the end and when we get there this will all be worth it.
“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” Philippians 3:20-21
It’s human nature to judge everything by what we can see, touch, feel and hear because our bodies are created to respond finitely.
We can get sucked into the mindset that says “This is all there is.”
When we see life as being the sum total of all that we will ever experience, it gets discouraging. We want more from life. We want better relationships. We want more toys in the garage. We want to feel validated by those around us. We want to be free of the pain of abuse.
As believers in Jesus we should never forget that what we see here is temporary. The beauty of Jesus coming to earth is that he experienced firsthand the weakness of the human body and soul. That means he understands our longings. That means he understands our desires and our disappointments.
Jesus left us with an amazing promise. He promised us that the things we experience here on earth are temporary. The beauty we see will be better some day because he will return and bring us home to be with him. When we get home to be with him the struggles of today will seem minuscule in comparison to what we’ll see there. And these weak bodies? They will be transformed into bodies that will never get old, never get weary, never fail us! So don’t be discouraged by your weakness.
Don’t be afraid of the way things are around you. Remember that in the end we will be victorious and perfect because of Jesus.
“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.” Psalms 62:1
One of the hardest things we learn to do is wait. It was the first lesson many of us had to learn in kindergarten! We had to learn to wait in line and stay in our place! It was brutal brutal cruel punishment for some of us. But it was an important lesson for us to learn.
For some of us however, we never really learn. Much, if not all credit card debt is because of our inability to wait. All this to the tune of an estimated 13.8 trillion dollars! (2020)
One reason waiting is hard is because we yearn to be fulfilled, to find contentment in the midst of turmoil. Whether it be material possessions or relational desires or anything else we long for, when we fully trust God for our needs it makes it easier to wait for his moving.
Waiting on God means that we have learned that his timing is best in every aspect of our lives. Our ultimate victory comes from him and not from our own efforts.
