Numerous times I have stumbled and fell by taking the wrong fork in the road. Usually It was because I took the easy way where the road had been paved or worn smooth because it was the course the world chose.
Early in my walk with the Lord I would get angry and upset with myself about my failure, realizing that I had made a bad choice. It took many years for me to comprehend that my frustration was my ego creating a lot of drama to draw attention to myself.
All God was looking for from me was a simple confession of my sin and a return to following Jesus. Beating myself up over a failure only keeps me preoccupied with my mistake and robs me of precious time I could be enjoying with Him.
I am truly grateful that when I do have a momentary lapse of being consciously aware of His presence, I can return to Him without having to feel any denigration or condemnation.
I pray that God will help me take the road less worn when I come to a fork in the road.
When does a promise of God become a reality? The answer to that question depends on the perspective from which we are viewing the promise.
From God’s eternal perspective, it is a reality the moment he makes it. There are no tomorrows to wait for because He is eternal and always in the present moment.
From our human viewpoint, however, it doesn’t become an actuality until we see the manifestation of it. Until the proof is available to our five senses, all we can do is hope that it will become a reality in the future.
Living by faith is the process of changing our perspective from a temporary, tangible realm to an eternal, invisible realm. Which one is more real?
For me, God’s eternal realm is more real than what my five senses tell me because the substance of what I hope for has already happened because God promised it. Thus, living by faith doesn’t require me to wait.
I can appreciate and be thankful for the fruit of the promise long before it is manifested.
God’s promise that He will never leave me nor forsake me gives me tremendous assurance. No matter what my circumstances are, whether they appear positive or negative, He is always with me.
Each day, in every moment, I am able to direct my thoughts toward Him and face my trials knowing that I am not alone. Regardless of my situation, the gospel message is enough to sustain me and bear me up.
All of my life God has been there but distractions, in their innumerable forms, have drawn my attention away from Him and I have isolated myself like a wandering child. I allowed many different kinds of thoughts to take the place of opportunities to have fellowship with Him. Every feeling of regret, guilt and shame as well as all of my hopes, aspirations and dreams have enticed me away from the cross and the reality of His presence.
Now, keeping my focus of attention on Him and abiding in the awareness of His presence makes all that is going on around me so easy to enjoy. My greatest desire, for the remaining time that I have to live on this plane of existence, is to continually delight in unbroken fellowship with the Lord.
The more I learn of the reality of God’s Kingdom, the more I realize that I am already living in paradise when I am abiding in His presence. No matter where I go, who I am with, what I am doing or how I am doing it, God never leaves me nor forsakes me.
The certainty of that makes every problem, setback, difficulty or obstacle that comes into my life disappear. All I have to do is be aware of His presence.
Why is that so important? Because His peace that surpasses all understanding takes over and liberates me from all fear, anxiety, panic and apprehension. God has everything under control and makes what appears to be negative work for good.
Nothing takes Him by surprise. When my ego gets completely out of the way, everything falls into its proper place. The natural characteristics of His Kingdom are righteousness, peace and joy and nothing can take that away from me except doubt.
When negative situations happen and I am distracted from His faithfulness, pessimistic thoughts dominate my mind and I begin to imagine all sorts of terrible scenarios. All I have to do is return to the awareness of His presence and reflect on the cross where He demonstrated His love. It was there that my ego lost its power over me and was destroyed.
I thank God continually for the victory I have through the resurrected life of my Lord Jesus Christ.
The greatest example I have of perseverance is Jesus Christ, my Lord, Savior and Friend. At the cross Jesus never stopped trusting God to do what was right.
There was a time when all it would take for me to give up is a little pain, rejection, fear or disappointment. Now, I have learned that most of the time God is simply desiring that I be still, silent and maintain my focus of attention on Him and remain aware of what is happening from His perspective and trust Him.
Some time ago, for a few brief moments, I saw the moon block out the brightness of the sun during a solar eclipse and it felt very eerie to me. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind, however, that everything would return to normal when the eclipse was over.
So it is with the darkness I experience when God is seemingly not shining brightly in my life. All I have to do is keep centered in Him and quietly wait for His return. Just as dark clouds may obscure the sun, I know that it is shining somewhere in the same way that God is always watching over me.
I pray that the Lord will keep me mindful of that the next time I am in a difficult trial.
I am so grateful for God’s light that exposes the darkness in my life. At first, when I started following Jesus, all the Lord had to use was a small candle to expose the sin. With each new revelation of my self-centered habits and behaviors, He started using more and more light.
There are two things I have discovered in this ongoing process. God has no limit to the brightness with which He can shine and my problems are always within my ego; they are never out there in someone, some place or something else.
I used to like to blame other people and things so that the focus of His light would be outside instead of in me. I’ve given up on that because the problems are always internal. I still find my ego rising within me, but then I simply surrender to the Lord and I experience His peace and joy.
I always know when He is shining the light a little brighter because I get irritated, grouchy or angry. I am appreciative to God for purifying my heart by shining His light and transforming the way I think and reason.
Spending time soaking this week on the early days following Jesus’ resurrection has been so good. We can see a lot of similarities in ourselves and the early disciples of Jesus. Something that stands out in the passage today is verse 45, “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” The Holy Spirit had not yet been sent to them at that point. The disciple’s ability to comprehend the Scriptures hinged on Jesus, giving them the power to do so.
Today, we have the tremendous benefits of the Holy Spirit to guide us. During the earliest years of my walk with Jesus, the bible seemed more like a history book to me. But I remember the first time a mentor taught me the importance of inviting the Holy Spirit to guide and teach me each time I read the Word. The scriptures began to come alive and speak to me in a way that had previously eluded me. If you’re not already in the habit of doing this, please begin. The Holy Spirit will highlight and draw you to truths that God wants to teach you and empower you to go into the world and share what he has shown you.
Today, let’s express our heartfelt gratitude to our Father for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit. We are truly blessed to have his divine guidance in our lives.
The intimacy of this scene exhibits Jesus’ sensitivity to his disciples. He knew just what they needed and delivered it. Jesus’ request for food and eating before them was his powerful declaration, “See! I am alive!”. He revealed himself through word and deed. The disciples struggled to believe even as they witnessed Jesus’ return with their own eyes. Jesus told Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 That’s us!
A question to consider today: Because Jesus showed such compassion for his followers’ struggles with doubt back then, will he not show generous grace and mercy to those who have not seen and yet believe? The truth is he does; he even called us blessed. Jesus understands our doubts and meets us right where we are. Let’s take a few moments today to reflect on an area in our life where doubt whispers and invite Jesus to show his resurrected power there. And let’s choose to believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, in his timing, he will.
Can you imagine being with the disciples during the forty days following the resurrection? Fresh from despairing that all hope was lost, Jesus is alive! Oh, the questions they must have had! And after all the time spent following Jesus, the unfolding of His plan was still a mystery to them. We can still say that today in many ways. As we look at what is going on in our world and even our own lives, we don’t always understand his ways. Jesus knew the disciples would still have questions. But he gave them clear instruction before his departure, and I believe the men in white were reiterating his point, “Why are you standing around looking up? Jesus will return, now go and do as he instructed you to do!” (my paraphrase) We too, can be distracted from Jesus’ commission to us by events happening around us.
My husband loves working with his hands and loves to create and build. Something I’ve seen him use often through the years is called a chalk box or reel. It’s a small container with a reel of line full of chalk inside. He will run this line across wood or drywall and pop it, leaving a perfect line to follow as he makes his cut. It guides him. Jesus gave us many instructions for living a kingdom-minded life and sent the Holy Spirit to guide us the way a chalk line guides a carpenter. When events around us don’t make sense, Jesus does. As we keep our eyes fixed on him, we’re able to navigate sometimes difficult situations with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit guiding us. He helps us stay the course, even amidst a myriad of questions.
At the time, the disciples didn’t understand what was about to happen. But they’d walked with Jesus, believed him, and seen him defeat death…they knew to obey and wait as instructed. And what a gift was coming!
Recently, I found myself facing a situation where I would have the opportunity to share Christ with some who are lost. I prepared in prayer ahead of time and was willing to serve the Lord however he chose in order to make Jesus known. (Don’t get me wrong – this is a great thing to do.) What I did not expect was coming away with a fresh perspective from the Holy Spirit for me. To be honest with you, I went pridefully believing that I carried what they needed. God reminded me that the work of the Spirit is His. Yes, I carry Christ, but I can trust his work and his timing. He reminded me that he was at work before I arrived on the scene and would continue to move long after I left. Repentance and salvation are the Holy Spirit’s work. We simply have the joy of reflecting his love to those we encounter and the privilege of watching him move.
Scholars far more knowledgeable than I have taught and will continue to teach on the Holy Spirit. That said, what I have learned in a lifetime of following Christ is that I’d be lost without the gift of the Holy Spirit to draw, comfort, guide, teach, correct, and so much more. Let’s remember to invite His most precious Presence into each day. He has so much life for each of us.
