The Seeker

You will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.  Deuteronomy 4:29

Being a creature of habit, I like to keep to my same and familiar routines in the mornings.  Feeling somewhat convicted about not seeking God more by spending time in His Word, I read Luke 11 yesterday morning and, as always, that verse was exactly the one I needed for the day that awaited me.

To seek God means to pursue Him as the only source of definitive truth and wisdom.  Instead of letting our problems pile up and seeking God out of desperation, how different would our lives be if we sought Him first and foremost in all matters?

To seek God and His way puts us on the path of a life that is blessed and pleasing to Him.

Opportunities

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.  You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you.  Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”  Genesis 41: 39-40

Without a doubt, responsibility is one of the keys to opening the doors of opportunity.  In the above passage from Genesis, Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison and could have easily become bitter and done nothing.  Instead, he utilized every opportunity to earn other people’s trust because of his responsibility and eventually rose to great prominence in Egypt.

We must learn to conduct the mundane and minor aspects of our everyday lives in such a manner so that we too will be given greater opportunities. 

Both of our children have the responsibility of doing chores around the house to earn a weekly allowance.  The boys are learning that they will be rewarded for doing simple tasks such as cleaning up their toys and making their beds each day in addition to learning the value of money.

As adults and believers in the body of faith, we must also go about our daily routines with responsibility so that we can expect greater opportunities in the future.

Lunge Forward

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2

Today’s Daily DEVO has been several days in the making.  I have noticed that when God wants to make a point with me, He repeats Himself quite a bit, just like I sometimes do with parenting my own children.  

The past few weeks have been crazy busy between work, home, and other various commitments (all is well, of course) but I have lost my focus on Jesus in some ways…

Yesterday’s devotional from the exceptional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, used the analogy of a spinning ballerina keeping her eyes focused on a fixed point to maintain her balance.  We too, must do the same.

Despite our circumstances or hectic schedules, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.  If we focus our gaze on our circumstances for too long, we will become confused and dizzy.

Focus on Jesus and maintain your footing, steady and sure!

Under Pressure

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.  I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.  Matthew 11:28

Many people today are stressed out far beyond anything a human being was ever meant to endure.  Chalk it up to both husbands and wives having to go to work outside of their homes in a an attempt to ‘keep up with the Jones’ in addition to balancing their home lives, families and friends, but many people, including our family, are stressed-out!

We are all created different, uniquely created by God’s design.  What is difficult for me may be simple for someone else, and vice versa.    Unfortunately, if you are like me, it’s hard to resist comparing and contrasting ourselves with other people.

Jesus was not stressed out.  Then again, He was not controlled by His circumstances or the demands of other people, either.  In John 14:6, Jesus simply states, “I am the Way.”  And you know what? He’s right-His way is the way to peace, joy, and righteousness.

The next time you feel like you are under immense pressure, ask yourself how would Jesus have you handle things?  Allow Him to fill your soul and learn to take His approach to life and it’s never-ending challenges!

You Should Be Glad

Who with reason despises the day of small things?  Zechariah 4:10

Let's face it, if you have ever had any experience in sales, some days are better than others.  This is true in any occupation or career, but quite often, the sales cycle in the employee benefits arena is long and taxing.  You can work on an account or case for several months only to find out that you didn't win the business.

From the motion picture Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, Ricky Bobby’s dad said it best, "If you ain't first, you're LAST!" Recently, there have been some small signs of growth that look promising...seeds that were planted over the past few years here in Knoxville are finally starting to sprout opportunities for me and I know just Who to thank.

I believe, wholeheartedly, that God plants these small seeds.  Too often, we want immediate results or whatever it is that we are facing to come to pass too quickly.  When you find evidence of those small seeds that the good Lord has planted, you should rejoice with hope knowing that God has bigger and greater things in store for you.

God never breaks His promises to us and He always finishes what He starts.  Just think about it, be thankful, and hold on with hope!! He is preparing to do something great in your life!

Fortress Around Your Heart

I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I trust!  Psalm 91:2

Too often, we as believers seem to forget that we are ready to face anything with Christ, who infuses inner strength into each one of us.

You see, when we trust God, we don’t have to be afraid of the enemy’s sudden attacks and the unexpected turns that we will inevitably face at some point during our lives.  God is our strong fortress.

No matter what may come against us, we can live with peace of mind knowing that we will never be defeated!

Limb By Limb

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7

I enjoy working on improving our yard each spring.  A couple of years ago, I planted several Leland Cypresses and a Weeping Willow in our backyard.  I came across an old photo of the kids playing in the yard and couldn't help but notice how much the trees have begun to grow.  It got me thinking, just like picking out the right spot for trees to have optimal growth, we also need to plant our roots firmly around God’s Word and will for our lives.

If you are like me, you have no problem turning over the bigger issues to God.  That’s great, but God wants us to trust Him with every detail of our lives.   When we focus on our circumstances, we take our focus off of Jesus Christ.  We must learn to keep our focus on God’s presence at all times, during every circumstance, every moment of the day.

Jesus made the ultimate love sacrifice to save us from certain death and He can be trusted in every facet of our lives!