Wherever You Find It

If you seek him, you will find him.  1 Corinthians 28:9

Sitting down to enjoy a meal together as a family sometimes proves to be quite difficult in our home.  The other night, we almost finished eating dinner before any of us realized we had forgotten to bless our meal and give God thanks.

Life can become so fast-paced and hectic at times, it’s easy to forget that God is with us all day, every day, at all times, ready to listen to us talk about anything that comes up in every area of our lives, at any given time.

We must remember to seek him by sharing our thoughts, needs, and concerns with him through prayer.  The more we practice acknowledging his presence, the more we begin to gain the intimacy with God that we so desperately desire and need.

Thanks be to God!

Go Your Own Way

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  2 Corinthians 5:7

Just like an athlete who trains to be the best in his/her specific sport, for us to live victoriously requires us to live in deep dependence on God and God alone on a daily basis.

The world usually associates victory with success and winning, not stumbling or falling and making mistakes.  But too often, when we are successful in life, we tend to go our own way, forgetting about our loving Father and depending on our very limited strength and resources.

Coming to a place with God where we rely solely on him is not necessarily the path of ongoing success; often times we must encounter multiple failures before we are able to totally depend on Him.  However, with each failure, we grow in our reliance with Him and live the lives of blessed assurance that we will be victorious in this life and the next.

Praise be to God!

I'll Be Good To You

God is waiting around to be gracious to you.  He's gathering strength to show mercy to you.  God takes time to do everything right-everything.  Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.  Isaiah 30:18, The Message

I love the above passage of Scripture, particularly the beginning...."God is waiting around to be good to us."

That means He's actually looking forward to opportunities to show His abundant goodness to us!  Our loving God wants to make every wrong right, but He can only be good to us if we believe His promises and we are patiently waiting on Him to be good to us.

The enemy will stop at nothing to drudge up our pasts and make us believe that our futures' look bleak. We must keep our hearts and minds focused upon Jesus Christ and choose to believe God.

When we do so, we are prepared to face each day without thinking negatively and we are ready to receive all of the wonderful gifts and blessings that God is waiting to give us!

That Is Why

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 9:12

It is inevitable, but we will always face hardships while we are here on this earth.  Regardless, we must come to a place in our relationship with Christ where we can truly open our hearts and minds to receive all that He has in store for us.

Our children are growing up way too fast but on rare occasions, our youngest will let us comfort him with a reassuring hug. (Our oldest is in 6th grade so the displays of affection are few and far between.)  Just like a child finding comfort in his/her parent's arms, we too must seek our Father with that same child-like faith and determination.

We must also let our guards down and simply allow Jesus into our hearts to do the work only He can do.  Little by little, Jesus can turn our weaknesses into strengths through His transforming power and grace.

Have peace knowing that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from His presence!

Born of Frustration

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:8

Working in sales, I have experienced some high-highs and some low-lows over the past 20 years of my career path.  Just last year, the first eight months were spectacular-my team and I were blessed to exceeded our sales goals before the end of the summer.  From August until December, things were just busy and the last few months just flew by, and while difficult and often times tiresome, we finished the year on a high note as things got better. 

Much the same, I truly believe that the reason God allows us to experience trials and sorrow in our lives is so that we might learn that He has the power to sustain and provide for us all things that produce earthly blessings.  All of God’s children go through storms in their journeys through life.

We must remember that it is while we are in the “ going through” stages of any crisis or trial that God’s peace becomes clear to all.  Praise be to God!

SUCCESS

As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.  2 Chronicles 26:5

I recently stumbled across one of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein... "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results."  

How will this year be different for me?  Well, I think I am on my way to understanding by looking back retrospectively at what was a very difficult and stressful year.  For instance, how many times did I shrug off God's will for my life and follow my own, or listen to someone else?  Too many times to recall, and many times, I feel like I failed miserably.

The first book of Psalms states "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked...but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."  Seeking guidance in God's law rather than in the deliberations of the "wicked" is paramount for success in this life.  Knowing that God's will is good and perfect, it makes sense that we should seek Him in all that we do.  When we live in accordance to His will, we are on the pathway to success. 

Don't let your Bible collect dust on the shelf...open it up and explore God's Word and you will be on your way!

Better Days

“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Just a few days into this new year, I felt the need to offer some words of encouragement to a few family members, friends, and neighbors who are most certainly looking forward to better days ahead.  I have been able to find some solace in the above passage from Jeremiah since my mother's passing six years ago.  In addition to giving me peace and comfort, this verse has also helped me to better understand just how much God loves each and every one of us, even when the world seems to be falling apart.

When things aren't going the way that we would chose to have them, many people grow angry with God and view him as this angry and rigid deity that is just watching and waiting to zap us with misfortune.  This misconception couldn't be any further away from the truth about our Father.  You see, God loves is and only wants good things for each of us.  He not only wants us to have a bright future with him eternally in heaven, but also in this life as well.

When we recognize His goodness in our everyday lives, we begin to understand and believe that He really does love us and wants the very best for us, which ultimately provides us with a hope that sustains us.  God is good all the time, all of the time God is good!