Living To Please God Is Getting Harder

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“Living To Please God Is Getting Harder”

1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

So whether you eat for drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

 

I almost titled this devo “Living To Please God”, but after thinking more about it, I decided to add “Is Getting Harder” because that’s really how it feels these days in the world we live in.  We all want to live to please God, but it seems, day after day, that’s becoming more and more difficult to carry out with all the temptations and pressure we face in our culture. 

 

I really, really do desire more than anything to please God….most of the time.  I know that sounds odd I added “most of the time”.  But to be completely honest, I often find myself fighting the desires of my flesh as Paul described that he often did.  I know I need to please God and I want to with all my heart, but when I am faced with daily temptations of worldly things, my desires go astray and I tend to desire what I’m tempted by.  I fight temptations every single day and I ask God for strength to get me through so that I can continue to faithfully follow Him.

 

I want to live a Godly life for my marriage, my relationship with my kids, and my relationship with others in my extended family, work and church.  This verse is powerful stating that whatever I am doing, I need to do it to the glory of God and strive to please Him no matter what I am doing.  I need to be sure I’m in places that won’t lead me astray and not looking at or listening to things that will pull me away from where He wants me. 

 

It is becoming harder and harder each day to fight temptations with all the corrupt things happening in our world each day.  It absolutely sickens me when I hear of the corrupt way of life of some people.  I’m not saying I’m perfect in any way at all, but just stating that it makes my stomach churn at all the ways people are living to please themselves.  I want to stray away from that.  I don’t want to fall into temptation that will lead me away from a solid relationship with my wife and with my kids. 

 

Friends, living to please God is getting much harder as we continue to follow Him.  He is calling us to be faithful and we must stay strong so we don’t stray.  I hope and pray that we all can stay strong in His Word and through prayer to build our faith.  His Word will continue to be a lamp for us to shine the way we need to go and help us stay off the path that leads to corrupt living. 

 

Living to please God is getting harder, but God gives us strength each day to carry on. 

People Need Jesus

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“People Need Jesus”

Romans 3:23 NLT

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

 

For the past few weeks, my heart has felt heavy every time I hear of some kind of attack happening.  Whether it be someone crazy on the road, someone in a mass shooting or someone just doing something that makes me shake my head in disbelief.  So many emotions go through me when I hear of another tragedy happening, wherever and whatever it might be.  I think of all the people involved and who has been affected.  So many hurting, discouraged and confused people.

 

As I think about these tragedies happening, it reminds me of how much people desperately need Jesus in their lives.  It’s often easy for us to get upset and demand justice and wish they’d be locked up for life for what they’ve done.  There’s no doubt we have a right to be upset when these things happen, but we must also remember that everyone really needs Jesus.

 

The past few weeks, I just keep thinking of the phrase “People need Jesus”.  It keeps crossing my mind.  It’s not just those who have made choices to hurt other people in these awful scenarios, but it’s also people we come across each and every day in our work places and other places we go.  Every one needs Jesus. 

 

While it’s easy to get angry and pass judgment on these people who do horrific crimes and think they don’t deserve forgiveness for what they’ve done, we must remember that we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.  It’s easy for us to think people who hurt others physically are much worse than us.  However, it’s all sin and, instead of passing judgment, we need to pray for them.  We really, really need to pray for them.  If their lives were taken in the event, we need to pray for their families, friends and others involved.

 

I know I’m guilty of not taking the time to pray about these things, but I’m convicted that I need to do more.  People need Jesus.  No matter who they are or what they’ve done, they need Jesus.  I’ve heard various stories of people who have lost loved ones in crimes and instead of casting judgment on them, the person prays for the criminal.  When I hear those stories, I honestly don’t know if I could do that if someone hurt a loved one. 

 

Friends, we all need Jesus.  I’m hoping and praying that we will all choose to pray the next time we hear about a tragedy, no matter what it involves.  Pray for the person who has gone mad and ask God to move in ways we won’t and don’t see. 

 

Again, it’s easy to pass judgment and think they don’t deserve forgiveness, but neither do we and Jesus Christ gave that to us.  We don’t deserve it, but He died for us all.  They need Him as well as we do.  We all fall short.  Remember that when it’s tempting to pass judgment.  

We Need To Be Still

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“We Need To Be Still”

Psalm 46:10 NLT

Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.”

 

This past weekend, I read a chapter of “Silence and Solitude” from the book “Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer.  I have really enjoyed this book and it’s opened my eyes to many things that I’m convicted of now.  This chapter I read really spoke to me in many ways.  I really appreciate how John stated the need for silence and solitude in our lives. 

 

This got me thinking a lot about how we fill our lives and quiet moments with tv, internet, music, reading, phones, etc.  These things are not wrong, but it seems that we cannot handle having quiet moments where we just do nothing but sit there.  When John mentioned this in the chapter, it really struck me.  We have become so accustomed to grabbing phones out of our pockets or purse when there’s even a hint of boredom on the horizon.  Wherever there is a waiting moment, we pull out the phones.  I am EXTREMELY guilty of this! 

 

I think about this verse and how God has called us to be still before Him.  I like how John talks in this chapter about us taking time to just sit and do absolutely nothing.  Carving out time in our daily life to just sit and do nothing.  It’s VERY hard to do!  I know that I always feel like I’ve got to be doing something.  It’s hard for me to just sit and do nothing at all. 

 

We need breaks in the daily to calm our minds and heart.  We need to practice being still before God and just being in His presence.  It’s easy to say we need to be still and we would probably all agree we need this practice.  However, it is a whole different thing to actually put into practice.  For me to just sit and do nothing, I feel like I’ve got to be doing something with my mind.  When I sit and do nothing, I think about all the things I’ve forgotten to do and what all I still need to do. 

 

So often I think God just says, “STOP!”  We’ve got to take the time to be still and just be in His presence.  Let the Holy Spirit fill us and God can speak to us and calm the chaos in our world. 

 

I encourage all of us to take the time to be still and do……NOTHING!  Just be still in His presence.  We need to practice silence and solitude. 

Don't Lose Momentum

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“Don’t Lose Momentum”

Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

There’s a calendar at work I saw about a month ago that stated, “Momentum: To make progress, you must keep going.”  It reminded me of how Paul encouraged us in this passage to strive ahead in life and keep going.  He encouraged us to keep going and not lose momentum.  It’s so easy in life to lose momentum.  It’s so easy to get discouraged in life from all the disappointments and give up on striving ahead.  Life gets tough and we feel defeated often.  One day, you can feel on top of the world.  The next day, you can feel totally defeated from unexpected difficulties.

 

Almost every winter, I often find myself pulling up slowly to stop lights hoping it will change to green before I have to make a complete stop.  Even if I am going slow, I still have some momentum, even if it’s just a slow crawl.  If I stop, I have to gain the momentum back and it can often be hard on icy and snowy roads. 

 

As I’ve considered, I think about how important it is in life to keep momentum and striving ahead in life, especially through difficulties.  None of us are immune to the troubles of life, however some of us have gone through more than others.  We all experience trials and pain, but if we keep the faith and trust in God to get us through and keep moving, He will help us keep moving. 

 

What’s most important is that we keep some kind of momentum.  Even if it’s moving like a turtle sometimes, it’s still moving.  We gotta keep our eyes on Christ, keep the faith and keep going. 

 

I hope and pray that whatever obstacles you and I are facing right now in our daily lives, we will strive to keep momentum, no matter how slow it may be at times. 

It Was My Tomb, Till I Met You

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“It Was My Tomb, Till I Met You”

2 Corinthians 5:17

NIV- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

NLT- This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

 

One of my favorite songs from Passion Conference is “Glorious Day”.  We play this on our church praise team somewhat often and I always enjoy playing it with the team.  It’s such an energetic song with a very powerful proclamation.  As we played this again on Sunday, I got to thinking about the words “It was my tomb, till I met You”. 

 

Before we came to know Christ, each one of us was stuck in a tomb of some kind.  Some of were buried with shame, some of us tried to hide our failures.  The list could go on and on of things we tried to hide before we accepted Christ.  We found ourselves living in some tomb that seemed impossibly to escape.  However, when we met Christ, it was the GREAT ESCAPE! 

 

Last year, one of the Sundays we played this song, we had MN Adult and Teen Challenge come to our church.  We started the service off with this song and I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling it was to hear these men shout, “It was my tomb, till I met You!”  It blew me away as I was playing drums!  It was a powerful proclamation coming from these men, many that had experienced renewal and freedom from some kind of addiction. 

 

The key word here is “Was”.  Whatever bound us before we met Christ, we are now freed from!  This is past tense!  We are not still in the tomb because Jesus freed us from whatever bondage it was!  It’s an incredible freedom we experience when we are freed from whatever bondage kept us in a tomb of shame, regret or failures.  The enemy wants nothing more than to bring those memories back to haunt us.  However, we have been bought by Christ and we are freed indeed! 

 

Whatever tomb held you in bondage, never ever forget the words in this song, “It WAS my tomb”.  It no longer is your tomb.  Christ rescued you!  Every time the enemy tries to remind you of that past, remember it is not your tomb anymore.  You have been freed!  Christ lives in each one of us and we don’t have to be haunted by our past. 

 

I really like the words in the chorus, “You called my name, and I ran out of that grave.  Out of the darkness into Your glorious day!” 

 

We are no longer bound by the tomb!

It Is Finished

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“It Is Finished”

John 19:30 NIV

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

I don’t know about you, but I am a person who likes to begin a project and see it through till the end.  I don’t like starting something and not finishing it.  Drives me crazy.  It has happened more times that I would like and there’s still many projects around my house that have remained unfinished.  Life happens and you just get distracted and say you’ll get to finish some day.

 

Many of us like the feeling of finishing something we start.  There’s a great sense of accomplishment when we finish something we have worked on for a short period of time or a long period of time.  We really like watching the HGTV shows of home renovations and also the show of Building Off The Grid that shows people putting in way more than expected hours, days and months to build a home they’ve envisioned for years.

 

When we finish a project, it’s great to say the words, “It is finished.”  There’s nothing like that feeling of accomplishment. 

 

As we have just celebrated Easter weekend, I so often think of the words spoken in John where Jesus said “It Is Finished.”  Those are VERY powerful words.  He came with a mission and completed it.  But it wasn’t just like any mission most people would embark on.  HGTV has nothing on what Jesus did!  No mission on earth by any human being could ever be greater than His mission.  Jesus had the greatest mission and when He completed it, it was literally earth moving.  The temple veil tore I two and we gained direct access to the Throne of God! 

 

There’s an old Petra song I really like and this past weekend, it came back to mind as it does every year at Easter.  The song is “It Is Finished.”  There is no accomplishment in all of life that could ever be as great as what Jesus did for us on the Cross. 

 

His mission was completed.  The mission is now passed down to us to carry on.  We must carry His mission out and spread the Good News!  His death was just the beginning of amazing things He would continue to do in the lives of so many who accept Him! 

 

As David Phelps' song says, “This was the end of the beginning.”

Love God, Love People

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“Love God, Love People”

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

 

This past Saturday night, I took my wife on a concert date to go see Danny Gokey, Jordan Feliz and Blanca.  They were all very talented and gifted singers.  I had never seen Blanca or Jordan Feliz in concert before and it was a blessing to hear their music live.  This is the second time my wife and I have seen Danny Gokey in concert and he was a favorite of ours back when he was on American Idol.

 

One of the songs Danny sings is “Love God, Love People”.  I’ve heard this song many times, but it was a great reminder hearing it once again and got me thinking about our lives and our mission as followers of Christ.  As Danny’s song states, we are called to love God and love people.  I think back many years ago a devotional I read from him and he stated, “So many times I think we overthink our calling and over complicate the Gospel, when really our purpose in this life comes down to two simple things; loving God and loving people.”

 

I want to ask us all a very simple question.  Do we make it our daily life mission to love God and love people?  This should solely be our life call each and every day.  No matter where we are and no matter what we are doing, we are commanded by God to love Him and to love people. 

 

Friends, there is nothing about this requiring a Seminary degree.  It’s a very simple concept, but it can be very tough to live out some days when life doesn’t make sense and people are treating us terrible.  However, we must remember Jesus was very mistreated, but He kept loving people because it was His mission and call of life. 

 

I really like the chorus of Danny’s song which says, “Gotta keep it real simple, keep it real simple.  Bring everything right back to ground zero.”

 

I hope that we can all take a step back, look at life and see how we can make it our daily life mission to love God and love people.

Keep Away Means Keep Away

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“Keep Away Means Keep Away”

1 John 5:21 NLT

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

 

Many of us, if not most, probably remember the famous game of keep away when we were kids.  We all most likely remember times at recess or in gym class when we had a game of keep away with other kids.  If we were the ones trying to keep the ball away from the person in the middle, we recall doing all we could to keep the ball away from the person in any possible way.  If we were in the middle, we were determined to stop that ball by reaching quickly or reaching up high enough to catch it.

 

Another idea of “keep away”, we remember being told by adults to stay out of something that might be harmful or something we just were not supposed to touch.  For one reason or another, we were commanded to keep our distance from a certain area or certain things.  I remember how it drove me nuts to not touch or go near something or an area that I couldn’t access.  The more I was told I couldn’t touch or go near, the more I wanted to!!!

 

As I consider these ideas of keeping away from something or some area while growing up, I think about how it still applies even today as an adult.  There are still many things and places I have to remember that I shouldn’t go near, whatever it might be.  I might be able to access a certain area or touch a certain object, but the consequences could very well be disastrous if I don’t heed the warning to stay away. 

 

God commands us to keep away from anything that takes His place in our hearts. I want to emphasize “ANYTHING”.  When He says “ANYTHING”, He means “ANYTHING”.  If it doesn’t encourage our walk with Him, it will most likely take us away from Him.  Day after day, we need to take into consideration anything and everything we encounter to determine if it will steer us nearer to Him or take us away. 

 

So often in our lives, we find ourselves running to things that will not help us at all. As Zach Wlliams’ song “Chain Breaker” says, “We’ve all run to things we know just ain’t right”.  We spend each day of our lives making choices that will either draw us closer to God or pull us away.  I so often find myself going after worldly things and thinking somehow they will bring me joy or happiness, but instead I just feel more and more empty, longing for fulfillment even more.

 

God promises that if we keep away from things that take His place in our lives, we will experience true fulfillment. 

 

Let us not forget, when God says “Keep Away”, He has something so much better for us if we turn to Him instead. 

Remember That We All Fall Short

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“Remember That We All Fall Short”
Romans 3:23 NIV
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

About a month ago, many of us watched the AFC Championship game between the Bengals and Chiefs. When defensive end, Joseph Ossai, slammed into Patrick Mahomes on the sideline, causing a 15 yard penalty to give the Chiefs the opportunity for getting the field goal to win, I remember reacting to that play. I remember saying to my wife about how I can’t believe he would make such a play like that and cost the team the win. It was a quick judgment that later I regretted making.

As I read about the play and saw Joseph sitting on the bench at the end of the game, my heart sank. I just watched him sitting with his head down and could just imagine the heartache he was feeling. I wanted to take back the words I said to my wife and I was feeling really bad for the guy. He was passionate about the game and got into the emotion of playing and didn’t mean to do anything to cost his team the game. He was playing his heart out and he felt terrible about the penalty.

I was quick to judge and make the comment about how you just don’t do that and get a penalty to cost the game. I quickly regretted it and felt for the guy, knowing he was feeling pretty bad about the decision he made.

It really got me thinking about how I make decisions in my life so often that I quickly regret making. I so often do things that I later regret. It’s so easy for me to see others doing things I think are so dumb, but then I often realize I’ve probably done the same dumb thing many times in my life. It’s so easy to criticize others instead of realizing that I’ve done dumb things, too.

Friends, the next time we consider casting judgment on someone else for something bad they’ve done, take a moment to realize that we have all sinned and fall very short of the glory of God. It’s so easy to come down on others for how we see things they’ve done, while we are no better as we are sinners as well. We definitely need to consider more coming alongside them and offering encouragement to let them know they are not alone. We are all in this life together and need to encourage instead of discourage.

We have all had our times where we hang our heads low because we are so ashamed of something dumb we have done. I do this so often and I cringe when I think about something I’ve done that I am very regretful of and ashamed about.

Let us encourage one another and be thankful to God for His love even though we have sinned and fall very short of His glory.  

Be Kind

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“Be Kind”

John 12:34-35 NLT

So now I am giving you a new commandment. Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

I have come to really come to appreciate the phrase “Be Kind” that I have noticed on t-shirts and signs. I don’t know how long this phrase has been surfacing or who came up with the idea to put it out there so much lately, but every time I see this, it makes me smile. Through the years, I’ve cringed at some popular phrases and sayings that have shown up in various places that are worldly.

When I think of the idea of being kind, I cannot help but to think of so many of the words Jesus used as He shared the important command for us to love one another. “Be Kind” is such a simple example, but its effects can be profound when we actually live it out. Just imagine for a few moments what this world would look like if we, as Christians, actually started being kind, not only to people we enjoy being around, but to everyone, regardless of how different they are?

Friends, we have been called to a mission in this world, and quite frankly, we are failing much of the time. I hate to bring that up, but it is true. We say we want a world that is full of God’s love so people can experience it, but that truly begins with how we are treating other people. God commands us to love each other unconditionally. How in the world do we expect the world to believe we are all about God’s love if we don’t prove it by our actions and the way we treat others?

I am pointing the finger at myself on this because I have a long way to go on treating others with love. I’m not saying I don’t, but there are plenty of people that annoy me and are different and I try to avoid them instead of being kind to them as Jesus commanded me to do.

Be Kind. It’s such a simple idea! Two words! However, it’s one of the hardest things for many of us to do. Jesus chose to love us. Take a few moments and realize that you are sometimes very hard to love and deal with for others. I saw a saying one time and it really hit me. It said, “Love difficult people….You’re one of them”. Ouch! Let’s take an honest look at ourselves and realize that we could all be doing much better at being kind to people, especially those we don’t like being around.

After watching The Chosen series, it’s really challenged my thinking in how Jesus intentionally loved on those, especially ones who were different and seemed very unlovable. He was being kind. He was firm, but He was kind. He lived out that mission.

Let’s do a better job of living out the mission of Jesus. Let’s be kind to others. Let’s show the world His love.

The Amazing Feeling Of Unfailing Love

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“The Amazing Feeling Of Unfailing Love”

Psalm 63:3 NLT

Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise You!

 

I have been truly amazed lately at the work of God in my life and in my family.  Through the past several months, God has continued to teach us that He is in control and that we just need to continue to trust Him.  We’ve been through a variety of challenges and we’ve seen God move in ways that are really inspiring.  Though the challenges have been difficult in many ways, God continues to teach us to trust in Him and His timing. 

 

I don’t know what I would do without His unfailing love in life.  When so many things and people fail us at one time or another, He never does.  Every day brings its own challenges in various ways, but we continue to trust in what He does and all the ways He’s working. 

 

In the last devo I wrote, I shared how we need to prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.  God has continued to teach me to do this in various ways.  It is not easy to do, but I have found that it teaches me more about His unfailing love and that He’s always working, even when I cannot feel it or see it. 

 

His unfailing love is better than anything I could ever experience on this earth. There is no comparison.  There is absolutely nothing like what He provides.  He gives peace amidst chaos in life.

 

I want to encourage all of us that no matter what challenges we may be continuing to face in this new year, we can totally trust in His unfailing and amazing love.  There is nothing like it and He will never fail us.  We may hit some pretty hard challenges, but He will never leave us or forsake us.  Every day, we need to pray and hope for the best outcomes, but be prepared for hard times as they will come. 

 

I hope we will all continue to experience the amazing feeling of His unfailing love.  There is nothing on earth like it.   

Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst

“Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst”

Matthew 26:39 NLT

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

I think we would all agree that most of the times in our lives when we face difficult situations, we hope and pray for the best outcome.  I mean, who wouldn’t pray for a great outcome when hard times are present, right?  Who in their right mind would even consider praying for bad things to happen?  No one would.  However, we all know that both good and hard times both come with life.  There is no escaping it.

Through various times in the past couple of years, I thought off and on about the idea of hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.  I used to find myself always hoping and praying for the best to come, but then not preparing for what could happen if it were not the best outcome.  I often found myself not dealing with the bad outcomes.  In the recent past, I have found myself preparing more mentally for both.  I have come to a point where I really try to accept the possibilities of both good and bad outcomes. 

I always want to hope for the best, of course, but I also want to mentally and spiritually prepare for the worst.  I’ve been finding that through these prayers of asking God to help me mentally and spiritually prepare for both, I am prepared to accept the worst outcome, but when the opposite happens, I am so grateful for the best.  This has been a thought on my mind for a while now and I’m learning to pray and prepare myself more like this.  I hope and pray for the best, but then also ask God to help me accept if the outcome is not what I hoped for.

When I think of Jesus as He prays this prayer 3 times to His Father as He approaches a very agonizing time in His life, I think about his prayer in being hopeful for the best, but prepared for the worst.  This struggle He had and prayed through is so powerful! 

I’ve been amazed how much this way of thinking and praying has helped me through recent times in various ways.  It’s not easy, but it’s been helping me as I consider what God wants me to do as I live each day.  I always hope for the best, but I want to be prepared and ready if things don’t go the best way I had hoped for.  I need to be prepared and ready to accept and still be faithful no matter the outcome.  Being willing to accept and stay faithful is so huge!

Friends, I pray that we will all daily always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst so that we can all strive to do God’s will regardless of what situations we find ourselves in.  It’s all about His glory, not what we want. 

Resurrender

“Resurrender”

Matthew 16:24-25 NLT

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

I just got done reading through a 7 day devotional on the Bible app regarding Resurrender.  It seems timely to me as a new year has begun and I’m reflecting on my walk with God and how I need to be more committed in my daily walk with Him. 

As I thought to myself about things that we do daily in our lives, there are so many daily routines that we become accustomed to.  From the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed at night, we have many routines that we go through each day.  Many of these routines we don’t even think twice about because they have become such a habit.  We just get used to doing the same things each day and it becomes second nature to us. 

As I consider so much that I do on a daily basis, I think about my walk with God and what all I am doing each day to live for Him.  This devotional I read reminded me that surrender is not just a one-time thing I did when I gave my life to Christ so many years ago.  Each day, it needs to be a routine to surrender my life back to God.  But it needs to be more than just a regular routine.  Routine is and can be good, but I don’t want to just say the words that I surrender and go on with my day.  I want my resurrender to God to be very heartfelt and very genuine.

We’ve experienced some challenging times lately in our home and we’ve been learning to really trust and rely on Him instead of our own understanding and strength.  However, this is a daily decision we have to make.  It is not easy to choose each day to deny ourselves and walk with Him in total surrender.  I am learning that it is amazing to resurrender each day and watch Him work in ways I don’t understand.  Even the days when I have no idea what He is doing, I still choose to resurrender because I know His ways are not my ways.

I need to choose each day to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus without any reservations.  Resurrender involves me being willing to completely give up my ways. 

My prayer is that we will all make a genuine choice each new day to completely turn over our lives and resurrender to Him. 

“Wait for it!  Wait for it!”

Isaiah 43:19 NLT

For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through  the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

This Scripture came through my email this morning from Air1 Radio.  It is a very timely passage as we have just ended 2022 and begun 2023.  As I read this passage, the phrase that came to mind was “Wait for it!  Wait for it!”  I’m sure we are all very familiar with this phrase as we’ve heard it in movies, tv shows, sporting events and from people we know. 

When we hear this phrase, we know something is just about to happen that will often surprise us.  Maybe it will be a good surprise, while other times not so much.  It’s funny sometimes to hear people say this phrase because the whole crowd nearby knows exactly what is going to happen.  When we or others bring this up, it’s usually some action or event that will happen within moments.  We then wait with anticipation to see what will occur!

While many of these moments happen quickly, there are some things we are waiting for in life that don’t come as quickly as we’d like or don’t seem to come at all.  We tend to wait a lot for things to happen in our lives.  As we have closed out 2022, many of us may still be waiting for things to happen that we’ve been waiting so long and hope for.

Waiting for a spouse to come back home.

Waiting for a child to be healed.

Waiting for that promotion at our job to come through.

Waiting for the diagnosis from the doctor.

Waiting for a troubled teen to make a turn for the better.

Waiting for funds to get out of debt.

The list could go on and on.  Often, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel defeated by these moments we are waiting for.  Isaiah’s words here are so very powerful!  It’s like a slap across the face, so to speak.  It’s like a splash of water in the face that startles us!  Sometimes, we need to snap out of our mode and wake up to the fact that God is always working!  Yeah, things may not be happening as we’d hoped or wanted, but that doesn’t mean He’s not working.

I have to admit that I have a bad habit of getting in a crabby mood and looking at things negatively.  I do this way more often than I would like to admit.  My wife has put up with me for almost 19 years and does a wonderful job of “waking me up” to realize that God is in control and that He’s doing great things.  I just need to get my focus back on track. 

We all need to wait for it and anticipate the great things God has in store this year for us!  He is working and we need to open our eyes to see it!