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Today the temperature is dropping rapidly, from the low sixties at 6 AM to the low fifties at 10 AM, evidence of a cold front passing through. Further evidence of a cold front is the additional pain in my shoulders and knees and, for Linda, the added full body hurt that arrives.
This is the time when I put on my ‘big boy’ (long) pants and put away my ‘little boy’ (short) pants, both literally and figuratively. Now is when we find our faith, when we choose to believe in the kindness and mercy of the Lord even in our physical circumstances.
Our God is Lord of all, He is the Great Comforter, able to give us joy and peace in our pain, able to either bring us through our hurt or remove the hurt from us. In our limited view of the world we cannot even begin to understand the ways of the Lord. We have no method of seeing His plans for us. So, we must trust that our lives will be directed by the Holy Spirit for the greater glory of God, that our experiences will translate to souls redeemed for the Lord, that our testimony will lead others to eternal life with Jesus.
Got up Friday morning and drove to the Cincinnati airport to pick up my daughter, grandson and great granddaughter. We had a good talk on the way back even though Ben was not feeling well. Family can be such a blessing.
We sent them off Saturday with a car full of stuff and the paperwork transfer done with the help of our friend Sally. Jill and her friend came over to relieve us of our couch and we took one load to the trailer. Lots of good conversation and vows to see each other soon. Friends can be such a blessing.
This is the day we have chosen to move to the trailer and as I write this the thunder is roaring, the lightning flashing and the rain is pouring down. This the kind of weather that tests our bones and joints and causes Linda great discomfort, no matter. We know deep in our hearts that this is the direction the Lord intends for us and the thunder and lightning is validation. Satan is unhappy as we move closer to God’s will and his efforts at thwarting this move become even more obvious.
Let it rain, let the thunder roar, let the lightning flash, we don’t care. All we care about is letting the will of the Lord be done in our lives and the lives of those touch.
This morning we woke up to an almost empty house. There is only sorting for discards, Goodwill, keepers for the trailer and keepers for our hearts left. Oh, and yes, a couple of pieces of furniture yet to be picked up or delivered. The house echoes, the walls are barren and the rooms mostly empty. This is the end of a place and time for us and at the same time it is a new beginning, just not yet.
During every transition in our lives there is a time of nostalgia, a time remembering good things and a time of sadness when we realize that those times are over. They have to make room for the next place and time.
So, we will be sad for only a moment as we reflect on the past and then turn with joy to the future, a future full of hope, a future full of the Lord and a future that is being born of the past. The camper beckons us, with all of its promise of new vistas, new adventures and new opportunities to spread God’s word and do God’s work. It is doing the will of the Lord that should always be the motivation that propels us forward, that enables us do what we do, either stay where we are for Him, or go forth for Him. His will not ours.
In these times life seems to move fast, everything needs to be done now and life rushes on toward whatever is around the next corner. There is little thought given to where we are going, we just need to be going somewhere, anywhere but here. Always planning our next great adventure, always seeking the next opportunity, we are deaf and blind to where we are.
If we are in God’s will then where we are is exactly where God needs us to be. Hurrying to complete God’s work is not what we need to be about. We should be savoring where God has put us, pondering on the lessons we are learning and praying for God to impart His divine wisdom into our hearts and minds. Each day and each place is a gift from God whether for our peace and joy or our instruction and sanctification.
Take time to seek the Lord’s will. Do not be afraid to speak to the Lord for He is willing to listen to you and love you where you are. There is much joy in being with God and knowing His Son, there is much peace in taking your time and being right with God. Begin today and start a journey of untold joy with Jesus.
Yesterday I had the privilege of helping deliver commodities to the elderly who are unable to come and pick them up for themselves. This month there were two bags of groceries and a ten pound sack of potatoes. Not much food for a month, even for an elderly person, but it is only meant to supplement what they can get themselves.
The reception that you receive is absolutely humbling. They are so happy to see you and so appreciative of the assistance that is being provided. Some live in town and some live past where the road ends. They all have needs beyond their ability that have to be met and to be a small part of helping is so enriching.
Giving money to the various philanthropic organizations is important for the survival of the organization and we do that. More importantly, giving of self to others, giving your time, your heart, and your abilities is essential for the survival of these people who live alone and struggle with problems of health, loneliness and ageing.
We all have abilities entrusted to us by God and nurtured by God with the expectation that they would be used by us to glorify God. Use what God gave you to do His will and be blessed.
We all need to have time with the Lord. Time to read of His Glory, time to contemplate His magnificence, time talk with Him, time to hear Him and time to just be at peace with His love. It does not matter when or where or even if we are alone or with others, we need to be immersed in Him, His heart, His hands and His essence.
Peace in this world is a fleeting feeling, happiness in this world is not guaranteed but peace and joy and happiness can become your daily portion. If you will just look over your shoulder, you will see Jesus waiting with these gifts for you. All He wants is for you to be complete in Him. Turn around and tell Him that you are sorry for the sins you have committed and tell Him that you are ready to hear His commands and obey them.
Surrender your pain, surrender your sorrow, give up your dreams and embrace what the Lord has planned for you. You will find that that your dreams were too small, no matter how large they were. God dreams big and He plans great things for those who love and obey Him.
Running late on a day when I don’t have to be anywhere at any particular time. I will feel this way until I complete all the early morning stuff that I usually do and complete by 7 AM. Yikes it is 8:30 AM and I am still not done, this writing being part of the devotional package that is my morning routine.
I know, I know that my morning routine is not what brings me favor with God. I know that it is my love for Him that matters, I know that it is my worship of Him that matters and I know that it is my devotion to Him that matters. I know that He pursued me until I surrendered to Him. I know that it was through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus that my soul was saved and I know that what I do matters only if it points others to God and salvation.
Knowing all this, my comfort zone is still shattered when I do not adhere to my routine. Don’t get me wrong, God can and does often mess with my routine and this is not upsetting to me. It is when I fail to follow my routine because, well just because, that my world shifts.
Today is the first day of a new month. Time for a little reflection on where we have been, what we have done and what we expect this next month to be like. Personally, last month was a month of great changes as we transitioned from Alabama to Kentucky and took on new rolls for our lives and we fully expect this next month to filled with opportunities to witness, serve and be humbled by an awesome God.
If you will pray and allow God complete access to your heart you will experience life-changing events, you will see things that you have only read about, you will do things that you thought impossible and you will feel joy and peace beyond your comprehension. The frightening and difficult thing to do is take that first step of faith, walk off of the ledge, leave the seemingly solid ground of the world and know that God’s Hand is there to hold you up.
As you learn to trust Him more and more, He is faithful to be there during your good times and bad times. Trials you will have, troubles will come and Jesus will walk with you every step of the way through them. He will also shower you with surprising blessings, blessings that you do not deserve and sometimes blessings that you do not even know about.
When you are on the path that the Lord has chosen for you there will be times when everything appears to move with the speed of light and then, without warning everything stops. Then just as suddenly the path opens up and you are moving forward again. It isn’t that doors are closing or opening or that the Lord changes His mind rather it is our perception of His will that is faulty.
We do not and cannot know the thoughts of our Lord. We do need to be obedient to His will and flexible in our lives so that we can follow the path He designed for us before we were conceived. We do have the option to step off of that path, the free will to not follow that plans the Lord has for us. We might even think we are happy going our own way running full tilt down a path that leads to destruction. We might even be happy for now, but there will come a time when our path is lost and we are forced to realize that our lives are meaningless. Now is the time to turn to the Lord before we reach the end of our path.
Every morning when I wake I think about the Lord.
On His Word I meditate.
What will today bring into my life?
What blessings will be given to me?
What will I be able to share?
Where will the Lord take me today?
None of this matters. Because I have Jesus, I have all that I need. I pray to the Lord and wait for His answer. I make my plans and I wait for God’s confirmation. My will, my heart, my thoughts, all of me waits on the Lord. May His will be done in my life.
As I wrote these words I thought about how mundane and ordinary my life was before I committed it to Christ and how joyful and exciting it has been since.
A committed life is full of joy and surprises. He will supply your needs and He will fill your heart with so much love that it will spill over into the lives of your family, your friends and, yes, even your enemies.
Commit to Christ and become complete.
LEARNING TO WALK WITH JESUS 