With everything currently happening in my life, I have noticed that I just don’t have the same amount of steam or energy that I used to have. How about you? Are you running a little deficient in the energy department? Life just seems to be busier nowadays, and then when you add any complications, it tends to go through the roof!
I was contemplating this yesterday afternoon when the gauges monitoring my personal systems seemed to be hovering on the “empty” side of the meter. My initial reaction was to ask the Lord for more strength when I suddenly remembered Psalm 27:1 where it says that “the Lord is the strength of my life…” (King James Version) I didn’t need to request more, I just needed to avail myself to what He has already provided for me. So instead of going into a crying out mode, I began to thank the Lord for the strength that He has so lovingly given me. After a few moments I could feel the strength rejuvenating me and could almost see that energy gauge slowly, but steadily moving to the right!
The last couple of verses in that same Psalm instruct us to “wait upon the Lord” to see “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27 verses 14 & 13 King James Version). The word “wait” could better be translated as “expect!” The phrase “the land of the living” refers to the earth, and could mean “in your daily lives.” So, a better, more up to date translation would say that we should “expect to see the good things of the Lord occurring in our daily lives!”
How do we accomplish this? By seeing the good things of the Lord, as told to us in His Word, through our eyes of faith. How do you think that Moses did everything that he did with all the unbelief that surrounded him. Hebrews 11:27 states that “Moses didn’t give up but continued as if he could actually see the invisible God.” (Gods Word ©) That is the perfect example for us to follow in our day to day activities. We are to continue looking ahead to see the completion of the promises in God’s Word, that we are believing (or expecting) to happen!
Now if that revelation doesn’t strengthen you on this overcast Monday morning* (here in Northern California ) I don’t know what will! Expect the best, and let God do the rest! Get ready to see the BEST week yet in your life! Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD THINGS am I expecting (to see) today?”
PS: * As soon as I published this post the sun popped through the clouds! Hummmm....
Our sermon at church this week was on this very topic. And it reminds me of my family's own testimony.
ReplyDeleteWhen my wife and I first got married, she tended to expect the worst from God. No matter what the situation was, she anticipated that she would have to suffer in some way to please God.
As she was explaining her reasoning to me, I looked at her and said, "I would be so incredibly hurt as your husband to have you think that way about me. Your dad would be hurt if you thought that way about him. How do you think God feels about it?" She started crying and repented.
Today, she's one of the most "glass full" people I know--and that's after going through some of the worst times you could imagine. When our son was born, she was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic with complications. For some reason her immune system triggered the clotting reaction in her blood while it was still in her veins. The clotting destroyed the tissues in her eyes, and she went blind, it was destroying the tissue in her organs, and she was dying. They had to cycle and filter her blood mechanically to remove the clots. And while they saved her life, the damage was done. She was permanently blind.
Through it all, she had a smile on her face and told everyone who came to visit how good God is.
And then people all over the world started contacting us saying they had heard about us and were praying for us. I don't know how they heard, but miraculously with no explanation from the top medical professionals in the world, my wife's sight was restored: 20/20 vision.
Needless to say at this point in our marriage, her joy in Christ often puts me to shame.
God is good all the time!
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Go Light!
Thank you Stephen for that WONDERFUL testimony to the GOODNESS of God!
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