We have all uttered the prayer, ” Show me the way Lord!”, in times of confusion, chaos, and disorder. But this simple request far reaches those panic-filled times of our lives. Asking the Lord to guide us through our daily journey is just part of our continuing relationship with Him, and should be on our lips and in our minds constantly.
Jonah 1:17 ” But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.”
God assigned and appointed that big fish for a specific task…to gulp Jonah down and carry him around in its belly until Jonah changed his mind about the people of Nineveh. There are three interesting theories concerning this fish. Did God pick a fish already in existence to carry out His plan for Jonah? Or did He instantly create that fish the moment He needed it? Or was that fish created way beforehand for the sole purpose of swallowing Jonah at some point in the future? Any way you think about it, God’s creativity is boundless…His imagination endless.
I Peter 5:6 ” Humble yourselves therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”
We all have “Seasons” of our lives when God uses us in special ways. But it’s during those off periods that it’s difficult to remain unassuming and humble. Those decisive points in time the Lord elevates us to greatness are few and far between…most of the time we’re down in the trenches, laboring away in preparation for the next “Season” to come.
Luke 6: 27-28 ” But I tell you who hear Me; love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
It’s so very easy to love your brothers and hate your enemies, but Jesus is asking us to go beyond what the world does. He’s commanding us to not only be kind to our enemies, but to actively seek them out to do good. And when we do this, two things happen…our hearts are changed, and so is theirs.
Standing on the edge of greatness……..
Today, you are positioned by God…on the very brink of something awesome He has placed in your heart. Are you ready? Are you prepared? Don’t allow the devil to steal this God-ordained moment from you. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is the world. Stand your ground, resist the fear that may be rising up inside, and watch the Lord work.
Philippians 2:3 ” Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”
This verse totally contradicts our basic human nature. We love to be first and ahead of everyone else…and always looking out for Number One, not others. But this verse follows the acronym -JOY- your focus should be on Jesus first, others second, and yourself last.
Acts 20: 28-30 ” Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
Satan is a liar and the author of lies, and he will always resort back to his mode of operation. He will take the truth and twist it…warp and corrupt it ever so slightly – so that the casual listener will hear nothing alarming. He will pervert the truth of the Gospel just enough as to make it more about man than God…more about selfish ambition than selfless giving…more about human pride than quiet humility.
Proverbs 15: 33 ” The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
Being part of the Lord’s boot camp teaches you discipline and discernment. But with new-found wisdom comes the tendency for us to be very impressed…with ourselves! God won’t use someone who’s arrogant and prideful. He wants rather a person whose contrite, modest, and humble…a person fully aware of where their wisdom comes from, and just Who is working through them. It’s then that God will esteem them before men.
Mark 13: 31 ” Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
This earth has a shelf life…the entire universe as we know it will end someday. But God and His Word will never cease to be in existence. God’s Word is alive and eternal. His Word is ever fresh, ever bringing new revelation and insight each time it’s read. God’s Word will last forever.
Amos 5:5 ” Seek Me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba.”
God is not in a certain location. Just because there’s been a great move of God there, doesn’t mean we need to worship the place it happened at. Why do we like to travel to places rather than searching for the source that made the location great in the first place? Pursue God, not where He might have been.
Safetypinlove 