I finished my study on Revelations this morning and I am more than confident that following Jesus and living for Him is the only way to live. I want to be ready when Jesus returns to call us Home. Oh that I will quit letting the worries of this world distract me from the Glory of the Lord!
Distractions. We all have them. We all are them. Distractions come in many forms - children, the things they do; spouses, the things they do; us, the things we do; and the list goes on and on. Life distractus us at times from the One who is the most important. When do we think about Jesus? When we are distracted and in trouble. When do we think we might need to ask Him for His help? When we are distracted and in trouble. But you know what? Jesus is always there, ready and waiting, for us to turn to Him and seek His face. Sometimes we have to deal with the consequences of our decisions, and sometimes we don't understand why certain circumstances are 'allowed' to befall us. But it is through these trials and through these temptations and through all these troubles, that we can see God's hand upon our lives. Sit back and think about your life.
What have been the steps that have brought you to where you are now? Do you see trials and struggles throughout your life? What has that taught you? Does it not show you that you can get through these things when you set your mind to it? You don't have to wallow in your trial, your frustration, your struggle. There is One who is waiting for you to look up and grab His hand and He will walk you through it, no matter what it is.
Disagreement with your spouse? Oh trust me on this one! If I did not have Jesus to lean into, to cry out to, to grab hold of His hand, I shutter to think where I would be right now. Times of depression and discouragement can quickly overcome you; but when you have Jesus, you can grab hold of Him and He will walk you through any trial, any struggle.
Sleeping good last night I was awakened this morning to thinking about my Schwan's delivery man, Troy. I have no idea why I was thinking of him as he only delivers on Wednesdays and this is only Tuesday. I know I want to get a catalog for my neighbor for she really liked their mashed potatoes and mahi mahi and green beans I left for them when they returned from Hawaii so that they wouldn't have to go to the store right away. Anyway, when God brings people to my mind, I know that I am to pray for them, so I did pray for Troy. I like Troy; he is personable and friendly. I will have to ask him tomorrow if everything is well with him, and with his truck. I read recently Schwans is changing their name to 'Yelloh'. Yeah - sounds (I want to say stupid) unusual, right? I guess because their trucks are 'yellow'. But my mind keeps asking the question of 'Why?'.
Who has come to your mind recently, especially in the wee hours of the morning and you just feel the urge you need to check on them? That you need to ask God to watch over them,, to protect them, no matter what they are going through, and you may not even know! Or will ever know! I've learned over the years that sometimes not knowing is fine. But God doesn't always awaken me or stir me to think about people who are in trouble. I often wonder about that, but I know that someone, somewhere, has been impressed to pray. And sometimes I feel impressed to pray about things I know nothing about. Or pray about something..... and it doesn't happen. I love those times because I feel that God has caused the enemy's plans to fail.
And sometimes God allows difficulties and times of struggle and trouble... it is in those times that He is waiting for you to turn to Him and seek His face for your life. We tend to wallow in our lives at times because they are not what we want them to be. But paradise will be in Heaven. Life here on earth is hard sometimes. We have our times of joy, for sure, but people will not always be nice to us. People will not always agree with us. People the closest to us will absolutely drive us crazy at times. And how we react is a reflection of who we are. And sometimes I know I have a lot of work to do in me. I need to relinquish control of what I want and seek Jesus for what He wants in me.
Did you know that there is no greater than Jesus? He is our Refuge and our Strength. He is our Healer and our Source of all things. Jesus is truly all we need for He will provide all that we need. He works in us as well as through us, and we are to be alert to His drawing us to help others. We often say that 'things don't happen without a reason'. And maybe they don't. But do we seek the reason? Not usually.
People hurt people. What do we learn from it? Sometimes it is just that they need love and aren't feeling loved, so they strike out at others. With words, with actions. I've been on the receiving end, and I probably have been on the giving end too. I really don't like being on the end that has to go back and apologize. But it is something one must do. Right the wrong. Sometimes forgiveness is given freely, as it should be. Jesus freely gives us His forgiveness all the time. But sometimes we need to ask for it so that we can forgive ourselves. That is the hard part, forgiving ourselves.
My thoughts are all over the place this morning, aren't they?! One thing is true, one thing is sure.
I John 1:9 (NIV) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
The time is getting shorter until Jesus returns. We are in the end times. Are you ready to stand before the great white throne of God and hear your judgement?
Come, Lord Jesus, come!
