It's in there!

Recently we made a quick trip up to the cottage and because of wacky scheduling we didn’t end up arriving until well after dark. It is never my preference to drive up those hilly, country roads at night. It is just so much darker up there!

The headlights on our vehicle are good but it only illuminates between 90-150m in front of the car and only 50 m of road surface (so says Google). That’s okay, but it is doesn’t light the entire path.

And isn’t that so much like God?  God doesn’t reveal the entire path. In fact God doesn’t reveal a year or decade, much less the masterplan—but what God gives us is enough light to take the next few steps. By faith, this is how we learn to follow Jesus, intimately.  It is day by day, step by step.

If you are feeling you need direction in your life one of the best things you can do is open your bible (or your bible app) and pray, “Jesus…shine your light on my path. Show me how you are leading me. What are the truths I need right now?”

Scripture says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet.”  Look to God’s word because whatever you are going through, whatever you need…it’s in there!

My prayer for you is that God will give you the scriptures, and the teaching, and the words, that you need right now to shine light on your path.  As God does that our response is to follow God, intimately.

God’s word is a lamp for your feet and a light on your path. As you walk with God, step by step, God will lead your life.

Don't give up

I was speaking with a dear soul recently who shared with me the past season of their life. Their desire to do good for others was clear but what was also clear was that this individual had become completely exhausted, both mentally and physically. They had found themselves at a point of questioning why they were even bothering to do the good they were doing.

Can you relate to that?  Have you ever felt depleted after helping the people in your life? Or perhaps a hard project at work or school had you completely exhausted. Work, family, friends, life… can make any one of us tired at some point.

In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes,

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  (Galatians 6:9)

Paul was writing to encourage them in the good work they were doing because he knew that they too would become tired. He encourages them, and us, to persevere in doing good things.  But we are not called to do it alone and interestingly we are not called to do it for people.  If you look at the verse just above, it says that “whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”. (vs 8)

The good work we do is to please the spirit, not people, and as a result of doing good we will reap a reward.

If you are a gardener you know how it goes. You work hard to prepare the beds and to plant the seeds (and whatever else you gardeners do), and then you wait (which can also be tiring), and sometimes you wait for a while before you actually see the fruits of your labour.

Paul reminds us that there will be a harvest for those who do not give up. 

So, don’t give up on doing the right thing to please the spirit.

Don’t give up on loving the difficult people in your life.

Don’t give up praying to a God that listens.

Don’t give up on living godly lives and helping those around you.

Scripture tell us if we don’t give up, there will be a reward for us. We may see that reward this side of heaven or not, regardless we should continue to do the right thing.

All that to say, your work matters. What you do matters. There is value to how you live and love others.

So today consider the good that you have done and can continue to do for others. How can you continue to persevere in living a godly life?

Watchful and thankful

I think sometimes we forget the immense power of prayer, I know I do. I forget in those heavy times in life how prayer moves the heart of God; how it changes our hearts, how it aligns us to what God is doing; how it wakes us up to God’s Holy Spirit, and how it makes us aware to the lies of the enemy.

Prayer is so powerful.

When I was a very new Christian my minister explained that prayer was just a fancy way of saying “talking with God”. I love that it is with God and not to God, because talking to is just speaking words and talking with is having a relationship. It’s implies communication, listening, taking in what the other is saying and responding to it.

In Colossians 4:2 the apostle Paul writes, so devote yourselves to… devote yourselves to prayer; devote yourselves to being a friend of God - conversing with God, communicating with God.

Then Paul says, being watchful and thankful. This idea of being watchful shows up in the New Testament several times.  The time that comes immediately to mind for me is when Jesus asks the disciples to be watchful when he is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He wants his disciples to stay up with him, to be vigilant, to know what is going on, to keep their eyes open and stay awake… and that is what God is saying to us through Paul in this verse.

Be watchful.  God is saying know what is going on around you, take ground, be ready for when I open a door so you can run through it. Be ready for a moment for the kingdom to advance, and do it!

And also be thankful in your prayers.  It’s kind of two sides of the same coin…in one way we are taking ground like a soldier and in another we are looking back at God’s faithfulness saying this is who you are, thank you. As we thank God it increases our faith to be more watchful and vigilant for Him.

I encourage you today to devote yourself to prayer to be more watchful and thankful.It is so powerful, it will change your day. It will change your life.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Col. 4:2)