Unlimited

Who knows of any single person on this earth that can meet with us anywhere, anytime we need them?

Who in your life will always show up where you are, no matter if you're walking down a road, sitting behind locked doors, or sitting beside the ocean?

I'm talking about 24/7, unlimited, nonstop availability.

The only person that is capable of this kind of guaranteed communication is Jesus. After his resurrection, he met with the disciples on a road (Luke 24:35), behind locked doors (John 20:19), and beside the sea (John 21:1)

So why, when we are faced with struggles or annoyances, do we sometimes turn to people that have limited availability? We text a friend, walk down the hall to vent to a co-worker, or call someone that we think will be there to listen to us. Don't get me wrong, these people are great and necessary to have in life...but we shouldn't depend on them to be our first choice when it comes to dealing with problems. Jesus will meet us wherever we are, so why don't we call on Him first?

Exchange

I found this quote on a blog from Nicki Koziarz a few days ago:

"What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it."

This quote has brought up so many thoughts over the past couple of days that I am still trying to sort through all of them. The one immediate thing that this quote did was challenge me to ask myself this question: "Is what I am doing/have done today meaningful?" It has challenged me to look beyond myself and what I'm doing in the moment, and think about the level of importance I am putting on any given activity.

It's given me a new sense of purpose at work...I'm exchanging a day of my life, five days a week, to make a difference in my workplace and the lives of the people I work with. The days I'm discontent at work are the days I'm focusing on what I'd rather be doing at home verses what I could be doing at work.

It's the reason I make sure that I am encouraging to my husband, and I do and say silly things to make him crack a smile. I make it a priority to ask him about his day and go "out on the town" with him, even if it's only to Target. I am exchanging days of my life to show the strongest, purest love humanly possible and to strive to become the kind of wife that Proverbs 31 describes.

It's the reason I make sure that I spend time with my mom, taking her shopping and out to eat and playing Parcheesi at her house. I've already lost my dad, without really having a chance to bond with him as an adult since he had been too sick and weak over the past couple of years. I won't have my mom forever, so I want to do what I can while I can. I am exchanging days of my life to make a difference in my mom's life, to break through the monotony and loneliness she is struggling through and give her encouragment as God works through me.

It's the reason I desire to be a better friend. I want to learn how to listen, really listen to what people are saying. I am exchanging days of my life to encourage the friends I have around me, and be like Jesus to them, not judging them but instead, supporting them as they realize the things they want to do in life.

At the end of the day, no matter how tired I am or how annoyed I get at the cats over their mischief, I'm thankful for the opportunity to rescue both of them, one through a rescue group and the second by just picking him up and fostering/adopting him myself. Their sweetest moments are worth every opened cabinet and torn trash bag that I find. I am exchanging days of my life to care for animals that God created. If He didn't have a purpose for them, they would not exist.

I want to make sure that I make a difference in each day. Even if it is in the smallest way, like picking up one piece of trash or wiping down a counter at work...I want to make sure that what is truly important to me is visible in my daily life.

Strength

I started writing this blog post last Tuesday. More specifically, I was writing it after work, but before we went to visit my dad in the hospital. God's timing is amazing. Just that morning, in my quiet time I was reading Nehemiah 8, and the verse below stood out to me:

"Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!" Nehemiah 8:10.

I have been faced with some new, exciting opportunities lately, as well as some challenges, and I keep reading about how God tells us to be strong (Ezra 10:4, Isaiah 35:4, 1 Corinthians 16:13, 2 Timothy 2:1 just to name a few). I keep thinking, 'well, that's great advice, but how exactly am I supposed to be strong? I honestly don't know how.' It was no accident that I discovered that verse that morning, nor was it coincidence that I could not get that verse out of my head all day.

I wasn't able to finish the blog post before it was time to leave, so I saved the draft with the intention of finishing up that night. I had no idea just how much that verse would mean to me until we got to the hospital, and we received the news that I have been half dreading, half expecting for a while...my dad had passed away.

In that moment, I had multiple reactions; sadness, numbness, and thankfulness. It felt strange to me that I could be feeling all three of those things within a matter of 30 seconds, but in the days that followed, this verse stuck with me, and my strongest moments were when I was looking towards God.

I am thankful for two things: one, my dad is no longer suffering, and two: just a couple weeks before he passed away, Bishop T.D. Jakes preached a powerful sermon on forgiveness at our church, and I was finally able to let go of a lot of past hurts from my childhood and teen years that were caused by my dad's health.

One of my favorite things that Elevation has taught is this (from the Joy Genome series): My joy is not determined by what happens to me, but by what Christ is doing in me and through me.

In John 12:27, Jesus says this, "Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save me from this hour?' But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name."

We have the opportunity, in everything we do and go through in life, to bring glory to God. God is my strength...my dad is no longer suffering, and I am thankful for that...and I am blessed that my mom is still living and I have opportunities to grow closer to her and my sister during this difficult time.  I am praying for my faith to grow even stronger and bolder, and that God touches and speaks to other people through me.

Peace

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Most of the time, when I read this verse, I acknowledge that yes, I will have troubles to face, and I know that if I lean on God for strength, I will make it through whatever life throws at me...even if I feel like at the end I am barely hanging on by a thread. However, I usually just think of the big things: health problems, car expenses that I can’t afford, job challenges, and major arguments with people that I’m close to. While reading the Amplified version of this verse, I noticed something:

The Amplified Bible states it this way, “In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

I always think about going to God to help me overcome the seemingly larger things…but what about the smaller day-to-day frustrations? Hitting every red light when I’m already late to where I’m going, forgetting something at home when I’m on my way to work, having to clean up extra messes that are made by being in a hurry…Christ overcame the world, and that includes the small things. Therefore, when we are feeling stressed out by the little things, we can turn to Jesus for patience and peace.

Another thing I think is amazing in this version of the text is the bit at the end. Jesus has deprived the world of power to harm us. This world only has as much power over us as we allow it to. If we turn to Jesus when we are having a weak moment and focus our eyes on Him, we will not be overcome by the worldly challenge that is facing us, no matter how small it may seem in our eyes.

Seek, Grow, Trust

Every time we experience tough situations in our lives, we can rejoice in the fact that God will always use it for His glory and our good. It’s in the hard times that we learn and grow the most, which is something that I am very grateful for.

Looking back, I see that so many of the moments in my life that have seemed unbearable were the moments God used to mold me into the person that I am. It is now almost an automatic response to ask God what His purpose is behind every challenge I face (although…I’ll be honest…some times my tone is angrier than others). My dad’s job loss when I was in middle school wasn’t easy on our family, but it gave me a year to spend time with him where he wasn’t tired from working all day. My dad becoming disabled right before I began high school was one of the most traumatizing events for my family, but the disability income benefits that followed was the income for my family all throughout my high school years. I also developed an attitude of respect and consideration for those who are handicapped.

Going through the first semester of community college was hard, because I was working 40 hours in addition to taking two courses. My day started at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 6:30 p.m. However, by taking the classes I developed a friendship with the girl that gave me my first bible. That bible was what I turned to during the year that I was out of church. Leaving my parents church was the biggest argument I ever faced with my mother, but it ultimately opened the door to an amazing church that has been where I got saved and have grown and met some wonderful people. I was laid off from my first job just a few months after I started going to Elevation Church, and that caused me to lean on God a bit more than I had before. Finally, dealing with conflict in my life brought me to truly see and experience the love of Jesus, which changed my entire life and gave me a fresh image of what love is.

This year my vision for my life is this: Seek, grow, trust.  I desire to seek God more this year…I want to grow in my walk with Christ…and I want to learn to trust both God and the people around me more. Experiences in life have caused me to not trust people as easily as I once did, and I face the same struggle when trusting that God will really provide for us when the numbers look scary. I struggle with trusting that things will ever change for the better for my dad’s health and my mom’s stamina to handle everything.  

Below is my life verse (Romans 12:12), followed by the two verses that I will memorize and focus on this year.

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. – Pslam 46:1

Even when we cannot see what is up ahead, God is a constant in our lives, and He is there through every moment of every day. He already knows what is coming, and He is preparing us now.

Psalm 23

I have read Psalm 23 a large number of times, partly because it’s the most common psalm that is on display in stores and in businesses that put it up, but also because it is commonly used in devotionals that I read. Personally, I feel like I have read it so many times that I have not fully taken in all of the true meaning of the words. I decided that this time I would read it slowly, line by line, instead of just in one big excerpt.

The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. With God in my life, He is the provider, and I have what I need to survive. I may not have everything that I want, but I have nice clothes to wear, food to eat, and a home to live in. Sheep do not worry about their needs; the shepherd takes care of them. Therefore, I should do the same.

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. God lets us rest. He is not a slave driver, expecting us to work our entire day away in order to please Him. He calls us into times of rest, not days of extreme busyness. If I am going through my day with no time to stop and rest, I need to stop and reorganize my priorities.

He renews my strength. Not only does God let us rest, but He gives us new strength when we need it and ask for it. There have been days where I felt like I couldn’t drag myself out of bed, but once I asked God for strength, I managed to get moving and within ten minutes I was moving at a normal speed (I am only a morning person if morning starts after the sun is up).

He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. God did not just drop us into this world to fend for ourselves. He will guide us if we ask for His help – that’s the key. We have to acknowledge that we need His help, and seek His guidance in our decisions. The path He guides us down will bring honor to His name. If we are going down a path that dishonors God, it is not one He is guiding us down.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect me and comfort me. Most people will try to be there for us when we are going through a hard time. Some people will stick through for just a short time after the worst seems to be over (think: the week after a funeral, the first month after a job loss) but then go back to their regular lives and not think of our struggles very often. A small number of people will stick through the entire struggle with us (our spouse, parent, closest friend, etc). But God is there all of the time…everywhere we are. He never gets tired of hearing about our hurts, our problems, our struggles. For this reason, we should not be afraid. We have a God who will never leave us.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.  Never mind the “glass half empty or half full” concept. God overflows our cup with blessings. We need to acknowledge the blessings that we have: we know the big ones (our families, friends, church, health, home, etc), but there are also those that are not immediately obvious to most people – the intangible things. We are blessed to be able to learn new things, to see the changing seasons, to have the opportunity to meet new people, to keep up with people through social networks and cell phones (do you realize what smartphone owners can do now with their phones, the same tasks used to require a landline phone to be plugged into a bulky computer in the home?)

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.  Every day we are on this earth, God is pursuing us with His goodness and unfailing love. Even when we’ve messed up, or just don’t feel like pursuing God…He is still pursuing us. He loves us. I don’t know about other people, but I know I misused the word ‘forever’ a lot in my middle and high school years. Think about the phrase, ‘BFF’. All of those years, I called about seven or eight girls my best friends, and we wrote ‘BFF’ on our notes we passed in school. None of those girls are still my best friends…therefore, ‘forever’ only lasted as long as school did. We all grew up and changed and went in different directions. But God does not change: ‘forever’ in this verse really means forever. We will be with God forever. Our time with God will never end.

That is breathtaking.

Direct Contact

You know those moments where a truth that you’ve always known about God for years just suddenly comes alive? I have always known that when we pray, we talk directly to God, but a few days ago I was reading John 16:20-26, and these verses suddenly jumped out to me:

In that day, you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. John 16:26-27

This is BIG. We talk to God directly…there is no go-between. We don’t have to talk to someone that is “qualified” to communicate with God. We don’t have to know every single word of the Bible to be able to talk to God. No college degree is required. God loves us because we love Jesus and believe that Jesus is God’s Son. We can talk to God because we believe in the salvation that comes through Christ.

Isn’t that encouraging? We don’t have to word our prayers exactly right…we just need to get into the habit of continuously talking to God. Praise Him for who He is, thank Him for all that He’s done and all that He is teaching us, ask Him for guidance, and cry out to Him when we are faced with challenges and problems that seem to be bigger than us. After all, our God is bigger than anything that we would have to face.