Tag: jesus

I Kings 19:4-8

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

When I played football, we will work on drills that required our attention to our footwork. Our coaches will tell us during the drill to keep chopping. Keep chopping meant keep your feet moving. It didn’t make a difference whether our legs were tired, our muscles were tightening up, or our energy was running low. We kept chopping.

It gets difficult to keep chopping when it feels like you’re not going anywhere. It feels even worse when you’ve won, and you still have to find a way to keep chopping. Sometimes, you may just want to sit under a tree, lament, and quit. However, the coach called you back to put in that work.

The difference between God and a coach is that God will see and examine the needs we have before we’re put back on the field. Sometimes, when we feel like we wanna quit, because we haven’t been fed or done the things that are necessary to keep basic maintenance. Sometimes, we stop because we don’t know any other thing that we can do.

Allow God to provide. Allow God to offer you rest and restoration under the tree. Do not allow your tree to become the headstone to your purpose and vision. Find maintenance for your journey because the next phase can’t be handled by a tired you.

Romans 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Pain is temporary. Glory is eternal. However, what pain or glory are we talking about? The truth is all pain is not the same. Some pain is self-inflicted. Other pain is environmentally imposed. Some pain is mental. Other pain is emotional.

Glory can be seen as something received by humanity. Other people might see glory as a vain practice. True glory comes from God. That glory is the full manifestation of God‘s promises and will for our lives.

I never want to become so consumed with pursuing human greatness that I miss the great things that God is trying to do. Focusing on ego driven things will make us believe that we are the only ones that can make great things happen. The truth is, we are only decent actors in a cosmic play; praying that our performance will hear well done by our Cosmic Director.

The struggle is temporary. The challenges teach us how to be better. But if we live as God intends, we will see everything that was promised to us. Pain is temporary, but God‘s glory is forever.

Psalm 37:1-4

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

We live in a world that constantly challenges us to be countercultural. Whether you find yourself on one extreme of thought or the other, everything that you and I do will always be opposed to somebody’s thought process. The psalmist challenges us to consider, ignoring the works and actions of evildoers.

I don’t believe that the ignoring is to forget about what evil people can do. However, I believe we are challenged to not become consumed by the movements, actions, or activities taking place by those who choose evil.

The only thing that we can control is how we function and move in the world.

When we live opposed to evil, we began to focus our energy more on how we can please God. Fulfilling the will of God will grant us the chance to placewrong doers in their place. It gives us the focus to change our environment and create new opportunities for those that may not have an advocate.

When we commit our ways to the Lord, we are guaranteed that God will act on our behalf. We will see justice take place and righteousness prevail. When we place our energy toward the will of God, the desires of our heart will have fulfillment.