2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV

“as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

I am hopeful today.

I am grateful, thankful, and yes, very hopeful.

By definition, hopeful is a feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event.

For me, I stand in expectation of a great move of God. It may not come the way I expect or turn out the way I hope, but I know it will be just right. For God does all things well. He does not make mistakes, he moves mysteriously, and always with a purpose. I may not always understand him, but I can always trust him!

So yes, I am very hopeful.

Hope causes me to look beyond where I am, and focus on where I am going. On where I want to be. Hope causes me to make a plan and execute it. Hope causes me to push past failure, and keep going. Because the truth is success is better understood and defined from the light of past failures.

The power of hope is God-given. It is based in faith. Faith in the faithful God who promised. Faith in the powerful word he spoke (and still speaks). The God who told us to “call those things that be not, as though they were.” (Romans 4:17).

So yes, today I am hopeful – I am inspired.

My prayer for you is that you are too. There are times when your only hope is to encourage yourself. There are times when you are all alone, and you cannot afford to give up or give in. These are also the times when this feeling of hope is the fuel that keeps us going on.

So hug this hope to you chest, put a smile on your face, and keep going.

Have a blessed day!

James 1:1-2

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”

Know this…What you are going through is for a purpose!

You may be in the midst of your situation wondering why? But that thought is a major distraction designed to split your focus. Because when we are distracted we are unable to give our all. And believe me, your total focus and concentration is need to be victorious.

So rather than trying to figure out why, count it all joy that God found you worthy (and capable) to bring glory to his name. Yes, that is what is happening here.

Your faith is being tested. If you go through this trial as God has purposed, on the other side is victory, spiritual growth, and ultimately, God receives the glory.

So count it all joy. No, the situation is definitely not joyous or even easy. In fact it may be difficult, painful, and down right scary. But if we adjust our perspective, and count it all joy, it will make the journey just a little easier to bear.

You can and will make it! You were built to conquer and triumph!

Have a blessed day!

Philippians 3:13-14

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Life is always moving.

Be definition, life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

By definition, death is the permanent ending of vital processes in a cell or tissue. The end of the life of a person or organism.

The difference between the two movement. To move is make progress; develop in a particular manner or direction.

Spiritually speaking, it is the duty of the believer, the follower of Christ to grow. The Bible says it like this, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18). It also says, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17).

These scriptures speaks to the movement from one level to the next. Moving from glory to glory, moving from one level of faith to the next. This is a constant of growth. God is vast, bottomless, unfathomable. We will never completely know him, but we should learn more about him each day we walk with him.

The believer is to be ever growing. We do this by getting to know the father more and more as we walk with him. This new knowledge changes us. For it is impossible to come closer to God and not change. Conversely, it is impossible to know him and to stay the same.

The light of who God is burns off our sinful nature. This character flaws and personality quirks that are not godly should not continue to grow with us. For we should change to be more like him.

Back to movement. If movement is the hallmark of life, then stagnation is the warning sign of death. By definition, stagnant is showing no activity; dull and sluggish. To remain in this state is to pursue death, or rather to wait around until death over takes you.

For this reason, we must have the ability to let things go and move on.

When people hurt us, we have to be able to let it go and move on. This is what is meant by the saying “forgiveness is for you, not them.” When we forgive, we give ourselves permission to get on with our lives. We give ourselves permission to grow and be the person God needs us to be.

We must let go of the past with all of its hurts and trauma. We must choose life, and press forward to the things that God has for us. It is a choice that we all must make.

It is impossible to try and hold on to the past, while also trying to have a successful present, and a bright future. Your death grip on the past will stagnate your present, and kill your future.

So let go, and move on.

Galatians 6:9

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Just a little encouragement on this Wednesday morning…

You have been doing well, don’t give up!

Don’t allow frustration or timing stop you from doing what God has called you to.

The definition of frustration is the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something.

You may have a feeling of frustration because those around you may not have noticed the hard word and effort you are putting forth to accomplish. Or you may not have gotten very far despite the hard work. Or no matter how hard you have worked, there is still so much more to do. Things are just not happening fast enough.

This leads us to timing. Be definition, timing is the the choice, judgment, or control of when something should be done.

Most of the time we would like things to happen right away. However, when things happen is not in our control, that is God’s responsibility and privilege. Because you know the effort you have exuded, we want the reward of that effort right away. Like it is our right.

We all must understand that a lot of the times things don’t go as planned. We don’t always get the type of reward we were after. People don’t always listen, or receive what we are saying. They don’t always believe or support us.

But despite all that, now is not the time to give up!

God has called you such a time as this. You we built to be able to withstand in this evil day. You were built to thrive in spite of everything. The gifting and calling God has on your life is needed today. You cannot give up – people are depending on you (whether they know it or not).

This is not about you getting accolades. Or feeling good about your self for what you were able to do. It is about accomplishing your assignment. Your God-given assignment.

God has placed enough trust in you to give you the gifts and talents. He expects you to use them to his glory. To reach his people and share the good news of the gospel. To reach those who are lost. All in that unique way that is you.

Stop trying to mimic or be like so and so. God gave you the assignments and qualified you to accomplish them. He even gave you the desire to do the work. His expectation is that you do it in the spirit of excellence, improving as you grow. He does not expect you to stop when it gets hard. This is a song of immaturity.

Now is not the time to give up!

Stop, settle your self, and rest (recharge) in praise and worship. When you come out you will be strengthened to keep fighting the good fight of faith.

Remember, you were built for this! You can do it, you can make it. You ARE making a difference.

Just don’t give up!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 43:19

“Behold, I will do a new thing;
now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert.”

We finally made it out of 2020!

Let us look forward to 2021!

2020 was chalked full of pressure and stress. We faced COVID-19, loss of jobs, limited resources, and scarce items (toilet paper, paper towels, and sanitizer products). But we survived!

So, as we move into 2021, I encourage you to do so with a renewed mindset.

Let store up on praise (praise can carry us through anything), walk in godly wisdom, and rebuke fear.

COVID is still alive and well. Yes, we will have to also deal with it in this new year. But let us leave the fear of Covid-19 in 2020!

Our praise will bring us peace.

Our godly wisdom will guide us as we navigate through our daily lives.

Rebuking fear will allow us to walk in faith, and give God space to move on our behalf.

No, the world did not miraculously change because the calendar flipped to a new year. But we have (or should have) changed. We arrived in this new year with lessons learned from 2020.

So we will prepare. We will act mindfully. We will save and store up.

Ultimately, we will have a blessed 2021. No matter what!

Happy New Year!!