All of us have struggles and hardships in life. As Christians it can sometimes be difficult to reconcile God's plan with the struggles and hardships we face. How could a God who is so loving and caring allow me to go through this? The hope that we cling to though, is that God sees the bigger picture. As human beings we often have a limited perspective. We only see what lies before us. But God sees our entire existence. And often it's the most difficult seasons in life that shape us for the greater things that God has in store for us.

I was reading the story of Joseph in the Bible today and was particularly moved by this very principle in his life. Joseph was a favorite son of his father Jacob and his brothers despised him for it. So one day when they were out in the fields his brothers sold him into slavery to do away with him. Through a series of events, Joseph ends up in prison in Egypt for a number of years. But God uses those days of misfortune and eventually Joseph becomes second in command in the entire land of Egypt next to Pharaoh. God uses Joseph and his godly wisdom to literally save people's lives, including Joseph's own family, during a severe famine in the land.

After all Joseph had been through, I love what he says to his brothers when he reveals himself to them: "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you." Joseph certainly had plenty of reason to be angry and upset with his brothers, but instead he sees the larger plan of God in the midst of all that has happened to him.

Now, none of us are promised the outcome of Joseph's life in the midst of our struggles and hardships. For that matter, none of us are even promised the outcome that we desire. But God does promise that in ALL things he works for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28) Regardless of what you're going through and regardless of the outcome, we can hope in the promise that God is good, and that he is working on our behalf.


To Him be the glory!

Love this song!! Nothing is impossible for our God!!

I was reading the story of Jacob and Esau this morning and was struck by the portion where Jacob steala his brother Esau's blessing. The story goes that Isaac, the father of Jacob and Easu was growing old and near the point of death. He wanted to give his eldest son Esau a blessing before he died and so he instructed Esau to go out and hunt some wild game, prepare it and bring it to him and then he would give him a blessing before he dies. Jacob the younger brother learns of this and sets out with his mother's help to deceive his father and steal the blessing of his older brother and indeed he does. He disguises himself as Esau and his father speaks a blessing over him and his life.

What strikes me about this story though is the apparent power behind the words that Isaac speaks. When Isaac speaks the blessing over Jacob, that's it and that's the way things are going to be. There is no taking it back or changing what has been said. When Esau comes in to receive his blessing both he and his father are overcome because they realize they have been deceived. However, there is nothing they can do to change it. The words have been spoken and that is the way things will be.

Reading this story, I wonder how much we take our words for granted? Proverbs 18:21 says that, "The tongue has the power of life and death..." It seems we live in a day and age where words don't mean much. We can say whatever we want to say and they're just words. We don't have to be accountable for the things we say because if things get too out of hand we can simply state that we didn't really mean what we said... they're just words!

But as I read this story I can't help but wonder how our words really do affect our lives? Perhaps the words we speak mean much more than we give them credit for. Perhaps they affect our lives and the lives of those around us more than we are aware of.

Today, consider how the things you speak might affect your life and the lives of those around you.

I was reading the story of Abraham in the book of Genesis this morning and was struck by a particular passage in Chapter 22. Mind you that Abraham has waited his entire life to have a son. God has made him promises that he would have a son and that through this son, Abraham would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and they would become God's chosen people. Finally at the age of 100 God's promise is fulfilled and Abraham has a son and names him Isaac. I can only imagine the love and attachment that Abraham has for this son of his.

But now as the story unfolds, God comes to Abraham again and says to him, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you."

Can you imagine the horror for Abraham? Not only is this the son he has waited for 100 years for, but God has made Abraham all sorts of promises concerning this son of his. But seemingly without hesitation Abraham goes. He takes his son to the place God shows him, ties him to the altar and raises his knife to slay his beloved son and finally God intervenes and stops him. His words to Abraham are these, "Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."


What strikes me about this story is that God wants our pure, unadulterated love and devotion. He wants to be first place in our lives, above all else. For Abraham, God wanted to ensure that even what he had promised him and blessed him with, hadn't become an idol that Abraham treasured above God.


All of us have things that we love and cherish in life... be it relationships, money, possessions, jobs, status, etc. But the important thing for us to remember is not that those things are bad, but that God wants to be first in our life above all those things. For us to value anything above God is idolatry... we are worshipping something else above God.


So what are the things you value and cherish? Would you be able to stand up to the test of God and surrender those things if he so asked? Is there something he is perhaps asking you to lay on the altar and sacrifice in your life? What changes do you need to make in your life to solidify your devotion to God above all else?

I was reading a book today and came across the story of King Amaziah from the book of 2 Chronicles. The first portion of the account of Amaziah's life is about his obedience and devotion to God and the success he experienced in life. The second portion of the account of his life is about his disobedience to God and the defeat he experienced in the end.

There was one statement in 2 Chronicles 25:2 that I found particularly poignant though. It says, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly."

It seems that this halfhearted obedience to God was perhaps what eventually led to his disobedience. I was particularly challenged by this because I know for me, working in full-time vocational ministry, I've had moments where it's easy to let my service and obedience to the Lord become part of the routine of what I do and not be given out of a place of true love and devotion. I do it because it's what I have to do and not because I love to do it.

I don't ever want to serve God just because it's what I'm SUPPOSED to do! I want to fall in love with him more and more every day and serve him with WHOLEHEARTED devotion!


Do you ever experience this sort of halfhearted devotion to God?


What are some ways you can keep the passion and fire alive in your life to wholeheartedly serve God?

If you know anything about me, patience is not a strength of mine. When I decide I want something, I want it now! When I decide to make a change in my life, I'm ready to make it now! Why wait for something that is inevitably coming? Let's just get to the end result.

Well, if you know anything about God, he doesn't always work that way. God seems to be much more concerned about the process we go through in getting somewhere than the actual destination itself. What's most valuable is not necessarily the blessing that lies at the end of the road but the things we learn and the ways we grow along the journey.

I was reading the story of Abraham this morning and was struck by his own impatience... not that I can blame him! Abraham was 75 years old and childless when God began to make him promises that his offspring would be God's chosen people and God would bless the world through them. After ten more years of waiting for God to give them a child, Abraham and his wife Sarah were still childless. They obviously were growing impatient and it seemed less and less likely that a man who was 85 and a woman who was now 75 would have children. So they decided to take things into their own hands. Sarah had a servant by the name of Hagar and decided that perhaps Abraham should sleep with her and they could have a surrogate child through her.

Hagar did indeed conceive a child for Abraham and it looked like perhaps their plan had worked. However God returned to Abraham when he was 99 years old, 24 years after he began promising Abraham descendants who would change the world, and he told him that his son Ishmael (Hagar's son) was not the chosen one but that he would still have a son with Sarah. A year later, 25 years after God's initial promises, when Abraham is 100 years old and Sarah is 90, their son Isaac was born.

Here's the kicker for me though... Along with Isaac, Ishmael would also grow into a great nation that would become some of the fiercest enemies to God's chosen people throughout all of history and even to this day. The repercussions of Abraham and Sarah's impatience became a long lasting stumbling block to the nation of Israel who were the descendants of Isaac.

So the obvious challenge for us (for me) is learning to be patient and wait on God. It's a difficult struggle for those of us who often lack patience, to wait patiently for God to fulfill his plans. But one of the obvious messages from this story is that our own impatience, and trying to force things to happen before it is time, can often cause more damage than it does good.

I personally have things that I've felt for 10+ years that God has called me to and it's a constant struggle to wait for God to fulfill his promise and not just try to make those things happen on my own.

So what are the promises that you are waiting for God to fulfill?

How well are you patiently waiting on him?

What are the possible repercussions if you become impatient and try to force things to happen?

Psalm 37:7
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him..."

It's interesting to me that all of us who claim to be Christians would likely agree that we desire to do God's will. We desire to live our lives in such a way that pleases him. But it's one thing to have a desire to do God's will and it's another thing to actually do it.

I was reading the story of Noah this morning in the book of Genesis and was struck by verse 22 in chapter 6.

Genesis 6:22
"Noah did everything just as God commanded him."

What an amazing statement... to have it said of you that you did EVERYTHING just as God commanded you! It's an easy thing to have good intentions, but in the end intentions don't amount to much. The difficult part of following God's plan for your life is making the appropriate adjustments and the difficult changes to actually live according to his plan.


As we face this new year... this fresh start... may God empower each of us not only with the passion and desire to do his will, but the determination and discipline to actually do it! May it be said of us at the end of 2011 that we did everything just as God commanded us. To Him be all the glory!

I was reading the story of creation this morning and was overcome by the awesomeness of our God! What an amazing thing that God simply spoke creation into existence! The Bible tells us that God spoke and it was so... and not only that but it was good!

As we begin this new year there is hope to know that no matter what you are facing that God is big enough and strong enough to carry you and sustain you through it. The answers to our prayers may not always be what we expect or even hope for but there is hope in knowing that God is in control. There is hope in knowing that with a single word from his mouth, God can alter the course of history.

My prayer for all of you this year is that this would be a year of new beginnings, of transformation and positive change. I pray that God would speak into the darkest places of your life and bring new life... that at the end of this year you would look back and be able to say with God, "It is good."

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is discord, unity,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is error, truth
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
And where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master, grant me that I may seek not so much to be consoled but to console,
Not so much to be understood but to understand,
Not so much to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in losing ourselves that we find ourselves,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

- Saint Francis of Assisi