Enjoy the Journey

It is easy to get caught up in the worry and agitation of the unknown.  To help alleviate the stress, I have learned to exercise the meaning of Jesus being the author and finisher of my faith.  It can be compared somewhat to watching your favorite TV sitcom.  You know it will always work out in the end, so it is not a concern about what happens in the middle.  This is especially true when watching reruns.  Since you already know the story line, there is not a need to get worked up when your favorite character gets in a tight spot.  You know somehow it will work out for the good.  The same can be applied to our daily life.  The Bible says that all things work together for our good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.  Since Jesus is the author, he knows the story line.  Confess his promises daily, walk in the authority God has given us, and rest in knowing the end of the story.  We are to walk by faith and not not by sight.  Do not be alarmed about the circumstances in the middle.  Remember, the story has already been written for our good, so just enjoy the journey.

Blast the Past for a Breakthrough

Are you in a rut? Are you looking for a breakthrough only to realize you are in the same place you were two years ago or maybe five or ten years ago?  Perhaps you are wrestling with the same job, maintaining the same attitude, or hanging with the same circle of friends.  If you are not bearing good fruit in what you are doing, then it is time to make a change.  Jesus said in Luke 6:44 that every tree is known by his fruit – meaning that people will recognize us by what we produce.  John 15:8 explains that God expects us to bear much fruit in everything we do because this glorifies Him.  Others should be able to clearly see our fruit or our effectiveness in what we do. 

There must be fruit before experiencing a breakthrough.  Jesus often saw people’s faith as a precursor to healing, and He will see your faith as a precursor to your breakthrough.  Put your faith in action.  Be willing to let go of those things that are not working.  We have to be willing to let go of the past before we can grasp hold of what lies ahead.  Consider the seasons; spring will never burst forth if winter does not fade out.  So it is with our lives.  When God says, “Do it now” or “Move on that project now” or “End that relationship now” or “Call that person now,” He has already noted the ending from the beginning and is working to help you produce fruit. God’s pruning cannot take place in your life without you first producing fruit. 

Get out of the rut, and set the stage for your breakthrough.  The door to new opportunities will open as you produce good fruit.  It is time to blast the past and break through to something new.

Making Quality Decisions

We make an abundance of decisions throughout the day, big and small.  All too often we are pressured to make decisions based on what we see or hear rather than what we know as truth.  If you know where to find truth, then you have a solid foundation to make every decision.  The Word of God is truth and a solid foundation to base daily decisions.  You may not find your specific situation in the Bible, but you will find guidance through the Holy Spirit.  So, will the Holy Spirit guide us in every decision?  Of course He will - big and small! Jesus said the Holy Spirit guides us into ALL truth.  You can easily rest in a decision when you have an inward certainty. 

When you make your daily decisions based on the Word of God or by following the leading of the Holy Spirit, you are making decisions on a solid foundation.  A solid foundation can take an abundance of pressure and not crack or split or break down.  Jesus said everyone who hears His words and acts upon them (makes decisions by them) is like a sensible, prudent, practical, wise person who built his house upon the rock.  Decisions that are made according to the Word of God can stand tests of endurance.  The winds may blow and beat against the decision, but it will not fall because it is based on the truth of the Word of God.  Every decision you make based on the truth of God can stand persecution, rocks thrown at it, boulders pressing down on it, tornado winds blowing on it, hurricane waves beating against it...whatever!  After all has been said and done, that decision will prove itself strong, sure, and exact.  Why? Because it was made based on the Word of God or the leading of the Holy Spirit.  That is why it is so important to let decisions that are based on the Word of God run their course.  If you have made a decision based on the Word of God, let it run its course.  That decision is right now in motion to bring about change.  So, let patience have her perfect work and rest in the decision you have made.  Making quality decisions is simply making decisions according to the Word of God or the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

On the other hand, Jesus taught that it is dangerous to base your decisions according to what logic says because logic is not truth.  Anything other than truth is considered foolish and unwise (Matthew 7:26-27).  The rain, floods, and winds will come to test the decision.  If you are in the habit of making decisions based on your senses, then those decisions may prove to be foolish in the end.  We have all made foolish decisions.  Remember, God's mercies are new every morning.   As you start your day, look to the Lord to help you make the right decisions that can endure for His glory and stand the test of time.

Do Not Despise Small Beginnings

There is a time for everything.  A time to stop procrastinating, and a time to start moving forward.  To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.  If your moving forward is not as fast as you would like, don't fret. The important thing is that you started.  Just keep moving, even if it's at a slow pace.  Your beginning may be small, but great things come out of small beginnings.  There are a lot of great things in small packages.  Look at the mustard seed.  Jesus describes the mustard seed as the smallest seed, yet when it grows to maturity, the birds can build a nest in its branches.  Mark 4:31 says, "It is like a mustard seed, which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth."  You may be working with something that right now in the natural is LESS THAN the others, but don't fret because verse 32 says, "But when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.  So expect this same thing to come about from your small beginning.  Expect your idea or project to grow up and become greater.  Expect it to shoot out GREAT branches so that other things around it can benefit from its presence.  Whatever you do, do not abort that idea or project you have sown for the Kingdom of God sake.  Nurture it, tend to it, cultivate it, and watch it grow!

Don't despise small beginnings.  Small beginnings pave the path for greater ventures.  Don't mock your small beginning, and don't allow other people to mock it.  Don't stay around people who say that what you have is less than what is required.  Move out from around those people.  God could not do what  he wanted to do with Abraham where Abraham was residing.  God told Abraham in Genesis 12 to leave his country and his relatives and to go to a land that God will show him. Abraham did not know where he would end up, but he knew the importance of taking one step at a time.  Each step led him closer to his wealthy place!

Allow God to place you around those people who will encourage you and push you forward in the plan God has for you.  See yourself the way God sees you, not the way those who mock you see you.  Your beginning may seem small, but remember God knows the beginning from the ending.  He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you to give you hope and a bright future.  So, go on and take another step and walk right into YOUR wealthy place!