Creating lists, planning ahead on our calendar, and
making appointments for the future is important in order to stay organized and
to keep from double-booking appointments. However, if we rely on this practice
to order our steps, we often miss God's timing and direction.
God's Spirit rarely reveals God's future plans for our
life, but He daily leads us in each moment of time right in the center of God's
will; if we take the time to listen with our "spiritual ears" (Matthew
11:15), and if we follow God's guidance for each chore, activity or silent
quiet time.
We spend our time singing to the Lord a new song from the
depths of our heart (Psalm 96:1). The lyrics do not need to rhyme and the tune
can be familiar or inspired by God's Spirit.
Thanking God for His benefits and His marvelous deeds
among the nations will occupy our thoughts and fill our mouth with His praise.
He is worthy of our tribute, and He deserves our honor and esteem (Psalm
96:2-4).
We also praise Him for creation and for including us in
His family. His splendor, majesty, strength and glory are ours as we spend time
in His presence (Psalm 96:5-6).
God is worthy of our praise and our obedience. We prove
our love to Him by obeying His precepts and direction (John 14:15). God
miraculously opened the Red Sea for the Israelite to cross over and escape the
Egyptian army; yet they did not have the faith to obey Him and enter the
Promised Land.
Even though the nation disobeyed His will for them, God
still fed them during their wandering in the wilderness. He kept their clothes
and shoes from wearing out. He even gave them water from a rock (Exodus). He
provides for us in much the same way.
As we trust God with every facet of our life, He faithfully
intervenes in so many ways. When we walk in His will, we reap the benefits of
our obedience and we enjoy His blessings and the filling of His presence and
Spirit within us.
Prayer:
Father God, we lift up our eyes to You, focus our
thoughts on You and walk in Your ways every moment of every day. We do the
works, which You preordained for us to accomplish with our life (Ephesians
2:10). When we exchange the stresses of our to-do lists for obedience to Your
Spirit, our body responds in health and our soul experiences Your peace and
joy.
You are our hope in a hopeless world, Your presence is
the greatest gift we could ever ask for, and You shower us with Your
lovingkindness each moment of our day. Help us to share Your Gospel of hope
with everyone we meet, so that they too can share in Your benevolent love and
blessings.
Thought for the Day:
Living in the moment guarantees that we will not miss the
little "hugs" that God gives us every single day - a cardinal on a
snowy day, a flower growing in an empty lot, the last rose to bloom even though
it is out of season, the significance of the order of the numbers on a clock, a
sale on an item that we really needed but could not afford, etc.; these are
just a few ways that God shares His love with us.
