When
our soul learns to wait on the Lord, God is our continual help and shield. Our
heart rejoices in His loving presence within us, and we trust His holy name.
When we place our hope in Him, His mercy and grace fill our life (Psalm
33:20-22).
Our
unchangeable Father of Lights provides every good and perfect gift from above
for us to enjoy (James 1:17). When we are actively grateful for God’s blessings,
we no longer concern our self with what we think is wrong with our life and
what we think we need.
On
this earth, our treasure is that on which we focus our heart (Matthew 6:21).
With spiritual maturity, we learn to cherish the spiritual aspects of life more
than the natural, and we are so grateful to God for His generous gifts to us.
We
learn to thank Him for the negative circumstances, as well as the positive ones
(1 Thessalonians 5:18). We no longer brood over what we used to think that we
were missing, because we are so blessed by what we do have now.
If
we do not have something or someone that we really desire, it is because God
does not want us to have it at this time in our life. He planned a surprising
and amazing future for us, and our desire will thwart that purpose.
Our
desire may bring us our anticipated happiness, but God's plans provide us with
abiding joy and satisfying fulfillment that this world could never match. We
sing for joy all the days of our life, growing in spiritual maturity with each
passing day.
God's
daily provision for all of our needs helps us to focus on the positive (Psalm
107:1), and it increases our sensitivity and awareness of the world within us
and around us (Ephesians 5:20). God always has our best interest at the core of
His heart.
Prayer:
Father
God, teach us that appreciating all of the little blessings that You provide makes
us ready to receive the bigger things that You have planned for our future
(Matthew 25:23). We sit at Jesus' feet like Mary did (Luke 10:39), and as His loving
adopted siblings, we rest our head in His lap. We feel Him caressing our hair
with His nail scarred hands, and we weep with joy and gratitude to Him for
paying the debt for our sins.
We
praise You for all that You give us, and we honestly share with You our deepest
concerns without any preconceived expectations; however, teach us to wait on You
with eager anticipation for whatever You have in store for us. Help us not to whine,
nag, complain or dictate to You, but to simply rest in Your love, to trust You
with our whole heart, and to walk in Your Spirit each moment of our day (Psalm
50:23).
Thought
for the Day:
As
our intimacy with God grows, we learn to appreciate all of the nuances of the present
moment, and we focus on the here and now, instead of the past or future; when
we overly analyze what is happening, or worse-case scenario about what may
happen in the future, or feel guilt and dread over the past; we rob our life of
energy needed to follow God’s will in this present minute of time.
