"TRYING TO TETHER"

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“I refuse to be trapped in the past. I’m not going to let the past destroy my future. I’m pressing on. I’m straining forward, knowing that God has great things in store for me.” Osteen – (strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.)

Philippians 3:13 (LB)

Does your past feel like a trap sometimes?

Maybe there are those in your life who continue to look and interact with you begrudgingly for past offenses; reminding you of your past mistakes with every sneer or roll of the eyes. Maybe the consequences of the past are continuously doggin' or hamstringing you.

Sometimes it is hard to "un-tether" our “past” from our present; sometimes is even harder to keep it from anchoring us from embarking into our future.

Sunday night I shared a message I call “Life through the Windshield”. 

The audience was full of folks who clearly had some “tough pasts”; some “trying to tether pasts”. But I encouraged them to see those difficult times as the key to opening a door to show others the way to freedom and possibility in Christ.

Instead of haunting them, their past could HELP others!

“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” ― Corrie ten Boom

I love the HOPE in that quote.

The PAST has had purpose for all of us; even its pain.  And whether your past has been like a class or like a crucible it has prepared you for today; GOD’s today.  All GOD asks is that you BELIEVE Him when He says the PAST has been redeemed!

I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more. Hebrews 8:12 (AMP)

And then look for the ways GOD desires you to leverage it!

…be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. James 1:2-3 (CEV)

Remember, GOD sees the beginning from the end with every one of us.  The journey that we are all on is one of development.  GOD doesn’t miss anything or overlook one lesson.  And we must remember that EVERYTHING that we experience is “for good” (Romans 8:28). 

Our JOB is to keep trusting.

Our JOB is to keep learning.

Remember:

The sermon of your life in tough times ministers to people more powerfully than the most eloquent speaker. - Bill Bright

Our JOB is keep MAINTAINING our FAITH in GOD’s FUTURE for US.

…let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future. Romans 5:1-2 (PH)

I love you all!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE