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.

When we come to the place of impossibilities, it is the grandest place for us to see the possibilities of God. - Smith Wigglesworth

(For) Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God! - Luke 1:37 (TPT)

The question is do we believe it?

I will be honest today; I often struggle to believe it.

Especially when the challenges of life are such that things do seem impossible, that there is no escape, no way out, no chance to turn the tide or move the needle.

But friends, we must believe that GOD wants us to bring our impossibilities to Him.  For when we are dependent only on Him, he truly does His best work.

My friend Tom Thompson was brought to mind yesterday during a discussion I was having with another friend.  He is the founder of a place called THE REFUGE.  https://therefugeohio.org/

And for several seasons I would take men who were seeking freedom from addiction to Tom’s team. Some would enter the program and emerge transformed.  But there was something that Tom would often say as he was introducing the expectations of the opportunity.  He would say that the REFUGE was a great place “if you were ready to stop and allow GOD to start, that if you had come to this orientation at the end of your rope, the end of yourself, then you were in the right place.”

As someone who has been at the end of the rope (a couple of times in fact) I can attest that when I was willing to “stop”, GOD was eager to start.  And while I have had my fair share of times when I have forgotten my dependency and have pridefully decided to “go it alone” again, it hasn’t taken long for life to again swamp me and put me back to that revelatory spot of dependence and surrender.

Is that you too?

That is why I thought a good closer to this thought about “dependence” would be to pray. 

Pray with me?

Dear Lord, I want to learn to trust You with my life.

My whole life.

I say not my will, but yours.

Help me not to make my own plans and then ask you to bless them but rather teach me to listen to You and then do Your will wholeheartedly.

Show me Your plan for this day and help me to live it out joyfully.

Forgive me for all the times in my life where I have forced my own plans and will and change me to be one who lays everything at your feet, Lord.

Convict me whenever I go my own way. I choose to do it your way today. Help me Lord. I acknowledge my total dependence on you at this moment.

All that I have is Yours and belongs to You.

I thank You that I am under Your protection. I thank you that You are my security. You are my rock and refuge. Thank You that You know how to manage my life perfectly.

Press me to allow you to. 

In Jesus’ name…Amen

Love you all…

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE