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 will admit the OFH has been a little inconsistent
the last few weeks. June tends to
be pretty “conference/meeting/seminar/webinar” heavy. So, mix that in with some travel and, well
you know...
And yet as I was recently sitting with a new
believer and recoverer, he posed the question, how do you stay “in it”, “it”
being sobriety. My answer is usually the
same. I told him that I daily respect my
ailment, my addiction, but I don’t live in fear of it and I do my best each day
to connect to GOD’s will for the DAY, period.
And even though that “day to day” focus sometimes
frustrates the DOCTOR in my house, it works for me.
Here is why, I know my capacity is limited. My retention even less so. So, to crowd too much into my limited space doesn’t
usually go to well. But keeping things “limited”
helps me succeed and helps me when I fail as well. For the missteps while unacceptable are usually
manageable and “righting” the ship not so daunting when I keep things “limited”
Make sense?
And yesterday I was led to post these familiar
verses from a not so familiar source, Matthew 6:33-34
(MSG). It says, “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative,
God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday
human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing
right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen…”
And as I was sharing coffee and breakfast yesterday
with a new colleague that is on our National Faith Team, this verse, this topic
of giving our attention to what GOD is doing now, to constantly be seeking HIS
WILL for each day became the core of our chat.
My friend is in her 13th year of
recovery. Her story is both tragic and
triumphant. She has emerged from a great
deal of hurt and disenfranchisement to find her place helping others find recovery,
faith and “each other”. Ironically, she
has turned a story that was littered with loneliness into a passion to connect
folks to help, healing and holiness.
She is inspiring.
And yet as we enjoyed our Mills Park java (Thanks
Libby) this topic of seeking and embracing the WILL of GOD for each day kept circling
the track. So much so that I knew that
it needed to be the topic for today; it needed to be our reminder.
Chuck Swindoll once said, The Lord never
hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your
destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns
from diverting your attention.”
In other words, GIVE
YOUR ENTIRE ATTENTION to WHAT GOD is doing NOW. Don’t get distracted.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left (Proverbs 4:27).
GOD is not hiding what He has for us today. It is in front of us. He wants us simply to seek it, unearth it and
then step into that WILL in obedience.
My colleague embraces this daily opportunity with
both hands, and it has served her so well.
It has pulled her from inebriated to inspiring as she daily opens herself to the WILL of GOD and with a servant’s
hearts walks in it.
So should we.
For…
God never shows us something we aren't ready to
understand. Instead, He lets us see what we need to see, when we need to see
it. He'll wait until our eyes and hearts are open to Him, and then when we're
ready, He will plant our feet on the path that's best for us...but it's up to
us to do the walking.” Ilibagiza
Therefore, let's walk in HIS WILL, today.
I love you all!
OPPORTUNITIES
for HOPE
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