Unwritten

Yesterday I talked to a woman who had been waiting in line for the new iPhone since 5 am. The anticipation in the line was huge. Nice gadget, I am sure, but it made me think about what I wake up for. Do I wake up in anticipation? What for?

Gadgets serve to connect us to the world in which we live and make life easier, but our daily connection with God is a matter of the heart, setting the course for our lives. Many of the things I am waiting for take time, perseverance and hard work. But it is worth it.

What about you? Maybe it's morning, maybe it's late at night. Maybe something is weighing heavily on your soul - a problem or relationship that is so tangled in knots you cannot see how to begin to untie it, a financial need so great that it seems impossible to meet, a dream you have given up on, a deep need you have pressed down so many times that it ceases to surface - yet it remains.

Maybe you want to make a difference in the world around you, but you don't know where to begin or you feel that your single contribution is too insignificant to count. Your life is a story, read by everyone you know. Your life influences, whether you know it or not.

And today is yet to be written. Tomorrow, next week and next year are yet to be written.

What an opportunity.

See it as an opportunity rather than an impossible challenge. Let faith drive away doubt. Let encouragement flood your soul in that area. Take one step today towards repairing that relationship, pursuing that dream or facing whatever the challenge may be. Then take another step tomorrow, and the next day.

You can do this. You and God.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

His Perspective

As I looked at the beautiful young woman in front of me, I saw the uniqueness of her character, her brilliance and vivaciousness, the quirky sense of humor that is all her own and the creativity that is always ready to burst forth. Her future is bright, but her vision dim. As her beautiful eyes filled with tears, I touched her curly brown hair. She finds it hard to see that when she leaves something behind, there will be great opportunities awaiting her. It hurts, and I feel it too.

Wouldn't it be great if we could always see from God's perspective? His view of us is filled with love and purpose. Wouldn't it be encouraging if we could always anticipate God's goodness for our lives? Not in a storybook, fairy tale kind of way, but a kind of faith that is realistic about the world in which we live.

Hope and faith have to be attached to something real. They are not abstract ideas floating in the breeze. People and circumstances can change, but a strong faith in God will not fail because He is faithful. Because of God, encouragement has substance. His purpose in our lives will prevail, even if we go through times when we struggle to see that the outcome is not only for His good, but for ours as well.

I encouraged her with the thought that God is with her and will meet her needs down to the depths of her heart and that she is greatly loved. Then I shared with her this verse about the purpose of God that He will fulfill in her life.

"To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thessalonians 1:11-12)

I can see the brightness of the future that she has in God and can't wait to see what He will do in the next phase of her life.

I am going to walk on the beach this morning, pray for her and let God's perspective fill me with faith, hope and love.

Can you see God's perspective of your life today? Ask Him.