“So, I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power. Then by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside of you, and the resting place of love will become the very source and root of your life” Ephesians 3:14-17 TPT

Life can be so hard sometimes, right? Facing loss of loved ones, unexpected or not, leaves a hole where that person once sat in your life. Nevertheless, we that are still here facing these days ahead are left to move forward without them. I pray for those that are facing that kind of loss today. There are no words that bring comfort to the ones left behind to pick up the pieces, but we can cry with them, hold them, pray for them and listen to them but, please, don’t ignore them, because you don’t know what to do. In that moment, it’s not about what makes you uncomfortable it’s about bringing comfort with or without words.

I am speaking to believers in Christ that get the air knocked out of your guts by a curve ball in life. We need to remember that when we are weak, nevertheless, He is strong. We don’t have to be strong all the time. Sometimes we just need to let His strength carry us on through those hard moments of loss, disappointment, discouragement and the unexpected.

I am speaking to the unbeliever or undecided about who God is. Regardless of what you believe doesn’t make God disappear or not love you. Nevertheless, you can reject Him but He will never reject you. It’s a love like no other you have ever experienced. He would love the opportunity to intervene on your behalf. But He is a gentleman and is waiting for you to choose Him because He already chose you.

“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” Ephesians 3:20 TPT

I am personally praying these verses over every person reading this: “Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!” Ephesians 3:18-19 TPT #jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday #nobodymakesitoutalive

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 NIV

I am a planner. Anyone that knows me knows that if you want to make me uncomfortable just put me in a position where we must “wing it”. I can literally feel myself twitching thinking about those situations. The reality that I have come to be more and more aware of as I mature is, I can plan as much as I want but like the book of wisdom (Proverbs), in the bible states it so well,

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”Proverbs 16:9 NIV.

Though it still makes me uncomfortable I have learned that God knows my best path and I give Him permission to intervene as He sees fit when my plans need to be diverted.

I entitled today’s devotional, Face the Grave. I did not choose this to be morbid but to be realistic. We all have an expiration date. It is inevitable that we will face the grave someday. What if we chose to live a life that was so prepared for heaven that heaven touched us every day just to cheer us on until we get there? What if I told you that this is possible beginning right now, in this moment?

Every time we choose to take our focus off the problems and temporary things of this world and focus on the eternal things that God offers us, we are free. Free to accept things as they come whether they are part of our original plans or not. Free to appreciate what we have in this moment whether it is exactly what we hoped for or diverted to a whole new direction.

My experience was, that I thought I would live in paradise here while I awaited paradise in heaven. Instead I lost all of it to someone else’s choices. I spent 3 years in shock, healing and rebuilding. What I learned is that the paradise I had was temporary regardless, but heaven, the eternal paradise, didn’t move away from me. Heaven and its heavenly host embraced me until I was strong enough to stand again. I will still face the grave one day no matter where I live, what material things I have or lose doesn’t change that. I am learning what contentment in the moments of lack really means. I have faced the grave by being present in my moments as they come rather than sulking about the past or hoping for a future that looks like the past. Lord knows that I don’t want a repeat of all of that.

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” Philippians 4:11 NLT

Dear Lord, help us face the grave with courage, joy and acceptance because of who You are, who we are to You and what You’ve done for us, not on what we try to control. Forgive us Lord for taking the gift of time for granted. Let us value our time. Let us be content in what we have in our present moments. Not that we stop dreaming but that we dream with You in mind. Amen #jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT)

I am not going to pretend like I have this all figured out. We are going to embark on this training to “seize the day” together. The reality is that none of us make it out of this season called life alive. We all have an entrance date, birth, and an exit date, death. Not one of us knows exactly what the timeframe is but each of us have the moment in front of us, if there is still breath in our lungs. So why don’t we cease that moment as if it were our last breath?

There is a list of distractions that keep us from doing so. I hope that at the end of our journey together we learn from them, remove them or at least minimize them until our moments really matter. If we were to be honest, those precious moments are what we can be most assured of because not one of us is promised tomorrow.

We also will be constantly holding these moments up against eternity. Eternal mindedness frees us from the painful moments of this journey. The moments of disappointment, loss, hurt, pain, injury, sickness, disease and fears. Death and loss reminding us of how temporary this life is. We are a mere blip on the timeline of the temporary things of this world.

When God created time, it in no way disrupted eternity. When God created us, He created us out of complete love and faithfulness to you and to me. He doesn’t make mistakes. You were meant to be here. The proof is in the breath you breathe. Let us not take that for granted regardless of the painful parts of our journey. Not one part of it is wasted. We can learn from it. With our eyes on eternity and the promises of God we have hope for our future.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT)

Lord, help us root out the distractions we struggle with that keep us from the moments that really matter. Let us learn them and let them go. Help us exchange the temporary things that steal our moments away for the eternal things like truth, faithfulness, peace, mercy, hope and love that enrich our moments. Amen.#jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday