Are you lost? Christians and non-Christians alike hit seasons in their life when everything feels like it’s falling apart. Good news, feelings are not facts, they’re just feelings and this too shall pass. If you’re anything like me that last sentence made you cringe, a little angry or if you’re willing, gave you a different perspective. Which leads me to my next question.
Do you want to be found? Specifically, by God? Most of us put God in a corner, in our most desperate times, in an attempt to fix the problem ourselves. We fail to realize, God, doesn’t care how you got there, He only cares that you want Him in all areas of your life. Even the messy parts, yes, the really messy stuff that you probably even contributed to, rather indirectly or directly. God just wants to be with you. That’s why He created you. You were created for the sole purpose of being in relationship with God. It was His plan before you were ever born.
No matter where you’ve been. No matter what you’ve done or how far you’ve run, He’s there, waiting to find you. So I’ll ask you again, “Do you want to be found, by Him? Are you aware that you’re lost and need Him?”
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” Matthew 18:12 ESV
Dear Lord, I am lost and ready to be found by YOU! Like a wandering sheep, I had no idea how bad things would get apart from You. I just want to be in Your presence, in Your care and lead by You. Amen
“so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:15-16 CSB
Here we are at the end of our journey. We have conquered much, these past few months together. We have fought for our minds to embrace a truth about who God is to us, who we are to Him and why that matters. Taking our eyes off of what we see in this world while we long for the unseen treasures of eternity.
As you have probably discovered, there is no generic formula to get from the beginning of your time here until you pass on through to eternity. You are a unique, designed being, on a set course, for an eternal destination.
Where we spend eternity will be determined by who we put our trust in. We can put our trust in The One who designed and created our inmost being, before we were given, on loan, to our mother’s womb, or we can live our lives with no creator in mind at all. Whichever we choose, time ticks and eternity awaits our last tic on the clock because nobody makes it out of here, alive. We are not promised tomorrow. We cannot change the past. Today is meant to be seized with eternity in mind.
I leave you with some real questions. Where will you spend eternity? How will you spend your daily 1440 minutes as you walk out the timeline given to you that disrupted eternity? Do you know who God is to you? Do you know who you are to God? Do you know that where you spend eternity is anchored in those last 2 questions?
Only you can answer these questions honestly. If you do not know where to start, start with the Salvation prayer then by reading the book of John, Acts and Romans, in the Bible. I recommend the, The @YouVersion Bible App has a permanent spot on my home screen. http://bible.com/app , so you can pick a version of the Bible that is easy for you to understand and memorize.
Salvation prayer: Lord, I admit that I am a sinner. When I have sinned and when I sin, I sin against You only. I believe that You were born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified for no crime but for my sin to be erased, that You died and rose from the grave, conquered sin & death on my behalf, that You are in heaven preparing a place for me; and I believe that You are coming back for me, to be with You, for all of eternity. I confess to You Lord my sin ( confess whatever comes to mind) and I believe that my confessed sin is erased at the cross where You willingly laid down Your life for me. Lord, I believe Your word is an echo of Your heart and I will study, meditate and keep it in my heart and mind, daily. Amen.
“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 CSB
“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.” Philippians 2:14-16 CSB
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:8-12 CSB
The maintenance plan to embracing or seizing the day rests on whose hands you place your day, your life and your reactions in. Have you or do you remember the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Silly)? We overthink and complicate things by rehearsing and agonizing over a past we cannot change as well as worry about a future that has not arrived yet.
I read somewhere that around 97% of the things that the average person worries themselves sick about never even happen. I found the information when I was struggling with severe panic and anxiety attacks. One of the application exercises I did, per my counselor’s suggestion, was write down the last 10 things I remembered that triggered a panic attack. Then write down what the actual outcome was. In my own writing, one hundred percent of what I was running through my head, DID NOT happen. I just sat there staring at it in disbelief. Almost trying to convince myself that I was wrong, it must have been much worse but it was not worse. In fact, everything worked out in one way or another with minimal issues. All of those scenarios had workable solutions that I learned to adjust to and live with. I still struggle from time to time with anxiety but the majority of the time I can practice that simple exercise in my head and it helps me put things in perspective. In fact, one of my coping phrases that came out of that season in my journey is this: “Everything is going to be okay. It may not be the okay I planned for but, ultimately, it will be okay.”
Lord, I know You are with me, that You want what’s best for me. I believe if You allow something or someone to come into my life or leave, it is for a purpose. My days are numbered. I do not want to waste my day on anguishing on a past I cannot change or a future I have not seen yet. I choose to seize the day rather than to have the day seize me. Amen
“For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass — he blooms like a flower of the field; when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known. But from eternity to eternity the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren of those who keep his covenant, who remember to observe his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalms 103:14-19 CSB
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 CSB
It all looks good in verses, sermons and devotionals, but how do we clock into purpose? We can not apply what we do not know and or if we do not understand the why behind the do, or the how behind the apply.
Be careful, as we grow in Christ, to not be condescending towards someone who is not where you are yet. Be in tuned and always remember the wretch you were before you point out others wretched behavior.
I’m going to break it down; the how to clock into purpose steps. This is simple but it is a process. Everyone’s process is different. The first goal is to commit to never stop taking these steps through the process. The second goal is to allow yourself to be shaped and molded by the process rather than try to reshape the process to make it more comfortable. It’s okay if it’s uncomfortable. This is where the learning takes place.
Clocking into purpose will be familiar because it aligns with how God designed you. Your sinful nature, also known as the flesh, will fight you every step of the way to fulfilling your purpose, so be ready for the fight. Just remind yourself to be on the right side of the fight for your purpose.
Here are the steps:
Know who God is to you.
Know who you are to God.
Know why that matters.
These 3 simple steps will take the entire span of your life, while you’re on loan here, to master, but it will give you the confidence for and about eternity.
Next week we will discuss 7 areas to focus on to help us define who God is to us, find our identity in who He says we are to Him and learn why that matters in the process.
Lord, we are a mess without You. Thank You for the process. Thank You for taking my messy self and making something beautiful out of my mess. Help me focus on getting to know You and me better so that I understand the quality of life that my relationship with You brings to me and those around me. Amen.
“All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:3-5 CSB
“Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:27 CEB
Living in the present is much more achievable if we can leave the past behind us and plan for the future without worrying about the future.
Whether you have a train wreck behind you or sweet little bunny path full of sweetness for a past, your past is done. All you can do is embrace what is in front of you because as we learned from our grief week, it is all temporary. If we dwell on and beat ourselves up about the past or stress about the future, we rob ourselves of what is in front of us.
We can learn a lot from the past by simply pulling out that “ugly journal” we discussed in prior weeks and write down every time we freaked out about something that ended up turning out better than we ever imagined. When you start to stress, read and remind yourself that everything is going to be okay. I also like to add that it may not be the okay I planned for but it will be okay.
When you find yourself uttering the words, “could’ve”, “should’ve” or “would’ve”, stop, say out loud “Not productive, not going to help me.” Rather than verbally bash yourself and put yourself in a position to not be able to change what’s done, give yourself advice on how you will do it differently. That’s all you can do is learn from it and do it differently next time. Then trust God in the process.
By removing the weight of your yesterdays and the heaviness of the uncertainties of tomorrow, from your today, you can live in the present. If you’re a professional worrier, make it a point to become a warrior of prayer. Turn every worry into a conversation with God. Tell Him exactly what you are concerned about and then stick to what is directly in front of you, right now.
Toby Mac once said something so profound that really helped me get the concept of living in the present moment: “We worry about tomorrow like it’s promised”
Lord, we are a work in progress but we are also your vessel of spreading the good news. Help us be more aware of what we bring into our present moments that do not belong there. Help us focus on the gift of this day and show up for every divine appointment. Amen.
“Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 CEB
From the Depths of Kell 