Blog

While reading my daily devotionals this morning I have to be honest I was a bit zoned out. I just got home after a week of traveling and I was pretty tired and didn’t feel like I had the energy to even focus on what I was reading. But after reading the devotional part it got my attention. The whole passage was basically highlighting the fact that Jesus coming to the earth to save humanity was foretold many years before hand and how that points to God’s faithfulness to his word even when it doesn’t seem like anything is happening.

This struck me. I believe I am learning more and more what it means to walk by faith and thankfully I have grown in this area because it is one thing that has kept me somewhat stable through all of life’s challenges. Growing up in a word of faith church you can without even thinking about it get the idea that because you have faith and confess the word that life is gonna be one big peachy keen joy ride with fancy cars that you “believed God” for – now I am not saying that you can’t believe God for a car I think that’s awesome! I also think though that in our naivety we can dumb down faith to think that it’s all about our good! I truly believe it is all about our good but as I have grown and had many challenges even as a 26 year old I am learning more and more that the object and treasure that is living a life of faith is not so much about what you get but who you become.

We all want things to be on the up and up – we all want to be living the good life where there is no lack and we are healthy and happy and thriving. Although I do believe this is God’s best I think we can tend to chalk all this up to really just shallow thinking. With the end goal in mind being our own personal happiness – I think we kind of miss the point.

I’m sure you’ve heard people say that money can’t buy happiness – and thats true – but at the same time neither can living a minimalistic selfless life necessarily. I don’t think the end goal is “happiness” or atleast not in the way we view what will make us happy. But instead steady trust in spite of our circumstances. If you have ever seen or experienced what it is like to go through one of the most difficult times of your life and feel complete peace – to be honest I feel sorry for you. This is the true joy of living the life of faith. When our faith is put to the test so is our joy and it is then that we truly come to understand for ourselves what it means to have true contentment – which money most definitely cannot buy and truly is priceless.

I don’t think you can fully understand or appreciate this scripture until you have experienced God’s grace through a season of difficulty. That is when coming out as pure gold becomes real to you and you realize in a deeper and more meaningful way that you could never be a good enough person on your own but that God uses difficult times to shape you into the person he has created you to be. This way you no longer have to live in a fearful run from trouble kind of way but you can almost embrace it knowing that God’s grace is sufficient.

This is only done when you keep the end in mind. When you set your eyes on Jesus and not on your problem. I have found that although this may seem easier said than done – the bigger the problem the greater the grace to do it! That’s the beautiful thing about grace. That no matter what your circumstance situation or struggle – God’s grace leaves nothing and no one out!

So rest assured today. If God planned Jesus coming thousands of years before hand. Surely he has your life planned out. And even if things aren’t looking so good right now – he has it under control. He has the ability to make something beautiful out of something not so pretty. Jesus was born in a stable to a 16 year old girl. I mean if that doesn’t give you faith that God can make a miracle out of your mess I don’t know what will – it’s our humility that leads us to the cross and its our humility that keeps us there by HIS grace.

Be encouraged today and at peace. God is in control and working things together for your good.

LOVE, Ash