Moment by Moment

This morning, I walked over 8 miles. It didn’t happen in the moment when I walked outside. Instead, I had to walk step by step over two hours to go the full distance. There aren’t a lot of things that we have to pay attention to moment by moment in order to succeed. We watch TV, but our mind wanders. Even when reading, we can easily be interrupted or lose focus. On the job, we must pay close attention to what we are doing, but breaks are built into our days.

Paul’s prayer for the people of the Colossian church says, “asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10) Notice that Paul uses words like filled, walk, pleasing, bearing, and increasing, which confirm that our faith is not just a one time decision, but also a moment by moment choice to know and to follow God.

Second Chances

We all want to be given a second chance when we do something wrong, but we are not necessarily generous in giving second chances to those who may fail us. It has become popular to “cancel” people who offend us or cross a boundary that we have set up. We easily give up on people and cut them off from our lives.

Jonah 3:1-2 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” Jonah had refused to do what God called him to do and wound up swallowed by a great fish. After he repented and the fish vomited him up, God chose to use Jonah to preach to Nineveh and all the people repented. Our past failures do not define what God wants to do with us today and in the future. God does not “cancel” us, but rather shows us great compassion and mercy.

Something That Changes Everything

Some people or circumstances come into our lives and we may say, “Everything changed!” We may have gained a new insight into a problem or received something so wonderful that our perspective and attitudes change.

Psalm2 40:1-4 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.” When we make our requests to God in prayer, He moves toward us as we draw near to Him. The answer to our prayers may not come as quickly as we would like, but the answers do far more than we expect. God’s answer will pull us out of the things that hold us down and that lead to our destruction. His answer will provide the secure path for us to move forward and will give us a new perspective with which to find solutions to our problems. Other people will then look at what God has done and trust God.

Headlong

A few weeks ago, I suffered a bad fall on a concrete driveway. I had finished walking on a treadmill and went outside. It was still dark so I didn’t see a stick that had been planted in the ground. I tripped over it and fell head first. Initially, I didn’t think it was a bad fall. But suddenly the lights went out and I was knocked out as I lay there. I awoke a few minutes later and got up only to find that I was wobbly. When I got home, I discovered that my face was bleeding. All this wound up in an Emergency Room visit and a diagnosis of a concusion. All this left wishing that I had someone or something to hold onto and that I could see the obstacles in front of me.

Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a man are Pby the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” If we want God to direct our paths, we must first ask for His advice before we start on the path. When we trust Him and try to do His will, he makes our every step land on firm ground. We may stumble over obstacles, but He holds our hand so that we are secure.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

I have noticed that many of the things that we pursue in life do not satisfy our souls. We spend most of our lives thinking that our desired job will bring us satisfaction. While the pay may benefit us and we may enjoy the work, the job itself does not bring deep satisfaction. We pursue money or fame and find out that our pursuit was just empty selfishness. We go after the latest technology and within months it becomes outdated and perhaps useless to do what we want it to do.

Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” Walk in the paths of righteousness. Seek to do good to all and at all times. These things will give you a good name among people and you will gain favor among men and with God.