God Paves the Way

I have noticed that sometimes a project goes smoothly, and sometimes, it just seems to bring one obstacle after another. Most of my difficulties are self-inflicted. Problems arise when I am ill-prepared or ill-equipped. However, when God gives us an assignment, He prepares and equips us. In addition, He aligns everything so that we can effectively do the task that He has given us. That does not mean that obstacles will not present themselves, but rather that God will give us what we need to do the task despite the obstacles.

Joshua 3:15-16 says, “and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.” When we are doing God’s work in faithful obedience to His calling, He has already paved the way for us. We will see Him do wonders like parting the Jordan River for His people. The Jordan River was a huge obstacle for God’s people seeking to enter the Promised Land. But God stopped the riverflow and dried the river bottom for the people to cross to the other side once they first stepped out in faith.

What Are You Thinking?

If you are like me, you have frequent thoughts of the past. Unfortunately, sometimes we remember our mistakes and failures more than the good things we have done. We remember the things that we should forget and forget the things that we should remember.

Isaiah 43:1,7 says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine; everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, who I formed and made.” Those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, must remember who we are in Him. He has called us by name and redeemed us. We have been created for His glory. We are specifically formed by Him and are His beloved children.

As a child of God, we need to remember who we are in Him. As His beloved children, we are His prized possession created for His divine purposes. We are no longer strangers and aliens, hostile to His will. Any reminder of our former status comes from the evil one in order to steal, kill, and destroy. Let’s live as children of the King, ambassadors for Christ, living stones of the church, and more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

Icy Walkways

As I began my morning walk this morning, I quickly found out that conditions had changed overnight. It had been relatively warm yesterday, but rained all day. Overnight, the temperature fell into the teens. That meant that the rain that fell yesterday became ice on the trails that I walked. I had to watch carefully to make sure that I didn’t slip and fall.

Psalm 17:5 says, “My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” Our paths are safe and secure when we walk according to God’s instructions and follow His ways. Going our own way will lead us to slippery paths with many obstacles.

Resolve for Good

We are in the habit of resolving to do good things. Every New Year we make resolutions to things which are good for us and those which are good for others. Often, we quickly find out that we are not up to the task of completing our resolutions. We have every intention of doing these good things, but we can’t follow through. We are, in fact, missing the key ingredient to doing all good things.

My prayer for you today is found in II Thessalonians 1:11-12, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so 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.” God is the one who works in us to make us worthy of His calling. He also works in us to fulfill our desires to do good and to do mighty works of faith. His work in us glorifies Him and we experience some of the glory of Jesus Christ.

Facing a Problem

What is the first thing that you do when facing a problem? Do you research the problem and possible solutions? Or do you forge ahead, thinking that your experience and know-how will solve the issue? Perhaps you turn to a trusted friend or someone who has already faced this problem. Or maybe you just break down and try to hide from it. We try to find weapons to handle the battles that we face.

Psalm 20:6-7 says, “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” This Psalm was written as a celebration before the soldiers went into battle. They declared that they placed their trust in the Lord and not in their weapons. When we are facing trouble, we can choose to place our faith in our own abilities and experiences, or we can choose to trust God’s unlimited power and wisdom to lead us to overcome our struggles.