**One of the best things about staying in other people’s homes is seeing their library and reading their books!**
This month I’ve been reading a book called, “I AM changes who I am” by Gregg Matte. It’s been intriguing. The author focuses on the seven signs and seven statements Jesus gave to testify that He was God’s Son as documented by John.
As I was reading about Jesus’ power and call for us to trust Him, I got to thinking about what we really want in life… What I really want in life…
I want the strength to endure without running for hours…
I want the physique without counting calories…
I want the title without going back to school for the education to earn it…
I want the wealth without long hours at an office…
I want the benefits of an Executive without all the responsibility…
I want the answers without working through the difficult questions…
I want to see miracles without being in a situation needing a miracle…
I want to feed the five thousand without actually being broke…
I want the healing without ever being sick…
I want the glory without the suffering…
I want to gain without ever having to risk…
See, I’ve had a realization… that while I want to see incredible miracles, things I’ve read and heard stories about, to experience God moving in incredible ways first-hand, I’ve not given Him as much room or opportunity to do so…
I’ve lived a mostly calculated life… Considering all my moves, being sure to never be without, not wanting to look silly or foolish, not being very open to the move and call of His Spirit…
To see the water turn in to wine,
means to risk looking silly by filling jars with only water…
To walk on water,
means to risk sinking by getting out of the boat…
To feed the five thousand,
means to offer what you have, believing there will be enough…
To be healed of your disease,
means to experience suffering…
To have a new life,
means to experience death…
Living a life of faith is more than simply believing the fact that Jesus is God. It is obeying Him when He calls you to do something the world says is silly or foolish. It means to see hardships as an opportunity to trust God more and to allow God to reveal Himself to you. Rest assured, you will not be made a fool:
“No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.” -Psalm 25:3a
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.“ -Isaiah 55:10-11
**And so, I strive to look for opportunities to trust and obey God anew; to see pain, suffering, and shortcomings as opportunities rather than obstacles that will allow me to know Him more and see His glory.**
