The Time is Now

Sometimes I think I have life figured out, that I'm on the way to where God wants me. But my head gets so caught up in the future, that I lose the moment where I’m at.

 Where does God want me NOW?

Sure, I may be on my way to what God has planned, one day maybe I’ll get there. But why can't I do something great now? I have this mindset that one day I'm going to be where God wants me. That isn't wrong, but it does become a problem when it keeps me from being intentional in my actions for Christ today. 

Am I being intentional about serving in God’s Kingdom right NOW?

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (ESV)

Be a vessel for God’s work right NOW. Prepare yourself to be used by God right NOW.

"In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets-- some containers are used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing."

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (MSG) 

Be the kind of container that God can use. Be a person God can use. Be that person right NOW. 

I strongly believe that if all believers were doing their job right NOW,  our world would be a different place. Live in the moment and do what God is asking of you right NOW.

“People often come to me and ask me to pray for them, that they would discover God’s will for their life. I already know God’s will for their life – heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, cleanse lepers. They say, ‘Yes, but I need to know if I should be a schoolteacher or a missionary.’ I say, ‘Well, just pick one, and then heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, cleanse lepers.’ Or they will say, ‘I just don’t know whether I should be married or should be single.’ I reply, ‘What do you want to be?’ ‘I really want to be married.’ ‘Then get married... and heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, cleanse lepers.”

― Bill Johnson, Manifesto for a Normal Christian Life

Flat Tires

This past weekend my volleyball team traveled on a charter bus to California for the weekend. On the way there a tire on the bus blew out and we ended up being stuck in a hot bus on the side of the road for over 3 and a half hours with only snack food. Needless to say, it was frustrating and not a whole lot of fun and we ended up being very late for our game that night.

But something else happened this weekend… a football team from South Carolina was traveling on a charter bus and their tire also blew out. However, their bus wasn't able to pull over safely to the side. They got in an accident and 4 people lost their lives while 42 others were injured and left without those teammates, brothers, and friends.

It was all too easy to complain about our own flat tire in the moment, but when I heard about this story, those complaints became utterly selfish. My heart aches for that team and those players; I cannot imagine the feelings they are going through.

But man am I entirely grateful our flat tire on Friday didn’t turn into something worse. Here’s the thing: It is all too easy to forget about all the things God is protecting us from…even if it is in ways that we cannot see.  Everyday struggles may sometimes be how God protects you from a lifetime of a deeper struggle.

Find the blessings that sometimes seem to be hiding.

 So next time something comes up, like a flat tire, that gets in your way and slows down your busy day…Remember that little thing could be God’s way of protecting you from something else. That flat tire could have been a deadly accident. At the end of day, God is with you, He’s protecting you, and He brought you home safely. It is those little things, that really are huge things in our lives that we should be so, so grateful for. Go to bed grateful tonight, and remember all the ways God has blessed you and protected you today.

“From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” –John 1:16

Embrace Where You Are

Something hit me this morning that really should have hit me a long, long time ago. It sounds extremely simple, but for whatever reason I really didn't grasp it and finally believe it till today. It is this: 

I am here for a reason. I have been given this path for a reason. Everything that has happened has happened for a reason. 

But here's the thing, I haven't been embracing the position that I’m in. Sure, I trust what God is doing in my life. However, am I embracing what He is doing? Am I going through the motions or am I making waves of change? Am I using my situation as an opportunity to serve Him?

Embrace where God has you. 

This means that instead of sitting back and letting life happen to you, get out and live. Do something. Live out the Kingdom of God. 

For example, I realized today that there are some people in my life going through silent battles and I need to spend more time investing in their lives.

If you don't understand why God has you where you are, and don't know what your purpose or role is supposed to be: Just do something. Find someone who is broken, and love them like Jesus would. Find the poor, and give to them like Jesus would. Find the empty, and pour into their lives like Jesus would. But don't sit back and do nothing because you pity your own situation or because you don't understand what God is doing. 

You won't always figure out God's purpose if you just wait, and you won't figure it out if you just feel sorry for yourself. 

“With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: ‘God has set everything right between him and me!’ Scripture reassures us, ‘No one who trusts God like this - heart and soul - will ever regret it.’” –Romans 10:10-11 MSG

God is working, He is setting things right. Trust Him, start working alongside of Him, and embrace where He has you.