What do you choose? I choose faith, hope and love. I also choose joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and faithfulness.
I want to choose self-discipline too, but I’m still working on attaining proper rhythms and routines in order to truly be able to claim it.
Some of the other choices have their moments as well. I can promise it’s not always rainbows and roses.
However, the Lord always provides and leads me back when I veer off course.
God provides
It might be through the awareness of a friend who notices my heart is heavy and my eyes aren’t as bright.
It could be a simple call, text or email merely noting appreciation or affirmation — or to alert me to some rough edges I need to polish.
Sometimes it’s by way of a random conversation or maybe an article, book or blog post.
Many times, it’s through the moments of meditation on His Word or after a tug-of-war season of ongoing prayer and conversation with the Lord.
Almost always, it requires pulling back for a moment, listening rather than talking and recentering with proper perspective.
Life on this side of heaven is filled with difficulties, heartaches, frustrations — and sometimes excruciatingly painful dashed dreams.
Determining to choose faith, hope, love, joy, etc., doesn’t immunize us against pain, but it does keep the Savior close to our hearts and provides a strength that can only come from Him.
“Day by day, that’s how we do it,” a dear friend shared with me recently. Her words surface for me every time I’m tempted to worry about a future situation or circle back to a disappointment from the past.
Her confidence in the strategy is evidence of her reliance on the Lord and reminds me how the Bible provides solid affirmation that God will provide.
It’s not always the path we prefer or in the way we want (read about the Israelites and their daily manna in Exodus 16), but the provision is available to us if we keep our eyes on Him.
Making the choice
The reality is that all of us who truly know Jesus as Lord and Savior most likely understand these concepts. The question is, are we living them out?
Do we choose to spend our time grumbling in general and pointing out all that’s wrong on every level? Are we contributing to the fear, frustration and hopelessness invading more and more people every day?
Or are we able to be real with ourselves and those around us, acknowledging the painful moments while also looking desperately for where the Lord is working and giving Him the glory He deserves?
Are we allowing the Lord to shine through our difficulties and pain? Are we pointing others to Jesus through faith, hope and love?
We all are making a difference in one way or another. Which way do you choose?
Seeking words of wisdom out of Isaiah
My recent Scripture reading has me in Isaiah, and the Lord has been surfacing new insights as well as previous ways He used this book in my life.
For instance, the Scripture I claimed for my stint on the missions field back in the 90s was Isaiah 58:11: “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Currently, I’m drawn to chapters 8 through 12 and am wondering if any of you have, or know of, writings on this section of Isaiah?
We would love to consider publishing sermon outlines, research articles or other blog posts from the passage.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Jennifer Davis Rash, president and editor-in-chief of TAB Media Group. This editorial appeared in the Sept. 5 print edition of The Alabama Baptist. Click here to subscribe.
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