Hearing from God in Everyday Living
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The Invitation: Every season of life holds beauty, but when the time for a new season comes, sometimes we resist or resent it. We’re not ready for the change. It arrives unexpectedly and we’re content with what we know and where we are. Or we’re sad about what we’re losing.
Yet what would the trees miss out on by not shedding their leaves? Getting through the winter would be questionable because losing leaves enables trees to conserve water and energy. Photosynthesis, seed production, food, and rest are all tied into the purpose of seasons for trees.
Seasons in our lives might not be as predictable as a tree’s. An empty nest or retirement are expected, but who saw a season of quarantine coming?
Are we willing to trust God when a new season arrives? Just as trees lose their leaves in the fall in order to prepare for new growth, there are things each person needs to lose or lay down in order to be ready for growth. Is there a way of thinking or acting you need to lose or put away today? It may be the key to winning–or thriving–in this season and the next.
When I was a child,
I spoke as a child,
I understood as a child,
I thought as a child:
but when I became a man,
I put away childish things.
–1 Corinthians 13:11 (NKJ)
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
–1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)
My Response: Thank you, Lord, for continually inviting me to live in more freedom and maturity than I know today. Just as healthy trees lose their leaves in the fall, is there a way of thinking or acting that I need to lose or put away to prepare for the next season? (It may be something like regret, disappointment, an unhealthy behavior, my own plan, etc.)
Thank you for empowering me to do so. Give me a picture of what You have in exchange for my “loss.”
Lord, You have won the victory on my behalf. I receive it.
Redeem: To rescue; to recover; to deliver from.
–www.webstersdictionary1828.com
The Invitation: We don’t hear much about redemption on the evening news, but we hear a lot about it in the Bible. The reality that God identifies Himself as our redeemer–the one who rescues, recovers and delivers us–brings me great hope in the midst of dire circumstances. When tragedy, pain or regret rise up, I wonder, “How is God going to redeem this situation? How is He going to bring His goodness?” For me, this thought ushers light into darkness and hope into seemingly hopeless places.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
–Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
…Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
–Titus 2:13b,14 (NIV)
Your Response: Lord, I want You to bring redemption into every area of my life! Anyplace or any thought that is out of line with Your ways, I invite You in. Thank you that You are my redeemer and You gave Yourself to rescue, recover and deliver me from evil. Is there a situation or circumstance in my life You want to highlight that needs redemption?
If so, how can I cooperate with you in this process?
Oh Great Redeemer, I trust You to bring healing, wholeness and restoration, for that is Your nature!
The Invitation: In the northwest, the world is veiled in gray. There’s a weightiness to the smoke, and I wondered:
Is this what some people feel like everyday
—inside their minds—when they don’t know God?
Does life seem heavy and the next step a mystery?
Is the way to thrive veiled?
Compassion filled my heart and passion for the world to know Jesus rose up. “What’s my part?” I asked the Lord.
“Pray,” I sensed Him saying. “Let your prayers be like smokejumpers.”
Smokejumpers? I had to think about that. Then I looked up what they actually do. I learned smokejumpers are inserted at the site of the fire by parachute.*
I had a picture of our prayers cutting through the smoke and resting on places where fires are ravaging land and where discouragement and confusion are ravaging hearts. Parachutes with prayers attached were inserted at sites the Lord pointed out.
Will you join me in plummeting our land with prayer—removing veils of smoke from hearts and minds and helping to extinguish the work of the enemy? Smokejumper prayers will make a difference.
Satan, who is the god of this world,
has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News.
They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ,
who is the exact likeness of God.
—2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect
the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—
makes us more and more like him
as we are changed into his glorious image.
—2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)
Your Response: Lord, I’m grateful You have removed the veil from my heart and mind. Continue to make me more and more like You. Give me Your heart for the world to know Jesus and the willingness to persevere in prayer.
Today I pray smokejumper prayers. Insert my prayers into situations and lives where there are veils to remove and souls to rescue. Lord, show me specifically whom to pray for.
(Picture your prayers attached to parachutes, and with your spiritual eyes, see them touching those for whom you pray. You may want to pray the above scriptures over people. For example: Thank you, Lord, that Jesus overcame the work of Satan and You are removing the blindness from ___________’s heart and mind. Thank you that __________ will see the glorious light of the Good News and be changed into Your glorious image.)
Now Lord, give me one part of our state or country to pray for—that my smokejumper prayer will be a part of restoring our land.
*Wikipedia
“If anything in your life is more important than God, you will not feel safe.”
–Tim Keller
The Invitation: If I’m feeling uneasy or unsafe, is it possible it’s because something is more important to me than God? I’d never considered this possibility before, and it got me thinking.
Many things can steal our peace and cause us to feel vulnerable. Confusing relationships and circumstances for instance, and sometimes we’re living smack dab in the middle of them. The uncertainty of finances or the upcoming election can make us anxious. At times the things that cause us to feel unsafe are not bad things, but actually good things, like buying a new house or making a job change. But if they are more important to us than God, we may feel insecure and unsafe.
People often say, “Keep the faith!” But it’s not faith I need to keep, it’s the perspective that God is the most important aspect of my life. He’s the one I want to keep as my focus and the one I want to follow.
This truth is an invitation to rest, regardless of our circumstances. It’s a call to persevere and to live in the safe zone.
“You’ll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends.
Some of you will be killed. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—
is in my care; nothing of you will be lost.
Staying with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end.
You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.“
Luke:21:16-19 (MSG)
Your Response: Lord, forgive me for every time I have given someone or something greater importance than You. Is there any place in my life I am currently doing this?
How does this affect my sense of wellbeing?
What would it take to feel safe?
Lord, change my way of thinking and put things back in the proper order. Thank you for Your faithfulness and the reality that with You I am safe.