The Faithful One

1 Thessalonians 5:24 says "the one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." I have been so awestruck by this scripture that I wanted to share with you my thoughts and a part of my heart. I wanted to talk with you about The Faithful One! First of all, I want you to know that this Faithful One is none other than the Lord himself. I know that so often in my life I have been overwhelmed by a circumstance or a heartache and was not sure what to do. I do know that there is no greater answer than the fact that He is Faithful.

I've been watching lately as so many of my friends, ministry partners, and co-workers are struggling in so many circumstances. I am watching in amazement at how each of them are handling their situations. I can see how there are those who are walking in the confidence of the Lord and knowing He will pull them through it. I am watching and see how there are some who want to know He is there and yet can't seem to see His hand moving at all. There are those who are watching in amazement as God's hand is over everything they are doing and they can see it so evidently moving. Yet there are still those who are just choosing not to see that some of the responses to their calling upon the Lord have been answers they didn't want. How my heart goes out to each of these.

As I think of Paul and the circumstances he faced in his life in the scriptures, I am just overwhelmed to think of all he went through. He was in more "stuff" than I could have ever imagined. I mean this guy was following God. He was doing things that God told him to do. Shouldn't his life have been more abundant and full of the good things? Well, in our thinking from society today, we would tend to think that. Paul was imprisoned, flogged severely, exposed to death again & again, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked 3 times (personally, I would have tried to stop after the 1st time or possibly the 2nd from that and avoided the boats all together - I mean, why would I want to end up like Gilligan on a strange island?), he's been constantly on the go, he faced dangers on every hand from bandits, rivers, Gentiles; danger in the cities, country, at sea, and false brothers; he's labored and gone without sleep, he's known hunger & thirst, and been cold and naked, and lets not forget his own thorn in the flesh! Yet, what did Paul do? He said that he took delight in all of these things because he knew that in his weakness, God would make him strong.

Now I don't know about you, but I personally would prefer to live a life without so many of those issues - yet our lives are not without problems, trials, issues, or chaos in the circumstances sometimes. When we get to these situations in our lives, we have to press on. When we think we can't go further, we have to take that one more step - and the one who called you to that place and that time, will be faithful to help us do it. I am praying for you and your situation today and will continue to lift you before the Faithful One. I will close with this verse from Colossians 2: 6.."just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness". Find a way to day to press on one more step - doing it with thankfulness, knowing that you will find in that next step - the Faithful One.

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Giving All

Giving it all...hmmm, the thought of really giving it all. Whether in word or deed, or even in our daily chores, in our workloads, do we really give it all? I know that I find myself sometimes stumbling along through this life wondering how I got from point A to point B. I can remember one time (and this is a bit scary to admit), but I arrived at my job several years ago and opened the car door. I stood there beside my car and wondered for a minute, "how did I get here?" I literally had driven the car to work and was so deep in thought that I hadn't even paused to think about the route I took to arrive at that place. This is one of those exercises you most definitely would tell someone - "don't try this at home, or behind the wheel, or ...admit to anyone else - you may find yourself in someone's chair in a doctor's office".

What I took away from that moment though was that I realized how often I go through life and through the motions wondering "how did I get here?" or "what am I doing here?" in this part of my life. I look now at things the Lord has done in my life and I wonder what part of that wandering about did I miss Him or overlook Him? Did I miss the worship? Did I forget that it was truly all about Him? Today, those moments are dear and precious to me when I stop, look, and listen for Him. I can take those moments with me everyday - that's worship! When I make everyday all about Him and I give everyday to Him by giving Him my all. When I give Him my all, I realize what worship is truly all about - it's all about Him.

Where are you today? Are you just wandering aimless through life and wondering how you got here? Are you caught in life's "stuff" and have forgotten about how to keep it all together? Even children are taught in school that if they are going to cross the street which could be dangerous for them, they are to STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN. My challenge to you today, my friend is that you take the same walk as that child in faith. Today, Stop, Look and Listen for the Lord. He will surely meet you and you will find rest for your soul. Then and only then will you find how to truly worship. Worship the Lord God Almighty and give Him your all.