Do you ever feel like you
will never measure up to people expectations? Or maybe it’s your own
expectations of being perfect that is pulling you along? Today lets stop and look in the Word to find
out why it does not matter what people thing, or what you or I think…
We could start in Genesis 37,
with Joseph the son of Jacob. He was a child favored by his father; but his
brothers were so jealous that they trapped him an sold him as a slave. He
probably felt pretty low at the point he was brought to be sold. Wondering what
good his dreams were if God was just going to let him be mistreated like he
was, but God did not stop His plan and Joseph fulfilled his dreams. From being
the little brother who never added up to what the big brothers were Joseph was
given the dreams but I am sure he felt like he would never see them. Yet God
had a plan.
Joseph did not go straight
to the spot in life where he worked along side the leader of the land but first
he got sent to prison suffered there for a while after being falsely accused of
a crime. All he wanted was to do what was right, but things kept going wrong. I
am sure for a while there he figured he would always be the little brother who
got in trouble for things he didn’t do. Then one day he got to see his brothers
come to him just as the dream had shown him when he was younger. He had to go
through a lot of things but God brought him to the place He had shown Joseph.
Joseph not only measured up in God’s eyes but eventually he measured up in his
brother’s eyes too!
New Testament Saul was
another who man had a hard time trying to do the right thing. He was trained in
Jewish law and tried to stop what he thought was the wrong thing the Christians
were doing in following Jesus. He could not accomplish what he thought God
wanted because it was not what God wanted. Even so, God saw his heart that it
was in the right idea, just the wrong way to go about things; He changed Saul
into Paul and brought him wisdom and opened his heart and mind to see and to do
the right things in God’s eyes.
The main thing we have to
remember is that it is not about us. It, meaning our lives, our situation, our tragedy
even, is not about us it is about bringing people into the Kingdom and saving
Grace of Christ Jesus our Lord
All you and I have to do
really is trust God accept that He is real and we instantly measure up in His
eyes. There is nothing we can do of ourselves, nothing we can say that will
make us right in God’s eyes. We can try all we want but it will not happen
until we realize that God has it under control.
Blessed is the
man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope
the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted
by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see
when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the
year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Then we will be like the
tree planted by the river and we will not only measure up in our eyes, but when
God is in control we will measure up in peoples eyes; the thing is it wont
matter so much to us anymore. When we seek first the
Does that sound too easy? We
worry about being good enough to make ends meet, we worry about feeding
ourselves or families and yet we can do nothing about it without God’s hand in
it all.
These
things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already
knows all your needs.33 Seek the Kingdom of God
Seek Him and His Kingdom first
and foremost in our lives and we will see the growth both financially and
spiritually. Why spiritually? When we come against a problem and we freak out
over it we are not being spiritual, but if we can stay come and assess the
situation and handle things with peace that passes understanding; the Spirit of
God is at work in our lives. We won’t notice the Holy Spirit if we do not stay
focused on the Lord and His Word, His direction in our lives comes to us through
our looking to Him. We look to Him in prayer, and in the Word.
This week as Easter Sunday, Resurrection
day, Passover, etc are celebrated let’s take time and remember why we are
celebrating; Christ died for you!
He died so you could know
the Holy Spirit is here to guide us not just to bring us to heaven, but to be
with us daily.
He went to the cross because
He loves us and knows just what He plans to do for and through us. Keep your
eyes on the prize!
Dear Heavenly Father, help
us all to walk with You today and every day not just on Easter Sunday, not just
on Good Friday but every day of the year. In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested reading: Genesis
37: 1-36, Matthew 6:1-34, and Luke 2:1-52,
and John 3:1-36