Scripture

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Acts 17:26

Observation

Where I have been in life is not regrettable. Even my zig zag wanderings and scuff marks of rebellion were designed by God to find him.

Where I am is not an accident. God has placed me like a player on the game board and it is up to me to make the next move.

Where I will go tomorrow is not a happenstance. I am being guided by a Lord so sovereign that even my mistakes will contribute to me finding where he needs me to be.

God has planned the time and the pace where I should live in any given moment.

If there is any doubt of that I need only remember dinner at Mimi’s Cafe a a few weeks ago.

I had just arrived in Colorado Springs on a job hunt. Was this the place to be, I wondered. It was a dark and rainy night. As I drove past the quaint Cajun restaurant with gables and window curtains I felt that was the place for dinner. But the turn off was hard to see in the weather and Buffalo Wings was closer. But a voice kept saying, “You need to eat at Mimi’s Cafe.”

So I u-turned and took my seat. While I was waiting for my Gumbo I took time to read a Christian book. The waitress asked what I was reading. How could I creatively explain a book about clergy burnout to a non-Christian, I wondered. She broke into my reverie announcing that she knew the author. That solved that.

A ping pong conversation ensued. She had lived in my hometown, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. That’s a 12 hour drive away. She lived on Osage Avenue. So does my daughter’s boyfriend Chris. She lived in the house next door to Chris. She was friends with Chris’ mother Cindy. She knew all about the wrestling accident that had left Chris a quadriplegic. They had visited Chris in hospital.

In a strange city, on a rainy night, I felt the index finger of God scrolling through the roadmap pointing to a place. God knows where we are. He put us there. And God knows how to get us to where he needs us to be next.

Application

Some are frightened by the sovereignty of God because they forget the love of God. God is in control of everything, even our free will. But such direction is not coercing, it is compelling because we are being drawn by love. Today I can trust him to position me on the map of life exactly where I need to be.

Prayer

Father, you have permission to maneuver me to just where you need me to be. Amen.

By the way for those who don’t know IKEA, it is a Swedish self-assemble furniture store, not to be missed when visiting Atlanta or LA.

The Bible Says

When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land….Nehemiah 9:8And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you… Nehemiah 9:32

My Mind Thinks

Our track record is significant to the Lord. Our history of obedience and the chronicles of our heartaches all have bearing on the choices he makes with our lives.There are job interviews for doing God’s work. These employment interrogations do not take place around long board tables. Instead God examines the resume of our daily activity. Every moment we are under review. When we face the steep grades of life challenge how we perform under pressure makes a difference in what God has us to do next. Abraham went through just such an extensive candidacy to be the father of many nations. The encouragement of his story is that he was human with doubts and setbacks, but he kept moving on. After 25 years of job interviews, a head hunting team of three angels came to visit Abraham and Sarah and within a year Isaac was born.

There are also promotions for pain. No life pain is meaningless if we wrap it with faith. If the Lord puts our tears into a bottle, then our hardships do matter. The hardships mentioned in Nehemiah are actually all the result of the sin of the people and their just punishment. Yet even that matters to the Lord. He does not punish forever but he comes to remember us in mercy. The record of our punishment and the change of heart it brings does cause him to move our lives into better days.

My Heart Responds

I have courage to believe that all of my life matters to God and that all of it counts in what he will do next with me. He has seen my faithfulness mixed with the sawdust of my mistakes. He has seen the hardships of my life and the improvements they have brought to me. I believe God will open a door and it will be somehow connected with the track record of my life.

My Spirit Prays

Father, remember my track record and open a door for me. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to worship while you read today’s entry.

Mandisa God Speaking

Scripture
“But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.” (Hebrews 3:13, 15)

Observation
What would happen if I used last week’s paper to forecast today’s weather?

After all isn’t it a weather report and isn’t it printed in a newspaper? Isn’t that enough?

Of course it isn’t. To know whether I need an umbrella or sunscreen I need today’s report. Conditions change from wipers to swimsuits depending on the current forecast.

What if I based my spiritual journey today on last week’s journal or even last month’s sermon? The word is true enough, but it might not be the word for today.

Application

If I am not in daily contact with the word I will be deceived. In fact if I am not in contact daily with growing believers who are also in the word I can get off track. I am liable to be deceived by degrees. I will be hardened slowly.

Prayer
Father, keep me daily in the word and in the company of those who hear you better than I do. Don’t let me be deceived. Amen.