Welcome to 2018!  A new year with new possibilities.  I hope that you, like me, are determined to move forward in your faith and put everything that’s happened to you behind you (as much as possible at any rate) follow the apostle Paul’s example in Philippians chapter 3:13b-15:

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press ontoward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenlycalling in Christ Jesus.  All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.…”

It takes a lot of faith to leave our pain and struggles behind us and look to the future.  Looking to the future means we have faith that there are better things in that future. Even better, that there is some ONE in the future to guide us through it and to receive us there.  I read a devotional this past week in my YouVersion devotional by Ryan Stevenson that speaks to this and I wanted to share it with you, my readers:

Living by Faith
The Christian life is all about FAITH. Hebrews 11 says, “faith is being sure of what we hope for, and knowing something is real even if we do not see it.” I love this verse because it always brings me comfort when I am in the midst of a season where I’m finding it difficult to hold on. When God has called us to do something, we must believe and act on it. I believe that God delights in those who will follow the call He’s placed in the heart, and risk the comfort of everyday life for the Kingdom’s sake.

(Originally posted here in 2013):

As I’ve been reflecting on how the Lord used my mother’s pneumonia to get her to the ER where they did an MRI on her chest and stomach and found the gangrenous gall bladder that could have killed her had it not been caught when it did, I decided to look for a devotion for Mindful Monday that focused on how sometimes the Lord uses unexpected things to bless us.  Things that we may never in the world expect to ever be a blessing, like my mom’s pneumonia.  Yet as we are in the Christmas season, I also wanted something to share about the birth of Christ.  I came upon this devotion that seems to combine the two so nicely, I knew it was a God thing to share with you, my readers 🙂  I hope you can glean good things from this!  This can be seen originally at CBN.com.

Favored and Blessed

by Kay Camenisch – When Gabriel appeared to Mary, he said “Hail favored one. The LORD is with you!” (Luke 1:28, NASB). Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, told her, “Blessed among women are you” (Luke 1:42b, NASB). When God declares it so, we can hardly disagree, but I sometimes wonder about Mary’s blessing. Unarguably, being Mother to the Son of God is a tremendous honor and blessing. However, Mary did not live a charmed life.

We aren’t told much about her, but Mary’s response to Gabriel would lead us to believe that she had outstanding character and was devout. She was certainly not one that neighbors would expect to need to rush her wedding date. Her blessing led to her reputation being tarnished, to shame for herself and her family.

But her problems didn’t end there. Circumstances then forced Mary to take a long journey on a donkey over rough terrain – right at the time her baby was due. Since there was no room for her, she had to give birth in a filthy barn, laying her first child, her tiny newborn son, in a feeding bin. Do you think Mary felt blessed?

As if giving birth in a stable was not enough—though totally innocent—Joseph and Mary then had to sneak their baby away in the night. They were forced to flee to another country to save Jesus’ life.

Jesus would have been a delight to parent, but I sometimes wonder if His siblings became jealous, thus creating family tensions. Even though Jesus was without sin, as a twelve-year-old He still gave His mother quite a scare when He stayed at the temple and was lost for three days. I’m sure that did not feel like a blessing.

However, it probably deepened Mary’s appreciation for each day she had with her son. Later, her anguish would be unbearable as Jesus was reviled, falsely accused, shamed, beaten, and crucified. Favored? Blessed? Mary was helpless as she watched her firstborn son unjustly persecuted and brutally killed.

And yet, Mary was favored and blessed among women. She was chosen by God to bring the Savior into the world. However, in spite of such a singular honor, at times her life did not seem blessed. Mary endured significant suffering because she birthed the Son of God. Her blessing was the source of suffering.

As I look at Mary’s “blessed” life, I realize that when I’ve asked for God’s blessing, I’ve looked for personal gain. I’ve hoped for financial increase, recognition, comfort, or advantage. All such desires focused on my personal benefits. I didn’t consider that God grants favor and blessings for His goals, not mine—and they often come with hardship.

Can we expect blessings without suffering? Is there even one biblical hero that didn’t suffer? Hardship is inevitable. Why do we dream of a life without suffering? Jesus said we would be persecuted. It is through affliction that we grow in the knowledge and character of Christ.

Instead of seeking personal blessing and a life of ease, we need to focus on the second part of Gabriel’s message to Mary, “the Lord is with you.” In fact, if we join God in what He’s doing, rather than seeking what we want, we will be favored. When we encounter suffering with the blessing, we can draw from His strength and provision.

We also need to be aware of our own favor and blessing. If we know Jesus, He lives in us. Therefore, like Mary, we have been chosen by God to carry the life of His Son to the world. Because Jesus lives within us, indeed, like Mary, we are favored and blessed.

Also, just as with Mary, God is with us. He will give us grace for each day. It won’t always be easy, but He promised that He’ll never leave us or forsake us.

We can know that whatever trials we face will be used for good if we love God and are called according to His purposes. Our suffering will not be for naught. (Mary’s suffering was great, but think of the good that came from it!)

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we can rejoice, even in the midst of a struggle, because we are favored and blessed.

Are you like so many other believers in this world who are feeling downhearted with all that’s going on in the world today?  All that you and/or your family is going through?

We know that in the END we win, if we belong to Christ and that gives us great comfort, but what do we do in the here and now when things seem to be attacking at every turn?

Lately the Lord has been giving me one word:  Abide.

Sometimes we just are not in control of what happens to us. We pray and we try to learn to trust and as we pray it through and try to roll it off our backs, we sometimes feel like there’s SOMETHING we should be doing to fix things. Well, sometimes that may be true, but often it may just be that the Lord is using the PROCESS of what’s happening in our lives to teach us; to build something in us that makes us the people He wants us to be for eternity.

This life isn’t all there is! I like to think of it as a training ground for eternity.  Eternity isn’t just floating around on a white fluffy cloud playing a harp.  We will be working, playing, rejoicing…there will be plenty to do! Did you know that the Bible tells us that we will judge angels?  We will judge the nations alongside Christ!  There’s a lot to do there!  We will still be who we are now, just glorified versions of ourselves!  We will be trusting in Christ and our Father, we will know patience and hope and love in a more deep, richer, more profound way than we know here in this fallen world.  That isn’t just a robe we put on when we cross to the other side…we start learning those virtues right here! I have learned over the years with all that’s happened with my family that sorrow and trials are never wasted.  The Lord uses them to teach us and mold us into the sons and daughters of the King!

At times, I think the Lord wants us to just…   “Be still and know that (He) is God”:

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.””  -Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

What does just being still look like?  I think it’s one word:  Abide.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” – John 15:7 (NKJV)

Sometimes we have to stop racing around and striving and driving ourselves crazy and learn to BE STILL…and ABIDE.  We just continue to run the race…not in a competetive way to beat this person or that person, but to be keeping our eyes on the prize so we don’t become distracted.  Like a race horse with blinders on…he doesn’t seem to worry about where he’ll end up.  He can only see straight ahead of him and his only concern is to keep going straight ahead knowing he will receive a reward at the end of the race.  He can only see straight ahead, he doesn’t look at the other horses to his left or his right. It isn’t a race to beat the other horses to him. He just obeys his rider and looks straight ahead and pushes on.

So my words for today…well GOD’s words to me today to share with you are

“ABIDE” and “KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE”

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 3:12-14

Won’t you abide with Him…with me? 🙂

May you have a blessed, productive, yet STILL week 🙂

Still in His grip,

Helen