This morning in my quiet time, I took God my plans for the day and asked him to show me the most important tasks that needed my attention and what could wait. I tend to get overwhelmed with thoughts of wanting to make everything happen quickly, so much so that that my schedule rules over me more than I rule over my schedule.
We all have a lot going on right now. Personally, if I stop to think about all of the things I have to accomplish, all of the questions I still don’t have answers to, and all of the hours I really need to make things happen in my life, it can cause me to feel like I’m sinking in the deep waters of my circumstances. I was telling God that this morning– “Lord, how? How am I going to get all of this done in time?” He lovingly reminded me that his grace is enough, and he is showing himself to be strong enough for me to accomplish the most important things. He reminded me that he has already empowered me to do all things because of his great, supernatural strength.
Then, the Lord led me to 1 Corinthians 15: 44 which states,
” If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam (Jesus), a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the man from heaven.”
“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we (who are alive) will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.“
(My favorite part) “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm, Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Because Jesus paid our sin debt, we as believers have the glorious hope of heaven. As we spend time with him (in his presence and in his word) daily, his word is an incubator for transformation, and we are changed into his likeness.
This morning is a much needed reminder that the things God is calling us to must take first place in our lives. We must clothe ourselves with the things that will not die- the things that make his name known in all the earth. Those are the things that outlive us all. This morning Jesus reminds us that, no matter what’s going on in this world, no matter how insane or bleak the circumstances may be, we are to surrender ourselves completely to the dreams and the mission he’s called us to.
He wants to do an eternal work in and through you, for his kingdom.
I’m praying that you seek him today. He is ready to reveal his plans to you when you are ready to make time to listen.
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