Don’t Stop Believing

Today’s reading: Genesis 27:18-30:13
The timing of today’s reading couldn’t be more perfect! Today we find Jacob seeing into the unseen realm of angels ascending and descending and then commemorating that event by erecting a stone monument. And while I was not made privy to the unseen world today, I am erecting a monument stone of my own. Yesterday I taught my first Devotional Journaling class! This was a huge day for me, getting to share my stories and my passion for devotional writing with 5 lovely ladies, it was amazing! I was only disappointed that I didn’t have more time with them to really sink our pens in and write. But that’s largely my own fault for taking too much time to talk…imagine that right!?! She with many words has much folly. Someday I’ll learn. But until then…. I’ll remain Miss talks a lot.
Getting to this point in my ministry was huge for me, the day when I would be allowed to stand in front of people and talk about my best friend and what He has done in my life in the hopes that those stories would encourage others to keep fighting the good fight. Life is HARD, but God is good and He loves us and is for us and not against us. And if God, creator of that mountain that we can’t climb, is for us, then who, or what, or how can anything, including that mountain, be against us?
What are you believing God for today; health, prosperity, love, perseverance, strength? Sure, you believe in Him, but are you believing Him? Are you believing that His word to you in the Bible is truth, or just a good story? Are you believing that He can do what He says He can do? Or even father then that, are you believing that He WILL do what He has said He would do?
You see, that’s always been my struggle. Sure I’ve believed that He CAN do miraculous things, but is He willing to do them for me? I’m not worthy of miracles, I haven’t done anything to deserve them… and that’s just it. Abraham and Sarah hadn’t done anything to deserve a miracle child, yet God still gave them one. Jonah certainly wasn’t worthy of a second chance at doing the right thing, yet God still gave him one. Peter after denying even knowing Christ three times certainly wasn’t worthy of being trusted with followers, yet afterwards Jesus told him three times, “feed my sheep”. If anything, God is someone who is willing to put His own reputation on the line in order to let us become part of his plan! I may never understand why he does it, but He does! He WANTS us to be in on the action, to be on the inside of what’s happening in the world around us.
What did Abraham do to receive the miraculous child? He believed God when He said He would do it. How did Jonah receive that second chance? He asked for one. How did Peter become the most famous of apostles? He declared his love for Jesus. Ask. Believe. Declare. Ask for that second chance. Believe that you’ve received that miracle. Declare your love for Jesus. But don’t focus on your love for Him. Rather focus on HIS LOVE FOR YOU, because that is where the real power lies. We can’t focus on our love for him, because just like Peter proved, it is unreliable at best. However. Jesus’ love for you is undeniable and more reliable than anything else on the face of the planet! And when we trust on His love above everything else that may be going on around us, well, that’s exactly when miracles happen. Maybe not immediately, maybe not even after years of waiting, but when we least expect it. When we are old and gray and the baby making plumbing had stopped working, that is when God steps in and says “Now is the time for a miracle”!
Don’t stop believing. Hold on to that dream. It really can come true when the timing is perfect for a miracle.