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Daily Dose of Encouragement

Throw Your Plan Out the Window

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“Many are the plan in a mans heart, but it is the LORDS purpose that prevails,”
Proverbs 19:21 NIV

God teaches us lessons every day. Today as I write this He is showing me that being prepared is not necessarily a prerequisite to act in faith. When we live from faith and act accordance to His will, there is no “winging it”. Every decision we make following the direction of the Holy Spirit is the step we are predestined to take.

Winging it isn’t really winging it at all, it is working from a place of faith instead of preparedness.
When we have something in mind to write or say but the Holy Spirit shows us something different.

When we have a detailed plan for our day but “random series of events” derail our plan.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Sometimes the most spontaneous things end up being the best things.

A phone call with an old friend that lasts for hours.

An impromptu trip to the mountains or the beach.

A conversation with a stranger.

An unexpected gift from a spouse.

Listening to those promptings or gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit allows us to experience these things.

We don’t need a detailed plan because we have a greater purpose.

Daily challenge:

Today I really want to encourage you to pay attention to the Holy Spirit within you. What is He guiding you to do? What is He asking you to say? It is not about your plan as much as it is about your purpose. 

Remember our faithfulness to God gives us what we need so we can walk and talk in line with Him.

Love,

Stephanie Miller

 

 

Photo Credit: image created via wordswag

Looking Like Dad

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“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children.” 
Ephesians 5:1 NLT

My phone made the familiar whistle sound notifying me of a text. Enjoying a few days of vacation, my daughter was sharing a beach picture of her hubby, Ed, and their oldest, Lucia. He was enjoying the vast beauty of the ocean, so Lucia had followed suit in mimicking her father’s stance. There was no mistaking that Lucia was her father’s child (see the picture).

What a clear visual this illustrated of the resemblance between God and His children. For the followers of Christ, the Scriptures speak of imitating God; reflecting His glory; walking as Christ walked. We have been created in the very image of God. We are to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ; to put Him on; to be changed into His glorious likeness.

In the everyday reality of life, do others recognize that you are a child of the King? Do your actions emulate those of the humble, meek, and loving Son of God? Can kindness, compassion, and joy be seen on your face because you favor the Father? When you speak are your words encouraging, truthful, and filled with grace like those uttered by Jesus?

Simply put, we need to be looking and acting like our Father. That will only happen when we spend lots of time with Him just like a child with their parent. Watching. Listening. Drawing close. Loving. Trusting. Imitating.

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a  life of love…His love was not cautious but extravagant… Love like that. Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG

[Digging deeper – John 13:15; Romans 8:29, 13:14; 2 Cor. 3:18, 5:17; Eph. 4:24; 1 John 2:6]

Longing to be like Him,

Beverly <><

Storm Warning

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“Immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.       Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.”
Mark 6:45‒48a, NIV

Our ship left Prince Edward Island and sailed up the Gulf of St. Lawrence toward Quebec City. The waters had been relatively calm, considering we’d left Boston on the heels of Hurricane Earl. The night’s forecast: a strong gale and rain. We hadn’t interpreted “strong gale” to mean seventy mph winds and fifty-foot waves that would rock us sleepless. Perhaps that night, I experienced some of the same emotions the disciples did in their storm.

After a full day of ministry, the disciples waited in the boat for Jesus. Would the throngs of people ever leave? The moments must have felt like hours as the storm clouds gathered overhead. Imagine their readiness as Jesus gave them the green light to go on ahead of him to the other side of the lake. Serving their Master was invigorating. A few storm clouds would never dampen their spirits.

Later that evening, the storm rolled in. The disciples were vulnerable and afraid. As the waters threatened to overtake their small boat, they struggled to stay on course. Surely Jesus knew the storm was coming. Why would he send them out to face it alone? Where was Jesus when they needed him?

Mark 6 addresses the common misconception that following God assures smooth sailing. Jesus wasn’t oblivious to the storm. He sent the disciples out alone knowing they would encounter the storm. Uprooting them from their comfort zones and placing them in a situation which required extreme faith, would reveal their weaknesses, strengthen their spiritual muscles, and ultimately summon them to new depths of dependency on him. The experience would allow them to see the futility of braving life’s difficulties in their own strength.

Jesus ordained the storm, but his compassion for his disciples transcended it. Although the disciples lost sight of Jesus, he never lost sight of them. From the mountain, he watched and prayed to his Heavenly Father for their safety and at just the right moment, he intervened.

Storms come to us all—even believers. We’re not sheltered from them, but we are sheltered in them. Perhaps, you’re experiencing opposition as you strive to do God’s will? Are you straining at the oars? Can you relate to the futility of self-effort? Don’t allow storm clouds to dampen your spirits. Rest in the following truths: Jesus’s eye is always on you. His prayers continually cover you. And he will meet you in the waters of your adversity.

Rejoice! Help is on the way.

-Starr Ayers