Devotional:

^{“ 3} When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, ⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? ⁵ For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8: 3-5).

I am writing this post not to bring you down or discourage you. I am writing it to encourage you and hopefully build you up. You see, I don’t want you to dig the same trench that I have dug for myself; I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. I am not perfect but I am feeble without God. I came to this place, away from home, thinking that God had brought my husband and me here and once we got here I began to sink away into myself. I could not feel God anymore. But then again the Christian walk is not a feeling.

My husband and I went out looking for a church we could call our new home church but we found no place that we felt we could fit in. I compared my old home church to these new ones we encountered and the new ones always came short. Of course they would; they are not home, I would think to myself. The anger and resentment began to build inside me, towards my surroundings, towards God for bringing us to this place. I began down the awful “woe is me” path. This path is a never ending hill of emotion and struggle. Who could I blame for feeling like this but God? He had made me feel this way because He had brought us here. I felt cold, like I was drowning inside myself. The people I cared about so much were so far away. I was suffocating myself letting myself feel lonely. Did you catch that people? I said “I made myself feel lonely.” I cried for God and got no answer. I demanded to know why He had just left us here if he had led us here. I felt like my world was purposeless, I had never felt so helpless. I spent my days at home, wondering when I was going to get a job so I could feel useful again. I thought I had reached that point of brokenness. And then…it happened. I felt like someone had popped me upside the head, like a light just literally turned on inside my head. Oh my goodness, I thought to myself, I am actually so hungry for God. This thing I had been praying for for months was actually coming true! I prayed everyday as far back as I can remember that I wanted this insatiable thirst for God…and here it is! I am finally insatiably thirsty for God and I don’t want it to end.

I heard a song a couple of days ago, I forget which one, but it seriously made me think and realize something. Are you ready for this, people? I’m about to give it to you…It’s not about you! I say this with love and respect. I am saying this because, like I said before, I don’t want you to sink into the same mire that I sank into; the mire of “me, myself, and I.” Don’t get me wrong, God loves you. If you ever doubt that read John 3:16 again and again and again until you picture and see Jesus Christ hanging on that cross…until you picture Jesus taking a whipping and beating…until you picture the same God that lovingly formed you with His hands bearing your sin…for you! My pastor once said “He is with me, He is for me, but it’s not all about me.” I didn’t really understand that until recently.

I am challenging you, brothers and sisters in Christ, to get off the couch and be the light that God calls us to be! “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). “Shine your light and let the whole world see, for the glory of the risen King, Jesus!” Shine Jesus’s love into peoples’ lives. God will never give us more than we can handle, but how much more is He going to give us, to allow us to handle, if all we can handle is spending the day on the sofa, watching television. He gives us what we need; He gave us our talents, our abilities, our spiritual gifts, and most importantly, He gave Himself. He gave

us the Holy Spirit. We have the God of the universe behind us! We are His vessels. How can we experience the love and work of Christ when we are sitting on the sidelines of life? The Christian walk does not begin when you walk into church on Sundays nor does it end when you walk out those doors. It is a lifestyle…worshipping God is a daily lifestyle.

I urge you, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ (as the Apostle Paul would say), go do something. I sat on the sideline and focused on myself. I focused on why God was not helping me and why He wasn’t focusing on my needs. God is not concerned with your comfort level, as my pastor once said. He wants to shape and mold you into the person He knows you can be. Sometimes the molding is painful but the outcome is grand. God is not a pushover, but I will tell you one thing God is, He is faithful.

He will never forget you or forsake you. Even when all is quiet He is working. And most of all it is all for Him, not for you, for Him, for others, for His glory.

Start with something small if you like. Do at least one random act of kindness each day. Get plugged into your church. Join a small group; meet with other Christians and grow in fellowship. Most importantly, talk to God, ask for guidance and discernment. Let the Holy Spirit lead you and ultimately trust in Him. Read His Word, pray and talk to God…you can do it anytime you want! Most importantly, never forget that it’s all about Him. Now go! Be EXTRA-ordinary in an ordinary world.

Read Ephesians 4

Resources: The Bible, NKJV