One of my favorite feelings occurs when I successfully finish a task. When I begin something I always have a sense of inner drive that pushes me to work toward finishing, not just finishing but finishing well. God had that same desire when He created Earth and everything that existed upon it.

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” Genesis 2:1

God finished the work. Jesus also set out to finish the work that God had set before Him to complete. “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” John 4:34

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” John 17:4

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30

Jesus finished what He started, He came to seek those who were lost and do die upon the cross that they might receive forgiveness for their sins. As He died upon the cross, He said, “It is finished”.

Today we have the ability to finish the work set before us, through the power of Jesus Christ and the work that He finished. In Acts we see Paul earnestly striving to finish the work he had been given. “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24

And later we read “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul completed the ministry God had given him to do, he finished well.

I want to be like Paul, I want the power of Jesus Christ working through my life that others may see Him living in me.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Although I know that within myself it’s not in me to finish well, I do have the assurance in knowing that God who has started His work in me does have the ability to finish it well.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6

Some days there just isn’t enough of me to go around. Life overwhelms me with more coming in than I can ever respond to in any given moment. My cup runs low and I find myself reaching the limit of my sanity. Those are the days when I need more than “Calgon” to “take me away”, I need a renewal that can only come from quiet time spent at the feet of my Savior. I need to step aside, seek His face and allow Him to renew me.

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind”. Ephesians 4:23

When I come to the end of me, He is all I need.

“The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.” Lamentations 3:24-25

“He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3

Over time there have always been stories heard of fierce and awful things that were occurring in countries far beyond our America, the Land of the Free. There was a sense of security in knowing that we were safe here in our own homeland; but sadly, the ever increasing sense of evil that has begun to invade our country is progressing daily and can leave us with feelings of insecurity and fear if we lose sight of the source of our strength.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.” Psalm 119:114

Our hope is found in the surety of God’s Word. Down through time He prepared a Book that contains all of the words that He knew we would need for today. Words that provide evidence of His power and might, reminders that we are not alone in our fight. He gave His Word unto man and commanded it be written in the pages of the Book.

“Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.” Jeremiah 30:2

Even though there have been those who tried their best to destroy God’s Word, He preserved it. “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” Acts 19:20

Many things may come and go, but God’s Word is one thing that will never be destroyed. It will always remain as our hope and source of strength.

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:8

When we find our strength wavering, we need only stop and go to His Word to find reassurance that none of what is happening around us is beyond His control. He has already shared with us the ending of the story, we simply must remain focused on the Author.

“My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.” Psalm 119:81

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

No matter what comes our way, stay focused on the Author, because He’s already written the end of the story.

I recently had a burden upon my heart that I had carried for a few years. During that time I had remained unsure of how God wanted me to proceed. Over time I had waited patiently for His direction, some days more patient than others, but yet I waited. In my heart I knew that until I had peace about the direction to go I should simply wait.

When we find ourselves waiting it can become easy to give up, we feel as though God is not listening; but, we know from the promise of His Word that He hears the cry of the righteous. “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17

Our confidence is found in Him. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” I John 5:14

Not only do we have the assurance that He hears us, we know He has the power to answer us. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:22

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” Matthew 7:7

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6

He hears the hearts cry of the sinner who is seeking. He hears the hearts cry of the one who hast lost their way. He hears the hearts cry of a need that only He can supply. He hears us when we pray. “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.” Psalm 65:2

“For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.” Psalm 38:15

Each morning when I come to Him in the quiet beginning of the day, I always find Him there faithfully present with words of encouragement and hope. “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23

No matter where I might be in any given day, whether in my physical presence or state of mind, His faithfulness remains the same. No matter where I might go, He remains able to reach out to me.

“Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.” Psalm 36:5

His faithfulness is not limited to one person, one group of people, or even one generation, it is unto all; because of His faithfulness the world exists. “Thy faithfulness is unto all generations; thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” Psalm 119:90

As I think upon Him in His faithfulness, the wonder of all that He has done and has promised, I find my heart overflowing with praise for I know He remains faithful. He is the one true constant that I can hold on to in a world that seems to have fallen apart.

“O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” Isaiah 25:1

“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 89:1

In all things, throughout all of time He remains faithful . . .

In recent day’s, our town and surrounding areas experienced a major flooding event that resulted in numerous roads becoming impassable with some of the smaller bridges being completely washed away. For a short window of time some individuals were unable to return to their homes and/or jobs. As with change of any type, this disrupted the normal flow of life resulting in detours, not only in travel, but also in the everyday normal we become accustomed to in our day. Webster defines a detour as a deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure.

In similar fashion, the need for detours can occur in our spiritual life. Often we find ourselves headed in a direction we set for ourselves, but not necessarily a direction that is taking us to where God intended for us to be. Our usual isn’t necessarily God’s intended, so we find ourselves in the wilderness unsure how to redirect our lives. In our wilderness, God stands ready to provide the detour necessary to bring us out

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

God can bring about a detour in our lives that will bring us out of the wilderness, out of the desert. He will guide us through the dark places in our lives into places of light where we can once again see Him and His direction clearly.

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

Though God may not direct our lives along paths we expected, we need to remember that His detours will always bring us to exactly where we were intended to be all along.

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.” 2 Samuel 22:31

The very one against whom I have sinned, stands ready to defend me because of His ever present mercy toward those who have accepted the finished work of His son. “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.” Psalm 59:16-17

When I am unable to defend myself, He is my defender. When I call out to Him in distress, He is there to defend me. “Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.” Psalm 31:2

In the quiet hours of the night when sleep evades me, in moments during which the devil brings thoughts of doubt or reminders of guilt; during those times I need only wait, knowing that God is my rock, my salvation, my defence. I possess nothing within myself, my defence rests within my God; so nothing the devil can throw at me need trouble or disturb me, for God is my defence.

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:5-8

I have the best attorney of all time fighting to defend me, for my defence is of God. “My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.” Psalm 7:10 My defence is built upon the work of Calvary, where Jesus paid it all for me.

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” Philippians 2:10

So often we fret and we stew over daily events, all the while our joy becomes lost in the hustle and bustle. We go through the motion of greeting each day in the same routine frame of mind with little expectation that today will be any different than the one before.

At night we close our eyes with little thought to how it might have all been anything more if only we had turned it over to the Lord. Each today becomes another yesterday and tomorrow becomes today in the same rhythm of time and motion with no sense of question to the fact there just might be so much more. We seem oblivious to the fact that somewhere along the way our joy disappeared.

“The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.” Lamentations 5:15

In the back of our mind sits the ever present notion that somehow tomorrow will be different, yet the cycle continues in a forward motion with no consideration of the power available to us that would make it all so different.

“These things have I spoken unto you,that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 15:11

Even in the midst of the crazy schedules and never ending to-do lists of life, in Him we have the promise of joy. Our lives become so much more when we turn it over to Him and start our day in His presence maintaining that closeness throughout the day. We will find that each day becomes more in rhythm with what He intended for our lives. He guides us through each step, showing us the path for our day that is so much smoother than the crazy zigzag we often take for ourselves.

“Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11

He promises us joy, not just to have “joy”, but to be “full of joy”.

“Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.” Acts 2:28

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24

As I reflect on a new Monday morning I contemplate how one day seems to spill over into the next with only the moments of sleep to signify the ending of one and the beginning of another.

Full steam ahead I maneuver my way through the tasks ahead, seemingly oblivious to those I pass along the way. At any given moment if I were to pause to reflect upon those I passed in any given moment I might see them in black and white slow motion picture completely featureless and insignificant drifting along just beyond the boundaries of my vision; a sharp contrast to the imagery I see in full color that is centered around me.

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

Jesus saw the people before Him in full color with ever aspect of who they were in vivid detail. He looked upon them with eyes that saw their weariness and their uncertainty; He saw their hurt and their pain. In each moment of time He responded with a heart of compassion toward them without regard for what may or may not have been going on in His own life that day. Jesus saw beyond Himself.

“I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away; and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.” Ezekiel 34:16a

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

Today I pray that I might see beyond me . . .

Some weeks leave me completely zapped and the end of the week can not seem to come soon enough. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m over that visualized “hill” of 50, but it seems life is happening at breakneck speeds never moving outside of the HOV lane. I look out my window and everyone seems to be focused full speed ahead, but never satisfied with their journey.

“To whom He said, This is the rest where with ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” Isaiah 28:12

As the rain is coming down, the temptation for a lazy morning with an extra cup of coffee reminds me that as a believer in Jesus Christ I have a source of rest.

“For we which have believed do enter into rest” Hebrews 4:3

So for this morning, I’m going to sit here and soak in the sounds of the rain, drinking each little drop of my coffee, while God brings about rest in my soul.

“Take my yoke upon your, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:29

“There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9