Author: naesnotes

“He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ ‭AMP‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1588/ecc.3.11.AMP

This passage follows the well know passage in Ecclesiastes 3 about a time for everything. When you get past that passage you find verse 11 that starts with reminding us that God made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. That’s hard to comprehend, especially when you experience disappointment and loss. Some days it’s hard to trust the process-that everything will work together for good (Romans 8:28). In this fallen world, we can’t make sense of things that happen because Satan is working against us. He doesn’t want God’s overall plan to be fulfilled. It’s those times we become discouraged and begin to lose hope that things will be good again. When reading the verse closely, it says that God put in us a desire that nothing can fulfill except Him. It’s in those times of trials that we can feel lost because we get distracted from God’s plan. The best way to get back on track is to seek Him to refocus on the plan that He has for us. Unfortunately, we can’t know what that plan is. The verse ends by saying we can’t comprehend what God has for us. I like to think that’s because what He has planned for us is bigger and more grand than anything we could ever dream up ourselves, as seen in the following verse:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.3.20.NLT

We will survive the struggles and times we doubt God’s purpose or timing in our lives. We can thrive when we trust His process and know that all things will be revealed just in time!

“But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another. For every person will have to bear [with patience] his own burden [of faults and shortcomings for which he alone is responsible].”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭AMP‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1588/gal.6.4-5.AMP

A friend sent this to me this week, and a few things popped out when I read it in the Amplified version. First it tells us to carefully examine our own actions, attitudes, and behavior. Carefully-not glossing over these things. Then the word “attitudes”. This popped out because it is the only thing mentioned there that people can’t see. They can see our actions and behaviors, but they don’t know what is going on inside at the time. We tend to keep our actions and behaviors one step above our attitudes, especially if we don’t like something.

The verse goes on to say that this will lead to “personal satisfaction” and “inner joy”- two things others don’t care if you experience. So essentially you are not watching your attitude to impress others but to help yourself feel better. The verse ends with reminding us that we alone are responsible for those things we need to work on and improve-no one else. We are so dependent on what others think about us that we forget it doesn’t matter. We are not there for them. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about the job you are doing. The only one that matters is the One who put you there. You can survive each day trying to please others, but you can thrive when you focus on remembering it’s God who put you there and letting Him work in and through you.

As you walk along the edge of the waterline on the beach, you see tiny shells that get exposed when the water rushes back out to sea. They are constantly pounded by the waves and disturbed by this force of nature. Yet they never move to a safer spot, and they never get relief from the disturbance. Their goal is just to get back under the sand to safety.

They are called coquina clams. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission they are algae filter feeders that are a food source for certain types birds and crabs. They are also considered to be an indicator species for the beach habitat, meaning wildlife experts watch them to determine the health of the beach. If these creatures decided to relocate or give up and move to a less intense location, it would disrupt the balance of the system. Some animals wouldn’t have food and experts wouldn’t be able to determine the status of the shoreline. There is a purpose for their location even though it is not an easy one.

This is similar to our lives. We don’t get to choose where God wants to use us. He leads us to where He wants us to live for Him and make an impact. With that, though, comes trials because Satan doesn’t want us to be able to impact others for God. We are continually pounded with the trials of this world and expected to stay put until God moves us to another place. The clams bury themselves back under the sand for shelter from the next wave. We can bury ourselves in God and His word to protect ourselves from the next trial. Psalm 27:5 says,

“For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.” (NLT)

God promises to hide us in his sanctuary, but you can only reach that by staying focused on Him and reading the word or burying yourself in His truths. It’s easy to focus on what the world says because it’s loud. Reading God’s word daily and even finding a scripture to write down and read multiple times a day can help you thrive through your trials rather than just survive.
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“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“The things we cannot see will last forever.” It’s so easy to fix our eyes on what we can see. What we see is never all of it or the full story. Many people need corrective lenses in order to see better or more clearly. God’s word is the corrective lens we need in order to see situations more clearly. You don’t get the job you want-God has a better one because His plan for you is good (Jeremiah 29:11). You encounter some type of loss or tragedy-He is near to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18). In many of these situations and others like them, we spend most of our time seeking direction and comfort from those around us. They don’t have all the information. All they know if what we see and relay to them. God sees what we don’t see. He is able to make all things new and set us on the path to encounter the unseen things that will last forever. The next time a challenging, disappointing, or unexpected thing arises, don’t survive it by looking with your eyes. Thrive through it by looking through God’s eyes.

This little three letter word. Webster’s 1828 dictionary lists the words “wholly”, “completely” and “entirely” in the definition. Even though the word “all” is used frequently in everyday conversations, do we really think about what it really means? Since it is a commonly used word, I didn’t pay much attention to it until I was reading the following verse one day.

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in ALL things, at ALL times, having ALL that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Coring 9:8 NIV (emphasis mine).

How many of us forget about the ALL and become content with some or most? When you slow down and read the verse it is evident God does not want us to settle for some or most. All things-not just the ones that are the most pressing or the big things, but even the little things that go unnoticed each day: getting out of bed; having a place to live, driving to the grocery store and back without incident. There is no detail or situation left to chance. All times-at work, with family, with friends, in happy times, in stressful situations. God is there in each one. All that you need. This one is a little more tricky. Need is an interesting word that often times we confuse with want. I believe this goes beyond just a basic need and into the things that we also think we need. Most likely because the next sentence in the verse says we will abound in good works. Each person has a different view of what it means to abound. We see what others have and sometimes want that because we think if they have it, so can we. However, God’s view of abounding is different than ours. Yes, He wants us to be blessed and enjoy life. To abound in every good work indicates that we are to be successful in the things we do for Him. It goes beyond things and into a completeness on the inside. The ALL then becomes not what we can see or touch but what we can feel in our spirit. We will survive looking for the “all” that satisfies on the outside. We will thrive when we seek the “all” that completes us on the inside.

“Because you have trusted in Me.” These are the words God sends to someone in Jerusalem through Jeremiah at the end of Jeremiah 39. In this instance, the person is to be spared from Babylonian captivity. His trust in God saved his life the same way our trust in God saved our lives. Trust can’t end there. Once we’re saved, everything doesn’t just become easy. There are still going to be hard times and a whole life of decisions ahead. We can’t just trust God for our initial salvation and then walk away to continue life on our own. Webster’s 1828 dictionary says trust is a “reliance or resting of the mind on integrity”. Reliance on God. Resting of the mind. Reliance on God should bring a resting of the mind. Unfortunately, our thoughts get in the way, and we are impatient in trusting God because answers are not always instant. Proverbs 3:5-7 is a popular passage quoted when someone has trust issues. The Message version says it like this,

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God!
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬‬ -7 MSG‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/97/pro.3.5-12.MSG

“The bottom of your heart,”-deeply and completely.
“Don’t try to figure it out on your own,”-put aside your thoughts and plans and what you think it should look like.
”Listen for God’s voice,”-take time to be quiet in your waiting.
“Everything and everywhere,”-there is no place or situation He has not planned.
”Don’t assume you know it all,”-there are things we can’t see and don’t yet know.
”Run to God!”- don’t hesitate or drag your feet.

Running to God is the key. We will survive each day by casually including God in what we do. We will thrive when we run to Him first!

In a world full of feelings, it’s hard to look past what is right in front of us and how it makes us feel. Feelings are important, and it’s important to acknowledge those feelings and take them before God. Taking our feelings to God should always be our first step. We shouldn’t dwell on them too long without God because that will cause us to look at what is right in front of us…the circumstances that caused the feelings. Most of the time we can’t do much to change the circumstances. This is not unlike Joseph. He couldn’t change the fact that he was in the house of Egyptians. His circumstances were beyond his control. Even then, though, the Lord was with him. Genesis 39:2 says, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master,” (NLT, emphasis mine). The Lord made it so Joseph succeeded in everything he did despite his circumstances. He was able to look beyond what was in front of him and trust God to lead him in overcoming those circumstances. The Lord blessed him by making him successful. Challenge yourself today to look beyond surviving your circumstances into thriving to success!

What is it we have? Look at 2 Peter 1:3 “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know personally and intimately the One who invited us to God.” The Message version

Living a life pleasing to God. That’s why we are here. There are those who think that pleasing God is too hard to accomplish. This verse says we already have everything we need- not just some of it. It also says we didn’t have to ask or work for it. It was given to us when God invited us to Him. The middle section holds the key to unlocking the formula to make it work. We must get to know God personally and better than we know anything else. We can’t know Him through someone else’s experiences or beliefs. We have to be the one to put in the time to get to know God. When we do, He reveals to us what He wants us to do and how He wants us to live. That is a life that is pleasing to God. We will survive each day when observing others and their walk with God. We will thrive when we actively make an effort to get to know Him personally. Spend some getting to know Him to find out how you can use what He’s already given to make each day pleasing to Him!

In the book of Jeremiah, he tells the people that they are going to be taken into captivity and the city destroyed. They are shocked because they are God’s people, and He has always taken care of them. The same message is repeated multiple times throughout the book and says the impending judgement is because they didn’t listen to the words of the Lord. In the first 7 verses of chapter 25 these words appear 4 times in the NASB version, “you have not listened” or “inclined your ear to hear”. The Lord is using Jeremiah to remind the people that a key part to their blessings and protection is listening to God and what He says.

I was reminded of this recently during my prayer time. God reminded me of some things I am supposed to do and haven’t done yet. I know God is not going to bring destruction on me because I haven’t acted on His words. Upon reading the words in the chapter above I remembered how important it is to do what God tells us to do for Him. Some of what He tells us may be to help ourselves or to help others. Sometimes I think it’s just to see if we’re listening to Him. It has to be a 2 way street not just a 1 way street of requests. We can survive those periods between God’s requests and our actions because of His grace. How much quicker will be thrive when we don’t wait to act upon His words?

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ…” 2 Corinthians 2:14a NRSV

I came across this verse in my journal, written almost 4 years ago to the day. The statement I wrote with it read, “Thankful for the promises of God no matter how things look.” I have no idea what happened at that time to prompt that brief entry, but it is very fitting for today as well. God’s promises don’t change even when our circumstances do change. He is not moved by the things we encounter each day that seem to contradict that verse. You may have circumstances surrounding you today that don’t appear or make you feel very triumphant. If we felt triumphant all the time we wouldn’t seek God. We would feel triumphant in our own abilities to take care of situations. This world is not set up to make us feel good. This fact is emphasized in the second part of the verse, “and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” 14b NRSV. We are here for Him and to bring others into knowledge of Him. That is not a small task. We need God and His leading to the right things at the right times to reach the people He wants us to reach. We forget in our wants that God just wants us to know and follow Him and be led in His triumph not our own. It’s hard to give thanks when we don’t get what we want, but we have to remember God sees everything and wants what is best. When God wins, we win. We can survive getting the things we think we want. We will thrive when we give thanks for letting God lead us into what He wants which causes us to be triumphant with Him!