Nae's Notes

Ephesians 5:20 says, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Always and for everything. That sounds like an impossible task. Things happen everyday that we don’t want to give thanks for because we encounter interrupters to our plan for the day. Some are good and some are not. The truth is, if it’s something we don’t expect it’s hard to give thanks. We have our thoughts about how each day or task should proceed.

When we look at another verse in that chapter, we get some further instructions that will help us to give thanks in those situations. Back up to verse 17. It says, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is”. Our instant human reaction is to grumble or complain. Those actions happen because we don’t understand the will of the Lord. He can bring about things to interrupt us to help him do His will. That may sound unusual, but God sees things we don’t see and may need us to follow His will for our day in order to serve Him. Verse 16 reminds us to make the most of every opportunity. We need to understand our day in light of what God wants us to do and where He places us to do it. When we are actively seeking God, He is the master of our day. Don’t just survive the next time you encounter an interruption to your day. Give thanks to God for His will in your life and thrive!

Have you ever looked endlessly for something with no success, only to move one thing seemingly unrelated and find what you were trying to find? This happens often in life and there are usually a series of frustrations that happen in the search. This happened a few weeks ago as I was cleaning up broken glass. I carefully searched and swept to make sure there were no pieces left that could cause harm. Sometime later I noticed a piece that did not get removed. I walked by that area multiple times in between and never saw anything. I happened to shift something in that area and then noticed the glass.

That happens often in life. We search tirelessly for something and end up disappointed because we cannot find it, whether it is an object we need or a different situation than the one where we find ourselves. I was reminded when I saw the glass how suddenly God can bring about the things we are looking for when we submit to Him. He is not bound by what we can see-He sees so much more! When we put our faith and trust in Him, He will direct our steps on the right path to the right thing for us. We spend so much time trying to change our own circumstances when all we have to do is put our faith in Him, and He will move us in the right direction. How much time and energy do we waste trying to do it ourselves? Hebrews 11 highlights many times acts of faith brought about changes to circumstances. Take some time today to read Hebrews 11 to remind yourself that you don’t just have to survive. You can thrive when you act on your faith!

“Through him we received both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus. You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ!” Romans 1:5 (the Message version)

It is obvious God gave us the gift of Jesus to save us and provide the opportunity to have eternal life. Why? This verse reminds us that God wanted to save us, but He also wanted us to pass this gift on to others. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in what is going on in our lives that we forget to let others know of the love, peace, and life we found in Jesus. As things in the world get crazier, people will look for something that is stable to give them hope. That hope is Jesus! We are not merely here to live good lives. We are here to help others see the benefits of a life in Christ. That doesn’t mean every day is going to be perfect because we live in a fallen world. What do you do when things aren’t perfect? Those are the spaces where we have opportunities to demonstrate hope in God as we let Him direct our steps. He is the author and finisher of our faith, and He wants to do the same for others. He will be with you and give you the words to say as you thrive through your day and look to help others who are just surviving theirs!

Ephesians 1 starting in verse 3 outlines how God has already blessed us through Christ. Verse 4 says that he chose us before the creation of the world. So God blessed us and mapped out a plan for our lives before He did anything else! Yet so often we toil and wrestle over what to do and what purpose He has for us. Isaiah 55:9 reminds us that His ways are higher than ours: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts higher than your thoughts”. The verse right before that says that our thoughts and ways are not God’s thoughts and ways. It makes sense, then, that God would be able to see and do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. It’s frustrating to not be able to see how something is going to work out or work through a disappointment, but God sees things that we don’t. He mapped out the blessings for our lives before He did anything else! Even though we can’t always see His ways or know His thoughts, we can live in His blessings by spending time with Him and submitting to His will even when it seems like the opposite of what we want. We will survive if we try to figure out what is going on or how to fix something. We will thrive when we draw close to Him and let His thoughts and ways become our own!

Heed. Hearken. Obey. All these are words used in different versions of Deuteronomy 28:2. Most versions of the verse read something like the following, “All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God,” (NIV). The overall idea is that you will be blessed when you pay attention to what God says to you and then do what He says. The Message version says, “All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of GOD, your God,”. That sounds so simple. “Because you responded to your God”. That makes it personal for each person. The Bible contains the instructions for our lives. Some people tend to think there are parts that are not meant for them or that God does not understand their lives, and they have a free pass to live however they want. This version of the Deuteronomy 28:2 reminds us that God is our God-a personal God to each one of us and does not group us in with others when giving instructions. Sure, there are general guidelines that all Christians follow, but how many have actually made it personal? This verse states that when you not only listen but respond to the voice of the God who knows you well, He will send blessings upon you. Take some time today to respond to the voice of God, so you can thrive-not just survive!

There are so many things each day that arise to get us distracted. Most of the time our first response is to complain about the disruption. Many of them are meant to keep us off our path, which makes our attitude towards these things instantly negative. What if we chose instead an attitude of gratitude?

Since this is not our first reaction to a situation, we struggle to get our minds back on track to focus on the task at hand. The holiday season is full of plans and tasks but also prime for disruptions. Instead of focusing on the delay, focus on God. Be thankful that you have places to be and people that want to see you. So you get stuck in traffic along the way. Keep some scripture cards in your car and meditate on those. Find a new worship song to listen to in the car. You have to wait in a long line to check out or find a parking space. Take a deep breath and slow down to thank God you arrived safely and found what you needed to purchase. These are not usually our natural reactions to situations. A few adjustments to your thoughts during this time will help you thrive-not merely survive!

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thess. 5:18 (NIV)

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you,” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV). Doesn’t that sound easy? When you look up the word “perfect” in the dictionary, these other words are listed also: absolute, total, unequivocal. Those words give a feeling of comfort, completeness-like nothing can disrupt your peace. Jump to our imperfect world and into the reality of distractions, disruptions, and disappointments. Where is the perfect peace now? It becomes lost in between all the things this world throws at us. Then the struggle begins to recapture that peace, so you make a plan to get back on track because the tendency is to forget what comes next in the verse: “whose mind is steadfast”.

Steadfast is a word not commonly used in everyday language. Instead, insert the following in place of steadfast: firmly fixed in place; immovable; firm in belief, adherence or determination (Webster’s dictionary). The only way to do that is to look to God to recenter you. Those are the times when your normal routine with God will not seem like enough to help you remember His words. You may have to say no to something that is not essential for a short time in order to focus on God and find your peace again. Then put in place some things to help you stay steadfast the next time challenges arise. Find a scripture that helps maintain your focus and put it in the notes of your phone. Make a worship song playlist to listen to when you are driving to work or running errands. Find a friend who shares your faith and offers words of encouragement. God’s desire is for you to live in His perfect peace. Focus back on God and His promises so you can thrive-not merely survive!

Airplanes make it to their destination eventually. On the runway are several planes waiting for takeoff but not all of them can go at once. They wait for their turn-proper instructions and permission from air traffic control because they see the whole picture of what lies in front of the planes. There are restrictions and rules in place to keep the planes from going off out of order. If they all tried to go at once, there would be a crash with damage or ensuing delays. When they finally get the green light to go, they make a turn, pause, and accelerate rapidly. They move quickly toward take off and their destination. What happens during the waiting? During this time, all obstacles are removed to allow the plane to move through a clear path, without interruptions, so they arrive safely. Without the waiting period, the obstacles remain and create delays.

This is similar to the way God works in our lives. He gives us a vision, a destination if you will. It may feel like it takes a long time to get moving towards the destination, much like waiting for takeoff in an airplane. Even though the waiting seems long and is difficult, it doesn’t keep you from getting to your destination. Waiting on God is also difficult when He’s given us a vison or task to complete. However, arriving at your destination is actually accelerated when we wait. The plane could start moving forward before its time, but it would have to move slowly and wait at some other point in the journey. You are not allowed to take off until the appointed time. It’s the same with God. We are not supposed to arrive before His time, even though that’s not usually our time. We must give God time to remove the obstacles between where we start and where He wants us to land. We will survive rushing to our destination without direction. We will thrive on the journey to our destination when we wait for God to tell us to go and accelerate us in His time!

“Wait for and confidently expect the Lord ; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord .” Psalms 27:14 (AMP)

Do you ever feel like you need to be strong all the time and never show weakness? It would be hard to find someone who admitted they love to show their weaknesses in front of others. Most people do not like to show others that they cannot do something or are struggling to stay positive. God is the only one who does not have weaknesses. We are human and are naturally going to have things that we cannot do because we were all made for a different purpose. God knows what that purpose is even when we do not. It is the times when we do not have it all together that He comes in to build us up. Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength,” ESV. The Common English Bible states, “giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted.” Tired and exhausted do not sound as exciting as “power to the faint” but are words that are more common in daily language. God anticipated the fact that we would have times when our strength was weak, and we would need to lean on Him because those words were not written recently. We can survive trying to lean on our own strength. We will thrive when we lean on His!

“Entrust your efforts to the Lord, and your plans will succeed,” Proverbs 16:3 GW translation.

This makes it sound like you will succeed in whatever you do if you give it to God. But what if what you planned for the day isn’t what God wants you to do for the day? The extra words added in the Amplified version help add some clarity.

“Commit your works to the Lord (submit and trust them to Him), and your plans will succeed (if you respond to His will and guidance). “

When we submit our actions to God, our plans and His plans align to make our days more successful. You have to be committed each day to what God wants us to do in order to avoid feeling defeated-like the day was wasted. We all wake up with an agenda of what needs to be accomplished and get frustrated if the list is not complete at the end of the day. This verse reminds us that the days don’t really belong to us. We are here for the purpose set forth by God and need to honor Him with our efforts. You don’t have to abandon those things you want to accomplish. You just need to commit your efforts to Him and follow His agenda as He leads throughout the day. We can survive each day trying to make it through our list. We will thrive throughout the day when our efforts are committed to Him to accomplish what He has for us that day!