37 Days – Grace to Transition

Pastor Randy’s devotional:

The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant. Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools. Don’t ask, “Why were things better in the old days than they are now?” It isn’t wisdom that leads you to ask this! - Ecclesiastes 7:8-10

January 13^th Prayer:

Transition is a part of life and part of God’s plan. Seasons of life start, and they end. We leave one season of life to enter another. David went from shepherd to king. Gideon went from cowardly farmer to a warrior of great valor. Joshua went from Moses’ assistant to the leader and commander of Israel. And it was scary for him to make this transition. Your role, responsibilities, and authority will grow and change. Change will always involve tension and stretching. Receive grace to change well this year. And give grace to others as they reach for new heights in God.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You never change. You are my anchor—the one constant in my life that I can always count on. And yet, you call us to change. You call us from childhood to adulthood. You call us from following to leading. You call us to be transformed into the image of Christ. You call us to change. Help me embrace the changes necessary this year. Help me give grace to others as they grow and change. Help me to see myself in the new authority and capacity that You’ve assigned in this new season . . . in Jesus’ name!

My thoughts:

Have you ever heard the phrase, “God won’t give you more than you can handle” ?  It’s an encouraging statement, meant to help someone deal with difficult circumstances that often time we would rather walk away from.  But, the more I learn about God, the more I’ve come to realize that I don’t think that’s necessarily true.  The reality is God knows your potential, and knows that you are living well short of it.  He will give you more than you “perceive” you can handle, but with His wisdom to realize that you can grow into it.

Above Pastor Randy gives several great examples of men who were called by God to do something much greater than their perceived ability.  Like them, you are called by God for a much larger purpose than you are currently living in.  If you feel unable to expand your purpose and contribution to His Kingdom, you are leaning on your own understanding and not the strength and power of the Lord.  For in our Father we have the premier ruler and authority of all things on earth and in all of time and space.  If indeed you seek a deeper purpose, a deeper desire to live for God, you are the only thing standing in the way.

You see, we are the biggest obstacle to serving God completely.  We set boundaries because of our limited knowledge, experiences and perception of the world around us.  Some say that we are only using 10% of our cognitive capacity, and that through constant learning and stretching of our life experiences we are capable of expanding this capacity.  So with this limited wisdom, we have decided that we are incapable of serving God in a larger manner.  Not the case.  The reality is that you and I have much more capability and capacity to serve God, but it will require a closer relationship with the Father in order to truly understand what it is He wants us to do.  Secondly, through this closer relationship with the Father we are expanding our wisdom and our perspective to a more Christ like perspective, which then enables us to discover the ability He knows is already there. 

You and I are His children.  Just like you know the potential of your children to do bigger things then they believe they can do, so does your Father know you have much more potential.  Join me in expanding our vision, our abilities and our faith in trusting the larger things God has in store for us.

Be Blessed,

Rich

Join us on Facebook @ 10 Minute Reader Daily Thoughts or on Twitter @Sondove
If you would like to be added to the email distribution, please send an email here.