God is Timely and Relevant

Good morning! I wanted to share as a follow up to yesterday’s entry, in regards to God’s faithfulness to teach and guide us when we turn back to Him with a willing heart. ~Psalm 51:12 Today’s study was just what I needed to hear and once again perfectly I timely!! I won’t write much because this pretty much says it all :) So here’s another excerpt from the study “Proven” by Jennie Allen. “When I looked up joy in the thesaurus I found a list of fantastic words, the sum of which are actually better descriptions of what I want us to discuss here. bliss cheer delight wonder elation glee satisfaction Several years ago, my husband, Zac, and I prayed, “God, we’ll do anything you want us to do,” and since then our lives have radically changed. Ju3st about every part of our lives is different. And I would never go back. Our son Cooper, born in Rwanda, is in our family because of that prayer. I am writing these words along with many before them because of that prayer. My husband is in Ethiopia today helping build businesses and jobs because of that prayer. IF:Gathering exists because of that prayer. I would never go back. However, over these years an urgency to please and obey God has strangled much of the wonder, delight, elation, satisfaction, and just plain fun out of my life. Like a pendulum, I swung from life is about my happiness to life is about difficult things. And so as we approach this week, the question before us is ... Does God want us to be fulfilled and happy here? It’s my fear that we have somehow subtly picked up the belief that it is wrong to be happy. Maybe it’s caused by the suffering of friends nearby or the suffering all over the world. Or perhaps we’re influenced by the crushing pressures of work and life. Maybe it’s because fun has become more of an escape than an attribute of people who know God. Or could it be that following Jesus has become duty rather than delight? Jesus lived with purpose and joy, delighting to do His Father’s will. He called others to follow Him in this kind of life. He was clear about where the fulfillment they looked for would be found. Satisfaction comes when we lay down this life and live for the next. Jesus had His mind full of hope for the next life; He came from heaven and knew it well. However, even with heaven in clear sight, Jesus lived fully in this life. He created experiences for the people around Him to see more of God—turning water to wine as they celebrated a wedding, eating unforgettable long meals with strangers and friends, celebrating the extravagance of perfume being poured out for Him. Jesus created moments that those He loved could never forget. And He chose to enjoy the people around Him and the work He had here. Are we living the same way?”