Friends, this is the season when one seeks coziness and comfort. With the chill, and sometimes frigid temperatures in the air, warm blankets and hot mugs call us to snuggle inside. While much pleasure can be taken in this time of “tucking in,” in our walk of faith we may be called to unwrap ourselves from comfort to get uncomfortable. We may be asked to shed our comfort zone dwellings to step into new territories the Lord has for us. Like Abraham, our life must be directed by faith more than comfort: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8). Where will you allow God to take you with your “by faith” moment?
Be determined. Determined to not be thwarted. Determined not to leave with one’s soul unsatisfied. Determined to forge ahead in resilience, refusing to go into this day without this sacred meeting.
Fight if you must and move intently ahead. Let nothing come in between or interfere with this time of sweet communion with the Lord. Thoughts may encroach and seek to pounce like an animal in waiting for prey, but keep thine eyes fixed on the things above (Colossians 3:2), trusting in the One who is the lover of your soul and life.
It is no simple thing, this gift of prayer, nor is it a pleasure to be taken for granted that we can approach the Lord with our honest and sincerest petitions. Getting there is a great privilege not to be neglected, so fight if you must to enter this holy conversation with the Lord.
For He, your Heavenly Father, is the main goal of your life. He is the compass and direction by which all our days are to be guided. Turbulent times, left unchecked will try to pull you off course, so fight if you must to get into the solace of this blessed sanctuary of prayer, for He has the wheel and knows the route to take.
Many distractions will attempt to interrupt and capture your mind for their audience. But when I come on my knees, with my heart opened to my King, it is His attending audience that means everything. Fight if you must to enter near this throne of grace, a guarded court surrounded by the angels who do sing.
What treasure lies within that holy realm of prayer. Go, search, and dig, and fight if you must to get there. For He will be a little sanctuary for you (Ezekiel 11:16), the true refuge and blessing of life who sees, hears, and knows everything you can unearth before Him in that divine assembly.
Fight if you must, and be persistently determined. Refuge, hope, power, and relief from life’s burdens lie ahead. Do yourself a favor, deprive not your soul of this great pleasure of meeting with the Father daily.
Friends, today, remind your heart that we do have a sure foundation. Other confidences are slippery slopes and unstable security, but we stand firmly on Christ, our true hope. He is unwavering and unfailing, a well-founded source upon which to plant our faith. While others may sway in their devotion, His promise was to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He never moves: “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation…” (Isaiah 28:16).
Friends, Jesus cares. Oh, the world and what we see will try to convince you differently, but He cares. No one loves you more and is more concerned about your well-being. He cares about your ups and downs. He cares about your smiles and your tears. This is your reminder today, that even if it feels like waves are crashing around you, you can still have peace on the inside because Jesus sees, He knows, and He cares: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Friends refused to be moved. Refuse to allow the tempestuous seas of life to toss you about. Refuse the swaying of this way and that, but make a stand to stay. Stay in the realm of your faith. Stay on this holy course of action. Stay where your hope is sure and secured. Stay anchored in the care and belief of who Jesus Christ is in your life. Though some days may seem overwhelmingand the tug of life gets hard, blessed are the ones who know “We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hopeset before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Hebrews 6:18b-19a).
Friend, there is a fountainwe can freely come to satisfy our thirst that will never dry out. Spiritual refreshment for the day ahead. Hope to cling to when we feel parched and depleted. Jesus Christ is the quencher of our soul’s desire and He said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” (John 4:14). Come, and be filled.
Friends, billions of hearts, minds, arms, and legs have walked the face of this earth. But none are you. The intricacies that consist of the makeup of your person areuniquely designed by the Creator. When He fashioned you, He saw the beauty of who you are and would become. You are a designer original who can say with King David, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14). Yes, you are.
Friends, sometimes it is hard to keep doing good. Sometimes, life does not play fair. But when I think about the goodness of Jesus, when I consider and meditate on His grace and mercy towards me, how can I dare not share the same goodness with my fellow man? Know this: Nothing we do for Christ will ever go unnoticed by the Father, and “Whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:8).
Friends, some days it seems as if peace surrounds our very life, and others it feels like war. Regardless of the circumstances we face today, the war we face daily, knowingly or unknowingly, is real, and to keep our standing sure and steadfast we are encouraged to suit up against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness (Eph. 6:12). Our Heavenly Father has supplied the means for daily victory, armament to help amid these spiritual contentions. Still, we are the ones that must “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11; for more encouragement, click here).
Friend, isn’t it encouraging to know that no dismal state, regardless of how low the clouds may hang or how much shade is cast over one, who we are or were, through Christ, is made totally new. The grace of His love and sacrifice given to us is a picture so wonderful, who would not want to turn to Him and receive this great exchange? For He will “Give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3).
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