Don't Give Up

​Today seemed like a bleakly day. A day filled with  sorrow and gloom. It seemed hopeless. Even though I knew it had nothing to do  with the day but how I felt, I had a very difficult time seeing and relating to anything beyond what my natural eyes could see. Though I believe in God and know there is more to my life than what I am currently experiencing, there was nothing in me to come to any different conclusion.  I was lost. I became so suppressed in my thoughts that I could feel the weight of my thoughts
and the plan of the enemy for my life.  All through my crying out to God, I felt as if He had abandoned me.  He was nowhere to be found.  Determined  not to let the enemy have the best of me I cried one last time and said; “Lord, quiet my heart, soul, spirit and mind that I may hear Your voice.”  In a short time I found myself declaring  these words; “the enemy has been defeated, death could hold You down, we’re gonna lift our voice in victory, we’re gonna make His praises loud, shout unto God with a voice of triumph, shout unto God with a voice of praise.” As I declared the words of this song I felt a release and I began singing about the  goodness of God.  Thus I was inspired to write the following.

There is more to life than  what the eye sees. If we look at life only with our natural eyes we become hopeless and helpless.  The only way to have a great life: present and future is to see through the eyes of God, how He has designed our life.  Sin has altered the design God has for us, therefore, life is filled with many challenges and obstacles, yet through faith in Christ we are able to see as God sees.  
            
God’s Design: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28

God’s Design altered by Sin:  Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the   fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the  woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.  Genesis 3:1-6 (Read entire chapter)

Discovering God’s Design through Faith:  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11: 1, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of  witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12: 1-2

In every difficult situation, or what seem to be hopeless we can draw strength from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; for He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  It is never easy to live a life pleasing to God in this dying world, a world that is straying farther away from Him each day. God 
has promised to give us sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 12:9), so no matter what we face He is there.  Even in the moments when we don’t think He is with us, He is there.     On this journey called life  we must have hope in a higher calling. To smiley live as each day goes by is living beneath the greatness of which God created for us.  A day to day existence is the ultimate breeding ground for frustration, resentment, anger, bitterness, hopelessness and fear. God did not create us to simply exist but to impact the world around us each day. Think about what you do on a daily  basis, “Are you impacting your world or simply living?"  
     
Each of us exists not only for ourselves but for those who we meet each day. It is a mandate for us as believers to turn our world up-side-down for the glory of God (Matthew 28:19).  We are to give people we meet each day something to think about. We must leave them with questions of who they are, why they were created and for whom they were created? We must leave them believing there is more to life than what they can see with their two eyes.

The greatest think about this journey is that as long as there is  life, there is still hope. It is never too late to start living out the greatness and purpose for your life (Psalm 139:13-14, Isaiah 55:8-9).God has not changed His plan.  He still wants the best for us.  If we are willing to seek Him for guidance and direction then He will reveal to us  what needs to be done.  (Proverbs 3:5-6) Today I encourage us to start living the way God intended. Let us no longer exist, live to impact the world around us for the glory of God. 
Prayer: Lord, quiet my heart, soul, spirit, and mind that I may hear Your voice.