life beyond the well…

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In All Things…

“You never cease to amaze me.  I can say You’ve never failed me.  You are amazing, God.” -Deon Kipping, Never Cease

A lot of times I have these moments where I’m just in awe of God and how He works; the depths of His love, and the lengths that He will go to demonstrate that love for us.  As I can reflect on my life, there are several times both in recent memory and not so recent memory where I just marvel at the works of God.

In my recent memory there has been a recurring situation that always leaves me shaken and speechless at how God works.  Here’s what has happened:

I’ll be at a stoplight, waiting for the light to turn green.  I’m the first car at the light.  While I’m waiting, I’ve distracted myself by Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/text messages on my phone.  Now, clearly I know that this is NOT something that I should be doing, but I’m doing it anyway.  The light turns green, and I’m still slightly distracted.  Just as I’m about to press the gas to go, a car runs their red light, and speeds through the intersection.

This has happened three times.  Each time it’s happened, it’s been a situation where the car would have hit my car on the driver’s side at some insane speed.

Now, had I been fully alert and not distracted by the phone, I would have gone IMMEDIATELY when the light turned green.  How do I know this?  Because it’s the type of driver that I am.  And after living in Miami and hearing people blow their horns AS SOON AS the light turned green, I resolved to never be the cause of that. So, I know that if I’d have been paying attention, I’d have been making my way through the intersection just in time for a car to smash into me.  It’s scary to think of what could have happened.

This is not my attempt to justify my behavior, but more confidence in my belief of one of my favorite scriptures; one that speaks peace to my soul when I’m tired; one that never fails to encourage me:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”- Romans 8:28

Wow.

IN ALL THINGS GOD WORKS FOR THE GOOD…man, I could shout right there.  So yes, even in my state of doing something wrong, God was working for my good.

Now, please don’t use this as an excuse to go and do WRONG things because God can still work through them.  There’s no need to take advantage of the grace and mercy that God provides.  Don’t force Him to have to overextend himself because of poor decisions.  You know- if you know better, then do better.

But what I really want is for you to be encouraged, knowing that even in those tough places, dry spots, difficult times, God is still working it out in your favor.  So while it seems rough right now, you’re going to be able to look back and see how you overcame.  As a matter of fact, I bet there are things you could look back on RIGHT NOW and see how you thought it was TERRIBLE, but now, you recognize how God was at work on your behalf.

As Marvin Sapp would say (or sing), “He has His Hands on You“!

Be encouraged!  Peace and Blessings!


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It All Started With a Drip…

It started with a drip.  It didn’t happen often.  It wasn’t enough to make me worry.  But still, it was a drip.

I didn’t know where it came from.  I wasn’t really concerned.  After all, it was just a drip.  In the ceiling.  But over time, that drip which I had so casually ignored was so persistent that it led to a crack in my ceiling, which eventually turned into a hole…with water leaking.

While I don’t know that the leak causing the drip could have been prevented, I do know that I could have kept the situation from transforming from a small drippy leak into a flow of water coming from my ceiling, if I hadn’t made the decision to ignore it.

It’s interesting because we can be like that.  We can have little drips of sin that we notice, but overlook because it’s doesn’t seem like a big deal.  You know, we slipped up and cursed at someone, or we told a “little white lie”.  We notice that we do it, but we figure it’s not that bad, so we don’t fully do a heart check and repent.  Eventually, we slide further and further away from God; those little drips become huge drops, staining our heart and clouding our mind.

I’ve been there.  So I know that what sounds and seems minute makes a huge difference.  What’s beneath the surface, what’s in our hearts, those little drips that are slowly exposed- they matter.  Think about it like this: 90% of the iceberg that destroyed the Titanic was beneath the water.  Likewise, we will be destroyed not by what is on the outside, but what is beneath the surface.

Or as the word says:

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” – Matthew 15:18-20

Heart check: What leaks or drips are you experiencing that you need to fix?  Don’t wait until it’s overflowing!  During this time of consecration, I am asking God to clean my heart so that my thoughts and my words will be reflective of what I believe and pleasing unto Him.

Be encouraged! God isn’t through with you yet!