Lemonade

1 Corinthians 2:3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

My desire was for God to awaken me early this morning, and he did. My heartfelt prayer was for a renewed spirit and relationship, and he provided in a devotional that put me exactly where He wanted me in his Word. I am coming off a vacation of healing time; the mental strains turned into physical ailments that shut my body down. The vacation did not serve any purpose of dealing with the stresses, but only time to rest, heal, and regain strength to press forward. In my prayer time this morning I realized how much of the world had crept into my life; I prayed for it to flee and my relationship with the Lord to move to a state of abiding.

If you have followed this ministry, you have heard me for years telling you of the importance of starting your day with God. I have been failing in what I have been preaching for a couple months; the strains of life took their toll to the point I could not get out of bed. That is why my request was for God to get me up early this morning; and what a renewed feeling to spend time with him before the world rushes in. Let me quote Oswald Chambers from this morning; “As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.”

There is a strength found in starting your day with God that can be found by no other worldly means. There is a weakness found without it, that no other worldly means can provide to strengthen. I laughed the other day where someone said they wanted to wear a shirt that said LIFE, and stand on the street corner handing out lemons. Life is hard, and you cannot do it on your own. God uses all these tough things in life to draw you closer to Him. You will not find the answers on your own; the answers to life’s problems and questions are found through Jesus Christ and his Spirit in his Word. Go to God today with a humble prayer to seek a closer relationship again, and respond to what he shows you. You never know; He might be handing you lemons so you can make lemonade together.