Fantastic Friday #895 - Abandon

Abandon

6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
8 The Lord will vindicate me;
your love, Lord, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138: 6-8

Over time I have seen many things abandoned on the side of the road, whether it be a car, a couch, or even an old home like I saw on my trip last week. What causes people to abandon things? Is it because their value has depleted, they don't work, or maybe they become unsafe. Maybe it is because they just don't feel like they can do anything with them anymore, so they leave it behind for it to decay or for someone else to find it useful. The wonderful thing about God is that He does not abandon us. While we may stray from Him and his teachings, He is always there for us no matter how much we may feel abandoned by Him. The abandonment we feel when He is not near, is our own abandonment of Him by us. We put that distance between Him and us, not Him. We need to remember that God is always there and he will not abandon His most treasured creation. The next time you think about abandoning something, make sure it is no longer useful in your life, and if you look deep enough, everyone and everything is useful for good. Don't abandon those in need, our Savior doesn't.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #894 - Stream

Stream

4 The words of the mouth are deep waters,
but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream. Proverbs 18:4

I was able recently to spend some time in the mountains and I saw many things, but the most powerful thing I observed was the snow melt causing several waterfalls, and a rushing stream that was full of power that turned into a fast-moving river. It kind of got me thinking as I thought of what the mountain was like during normal periods. It may have a trickle, or it may be a smooth flowing stream year-round. It certainly does not hold the power that I observed this past week all the time. If you can think that God's influence is like this stream, sometimes He is like a slow moving stream and whispering in our ear, and other times He is an all-powerful force rushing through our lives. The key thing we need to remember is that He is always there helping us maneuver down our path to guide us into where we need to be. If you take a moment to realize how much God loves us to give us so much beauty in the world to enjoy, it makes it that much easier to realize how powerful He is in our daily life.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #893 - Strong

Strong

23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:23-24

I have seen people who think that they are not strong enough, that their weaknesses with things overpower their ability to be strong. Finding our strength can sometimes be challenging because of the world we live in. We have expectations that the world sets that we can never reach, and why would we try to reach the world's expectations? Maybe that is where the problem lies. We know that God has expectations of us, and those are very achievable, but it does require us to be all-in with what God wants for our life. If we choose to deviate from that path that God wants, then it does become harder, but with God on our side, we can be strong and achieve anything. Take heart as the scripture notes, be strong and hope in the Lord because He is our stronghold and can do anything for us as long as we are faithful.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #892 - Wait

Wait

13 I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

The human nature for patience has always been very thin, if it wasn't then we wouldn't have so many reminders about waiting on the Lord. Waiting is difficult because as we wait, our head swims with the different possibilities of whatever our situation is, and we tend to get impatient and rely less on the Lord. If we wait, we know the Lord is faithful and we tend to forget that part of waiting. We get in such a hurry to want what we think we need, that our patience runs thin. I know that I need to thicken up my patience and wait on the Lord to answer my calls for guidance and help. I don't need to let the enemy sneak in and make me think that God is not going to be there for me. So take a moment and wait this week. Listen to what the Lord says, and take heart and be strong. In the waiting comes the reward.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #891 - Story

Story




1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south. Psalm 107:1-3

Everyone has a story, and stories differ from family history, individuals who impacted you and your story to where you are today. Over history before writing and paper, stories were passed down from generation to generation, then people started writing them down. With the invention of the technologies of today we have mixed in historical videos of stories, and recorded audio stories. Sometimes the best stories are the ones told around a table with friends and family sharing food. Everyone is typically attentive, not on a device and paying attention to the person telling the story. So, what is your current story with Christ in your life, or if you don't have Christ in your life, where is your story and how can it be impacted by Christ? Those of us who have Christ in our life tend not to share a great deal about our relationship and how God has helped us grow, but your story can be one of the most powerful things to bring others to the awareness of what Christ has done in your life and how He has changed you. Take a moment to reflect on your story this week and how it can possibly impact those around you, and also by reflecting that may bring you that much closer to God and His teachings. Have a great weekend.


Matt


--

Matthew J. Grief
"There are no statues of pessimists."


mattgrief.blogspot.com