dailywordofdestiny

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come!’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matthew 14: 15-31).

 
On the drive back from Canada last year, my thoughts moved ahead to the question, “What am I going to do when I get back?” You see how quickly my (our) thoughts can run ahead and focus on “what can I do” schemes to line up with my/our desires? As it happened, I truly believed that God had given me a gift to counsel and I figured it should be now rather than later. I spoke to my husband about it (he hesitated briefly), then to a couple people about office space, and then stayed awake most of one night planning how things would go. The next day, I wrote to a prayer partner and asked if he would pray into this with me; as I thought perhaps God might want in on it. Twenty minutes later, his website sent me the message below (by Bob Gass). I wrote to my friend and asked if this was his response; he replied that perhaps it was God’s response to me. What do you think?
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When God Gives You A Vision by Bob Gass
“… I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” Acts 26:19

Paul had a ‘heavenly vision’. But there are those who ‘speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord’ (Jeremiah 23:16 NKJV). So you must be sure you are operating according to God’s plan, not your own nor somebody elses. The story of the Tower of Babel teaches us two things. First, that when people make up their mind to do something, they often succeed; and second, that succeeding doesn’t mean that you’re in the will of God. The word Babel (confusion) means others can think you’re right, yet you’re wrong. You ask, ‘But isn’t it all right to make plans and set goals?’ Yes, but your plans and goals should come out of a vision that God has given you.
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When Paul said, ‘I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision’, he meant that there’s only one acceptable response to God’s plan – obedience! Partial obedience, selective obedience, or delayed obedience are still all disobedience. William Carey, who is considered the father of modern missions, gave up comfort and fortune to go to India and introduce the gospel. One of his more memorable quotes is: ‘Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!’ But you can only say that with confidence when you know what God has called you to do. What He ordains, He sustains! When you set your own goals you lack a heartfelt confidence that God is doing the work, so you wear yourself out thinking it’s all up to you. However, when you know God has given you a vision for your life, you trust Him, even when you can’t see any way to bring it to pass.

When God gives you a vision:

1) It will interrupt you. Sometimes God will speak in a voice you can’t tune out. Other times, like Jonah, God will let you go to the bottom to get your attention. Either way, things won’t go right until you say yes to Him.

2) It will illuminate you. You may not like what God says. Ananias didn’t like going to pray for Saul of Tarsus, a man with the power to put Christians to death. But God said, ‘Go, for he is a chosen vessel… I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake’ (Acts 9:15-16 NKJV).   Notice the word ‘suffer.’ The Devil isn’t going to send you a congratulatory telegram because you have decided to do God’s will, so be prepared for attack!

3) It will inspire you. You will accomplish things you never dreamed possible. Look at Gideon. When God found him, he was hiding in a winepress (Judges 6:11 NKJV); not exactly a promising start. When the angel called him ‘a mighty man of valor’ (v 12 NKJV), he replied, ‘I am the least in my father’s house’ (v 15 NKJV). When the angel said, ‘The Lord is with you,’ he replied, ‘If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?’ (vv 12-13 NKJV). When he finally took the job, he wondered, ‘How can so few of us defeat so many of them?’ Yet at that very moment his enemies were having nightmares about him (Judges 7:13-15). The secret of victory lies in knowing   ‘It is God working in me’  (Philippians 2: 13).

This morning I was reading the passages in Matthew and one thing that stood out to me was that Jesus very seldom ministered in the church/temple. He revealed His love and compassion to the people as He went into the villages and cities each day. You often read that it was while He was walking that people came up to Him, or called to Him and He always had time to stop and help meet their needs of the moment. His very LIFE was His ministry. I also noted that the disciples were the ones who seemed eager to send people away at the times they were possibly tired themselves. Yet JESUS ALWAYS HAS MORE to give; to His disciples and to the people. Did you note in the passage that after 5000+ people had been miraculously fed, the disciples had to be MADE TO GET INTO THEIR BOAT? I wonder if for a brief moment they now wanted to revel in the glory of very grateful people. Did they for a moment forget where the glory was to go? I am not sure, but do remember that the disciples were as we are; only mortal beings, subject to “self-indulgence.”

The final thing I want to look at is the fact that we all tend to get caught up in the “storms” of our life (physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, etc.) and we forget that Jesus was already INTERCEDING FOR US BEFORE OUR STORM. He hears our calls to Him and He walks right there beside us as we go through the rolling waves (that He very well may have caused). He told Peter to come out of the boat; to stretch his faith and trust that God was with him. Peter did and for a brief moment he was able to walk on the water with Jesus! Wow!!! I knew as I was reading that God was speaking to me through His Word and He said, ‘Come out of the boat, it is I.’ I know that I am to “get out of my comfortable boat and walk with Jesus on the waves of the water” trusting Him to take me through the doors He has opened for me to go through. I am not to create my own destiny, but I am to fully lean on Him and allow Him to be the One in charge of my future! So for now, I will set counseling on the back burner…at least until God decides it’s time to set it on to boil.

I do not claim to be a poet, but God gave me these words as I came to the end of my devotional time. I pray the words will touch you, right where you are; that they will encourage you to reach out with your life and touch those in need beside you.
                                   “Focus”

Have you looked at the person beside you, really looked?
Have you looked at them through My eyes, loving and kind.
For to Me they are unique, they are special and well loved;
I created them and I use them, as I created you.

Have you looked at the person beside you, really looked?
Have you seen glimpses of their true beauty through eyes of love?
Turn; take a look right now, FOCUS with your eye,
See that person as I see them; their beauty not denied.

Take a look at that person beside you, really look!
Focus on that special one that I hold near to My heart.
When you focus on that person and pray for them;
You are actually focusing on and loving Me.

FOCUS is the word for this day.
The Master is getting ready to return for His own.
Have you looked at the person beside you through My eyes, My love?
Is he or is she ready to come home?

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The LORD would say unto you…
“Come unto Me! Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Launch out in reckless belief; strength and beauty of character come as you yield to Me. Commit your way to Me, trust in Me and as strong belief and unaffected loveliness is established between us, there shall rush forth from you rivers of living water. Many shall come and drink and they will be satisfied and there will always be more than enough for you; for them. Come unto Me, for I AM the LIVING WATER!”