“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 107:1).

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:8).

“And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing” (Psalm 107:22).

Don’t think for a minute that the Lord is anxious and fretful about world events. He is not. We must go through the journey that the Lord has given for us to take. Sometimes the journey may lead us down unfamiliar paths that may not have all of the provisions we think we need, readily available; however, even then, God is still in control of your circumstance.

For more times than I care to count, I lose sleep trying to plan out my life. I always think, if I do this, then God will do that, or my mind doesn’t stop thinking.

The Lord has called us to pray, and he has called us to rest. If we neglect doing either one of these two, our lives will get out of balance, and it will take us twice as long to complete simple tasks. I can put my whole confidence in Jesus Christ. because he has already paid the ultimate price for my salvation.

I can rest, because I know that he is not forsaking me on my journey, but he is taking me on my journey to prepare me to receive the blessing that he has prepared just for me. If God released his blessings too soon, we may not be adequately prepared to receive it, so it is best to learn what we need to learn, and then, we will be more than ready when he brings it to pass, and fulfills his will for our lives.

Before I turned my life over to God, I was keenly aware of the risks that I was taking with my soul. I was raised in the church; although I was the only one who attended for a long time. As a product of the bus ministry, I was hungry for the Lord, and to be saved. It would be years before I found the truth of Jesus Christ, but during the time I was growing up, I never stopped searching for something more. When I gave up control of my circumstances, and turned my life over to Jesus Christ, I found a peace that passes all understanding, and life.

Separate by Choice

No one is forcing me to live for God in the spirit of truth and holiness. I made a free will choice to do so. I live to worship an Almighty God who loves me, unconditionally. While he does chastise me when I wander away from his presence, it is not for my detriment, it is to encourage me to stay behind his glory shield and be protected. In the process of separating myself from the things of the world, I can receive his forgiveness as he gently strengthens me. When I am weak, he is strong for me; when the world tries to attack everything that I believe, he carries me until I can stand on my own, and I am determined in my heart to fulfill his purpose for my life.

The world tries to contain God in a box, so that he can be used on demand: don’t have enough money for more tech gadgets—open the box and pray for God to give it; need a new car; just open the box and ask; the list goes on and on—isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? Prayer. Ask, seek, knock?

Sure, on occasion we may have this approach with God, but it’s not the best way to build a relationship with the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. If all you ever did was tirelessly, seek more stuff from God or people for that matter; soon they would grow weary of your constant begging for more, instead of being content with the things that the Lord has placed in your hands.

What will you do with the talents that he has given to you? Bury them in the sand? Put them at the back of your list of priorities to develop later? Forget that you even had them in the first place? Or, will you treasure the things that were bought with his very life at Calvary?

It’s not wise to take the gifts that the Lord has blessed us with, lightly. He doesn’t have to give us anything, because we surely have done nothing to deserve his abundant grace and mercy. It’s time to consider the treasures that he has given to us without expectation of anything in return.

In this week’s Lattereign,we ask: lead-us-lord-in-the-right-path.