“People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true friends;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you;

Be honest and sincere anyway.

 What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight;

Create anyway.

 If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often be forgotton;

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.”

~Mother Teresa

“Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:17-19

Has God ever moved you from one place to another? Have you ever felt like there is more that God wants to do in your life, but to experience that, you recognize that you will have to let go of everything you know?

It’s a tough place to be in. You are not satisfied. You are hungry for more. You want to stay where you are because it’s comfortable and familiar. You want to stay there because it is what you have always known. It’s safe.

But, what if God wants to lead you into something new?

In talking about seasons like this, Carter Conlon said this:

“God might be leading you into something deeper than you have ever known. To get you to move from one place He has to dry up the well folks. If not, we will camp there. It might be a shallow well, it might be an experience that isn’t deep enough to take us into the fullness of our inheritance. So, how does God get us to move? Because we are all campers by nature. We will all build a tabernacle in what we think God is supposed to look like, where He is, and where we are happy . . . quite often when God has had to move me from one place to another, they have not been pleasant times.”

I’ve experienced that. Have you? I don’t know about you, but I want to be right where God wants me. I want to be right behind Him! I want to be in the middle of what He is doing and wants to do in and through me.

In order for God to do something new in our lives, we have to be willing to let go of what was and embrace what will be. Although I don’t always embrace this as quickly as I should, I have discovered that every time I have let go of what was, God brought me to a new place, a deeper place, a better place.

Carter finished with saying this: “Don’t think that going back is better than going forward because it’s not. God wants to bring you to a new level, new trust, new strength, new supply, a new relationship, new confidence in the promises and power of God. You’re going through this battle because God is leading you into something new of Himself.”

Be open for God to take you into something you have never done before, places you’ve never gone before, and experiences you have never had before.

Be willing to let go of everything you have known in order to go after the new thing God has for you.

“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” ~Joseph Campbell

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. Acts 17:27-18

“God is not far from any of us.” I love that. That would include people who get wasted and high on weekends. That would include atheists. That includes people in India and Africa who have never heard about Him.

“For in Him we all live and move and exist.”

So many times we think we need to bring God to people. I don’t know if you have discovered this, but I have discovered that God is already working in people’s lives and it is our job is to help them see what He is doing and point them to Him. What an awesome thing that He allows us to work with Him in helping others find Him.

I’ve heard it said that if you’ll look back on your life, you’ll see God entwined all throughout it.

Do you remember your journey to finding God? Do you remember when you realized that God is real? The questions He answered? The people He sent your way? The service you attended? The message you heard?

We need to recognize that God loves people more than we do. He loves people so much that He died for us. He loved us so much He sent people our way to talk to us. He had a pastor preach that sermon on that Sunday you went to church. He had that friend invite you to church. He had that person answer questions you have always been asking. He showed up in your life when you reached out to Him.

II Peter 3:9  says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.“

God doesn’t want anyone to not know Him. He wants everyone to come to repentance. Our job is simply to show people how much God loves them and is already heavily involved in their life if they’ll just be willing to open their eyes.

Erwin McManus said, “It’s not that hard to bring people to Jesus when you tell them a story that they can find themselves in.” Let’s help the people around us find God by showing them that He isn’t far from any of them. In fact, He has known all of  us since before we were born, He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows exactly what needs to happen for us to find Him.

Thoughts?