Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.
Isaiah 64: 8-9 (NIV)
Ever stop to think that you are right where you are supposed to be? I mean right now, as you read these thoughts? I mean this very moment, right where you are supposed to be.
My guess is that you probably have not stopped much to think about that through the years. Most of us—myself included—spend so much of our time thinking about where we’ve been, or where we’re going, or looking at others wondering about what it might be like to be them, that we don’t spend much time thinking about the wonderful reality of being right where we are.
Which leads to a lifestyle where we tend to dwell too much on things we no longer can do anything about—those things of where we’ve been—the past. Or we worry and try to control or arrange things as we head toward somewhere—the future. Therefore, we end up spending much of our time focused on things and moments we either can’t change (the past) or can’t control (the future) and miss out on dealing with the things we have some ability to shape or be shaped by (this moment—now).
And we tend to look ahead in fear and see uncertainty and at times hopelessness rather that opportunity. We tend to look back and see only our mistakes and not His grace. We tend to see problems that can’t be fixed or solved, and mountains that can’t be climbed. We tend to live a life of fear, worry, doubt, and control.
All the while, God is looking down on us and wondering when we will ever get it. When will we ever understand? When will we learn that with Him there are no hopeless situations, only people who have grown hopeless about them? That problems and mountains may appear as unsolvable and impossible to scale to some; but to Him it’s only a matter of deciding when we will reach the peak. God has to be wondering, even yet, when we will begin to see that He can do all things, through all things.
And we will get it, we will understand what God wants us to know—when we realize that God means for you and me to be right where we are this very moment. When we can embrace that truth in our lives—that God has us in every moment of our lives right where He wants us—then we will start to live the life we were meant to live free of doubt, free of worry and uncertainty. And instead, we will begin to live a life with power, trust, and faith knowing that—in the moment we are in—God the Potter is molding us, forming us, growing us, preparing us for all He has planned for us—right where he has us, right now.
When we are in the middle of the toughest game of our lives—God means for us to be right there.
When we are in the middle of the heart-wrenching loss of a loved one—God means for us to be right where we are.
When we are in the middle of a job search where one closed door after another is the closest we get to a paycheck—God means for us to be right there.
When you just experienced the most gut-wrenching unexpected loss in your lifetime—God means for you be right where you are.
Whatever we are in the middle of, God means for us to be there—and in it He is molding us, shaping us and preparing us for not only now, but for what is coming in all our tomorrows. And when we begin to see that—when we begin to see and believe that God has us right where we are, then we begin to see victory in every moment—no matter whether society calls the moment a victory or a defeat.
We begin to see victory in every situation we are in.
And God is waiting for us to embrace the belief that He has us right where He wants us—for our good and His purposes. It’s then we start to move from worry and doubt, from criticizing and condemning, from doubting, questioning and cursing God—to power, peace and freedom from fear, knowing that He is working through us for our good.
It’s then we begin to develop a spirit of anticipation and excitement knowing God is molding us right where we are for more. We begin to see every moment of our lives as a victory in His hands. Defeat is a word society uses to label situations and moments where the score doesn’t end up in our favor. But our moments are all victorious with Him—there are no moments of defeat. It’s then that we begin to view and approach every moment, every day, every event, and every game with a victorious spirit—knowing He will use it for our good and His purposes and His glory. Knowing that the Potter has us right where He wants us.
Do you see victory in a loss, or in a heartbreaking moment, or in a disappointment? Do you see victory in failure as well as success?
You will when you begin to realize and believe that God means for you to be right where you are in life. That’s when He can work in you and through you, and prepare you, and trust you for so much more.
God means for you to be right where you are—believe it and embrace it!
In His Name—Scott
Copyright 2013. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.
