Win the Day

Win the Day

What are your dreams for your life? When is the last time you wrote down a dream that only a powerful God could make come true? My husband and I did this recently and it was awesome. We prayed and dreamed big and wrote down what came to our hearts. Most of these dreams included places not yet traveled, people not yet met, opportunities not yet created, and moments with God and others not yet experienced.

As I was praying about these dreams, I did a listening prayer. I released them to God, asked what He saw in our future, and then…I just listened. I was expecting an exciting vision of them being fulfilled and maybe even a push to leave everything and start now. But the message I got was not what I was expecting. It was as if He lovingly whispered these simple words, “Follow me today.” Hmmmm. “Yes… Let me be a big God in your small moments.” Hmmm….now, that’s interesting. It was a Monday, an ordinary day at home with my toddlers and no big plans. But it opened my eyes to something. I want God to be the God of my dreams, but I think He dreams of being the God of my day. I believe He wants to open my eyes to who and what is right in front of me right now, and I think His love and miraculous power are meant to be experienced in the present tense.

C.S. Lewis puts this brilliantly in the Screwtape Letters, written from the perspective of an assistant to the “father down below” to his demon in training: “The humans live in time but our Enemy (God) destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity…in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He would therefore have them continually concerned with obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, and giving thanks for the present pleasure.”

God refers to Himself as “I am” all throughout the Bible, which speaks to His never-changing nature. Isn’t it fascinating that the One who was here before the beginning of the world speaks about Himself in the present tense? * “I AM who I AM. I AM the God who heals you. I AM the God who comforts you. I AM your exceedingly great reward. I AM with you to save you. I AM with you to deliver you. I AM your shield. I AM the God who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. I AM the God who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth. I AM the Lord and there is no other.” Not “I was” or “I will be,” but “I AM” and that means today.

And when He says, “I AM with you always,” it means…HE IS with me in the grocery store when my kids are jumping out of the cart, when the cashier moves at a snail’s pace, when the bagger wants to tell me his life’s story, when my husband leaves for work and takes my keys, when I drive past lonely and hungry people and look the other way in my car, when the widow across the street is in her front yard, when I have to return a phone call from someone who has offended me, when another kid coughs on my kid, when I hear about something I was not invited to and it starts to captivate my thoughts and paralyze me from loving big… I believe He is there in those moments caring about my thought life and wanting an invitation to do big things in my heart. The One I expect to be big in the big moments can be just as big in the small ones if I see them as important as He does and grasp His unchanging love knocking on my door in the present tense.

So…I believe God puts big dreams in our hearts, and that HE will see them through. But I also believe the degree of change we will bring to this world is the degree to which He has changed us. He has each of us exactly where we need to be today by divine design. He wants to open our eyes to what’s in front of us, and offers a powerful invitation to transform our hearts today. Where are we headed? He answers simply, “I AM the way.” (John 14:6)

Prayer

Father, thank you for this day and the life You breathed into us when You woke us up this morning. Thank you for loving us exactly how and where we are. Thank you for caring so much about us that you want to enter our lives in this very moment. We receive your Presence. Transform our current thoughts that are not aligned with your Word, and renew our hearts and minds. Open our eyes to who and what is right in front of us, and who we are in Christ. Lead us today. You are the Way. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Reflection Questions

What does it look like for you to walk in the victory paid for you on the cross TODAY?

Describe a seemingly small moment when God has been a big God to you. We would love to hear about it.  Email ourcityonahill.net@gmail.com if you would like to share.

Treasure Hunt

Today’s treasure hunt is a charge to discover more deeply who God says He is by searching the many “I am” statements throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, including the seven “I am” statements from Jesus in the book of John. Which ones speak to you today?

*References for the ones above include: Exodus 3:14, 15:26, Isaiah 51:12, Genesis 15:1, Jeremiah 42:11, Isaiah 48:17, Jeremiah 9:24, and Isaiah 45:5

Faith in Action

To quote Jennie Allen, “Great people don’t do great things. God does great things through surrendered people. And surrender happens every day in 1,000 small moments. SO, WIN THE DAY. Run the steps in front of you.”

Contributor ~ Katie Taylor

Tags: c.s. lewis, faith, i am, jennie allen, jesus, Katie Taylor, living in present, Our City On A Hill, screwtape letters, win the day