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One thing most of us struggle with is disobedience by delay. That is, we wait to do what God has called and equipped us to do. We wait until a more convenient time, thinking we have plenty of time, but more often than not, we will run out of time. For most of us, God doesn’t mean for us to wait until some future day to serve Him by going out in a million-dollar blaze of glory, but rather He wants us to give ourselves to Him in daily nickels and dimes of service. By grace, lay up treasures in heaven with how you use your time today. It’s not what you leave behind that matters most. It’s what you forward ahead.

God will bring you through 100% of your dark days until He brings you home. He will not forget you a single moment. He will not forsake you a single time. He will not fail you a single day. Will it always be easy? No. Will it always be comfortable? No. Will it always be the way you want it? No. But it will always be under the careful, calculated and compassionate rule of a Father Who loves you and has a purpose for you. You are alive and breathing today because God made it so; God made it so because you were made to be a light in this dark world. And you are not done shining yet.

For those who are trusting in Jesus, God is always doing much more in us, for us, around us, and through us than we are aware of. All we see is the show, but He is working behind the scenes. All we see is the ship, but He is working beneath the surface. He is precise. He is punctual. He is providential. We don’t have to make sense out of everything that is going on or that we are going through, but we do need to trust that God is tirelessly at work in ways that would make sense if we knew all that He knows. And when we can’t see it with our eyes, let us believe it in our hearts. That’s what faith is for.

This is the model, means, and motivation for every expression of our love toward the people God has put into our lives… Jesus loves us. Jesus loves us. Jesus loves us. For who better to love imperfect people than those who were at their own worst when Jesus loved them anyway? He loved us then. He loves us now. He will keep loving us forever. Listen: It’s not about trying harder to love better; it’s about rejoicing in the love that God has shown us in Jesus and then responding by loving Him back and sharing His love with other people. There is grace for us when we get this wrong and grace to help us get it right.

Let’s be honest… Loving others isn’t as easy as it sounds. Some of the people where we live, work and play are know-it-alls, gossips, selfish, cry-babies, back-stabbers, unforgivers, lazy, troublemakers, judgmental, self-righteous, unkind, power-hungry, cheaters, entitled, drama queens, hypocrites, snobs, braggarts, and downright unlikeable. Who would love people like them? Jesus. Jesus would love people like them. Jesus loves people like you and me, who are just like them. We may sin differently than others we know, but we are sinners just the same. And Jesus loves us anyway. So we love others in His way.

Every person in your life is there for this reason: for you to love on them. God put you where you are, and brought people into your life where you are, so you could demonstrate His love for them, to them. These aren’t just neighbors, co-workers, and teammates; they are intended recipients of God’s affection to be administered through you. Every meeting, conversation and encounter is a wonderful occasion to bless and brighten someone else’s life to the glory of God. Remember today…The intersections where your life meets someone else’s life hold a beautiful, God-given opportunity and responsibility to love like Jesus.

It’s easy to be mistaken about this, assume this, believe this, want this and live like this: that your life is all about you. But the Bible teaches that your life is all about Jesus. Let us daily be reminded that you and I are to exalt, proclaim, model, know, serve, praise, believe, seek, adore, please, magnify, worship, defend, treasure, follow, trust, enjoy, obey and love Jesus. We do so to bring glory to the One who was slain for us, conquered sin and death for us, offers forgiveness and life to us, and has become a treasure and joy to us! Because here’s the thing… A life that is full of personal honor for Jesus is also full of personal happiness.

The world often portrays being blessed as the measure of how good we are or how good we have it. We are blessed because of what we do, what we get to do and what we get from our doing. But being blessed in the Kingdom of God is more than that. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well on the outside, but that all is well on the inside. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well in the everyday matters of life, but that all is well in what matters most. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well now, but that all will be well forever. Know this: Real blessing comes in things that can never be taken from us.

If you are trusting Jesus, you are blessed whether you feel like it or not. The Bible doesn’t say you possibly are blessed, probably are blessed or periodically are blessed; it says you ARE blessed. This is a continual certainty for those who follow Jesus in faith. There is… No reason to feel shame for your yesterday because you are blessed with His pardon. No reason to feel discontent with your today because you are blessed with His presence. No reason to feel afraid of your tomorrow because you are blessed with His promises. His mercy is yours. His satisfaction is yours. His kingdom is yours. All because you are His.

You don’t have to cross your fingers. You don’t have to be cautiously optimistic. You don’t have to wonder in uncertainty. You don’t have to have a glass half full disposition. You don’t have to fear the worst. You can have a real hope in this broken world with broken people even when life doesn’t work out the way you thought it would, because you are certain it will work out for good. That’s what real hope is: a confident expectation of something good in your future. And it comes from trusting that Jesus will be with us in time of need, give to us all that we need, and one day put an end to our needs.