GOD BLESSES WHAT REMAINS

Isaiah 61:3 NIV To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.

When we have a family Christmas meal there are sometimes leftovers which we can use the next day, and very often we enjoy the remains even more the second time around!😊

When Jesus fed the 5,000 He instructed the disciples to go round and pick up what remained of the food which amounted to 12 baskets full. Scholars estimate they held roughly 35.24 litres (about 9.3 gallons) which represented a significant volume of leftover bread and fish. Jesus obviously had a purpose for those leftovers otherwise He wouldn’t have bothered, but He did, so they mattered to Him.

Likewise God can use what remains of our lives because they matter to Him too. Isaiah tells us even the ashes can produce beauty and hold unlimited potential in God’s hands. He promises to give joy instead of mourning and our part is to receive and believe His promise.😊

Revelation 3:2 TLB Now wake up! Strengthen what little remains. Now we may be young or old, or somewhere in the middle, but even if we think we’ve not got much left God can use it. He wants us to cooperate with Him and allow Him to strengthen however little or much we have, not to underestimate what remains of our lives. If we’re still breathing God wants us here for a purpose.

He encourages us to stay faithful with what we have because it’s never too late and He can still use us, even if we’ve been in a wilderness like Moses! We can still believe to take mountains and be like Joshua and Caleb who said, “We can do this!”

God wants us to have an expectation for the future because He has told us, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains.” If we do that He can abundantly bless what remains and how encouraging that is to us all.😊 Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

Photo by Swiss Educational College on Unsplash

EVERY DAY A FRIDAY?

1Timothy 6:6 NKJV Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Do you ever wish every day was a Friday? Those days when we can’t wait for the week to pass and just marking time till Friday night comes and we’re free to relax? I know I’ve done that when I was at work, but when we feel that way it may help to remember everyday is a gift.😊

Sometimes the answer is to try and find things to be grateful for, to have a pat on the back for getting through another tricky week, or for trying to look for the good in any situation. Even though we may not like our job at least it helps pay the bills! Or think how blessed we are to have a roof over our heads and food in the cupboard when many don’t.😊

Maybe you wish it was Friday just because the routine at the weekend is a bit different, or you get to see other people or go out for coffee but the rest of the week is rather routine? Instead we could thank God for the health we do have, the fact we have friends we can meet up with, we have the freedom to look ahead and plan lovely things.

Psalm 9:1 NIV I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

God has done so much for us already, so let’s believe for the best each day, not for the worst. Let’s see the glass not half full, not half empty, but be thankful we have a glass at all and we know it’s being refilled to overflowing by God everyday! (Psalm 23:5 …my cup overflows.)😊 

When we feel a bit disgruntled wishing it was Friday, maybe we can ask the Lord to help us see it from a different perspective instead of rehearsing all the negatives around us. Who could I ring up or text to cheer them up, instead of wanting to be cheered up myself?

It’s all too easy to wish our lives away, to be so focused on what we’re waiting for, that we can miss all the lovely little things along the way. Lord help us to remember there’s always someone worse off than we are, even on our down days, and not to forget to be content with the many blessings we already enjoy and know You have many more still to come.😊 Thank You Lord. Amen.

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash