What Are You Pursuing & Why?
God’s Word.
WHAT DID GOD SAY TO ME THIS MORNING
In obedience, the On Assignment By God Blog, now has an audio feature where you can listen to this blog!! Thank you for your prayers as I continue to be obedient and do what God says! Happy Listening!!
Wisdom, the ability to understand the divine perspective and apply it to life, comes from God. If you are going to become wise, you have to get to know God through His Word and take Him seriously.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
Today, as I was spending time with the Lord after I prayed, I noticed something: I REALLY REALLY enjoy reading the Word. I enjoy reading books about the Holy Spirit. I am super excited to watch sermons from my favorite preachers. I call my friends and be sooo excited to share with them something I read, something I heard, or an experience/encounter with God. It’s like I am super super excited about God!!! I am at the church every time they open. I am excited to go and learn more. I am excited to go and be around other people who are also excited to be there. It’s amazing!
As I was reading the Proverbs during the Scriptural Surprise this morning, I found myself laughing and shouting, oh wow! The Bible had come alive to me as I was reading it. It was exciting. I opened my YouVersion Bible app and noticed one of my friends had just completed the Everyday Discernment Devotional. I was intrigued enough and clicked on it and got even more excited when I read Day 1. I was like, “oh this is good!” I even sent it to a few people that I thought would agree with my initial assessment that it would be good!
My point in telling you all this is that even though I may not pop up every morning with excitement because I either didn’t go to bed on time, or I went to bed lathered up in Vicks Vapor Rub, or I went to bed with thoughts on my mind about people I care dearly about, or whatever, once I get into the prayer closet or just start praying while peeing (yeah I went there), the excitement begins to rise up in me when I pursue God. I wake up to praise and worship music. I set the atmosphere regardless of how I feel and the Holy Spirit showed me this morning that when I do that, He will meet me right there! When I open my mouth and give Him praise, He is right there to receive it and is pleased with me, so much so that I have this excitement that I can’t explain or contain!
It got me to thinking about times in the past where I have been excited to start something new or learn something new. You know what I mean? When you decided to go to college or apply for the job you really wanted to work at. You decided to take the class or get the certification. I am only talking about the times where you CHOSE to pursue the new, not when you were forced to pursue it. You remember the anticipation and the excitement?
I saw that it was National Signing Day yesterday for athletes around the nation. I saw young men and women making choices and signing papers with excitement of what was to come. They had their families, friends, coaches, supporters, etc., around them and it was all smiles. They were excited about the something new. They were excited about going to a school that would help them further their life plans. And it got me to thinking about that point in my life where I chose which college I would go to and what major I would pursue. Most times our decisions are tied to money or a better life. You make the choice and you pour yourself into it with all you got. You’re passionate about it because you have seen the results from other people who pursued it. So you excited to be taking steps toward those results.
Back to my excitement about pursuing God. I wasn’t always so excited about it. I would just go to church. It wasn’t like super exciting. It was a routine. It was what I had grown up doing. I believed in Jesus, but I wasn’t like super excited to be at the church every time the doors opened. No one was forcing me to go after adulthood, but it was something I knew I “should” do. But again, that excitement that I have for the Word now verses then, is in stark contrast.
Could it be that I had not seen the results of pursuing God the way that I see them now? Could it be that I had not seen enough “success stories” or testimonials of His blessings like I see now? Could it be that I had not been “sold” on it enough where I truly desired with excitement to go super hard for the Lord?
I remember seeing the people in high school who we used to call, “them Pentecostal people, or them sanctified people or Holy Rollers, or them church folk. You know, you were like…man they STAY in church! I even grew up with some neighborhood friends who went to church what seemed like every day to me. They were always in church. I mean always! But in looking back, I don’t recall them ever inviting me or my family to their church. Again, could it be that the reason why we don’t pursue God with the same excitement that we pursue worldly success is because we really haven’t SEEN enough success stories or HEARD enough testimonies of His goodness, or ENCOUNTERED Him in such a way that causes us to be one of them church folk?
Today, take a moment and ask yourself why you don’t pursue God the same way you have pursued success, money, a certain lifestyle, or whatever that thing is that you have pursue with anticipation and excitement. You fill in the blank on what it is because you know better than I. The same way I recognize that the reason I never pursue God the way I pursue Him now, is because I had not experienced Him in such a way that made me have this desire for even more!
Finally, as I was reading the sample of the Everyday Discernment bible plan, one line stood out to me. It said, God provides every Christian with spiritual gifts; however not everyone uses them.
Could it be that you’re not excited to pursue God because you are unaware of ALL THE BLESSINGS HE HAS FOR YOU? What if I told you that He actually has all of the desires of your heart waiting on you.
I have experienced more blessings, more peace, and more joy in the last year than my entire life and it’s all because I am pursuing God passionately, and with excitement!
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Check out your assignment questions for today. Take a moment to reflect and then answer the questions in your journal. Pray. Listen. Write. Obey.
Your Assignment For Today:
What did God say to YOU in your conversation with Him this morning?
How excited are you to uncover the gifts that God has waiting for you?
How will you change your pursuit of God now that you know more?
Today’s Scriptural Surprise is Proverbs, chapters 4-6. So much wisdom and instruction!!
SALVATION PRAYER
If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.