Magnify The Lord And His Word

I enjoy magnifying glasses. It is so interesting to look at words on a page in a book with a magnifying glass. Those words appear to be larger. They are still the same size in the book, but they have been increased in size by the magnifying glass for greater readability. Magnifying glasses are marvelous inventions. Eyeglasses are a form of magnification. What was once a blur becomes clear as a crystal glass. I can attest to that fact. The first time I went to an eye doctor, I thought everyone saw the way I did. I didn’t appear to have any problem. When the doctor put the lens in front of my eye, I could clearly see objects across the street which had been a blur before. What a delight it was for me to see clearly.

In the same way, our spiritual life is a blur, and we don’t know that we have a problem until the magnificent Word of God is applied to our spiritual eyes. For the first time, we see clearly through the lens of the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 in the Amplified Bible we read how we are transformed into God’s image as we behold in the Word of God His glory, which is really His person revealed to us.

Before we look at any other scriptures, let’s check on the definition of magnify. It is a simple definition. It means “to make great.” We all know that. To magnify means “to enlarge, to make bigger.” Magnifying glasses are very useful to those who cannot see clearly. Even so, the Word of God is necessary to see God clearly. His Word reveals Him in His splendor, in His magnificence, in His glory.

Now, let’s look at a few scriptures that talk about magnifying the Lord.

Psalm 34:3
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

In Genesis 19:19 Lot spoke to the Lord and was gratefully talking about His mercy which He had magnified to Lot by saving his life (when he did not deserve it, I might add). God is the same way with us. He magnifies Himself to us and delivers us when we don’t deserve it. He loves us so dearly that He desires to rescue us and set us in a place of abundance and joy in our lives.

Psalm 35:27, Psalm 40:16, and Psalm 70:4 talk about saying continually: “Let the Lord God be magnified.” In Psalm 35:27, we see that we are to say continually: “…Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” Now don’t turn me off just because I used the word “prosperity.” As I have stated before, and I must state it again: Prosperity is about a whole lot more than money. Prosperity is achieving excellence in every area of our lives; that includes health, wealth, peace, well-being, loving marriages, obedient children, delightful relationships with friends. As we see in 3 John 2, John prayed that we would prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper. Our souls (minds, wills, emotions) can only prosper in one way. They prosper as we attend to God’s Word and walk in His ways, magnifying Him, rather than things on this earth.

I have several questions to ask you today. What magnifying glass are you using for your life? What are you magnifying? Are you using the magnifying glass of God’s Word, or are you using the magnifying glass of man’s word and opinion to make your life great? Are you applying the magnifying glass of God’s Word to the problem areas in your life, or are you applying the magnifying glass of man’s word and opinions to those problem areas? What we magnify is what we see the most clearly. Are we magnifying our problems, or are we magnifying our great God, the problem solver, the One Who is the solution to any problem that we may encounter in our life’s journey? I know that I need to take a quick checkup on myself. What am I magnifying today? I want God’s magnifying glass—His Word. How about you?

Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together, for He has done great things for us.

The Lord Made This Day

In Psalm 118:24 we read: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

This scripture is very familiar to many of us; in fact, we speak it over our day when we get up. I believe that we have not looked at the true significance of this verse. Let’s do some digging.

In Genesis 1 and 2 God spoke; God made; God saw everything that He had made and it was very good. Everything that God made, including mankind, was very good or perfected or complete. He spoke it; His speaking made it; He considered it very good.

You and I were made in His image. That is very good. We are told that all the days of our lives are numbered in His book. Each new day has been made for you and me. God made them before the foundation of the earth. He made them before time began.

When we get up in the morning and rejoice over our day, before we even start into it, we are releasing the goodness of God into our day. We are coming into agreement with Him for the goodness of that day that He has made for us. Our agreement with God releases good things for us for that day. When we rejoice and are glad in the day, we release joy and love and peace and goodness for our day. Many of the things that our enemy, satan, has designed for us for that day will die unborn as we rejoice in the Lord. Our rejoicing sets God’s plans for us for that day into motion.

God is so good to us. In fact, that whole chapter of Psalm 118 is about God’s mercy enduring forever for us. Look at that chapter. The Lord is for us. It is better to trust in Him than to trust in man. The Lord is our strength. He is the song in our hearts. He is our victory. He is the One Who gives us success. He is our God. When we give thanks to Him for Who He is and for what He has made, we release what He has for us. We open the door for Him to do what He loves to do. He loves to make our days bright and full of His goodness. He loves to see us joyful and enjoying life to the “max.”

Now, say it with meaning and understanding:
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE. I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.

I will rejoice. Do you see that statement? It is a statement of your will. I WILL rejoice. It is something you and I do on purpose. We say it on purpose. We deliberately declare or decree that we WILL rejoice. We WILL be glad in our day. It is our determination. It is our decision. When we get up, we must make a decision each day. Either we will grumble and complain or we will rejoice and be glad. The choice is ours. God has already made a good day for us. It is our choice to believe or not to believe it. Every day is a day to rejoice and be glad. The reason for our rejoicing is this: This is the day that the Lord has made for us. He has made it. He is in this new day. He has made it for you and me. Nobody else has made it. We can either agree with him or agree with the seemingly contradictory circumstances. Circumstances do not interfere with God’s making. He has designed the day. That is it! No devil, no contradictory circumstances, nothing is stronger than God.

In His mercy, in His Love, which is faithful to you and me, He has made a perfect day for us. We will rejoice and be glad in this day. We have our instructions from this Psalm. In fact, the very last verse says that we will give thanks to the Lord because He is good and because His Love endures forever. He loves us and has only good things for us to enjoy EVERY DAY! REJOICE! BE GLAD!

Glorious Destiny

The New Year is just a few days away, and we all look forward to what the Lord has for us this year. He has only good reserved for us, even though there may be trouble all around us. Our focus must be on Him and His goodness all the time. He is a good God, and He lives in us with His goodness.

As I was reading the New Living Translation yesterday, this sentence really leaped off the page into my spirit man. As Paul prayed for the Colossians, so I pray for you, my readers, this prayer: “…We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom” (Colossians 1:9) This is my prayer for you in the New Year of 2009.

All of us need understanding of God’s plans for us. In fact, we need complete and comprehensive understanding of our destiny. As we seek Him, we will find His plans for us this year. As we ask Him for His wisdom to guide us, the Holy Spirit will direct our lives.

There is also another scripture in the New Living Translation in Psalm 73:24 that I pray for you for the New Year. A good friend and I were discussing this scripture last night. “You will keep on guiding me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” Isn’t that an awesome scripture! I love it. This guidance of the Lord in our lives is a continuous process. He never stops guiding us. His guidance leads us to His designed destiny, which, of course, is glorious. Anywhere that God is, His glory is. Think about that for a while. He is guiding us continually; His guidance is leading us to His destiny for our lives; His destiny is full of Him, His glory; He wants to give us complete understanding of that destiny; He will give us His wisdom to complete the destiny He has laid out for us. This is a win-win situation.

Yes, God does have a plan for each of us. That is His divine desire. We must remember that we do have an enemy, who will do everything he can to disrupt, sidetrack, and destroy that plan of God for us. It is our mission to ignore the enemy’s tactics and focus on God’s strategies for us to accomplish what He has built into our spirits when we were born into this earth. His plan is perfect. Imperfection comes when we are disobedient, ignorant, unwilling, rebellious and weary. While we are here on this earth, God’s plan for us will be challenged at every turn in the road of our destiny. If there is a boulder obstructing our pathway, we stop, ask the Holy Spirit what to do about it and follow His instructions. There are lots of boulders—sickness and disease, poverty, failure, defeat, impossibilities to the human mind, people who manipulate and control our lives, lack, want, loss, death. Every boulder is God’s opportunity to prove Himself strong on our behalf. We have one purpose: Keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit of God, with His Wisdom, to guide us through the minefield of life. We can avoid many traps when we allow Him to be our guide.

In Psalm 91:1-2, we read that when we dwell in the presence of the Lord, we are under His shadow. His shadow is His glory, which is a canopy over our heads and an enveloping of our being. His presence, His glory, is our defense and protection. His presence is His divine love personified. We say (we speak, we declare, we decree) that He is our Refuge (our place of protection); He is our Stronghold (our place of strength); He is our God. THEN, He delivers us from the snare or trap of the devil. That trap is any instrument satan uses to catch us in our walk of life, to involve us in difficulties, unexpected trouble and entanglements, unexpected evil, unexpected dangers, unexpected perplexities of life which seem to have no solution. GOD IS OUR SOLUTION! HE DESIGNED US AND OUR DESTINIES. IT IS HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO CARRY OUT THOSE DESTINIES FOR US. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO COOPERATE WITH HIM IN HIS PLAN FOR OUR LIVES!

Do You Trust Me?

Do you trust me? Have you ever had someone ask you that question, or have you asked someone that question yourself? When we hear that question, we usually go into “auto pilot” with our answer. Our response goes something like this: "Of course, I trust you." It is a normal response without much thought.

I believe the Lord asks us that question from time to time, and our response is too quick. "Of course, I trust You." I am asking the Spirit of the Lord to search my heart and show me the areas where I do not trust the Him. I am sure there are some. In fact, as I write this Pearl, I see some already. Praise God for revealing. Revealing is one of the greatest benefits of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He shines the spotlight of His Presence on things He wants to uncover and “deal with” in our lives.

Many times, trust or the lack thereof, is indicated by what we are willing to allow someone to do for us. Trust involves relinquishing control. If you or I have a fear that someone else (including God coincidentally, like it or not) will not do it the way we think they should, then there is a trust factor involved. For example, do you trust God with your spouse or your children? Many times we say we trust, but when we are “put to the test,” we fail the test. When you don’t know where your child is, do you trust God? When your spouse is late getting home, do you trust God? When the bills appear to be greater than the paycheck, do you trust God? When your retirement fund is reduced in size because of the economy, do you trust God? When He asks you to give your last $10, do you trust God? I think you are getting the picture. We can say we trust God, but the real test comes when we have to trust Him and cast the care of the whole load on Him, believing that He cares for us.

What trust really “amounts to” is believing that someone loves you enough to take care of you in all situations or circumstances. It is believing they will be there for you in the good times and the bad times.

With God, trust is a decision we all make every day in many different circumstances. I have made that decision. How about you?

Here are some scriptures to help you move into the position of trusting God. Confess and meditate them for your life.

Psalm 91:2, Amplified Bible
I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

Psalm 118:8
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Psalm 144:2
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust….

Proverbs 28:25, Amplified Bible and Proverbs 29:25, Amplified Bible
…I put my trust in the LORD, and I shall be enriched and blessed.
…I put my trust in the LORD, and I am safe and set on high.

Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Psalm 125:2, Amplified Bible
Those who trust in, lean on, and confidently hope in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides and stands fast forever.

Power is released when you trust God and are thankful. You’re immovable. You’re surrounded by His Glory.

Enter Into His Rest

In the beginning, God created everything you and I would ever need to complete our life here on this earth. Then He rested, because He was finished. There was only one problem. His son and daughter, Adam and Eve, messed up things so that He had to come to this earth, restore the original plan and this time complete it for all eternity. That is what Jesus meant when He was hanging on the cross and cried out: IT IS FINISHED!

For all eternity, what God has planned and provided for that plan for you has been finished. It is your job and my job to learn how to tap into that finished work through the power of the Holy Spirit and the information provided for us through the Word of God. As we find out what God has provided for us, we can rest in that finished work for us. It is a good life!

We have several scriptures to look at this day to understand the finished work and rest.

In Hebrews 4:1-11 we see the promise of rest that God has provided for us. We have to look at Hebrews 3:18,19 to see what causes us not to enter into that rest. It is unbelief. Faith is the open door into God’s rest. Faith in God’s finished work for us leads us into resting in Him. In fact, Hebrews 4:3 in the Amplified Bible states that …[His] works had been completed and prepared [and waiting for all who would believe] from the foundation of the world. In verse 10 we read that …he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.

In Hebrews 4 we see that we are to enter into the rest of the Lord. Our own human efforts produce nothing but frustration and anxiety. When we truly trust God with our lives, we have sweatless victories, joyful lives and powerful testimonies to the Lord’s care for us.

In Romans 4 16-21 we read about Abraham’s faith in God and His finished work. It took Abraham a while to believe, just as it does you and me sometimes. We are in good company. There came a point in Abraham’s life where no unbelief caused him to waver concerning God’s promise to him. He was strong in faith, giving glory to God for God’s finished work for his life. He was fully persuaded that what God had promised for his life would be accomplished. What gave him such confidence—faith in the promise of God. We also must reach that point where we have such confidence in the promises of God, the Word of God. It takes a diligence of hearing God’s Word and spending time in His presence.

Our final scripture reference is Ephesians 2:10 in the Amplified Bible. This scripture tells us that God planned our good life ahead of time. What we have to do is to access it by faith, and then it becomes a reality in our lives.

Ephesians 2:10, Amplified Bible
For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

Our Heavenly Father has planned a wonderful life for each of us. What we must do is believe that statement and act on it. Every day, we need to affirm these scriptures in our lives, regardless of what we are facing, in the good times and in the bad times. We are to stay consistently the same, when everything is going well, when our flesh is giving us “fits,” or when the enemy seems to have gotten a foothold in our lives. We are not to look at the circumstances. We are to look with a steadfast gaze at God and His Word. He has only good things for us.

Pathway, Part 2

Yesterday we started a teaching on the pathway of the Lord for your life. We will finish that teaching today. Isn’t God a good God! He not only puts us here on this earth, but He also gives the direction and wisdom to follow Him while we are here. What a God we serve!

Psalm 85:13
RIGHTEOUSNESS goes before the Lord and makes His footsteps a way in which to walk.
RIGHTEOUSNESS goes before the Lord and SETS US IN THE WAY OF HIS STEPS, in His path.

Psalm 23:3b…He LEADS us in the PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS for His name’s sake.

Isaiah 54:14 We are ESTABLISHED in RIGHTEOUNSESS.

Psalm 86:11
The Lord TEACHES US His way, that we may WALK and LIVE in the TRUTH.

Proverbs 8:35
We have found JESUS CHRIST, WISDOM Himself; we have found life and obtain FAVOR from the Lord. Our PRAYERS go out before us and prepare the way.

Ephesians 2:7
The Lord is demonstrating His immeasurable, limitless, surpassing riches of His free grace (FAVOR) in His kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 5:12
The Lord blesses us, His righteous ones. He SURROUNDS us with FAVOR as a shield.

Romans 13:12
We have on the ARMOR OF LIGHT.

We have found Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have found life and obtained the favor of the Lord. His favor is free and immeasurable, limitless; and nothing surpasses the richness of His favor. He blesses us as His righteous ones and surrounds us with His favor as with a shield. Our prayers go out before us and prepare the way. The Lord leads us in His pathway of righteousness; He makes His footsteps a way in which to walk. He teaches us His way so that we will walk in the right path, which is the path of life in the Truth. We are established in His righteousness. We stand there in the pathway of righteousness, with the armor of light, which is actually the Lord Himself.

We are walking in the pathway of righteousness. In the way of righteousness is life, and in that pathway, there is no death (Proverbs 12:28). That means we are walking in the Truth of the Word Himself. We are established in righteousness, which places us in His Truth. Hallelujah!

Follow the pathway of the Lord always. You and I will stay on that pathway with the Word as our basis always and the Holy Spirit as our teacher always. Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). We are living in days of great outpouring of knowledge, signs and wonders in the spirit realm such as we have never seen before. We must stay close to God and His Word to avoid the pitfalls of deception. His Word never fails.

Pathway, Part 1

Psalm 16:11
You will show me the pathway of life.

Psalm 25:4,5
Show me Your ways.
Teach me Your paths.
Guide, lead me in Your truth and faithfulness.
Teach me. You are the God of my salvation (deliverance, protection, health, wealth, well-being, wholeness).

Psalm 25:10
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to me who keeps His Word.

Proverbs 16:3
I have confidence in, trust in You, Lord, with all my heart.
I don’t rely on my own insight or understanding.
In all my ways I recognize, know, acknowledge You.
And You shall direct and make plain my path.

God will show us the pathway to travel while we are here on this earth; He will show us every step. He already has it mapped out. The trip is planned. He has given us a direction finder—the Bible—to know the way. The Holy Spirit is our guide to interpret the direction finder. God thinks of everything, doesn’t He!

We make the choice of the pathway, either the one He shows us (the path of life) or the opposite one (the path of death). In Deuteronomy 30:19,20, we read that God sets before us life and death. We are to choose life and blessing. When we choose life, we have wonderful results on our pathway of life. We and our seed will live. We are able to love the Lord our God. We are able to obey His voice. We are able to cleave to Him. HE IS OUR LIFE AND THE LENGTH OF OUR DAYS.

From these four scriptures we realize that God is the One Who shows us the pathway in which to walk. We see His Truth and His faithfulness on this pathway. We see mercy and lovingkindness on His pathway. He is there to lead us and guide us in His truth and faithfulness. He is there to teach us. There is once again a choice. His path is plain to those who keep His Word. He directs us in His path as we recognize, know Him intimately and acknowledge Him in all our ways. The key to walking the right pathway of the Lord is staying close to Him and His Word all the time. His Word is the GPS for our trip.

Whatever your question on the trip, ask the Holy Spirit. He will show you the right direction from the Word. Do you need healing on this trip? He will show you the right direction. Do you need relationships mended? He will show you the right direction. Do you need finances to pay your bills? He will show you the right direction. However, once the Holy Spirit shows you the direction from the Word of God, listen to Him and do it His way. Don’t think you have come up with a better way. He knows what is ahead on that pathway. He knows the best route. Trust Him and go ahead. You will like the trip.

Let’s meditate on these scriptures today and we will finish the teaching tomorrow.

Prosperous

In 3 John 2 we read that we are to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers.

Let’s talk about prosperity today. Prosperity seems to be a dirty word in some Christian circles today because people associate the word prosperity with money. There is so much more to prosperity than money. You can be rich and not be well. That is not true prosperity. You can have a great job and making plenty of money and have a rotten marriage. You can be a millionaire and have children that are out on the streets in rebellion. Money is part of prosperity but not the whole pie. It is only one slice of the pie.

What is true prosperity? True prosperity is going to the highest level of excellence in all areas of one’s life, to be successful according to the Word of God. A prosperous person is someone who is healthy, wealthy, living in a wonderful marriage, with children obedient to the Lord and walking in the perfect will of God. I don’t know too many people like that. How about you? Did you know that it is possible? Did you know that is God’s plan for each one of us and that it is attainable?

God spoke through the Apostle John here in 3 John 2 and said that He desires that we prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. Here is the key to total prosperity: a prosperous soul. Our soul consists of our mind, our will and our emotions. How do these three areas of our life prosper? They all prosper by the Word of God being number one.

Our minds are to be renewed with the Word of God. What does that mean? Before we were born again, our minds thought the world’s way and listened to the world’s word of advice. The world is satan’s kingdom. We are now living in a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God. We must learn how to operate in the new kingdom in which we find ourselves. How do we do that? We read the manual until we know the principles of operation in this new kingdom.

Our wills are to be conformed to God’s will. God’s Word is His will. When we need to know how to think, talk or act, we look to the Word of God to see what He has to say about it. What we find in the Word of God is our direction to be conformed to His will. It is no longer our will that we want to exercise. It is His will, because He knows what is ahead of us; He knows the end from the beginning.

Our emotions are to be tempered by the fruit of the spirit. It is not God’s will that we be fearful, upset, timid, fretting, tossed about by every human emotion. It is God’s will that we be led by His Spirit, operating in the fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness, faith(fulness), patience (consistency in the face of difficulty), meekness (humility, teachableness), temperance or self-control. When we yield to the Holy Spirit in every situation, these forces of His Spirit will come to the rescue. They are in us, ready to be put to work in all situations. The reason these fruit are not active in us is very simple. We let our flesh rule us instead of the Holy Spirit. We jump too quickly. For example, when someone accuses us of wrong, our fleshly reaction is anger and offense. The fruit of the spirit would be to react with love because loves takes no account of the evil done to it.

The three areas of our lives—our minds, our wills, our emotions, which make up our souls—are the determining areas that put us in the place to prosper. When we have conformed our minds, wills, and emotions to the Word of God, we will prosper in all areas of our lives. We will walk in health. We will have wealth to invest in the Kingdom of God. We will experience days of heaven on earth in our homes. We will win the world for Jesus.

Beloved, I desire that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers!!!!!!!!!!!

God's Instruction

In Psalm 32:8 we read that God will instruct us and teach us in the way which we should go; He will counsel or guide us with His eye. His eye is upon us. He is always watching over His children. If we will listen, we will hear him instructing us concerning our pathway in life.

The Lord instructs us through His Word and His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and counselor. We can ask Him for guidance when we need it. We can ask Him to show us the way when we need direction. He desires to lead us. The Word of God has been given to us to instruct us in God’s ways, which are the ways of His Kingdom. When we stay in God’s Word, we are staying in the perfect way.

God is so good to us. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He is right there with us to keep us from taking a detour on the road of life. He keeps us on the highway and will help us to avoid the ruts and bumps if we will listen to His instruction.

Psalm 33:11 tells us that the counsel of the Lord stands forever and the thoughts of His heart through all generations. Isn’t that comforting! God’s counsel to us stands forever firmly in place. The thoughts of His heart are to all generations. He is mindful of our lives. He wants to be our leader. He wants to be our guide forever.

It is up to us to learn how to follow the Lord. He teaches us through His Word and by the power of His Spirit. Jesus told us that we as His sheep hear His voice, and the voice of a stranger we do not follow. We do hear God’s voice. We do know the way to go.

The person who heeds God’s voice and listens to His instruction is like a tree firmly planted by the rivers of water. He brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf shall not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper and come to maturity, shall succeed (Psalm 1:1-3). The successful person is one who listens to Godly counsel and doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He doesn’t follow their advice. He doesn’t listen to them. He listens to God so that His plans and purposes can be established.

We are living in a time when Godly instruction is a vital necessity. It is only the Lord Who can guide us through the dangerous time in which we are living. All around us, the ways of the world are producing failure. It is only God’s way that will stand. His way is the way of the Word. We must listen to Him now more than ever. Take time at the beginning of your day, every day, to get your instructions for the day. It could mean the difference between life and death in this time period. Or it could mean the difference between losing thousands of dollars or doubling your investments. When God is allowed to be in charge of our lives, He will take us the best route in the highway of life. He knows the way better than we do. He sees the end from the beginning.

Let’s listen to His Godly counsel every day.

The Purposes And Plans Of God

I am still dwelling in Ephesians. This book of the Bible has some of the richest treasure for the Body of Christ. Let’s dig out some more of these Pearls today.

Look at verse 20 of Ephesians 3 (author’s paraphrase of the Amplified Bible). Once we realize we are filled through all our being with the fullness of God; once we understand we have been filled with the richest measure of His divine Presence; once we know that we are wholly filled and flooded with God Himself, then verse 20 can become reality in our lives.

Now, right now, yes, this very moment of time, God’s power can operate in us. As a result of the action of His power (fullness of His Presence of Love, Life and Light), which is at work in us, He is able to carry out His purpose for us. He is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think or dream possible, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams.

God wants to perform His plan in our lives. It is not just about us. It is about impacting the whole world. When we are where God wants us to be in the physical location, He can use us to change the people we are to contact. When we listen to His voice directing us, we will go to the community, the job, the church that He wants us in. He has a plan. He has a purpose. He has a destiny designed for each of us, imprinted with our name. He has all the provisions for that destiny to be fulfilled. He has the roadmap. He has the trip planned in minute detail. Here is the challenge: He has a whole lot of people who are not following that plan for whatever reason. I believe today that you are not one of those people. Stop, ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you are to be located. He will answer that prayer. You may be right where you are supposed to be situated. Or, if you are not there, let Him lead you to His place of operation for you.

If we go back several chapters in Ephesians to 2:10 we read these words in the Amplified Bible (author’s paraphrase). We are God’s own handiwork. We are His workmanship. We are recreated in Christ Jesus, born anew for this purpose: that we may do those good works which God predestined, planned beforehand for us. We are taking paths which He prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them. When we do that, we live the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live.

Isn’t that a good verse to know? I love that verse and speak it often over my life. The verse in Ephesians I had never used before this week to speak out God’s plans for my life. It is a wonderful verse to meditate.

God has plans for you. You were born for a purpose, and God has the complete blueprint for your life. Isn’t that awesome! I think it is. What is your part in this? Jesus told us what to do in Matthew 6:33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. We are to seek the Lord with all our hearts. He will show us the pathway of life.

We have the Holy Spirit as our guide. Jesus told us in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth Who will guide us into all the Truth of God. He will show us things to come in the future. He will give us direction ahead of time, but not the whole direction. Faith plays the role in our lives of keeping us in the place of depending on God. If we knew everything ahead of time, it would not require any faith. Also, in verse 26 of John 14 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. He will bring things up that we need to recall from our memory bank. He is there, standing by us as our Director, Counselor, Guide, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener. He is with us all the time. He is dwelling inside our spirit man.

What an awesome plan God has developed for each one of us. He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He knows the thoughts and plans He has for us, to give us an expected end or outcome. It is our responsibility to stay close to Him and let Him direct us every day of our lives. We must become intimate with Him, until we know His voice better than anyone else. When we know His voice and heed His directions, we won’t be taking unnecessary detours.

One of the greatest things you and I can do is to make the right confession. Don’t say this: I don’t know what to do. I am afraid I can’t hear His voice. I never do anything right. Stop that! Instead of saying negative things (even though it may look like that is true in the natural, earthly realm), say these things: I do hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. I do know what to do. I do all things correctly. I am in the right place at the right time with the right words. I will fulfill God’s plan for my life.