Focus
Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.
Read
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Reflect
It’s Obvious
I remember like it was yesterday. I was 19 years old and in college. I had just gone through some very tough things in my life and at a campus worship service I poured my heart out to God in prayer. In my brokenness, God put me back together and started telling me what I needed to do. I was saying, “Yes Lord” to every change until I heard God call me into ministry. I didn’t want that. I had a plan for my life and it definitely didn’t include more years of school, living on a low income and in a house that didn’t belong to me. It didn’t involve making myself available to a group of people, that at times, would be unkind to me and judgemental towards my family. So I ran from it. God blessed me anyway. I had a great career and was still active in the church, but no matter what I did I knew that I wasn’t doing what God wanted me to do. Several times in my life I have had experiences where I knew I was in the Lord’s presence and when that happens, it changes you. I finally came to the point when it clicked and I knew I had to let go and surrender to my call.
Do you have something in your life that is holding you back from what God wants you to do? Let it go! Whether it’s wealth, status, your dream job, or some material possession, you are never going to be fulfilled or walk in God’s full blessing until you trust your destiny to the destiny maker. You will find that the fear that was keeping you from surrender was keeping you from your blessing.
Pray
Dear God, make us aware of Your presence and change us through the experience. Amen
Go with God!
