Devotional Day 23: Resurrection

• John 11:25-26 : "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
• I know I only have one verse this time. This verse about, to me, speaks volumes. Sometimes things have to die for them to be reborn and seen the way it was intended to be seen and to save what it was intended to save; you.

     I was in church this morning and the pastor said something that really stuck with me. Sometimes God lets our dreams die so that He can fix them. We spend a lot of time planning things for ourselves. We think about ourselves a lot. "God can you just answer my prayer? I need this.." We do a lot of asking. And sometimes we forget to stop and think of God. We plan these big dreams for ourselves! Life gets so good sometimes that we feel we're just walking on clouds, not a care in the world, and we forget about Him. God wants you to think about Him, to appreciate Him. He did so much for us, loved us when we didn't deserve it. With the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives we too often forget to stop and say thank you. A lot of the things we do, whether we realize it or not, have selfish motives. God will allow something to fail if it keeps you from being blind to Him. Another thing that our pastor brought up was something I would have never thought about. He lets those dreams die to take away your pride and selfish motives. He wants all that you do to be through Him. He wants you to take the path that will protect you. If you need to get to the very bottom, to your deepest darkest moment to realize that you're desperate for God, then so be it. He will save you and wrap you in His warmth and protection. I like to remember that I can depend on God. Even when the world is falling in around me and I feel I can turn to no one, I know I can turn to Him. He will meet me wherever I am. God will follow me to the gates of hell if that's what it takes for me to realize He loves me. He loves you. Cherish that. Appreciate that. Let God love you.

                                                                                 Questions/Application

• When was a time your dream died? How about when that dream was resurrected?
• Do you see God's discipline as punishment or love? Why did you choose that option?
• Do you love God enough to let Him love you?