July 22 ~ Stand Amazed!

It was my first year teaching and I was going south! I had such great desires of being a positive influence on students and to invest in their lives...my passion burns deeper now than ever before. But, in reflecting on the past, it was so hard! I would have students stand directly infront of me and scream at me - I didn't know what to do. Needless to say there were times that my reaction was not what I would call worshipful. I reacted on their emotions and rolled along with them on their ups and downs. I was miserable. What happened to my joy that I had, the excitement of the opportunities that the Lord had granted me? It all came down to the fact that I changed my focus! I began to focus on myself and fixing the problems utilizing my own strength, a strength that was feeble and frail - what good would that do?

I shared this with a friend of mine and she said, "Travis, when we begin to focus on ourselves and the hardships we are involved in, the world becomes a dark and dreary place. Focus on the Lord and allow Him to move in and through your life it is there that joy prevails and the peace that surpasses ALL understanding abides." From that moment on I began rejoicing in the Lord for the trials and hardship and pulled up the bootstraps and moved forward. Since then, yes I have had struggles and hardships, things that I am not proud of....at times I loose that focus and begin to invert my eyes...the Spirit of the Lord reminds me though of how hard things become when focus is lost.

My encouragement to you is that your focus remain on the Lord. Allow Him the involvement in your life that He so ernestly desires. He longs for your waking thoughts to be about Him, He longs for your heart to desire righteousness, holiness, love, peace, patience, self-control, selflessness...His desire for you was so deep that He sent His son Jesus Christ. When you feel weak, weary, discouraged, frustrated, angry, selfish, hateful, impatient, unholy, turn your eyes and your heart to the Lord...worship Him. There is NOTHING you have done that could seperate you from the arms and the love of Jesus Christ. Worship the Lord with authority and focus on Him daily....stand AMAZED!