January 11th

Vision: A View from the Top

Yet surely My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? Zechariah 1:6

Do you know what my greatest fear is? It is that I would be successful at the wrong thing. That should be your greatest fear, too, because do you know what that would mean? It would mean succeeding and failing at the same time, to miss out on why God has you here because you weren’t listening to Him, you weren’t yielding your heart to Him, and that you weren’t in a place to really hear His voice or see the vision that He has for you, your marriage, and your future.

You see, it is possible for you to go through life serving God, but never following Him. On the other hand, it is impossible to follow God without serving Him.

People serve God without following Him all the time. They do the religious thing and check the box, saying, See? I served. I went to church. I taught in Sunday school. I passed the bags for the offering. I served!

You can do these things, and that’s great, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re following Jesus. Following Jesus means that you need to hear His word and respond, and you can’t do that without picking up your cross and taking that up in your service to Him.

For example, I have three kids. Imagine that they are the best kids they could possibly be. They get perfect grades, always choose good friends, make wise decisions, work hard, and are responsible with everything they do. Yes, they do all these things, but what if they don’t listen when I speak to them? What if my words mean nothing to them?

What if they did all those things I mentioned, but then they decide to buy into some Zen religious thing, and nothing I say to them makes them turn back to God? Do you think I would be pleased with them as my children?

The answer is no. A perfect child who ignores their parents’ voices will break their parents’ hearts. That’s what God is saying to us here.

Listen, you and I will not live long, but God’s words last forever. Let’s pay attention.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for speaking to me! Please teach my heart to listen carefully to You and help me to understand Your words and everything You say. I do not want to just serve You. I want to follow You!

Amen