What do you see when you look down the road of life? The foundation for your optimism is Jesus Christ. Faith in Him is the conduit through which He is able to pour out into your life all the good He has planned for you to be, to have and to do. It all boils down to one simple question: Do you believe that God wants you to experience and enjoy His blessings or not?
As you look down the path that lies ahead for you, do you anticipate good things from God? Do you expect things to become better or worse? Make no mistake about it – what we believe about God’s working in our lives in this arena has an inestimable effect on how we move ahead and what we will experience and enjoy in the coming days.
Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, when the journey from Egypt to Canaan should have taken only 11 days. Why did it take them so long to enter into the Promised Land? The Bible says, “they were not able to enter because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19). With paradise only 11 days away, they lived in self-imposed misery for 40 years, all because they refused to believe God.
How long have you wandered in circles? Maybe, like Israel, you’ve been in the wilderness for many years. God says through Isaiah that it’s time for you to accept and appropriate good news. Get ready, good news has arrived. Your Father is bringing you out of the wilderness.
What do you see when you look down the path that lies ahead? Will you believe what God says about it? He says that “the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (Proverbs 4:18). Since you have been made righteous by Jesus Christ, (See Romans 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21) this promise is directed toward you.
Combine the promises of God with His ability to keep those promises and His faithfulness in keeping His word and there is no reason to be anything but positive! Consider what the Bible (New Living Translation) says,
Be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the Lord (Psalm 31:24). The Lord’s delight is in those . . . who put their hope in His unfailing love (Psalm 147:11). For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed (Proverbs 23:18). “For I know the plans that I have for you,” saith the Lord, “they are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). There is hope for your future (Jeremiah 31:17)!
Will you believe God? You aren’t like those in the world, outside of Christ. You have an anointing by the enabling grace of the Christ within you to live a supernatural life. Will you accept and appropriate the good news? Will you lay hold on the hope that of fulfilling the God given dreams of your heart?
The Apostle Paul did. He wrote, triumphantly, “Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)!
Regardless of how your circumstances may look, don’t give up on God! “Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise (Hebrews 10:23, NLT). He can be trusted, so never lose hope.
MORE Devotional
