180° Degrees in 180 Days

Day 1: Everything’s Anew He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared. Revelation 21:4 Never let it be said that God doesn’t hear prayers of desperation. Our heavenly Father knows when we are sincere and when we are simply looking for an easier softer way. Not necessarily because of what we say from our mouth, but because the Holy Spirit recognizes the desperation in our heart. Desperation is an excellent tool for those who have come to the end of the road. When obstacles in our life become so unbearable and the only decision we have is to go left or right, that’s when God knows we are sincere. When we no longer give the Lord ultimatums, and we no longer try to bargain with Him, that’s when He picks us up from the valleys where we have fallen. The apostle John affirms for us in Revelations, that all “can and will” be forgiven and that the living death we once took part in, has been substituted for a new life. On day 1 of the rest of your life, how will you honor your heavenly Father as well as yourself for the answered prayers of desperation? The doors to a new life have been opened, we now have food on the table, and a new place to pray and to lay our head. How will you give thanks? May the prayers of desperation be the guiding force for a new life with your heavenly Father. Prayer for the day: Heavenly Father, I give thanks for the answered prayers that I recognize are from you today. To finally be able to see a shimmer of hope and the possibilities of a wonderful tomorrow, I say thank you. When all was lost, and my best thinking continued to destroy me, you were faithfully there protecting me every day. May I begin to recognize the possibilities that come only from you and may I turn my will and my life over to you so that Your will may be done. In Jesus name Amen. Day 24: Passing the test Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. - Malachi 3:10 NIV In the 1980s and 90s, nobody played the game of basketball better than the great Michael Jordan. He was so good, a common slogan came out that would have everybody saying, “I want to be like Mike.” Kids would go out and buy Michael Jordan shoes, jerseys, and watch all the highlight reels to look the part of the great one. But when it came down to doing the one thing that was necessary to be like Mike, the majority of kids fell short. They never understood the part about sacrifice. Understandably, everybody would like to be able to succeed and be the best at something without having to work hard for it. But is that realistic? Is it truly realistic to think that you can do absolutely nothing and gain the rewards from those actions? How would you ever measure your level of success if everything you wanted was just handed to you? Ask the same question as it pertains to your relationship with God. What kind of Father to child relationship would you have with Him if all God did was hand down the things you wanted without applying any effort or sacrifice. In today’s verse, God wants to see how much you’re willing to sacrifice and do without to attain the blessings and riches that God has prepared for you. Are you going to be like Ananias and Sapphira and hold onto some of those things that you believe are going to make your life easier and happier, or are you going to relinquish and sacrifice everything to God fully knowing that your efforts will be recognized? In fact, how can you be so sure of receiving God’s blessings? He is permitting you to test Him. Read the second line of verse 10. Ask yourself, “Am I willing to sacrifice everything to be great in the eyes of God? Am I willing to trust and obey God’s word and do what is required?” We sacrifice for God because we genuinely believe that the plans that He has for us are more significant than us trying to emulate Michael Jordan or whomever else your heroes may be. God has an incredible and beautiful plan for you, and only “you.” A program that cannot be copied by anybody else and a project that you can be assured will never let you down. Let your new slogan be, “I want to be like Christ.” Today, your recovery depends upon his plan. Prayer for the day: Heavenly Father, today I want to be the best that you would have me to be. Today I wish to set aside all my grandiose ideas that ultimately have nothing to do with your plan and embrace your methods for me. Today I will sacrifice all whether that be money, time, efforts, and allow you to work entirely in my life. I will meet the struggles of today head-on and embrace those difficulties that will make me stronger and will enable me to be a living witness not only to you but to others. Amen