Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you! It is still raining out and things are looking greener. Yesterday a friend took me out for lunch while Al was gone to the cities. Good fellowship! Today I cleaned, went to the Dollar Store and this afternoon we are having new friends here for coffee. They moved in just a short time ago.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We have probably all experienced times when our expectations were not fulfilled and our dreams shattered; it was painful and disappointing and we were left with questions. Then way down the line in the future, we see how God was moving us into His perfect plan and our own immediate dreams did not fit that. It was actually a blessing that God intervened when He did. Not long ago, I got an e-mail from a heart broken young gal who experienced a breakup with her boyfriend, crushing her long-term dream. It is painful now but some day she may know that God has a better plan for her life and she will see it unfolding before her. I was reading what Pastor Delano Sheffield had to say about how Thomas’s expectations were shattered when Jesus died. Thomas probably thought that Jesus would bring them freedom from the oppressive rule of Rome and now his leader and friend was dead. His hopes were dashed and even after he got the good news about Jesus being alive, he couldn’t believe it at first. It says in John 20:25 (Amplified), “So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe (it).”  But Jesus arrives 8 days later and shows him the holes in his hands and side and Thomas responds with, “My Lord and my God!”.  Thomas got his wish and Jesus fulfills his expectation. What kind of dreams do we have? Are we disappointed they have not been fulfilled yet? It is not wrong to have dreams and to hold on to them as we are reminded of God’s great power to bring them about. But we are also to hold them loosely if it doesn’t line up with His divine will. Let us respond with grace and with the faith that the Lord is bringing about His perfect will and that is always best.
Challenge for today: Give your dreams and expectations to the Lord in hopeful trust.
Blessings on your weekend. Prayers and love, Judy