There are so many expectations in life.  Each day we awaken with personal expectations, social expectations, and financial expectations with which we must deal.  These can also be divided into mental expectations and emotional expectations, which intensify the expectancy of the day.  We wade through each moment trying our best to fulfill each expectancy as it comes along.  Our problem is that many days pass by and the spiritual expectations of our lives are never met, much less addressed.  The problem is that we often ignore the One we say we love the most.  The most important expectations of life are spiritual and placed on us by God Himself.  Jesus reminds us that we can do nothing on our own [John 15:5], but only in His awesome Name.  We exist only because of Jesus and our lives are fulfilled only in Jesus [1 Corinthians 8:6].  So, life without faith in Jesus is a life of failure and frustration [Hebrews 11:6].

Since God is the source of our life, then He is also the source of our life’s daily needs [Matthew 6:9-13].  When we face the expectations, opportunities, decisions which we must handle daily, we need to remember that Jesus is our source.  We cannot handle daily decisions according to our Heavenly Father’s will if we do not have wisdom from Him [James 3:17].  That wisdom comes to us only through the quiet undisturbed times when we reflect on Him and His character and His Word.  There is no other substitute for Godly wisdom.  Not only do we need wisdom from our Father, but we must depend on His power and strength to accomplish His will.  Just like wisdom, any strength we have comes from God.  It is only by His power that we can function each day [Deuteronomy 8:18].  And then we are reminded that each day brings its own troubles [Matthew 6:34].  Each day requires certain necessities for life.  Since He is our source, then these necessities surely come from God [Ezekiel 34:15].

If our daily life depends so much on God, then it seems obvious that we should daily seek and obey Him.  He constantly exhorts us to do this very thing daily in His Word.  We are told that if we pray and seek Him, then He will open heaven and pour out blessings which we cannot even imagine [Jeremiah 29:12-13].  He will reveal His plans for our life, which will spur us on in hope [Jeremiah 29:11].  We read this and know this, but most of the time we ignore His call to us.  We find ourselves wandering around like lost puppies, hoping someone will have pity on us.  What we must do is follow and obey God’s leading.  We must walk the straight and narrow [Deuteronomy 5:32] with no apologies.  Then, and only then, will our lives be successful and fulfilled.

These principles of success and fulfillment, by realizing and following God as the sole source of our lives, is not limited to us as individuals.  These principles are necessities for our families as well as His church.  May we seek Him, hear His call, follow, and obey Him in faith.

We, the Body of Christ at Sunset Park, must come together in unity, calling for and seeking His will.  We do this each Sunday evening as we meet to pray for His church.  We do this as we gather together to seek His face and His purposes for our church.  Commit to join the Body of Christ as we seek Him and His blessings together.

 Hugh Folds, Interim Pastor

Matthew 6:33