I decided to refrain from watching election coverage and the news on Tuesday So yesterday, I worked and spent the day praying, reading devotionals, and praising, all while blasting my Pandora gospel and Mali Music station.
I wanted to post an inspirational devotional, especially considering the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty so many may have been feeling with this election and everything else. Since last week, days I’ve been asking God what He wants me to share in the devotional post and was met with utter silence. Every time I attempted to write, I came up empty until I watched Elevation Church’s Sunday message “I See it Now” preached by Dharius Daniels. That message blessed me in ways unimaginable and provided the inspiration needed to write this devotional. (You can find the message in its entirety at the end of this devotional).
In his message, Pastor Daniels powerfully states: "Where we sit determines what we see. What we see determines what we do.” Think about that. People can look at the same object or situation, and see different things depending upon where they’re sitting. Let’s use the image below as an example. Some of you see a vase. Others see two faces. Some may see both a vase and two faces. Same image, different views … different perspectives.
Where you sit determines your view. Your view affects your perspective. Your perspective influences your actions. We don’t always understand what God is doing because we don’t see what God sees, and we don’t sit where God sits. I didn’t understand God’s silence to my prayer in regards to direction and guidance for this devotional post, but God wanted me to view Pastor Daniel’s message to inspire me to write. I'm going to be transparent with you. Pastor Daniel’s message was posted on Sunday, but I didn’t view it until Tuesday night. On Sunday, Monday, and again on Tuesday, something kept telling me to check YouTube for recent sermons and watch them. I watched a sermon from a different pastor, but that one wasn’t it. You see, God was answering my prayer all along. He was leading me to this sermon and I just had to continually push through until I got there. I finally noticed the sermon on Tuesday but waited 3 hours to watch it after I noticed it. Sometimes our answers are directly tied to our obedience to the promptings from God. That thing you called intuition that led you to that discovery or that thing you call “gut feeling” that guided you to the answer you’ve been praying about, that was God.
God sits high on the throne in Heaven with Jesus seated at His right hand. He sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. Since God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He is everywhere, has all power, and knows all things. So, what you see as another rejection from a job, God may see as deliverance and an opportunity for you to grow in total dependence upon Him. What you see as heartbreak, God may see as protection from a relationship that would cause years of pain. What you see as silence and unanswered prayers, God may see as provision.
Isaiah 55: 8-9 says “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” As Pastor Daniels so eloquently and succinctly states, “just because something doesn’t make sense to us, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense.” Let me remix it a little … just because something doesn’t make sense to you, doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense to God. God’s ways are not our ways. We spend so much time trying to rationalize and understand the reasoning behind what God does, and all He wants is for us to do is trust Him and to continue to move forward even in the midst of uncertainty. We may not have the answers, but we have the ability to trust in the One who has the answers.
Paul covers this notion beautifully in Ephesians 1: 9-11 (NLT) where he writes: “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” God’s will is to fulfill HIS plan, not ours. God’s plan is ALWAYS good. God makes EVERYTHING work out according to His plan. He may not always tell us His plans, but all will work out accordingly.
We can't always trust our view, but we can always trust God. In present times, there’s much uncertainty, but you can be certain about God. You can be certain that God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). You can be certain that God is not slack concerning His promises (2 Peter 3:9). You can be certain that God’s word will not return to Him void, but it shall accomplish what He pleases, and shall prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11). You can be certain that you are more than a conqueror through God who loves you (Romans 8:37). You can be certain that no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). You can be certain that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). You can be certain that the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). You can be certain that God will keep your mind in perfect peace if your mind stays on Him (Isaiah 26:3). You can be certain that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). You can be certain that God’s grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9). You can be certain that God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). You can be certain that God is a healer, provider, way maker, deliverer, restorer, and comforter.
God is good. God is for you. God is faithful. May God bless you and keep you!
Follow us on IG @PurposeNPromises and on Facebook! Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLcnllZBMzJHqtKdC7E1l4A?view_as=subscriber
Watch Pastor Dharius Daniels’ sermon “I See it Now” below.
Comments