Maneuvers - No. 24
See Wonders
Around You
So much of life depends on what we focus on, friend. If we focus on the negative, the problems that plague our day, that’s what will dominate our emotions and thoughts.
When we focus only on what’s going wrong, it feels like everything is going wrong, doesn’t it?
And when everything is going wrong, what’s the point in trying? It’s pointless to keep moving forward day after day. (At least, that’s what we tell ourselves, isn’t it?)
But the truth is that it’s a choice to let our problems command our focus. Don’t let that condemn you. Rather, let it free you…
Let it free you to focus on something else. Something better and more beautiful.
This week, Holy Spirit is gently taking our hands and leading us to that better and more beautiful place. He wants to teach us, if we’re willing, to shift our focus from ourselves to him. From our problems to his presence.
Because he is here, with you, with us, right now.
Will we see him? Will we see the wonders he’s doing around us and in us?
He’s here to teach us. So join us today, friend, as we lean in to hear what Holy Spirit is saying...
01.
The Message
“It is difficult to persevere when your focus is on your problems. It is difficult to have energy, be excited, have momentum, make any forward movement that feels like it matters, when the focus is purely on you. The colors in the room where you are now … do you see them? The sky I painted for you, the air I breathed for you … the cool breeze on your skin, the rhythm of waking and sleeping, eating and resting, playing and working, I have made all these things for you.
“But do you see them? Do you hear me, see me, feel me calling your name—in all things, everywhere, everywhere you go?
“When you realize everything I have made is for you, you can actually forget yourself. When you let my love fill you so there is no room for anything else, you inhabit the world differently. You see and hear and speak differently than you did before, because you are different. When I fill you, you are never again who you were before.
“Close your eyes. Take a deep breath now. And then another. Rest now. Rest. I am here. I have you. I know all that you are facing, all that you are holding. I see deeper, wider, and I know what is ahead. I know how you will need me then. I know how you need me now. Don’t shut down now. Don’t give up. You are not alone. You don’t have to go through this life alone. I am here. I have always been here. I am not leaving you. I am the one you can count on. In all the pain, all the heartache, all the regret.
“You are made of noble blood, the blood of the king inside you. You are inheriting the kingdom that will ever end, never weaken, never falter, never grow colorless or cold or dark. I am in the light. I am in the dark. I hold your broken heart and I breathe life into it. Stand up now, child. There is life in you. Take that step. I am holding you up to take it, and the next one too. Watch what happens when you do.”
02.
Listen
Let’s pause a moment and let those words sink in.
What did you think about this week’s message? How is it shifting your perspective of your problems? Let’s pull out our journals and write a prayer in response.
03.
Think
“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head” (Psalm 139:5, NLT).
1. What problems have been stealing your focus? How have they impacted how you feel about your life and about yourself?
2. How is God helping you shift your focus toward him? What new wonders and truths is he showing you? What Scripture verses is he bringing to your mind?
04.
Trust
Have you ever asked God where he was in a problem in your life? Is there a moment in your life when you felt he wasn’t there?
In this week’s FLAG Message, Holy Spirit revealed how he’s with us everywhere we go. Those words aren’t a cliche. He truly is with us, and in us, in every moment of every day.
There’s nowhere we can go where he isn’t with us. There’s no problem that can push him away. There’s no regret that can make him stop loving us.
Let’s read Psalm 139:1-16 (NLT) slowly and deliberately. But instead of viewing it as David’s prayer to God, let’s make it our own…
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
If I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride on the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
Even there, your hand will guide me,
And your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
And the light around me to become night—
But even in darkness, I cannot hide from you
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
And knit me together in my mother’s womb
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
As I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Let’s take some time to invite Jesus into those places where we don’t feel his presence. We can start by writing down any areas in our lives that seem empty and colorless. And now, let’s pray over each one…
05.
Pray
Father, there’s nowhere I can go where you’re not with me. Thank you that I can’t escape your love, even if I tried.
Help me see you in the moments and areas of my life where I feel alone, frustrated, and weak. I invite you into those places. (Let’s list those areas now and specifically ask him to join us in each one.)
As I surrender these problems to you, help me trust you to take care of me, and help me see myself for who I really am… noble blood. A royal co-heir with Jesus in a limitless kingdom. Your child. I love you, Lord.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
