January #jammed : Grace in Life’s Face
Day 4: Work Hard Without Working so Hard.
“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, singing,
“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously;
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.” Exodus 15:1
I didn’t realize was how much of a responsibility I would feel to the dreams thrown into my daughter’s hearts. Overkill is an understatement of the freight train that escapes my mouth before I can silence a ‘deserved’ lecture. The disciplinary balance between anointing them with lifetime laziness for leaving their laundry behind the bathroom door to picking up work to pay for their passions is often a space of five minutes.
“…how He overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you…
Deuteronomy 11:4 (NIV)
Time constraints can strangle dreams unless we recognize our Author’s ability to stretch our minutes. The Israelites made everything harder than it had to be, even though God literally led them as a pillar of cloud each day and fire by night. He provided food for them, and respite from the Egyptian army as the sea swallowed them up. Hard work doesn’t have to be so hard.
But reason cannot grasp all that took place that day. When God’s covenant people were on the verge of extinction, God stepped in to fight for them. No one survived that day except by the miraculous grace of God. (Exodus 15:1 commentary, VOICE)
Jesus died for our freedom to walk in God’s grace through the effort to achieve the dream He planted there. We’re not promised a painless life, but joy and hope to endure reach onward past our goals and eventually home to His arms in heaven.
“God can see needs and hazards we can’t. He works to met our needs and protect us. We must trust that His way is best.” Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible.
Dreams require work. There’s no way around it. Lucky breaks happen in life, but when they hit unprepared hearts they fizzle out like fireworks. Just as An empathetic ear and the opportunity to fail often foster the most successful ownership of our children’s dreams, God is dabbing grace in the wings of the work we put forth to achieve ours.
Father, You are powerful to plant dreams in our hearts. Praise You for each light of hope we’re drawn to achieve in this life. Forgive us for overworking our abilities without tapping into Your strength. Forgive us for taking credit for talents You crafted, and bless our hearts to obediently follow Your will for our lives. For we know that is joyful work. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Is there something you are striving to achieve that exhausts all of your efforts …something that you should prayerfully ask for God’s gracious guidance to ease the load? Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy
Megs
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Megs, Thank you for visiting this morning and leaving your lovely comment. I thank God for the dreams He’s planted in my heart. After DH being out of work for nearly 18 months by the end of November, God answered our prayers and he began a new job mid-December. Once again, we were allowed to dream about getting into a new-to-us home where we might have more room to stretch comfortably whenever we have family or friends over. Should DH’s new job move to full-time employment status then this year we hope to put feet to our dreams to actually take a proactive move to find and buy a new place. We are trusting God for all things and look to Him for direction. Thank you for the reminders mentioned in your post today. God bless you in the new year!
Bless you, Cathy, and praise God for your good news! May He guide You through the new year as only He can. Thank you for sharing your wonderful words!
This hit home with me! I struggle so much with time…. and spending time together as a family and it being important… I want my oldest to have the wonderful memories I had as a child with family and home… I want my children to want to be home and all live close like me and my family– i still did dance and lived my Dreams tried the swim team and finally made the cheer squad which was my dream…. but as a young age I was not involved as much as children are now…. I’ve prayed and struggled for years….my daughter works hard for everything she does, (she likes to be good at something so she will practice and practice until she’s got it!) and we always encourage her, but I think as a parent it’s okay to say no sometimes right???
Another great blog! I can always relate somehow!!! And this week this really hits home for me!!!!!!!
When we lift up our worries to Him, He is faithful to guide our choices. It’s an ongoing process that takes a lifetime. It’s normal to worry as a parent! We all do it. But sometimes, we have let go and let God lead. He loves our children even more than we do.
Thank you so much for your encouragement. Happy Wednesday, bestie!