How has Jesus shown Himself to you? I want to encourage you to stop what you are doing today, get out a paper and pen and begin to write. I think it is so important that we take purposeful and dedicated time to set our focus on Jesus and recount what He has done and Who He is. From the time I was young, I viewed my time with God as non-optional. It is not a choice in the day. It’s a NEED for HIM every single day! Time and time again He has proven that when I seek Him, I find Him every single time! (Jeremiah 29:13).
Choosing to purposefully set aside time during these 21 days is a HUGE step in the right direction! It is the best thing you could do for your life and I want to encourage you to keep going! One of my goals in 2021 is to choose to remember…Remembering how God has revealed Himself to me, remembering what He has done for me, and remembering Who His Word says He is. A great way to do this is to do exactly what you’re doing! SPEND TIME WITH HIM. The more time spent with Him, the more we realize that with Him, we have absolutely all that we need.
As you take dedicated time to remember, I pray that He speaks to you clearly and shows you how seen, valued, and loved you are. Take a moment today to think back on your life; write down how He has revealed Himself to you and allow Him remind you just how GOOD He has been. As you look back, I pray He shows you the many ways He has been close to you all along and He is not going anywhere! It’s a lifelong relationship!
Here’s a journal entry I made a couple years ago that I have used to help me REMEMBER. I often go back and reread my old journal entries when I feel like the world is screaming at me to look at the negative things going on around me. I look back and say, “NOPE! THIS IS WHAT GOD HAS DONE, IS DOING AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO! I AM CHOOSING HIM!”
Journal entry from 2016- Jesus is so good and so loving. There have been so many moments in my life where I have stopped and thought “I really didn’t know You could be THIS good.” And somehow He just continues to get better and better.
I believe He deeply desires to walk every day life with me. He wants me to feel loved and known by Him. He has seen me and continues to see me.
When I was 10 years old I was rollerblading in my garage. I did this often and didn’t wear pads on my knees and arms. I very specifically remember having this urgent feeling to put on knee pads. I did and a few minutes later I fell HARD right down to my knees. I clearly remember sitting on my garage floor thinking about how it was God who told me to put on my knee pads because he cares about me. This is one of my first memories of really feeling like God was real and He really loved and cared about me.
In 2014 I was in a car accident that totaled my car. I was at a place where I had no money or savings for a new car and needed God’s direction. I went to a prayer service at church one night and read 2 Chronicles 20. There were so many things going wrong in Jehoshaphat’s life. There were multiple armies coming against him at once and his response was to look to heaven and say “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.” As he said that, his enemies turned on each other and every one was completely destroyed. I sat at church that night and told God, “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.” The VERY NEXT DAY, I received a call from someone at church telling me they wanted to GIVE me their car! Not only that, but I got a call from the insurance company telling me they were going to give me more money back for my totaled car than what I paid for it in the first place! Jesus saw me. Jesus sees me. And because He loved me so much, He died for me so that I could live life for him and with Him. It’s adventurous, it’s unexpected, but it’s so worth it. He is so worth it.
I have journals filled with these countless stories documenting how I have PROOF of the goodness of God. My hope in sharing these stories today is so that you can have faith to believe that God wants to do the very same for you! He wants to show you how valuable you are to Him and His great plan. It starts by paying attention to Him today.
Look around you and ask Him, “What are you saying today?” What do you want me to do today?” “Would you like me to say anything to anyone or smile at someone today?” “What do you want to speak to me in your Word today?” “Do you want to say something to me through the clouds in the sky today or maybe through what that street sign reads over there?” I hear God saying to you today… Come close to me because I AM so close to you and boy oh boy do I have exciting adventures for us today.
Setting these 21 days to purposefully seek God is the absolute best thing you can do for your life and your relationship with God. Keep going! If you have missed a day or two or three, it’s okay! Start today by making it priority to come close to Jesus and remember who He is and listen for what He wants to communicate to you. God is so good! He is waiting with open arms and an exciting adventure today! Let’s go!
Pastor Madeline Berry