Live Free with Josh Howerton - Be Faithful in the Little Things | Ep. 124 | Thursday, July 27, 2023

Episode Date: July 27, 2023

God's delays are not denials but rather opportunities for Him to shape our character and prepare us for something better. Tune in as Pastor Mike unpacks the importance of becoming the right person by doing the right thing where you currently are. Embrace the true meaning of trusting in the Lord and cultivating faithfulness, even in the midst of uncertainty. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up everybody? Hope you're having a great day today, whether you're just getting your day going or you're about to shut it down or somewhere in between. Just grateful for you and hope you're experiencing deep satisfaction, walking with the God who not only loves you, but he loves doing life with you.

And we've been talking about how God really does have a plan for you and me and he wants to lead us to the right places, those places that match up with our passions and how he made us, and how sometimes in our 5G kind of world, we grow impatient, waiting on God's direction. In the last couple of days, we've been talking about how waiting is not always a passive kind of thing. It's doing good and being faithful where we currently are as we wait. And the principle we shared is this, wait actively and live dependently. We lean on him trusting that he really does know what's best, and we just keep on doing the right thing as we wait. We've been working through a few verses in Psalm 37. Let me read it again.

Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faith. faithfulness. Delight yourself on the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him and he will do it. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. You know, we talked last episode about how important it is to just dwell in the land we currently find ourselves and cultivate faithfulness right where we are, even though we might not be where we want to be. We continue to do the right thing with a great attitude, with joy, gratitude, excellence, integrity, and faithfulness.

You know, Jesus said that God's pretty serious about this faithfulness thing. In fact, he said, if you're not faithful in little things, you know what? If God opens door number two that you've been praying for and desperately waiting to open, you won't be faithful in that either. That's what Jesus said.

If you can't be trusted with a little, then you can't be trusted with a lot. Let me just be kind of painfully transparent here. I was around 20 years old, and I had a job I didn't really like. I mean, I dreaded going to work every day, And so I started to mope and gripe and complain about where I was and any task they told me to do. And I just kept saying, God, you just got to get me out here.

Please, God, get me out of here. And I felt like God began to say to me, you know what? Truth is, bro. Your attitude stinks. And because of your attitude, you've turned into a slacker. And that means if you're a slacker now, you'll be a slacker in the next place I lead you. If I can't trust you with these responsibilities, I know I can't trust you with those responsibilities. You need to stay right where you are and learn how to do the right thing

and cultivate faith most with a great attitude while I shape you into the right person. And I ran across this verse when I was 20 from Colossus chapter 3, verse 23 and 24, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving. And that's what it means. to cultivate faithfulness while you wait actively. There's another guy in the pages of the Old Testament who, like our boy Joseph, had to wait.

You might have heard of this guy, his name was David. And like Joseph, he was given a glimpse of his future when he was young. While he was doing this menial job of herding and taking care of sheep, he's anointed the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. And the scripture says that right after that experience, David went right back to tending his flocks. He didn't know the when, the where, or how you're going to be the king deal. He just went back to his tedious, boring, dead-in, low-class, low-pay, non-glamorous job,

and just kept doing the right thing as he waited. David is the one who wrote Psalm 37, and he says this further down in verse 34. He says, don't be impatient for the Lord to act. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you, giving you the land. I can remember Rick Warren years ago saying God's delays are not God's denials. They're usually God preparing us for something better. I mean, maybe your life situation is pretty rough right now, and you're asking,

bro, like, why did God make me this way? Listen, he is not past tense, made you. He is making you. He's presently at work in your life, working on your character. Remember who we are is more important than what we do or where we go, and God wants to shape our character. F.B. Myers writes this. God has set his times.

It is not for us to know them. We must wait for them. If God had told Abraham and Heron that he must wait all those years until he pressed his promised child to his chest, his heart would have failed him. So in gracious love, the length of the weary years was hidden, and only as they were nearly spent, and there were only a few months to wait, God told him, Sarah's going to have a sign. If God told you on the front end how long you would wait to find the fulfillment of your desire or pleasure or dream, you'd lose heart.

You'd grow weary and well-doing, so would I. But he doesn't. He just says, wait. I keep my word. I'm in no hurry. In the process of time, I'm developing you to be ready to receive the promise. So, keep waiting actively. Travel steadily along his path.

You get out of bed every day and just keep doing the right thing. Maybe you're not in the long-term situation that you hope for. You can still know that you're doing his will today. if you just keep doing the right thing where you currently are because in doing the right thing you're becoming the right kind of person and god's will is a whole lot more about who we are than what we do or where we go right god may not roll out the blueprint for your life today he may not speak his future plans for you today but i guarantee you he will speak to you today in fact he will speak all day long you might hear him say today you want to know my will for your life he said yeah he goes let's start with this

go back in and kiss your wife. Don't leave the dishes for somebody else to wash. Pick up your socks. He may say, give that guy $10. He looks like he could really use a meal. Go sit next to that new girl. She looks lonely. Why don't you pick up your phone and text an old friend

and just check on them or walk across the street and see if your elderly neighbor needs anything from the grocery. Put the toilet lid back down. Slow down your pace. Draw near to me. Cast your anxiety on me because I care. I mean, all day long, he will speak to you in the little things. And as we listen and follow those promptings, guess what?

He shapes our character and begins to lead us down paths that are deeply satisfying. So I encourage you today, listen well and follow, even as you wait. Have a great day. See you back next time. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you,

would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.