Day 25: Living in the Future

Many of us are planners, especially those who tend to be more busy. We plan every second of everyday, we know when we are going somewhere, what time we should be there, who will be there and even what time we are leaving. As a performer I keep a schedule, I have to plan everything around rehearsals, and performances, and so on. But I always have to be open to plans changing because we never know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day, or next week.

I’m a person who sets goals, and have a pretty good idea of what I want my future to look like, I have dreams, and visions that I believe will come to past, I have no doubt. But sometime I am so focused on where I am going, i pay no attention to where I am. We talked about living in the past yesterday and how it can blur the present. Today we’re talking about how living in the future can also blur the present. There is no problem in having hope in the future and pressing towards our goals, but we cannot overlook where we are in favor of where we want to be. We must be content with our life as is.

Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

We can plan and plan and plan, but we never know exactly what is going to happen, we cannot plan every moment of our lives. We all want a bright future, but in order to get there we have to be present in the now, or before we know it a decade has passed by and we’ve missed it because we are so focused on tomorrow. We have to realize that at one point the past was the present and the present was the future. Time is very tricky and it stops for no one. Like the scripture says, don’t worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will handle itself, we have to worry about today, because right now it’s all we have. We have to take life a day at a time, and before we know it, we’ll reach those goals.

We have to learn to cross the bridge when we get to it, not before. God has a plan for us and we don’t always know what that looks like. But we have to know that each step we take is ordered by Him, and we can’t plan His moves we just follow, He know where our foot will land. We have to trust God today as He leads us into tomorrow. We’re great with putting our future in His hands but can we trust Him in the now. God is working right now, don’t be so focused on what He is going to do that you miss what He is doing now.

Reflection

1. Write down your goals, dreams, and ambitions.
2. Trust God with them, trust His plan.

Prayer Time

Today we are going to keep it simple and sweet, talk to God about your dreams and ambitions, talk to Him about your future. If you're someone who lives in the future talk to God about what it means to be present to live in the now.

There Is A Cloud by Elevation Worship

Hear the Word, roaring as thunder
With a new, future to tell
For the dry, season is over
There is a cloud, beginning to swell


To the skies, heavy with blessing
Lift your eyes, offer your heart
Jesus Christ, opened the Heavens
Now we receive, the Spirit of God

We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain


Every seed, buried in sorrow
You will call, forth in its time
You are Lord, Lord of the harvest
Calling our hope, now to arise


We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain

Like a flood; like a flood
We receive Your love
When You come

Like a flood; like a flood
We receive Your love
When You come

Like a flood; like a flood
We receive Your love
When You come

Like a flood; like a flood
We receive Your love!


And with great, anticipation
We await, the Promise to come
Everything, that You have spoken
Will come to pass, let it be done!


We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain
We receive Your rain


Ohh-ohh-ohhh, ohh-ohhh, ohh-ohhh
Ohh-ohh-ohhh, ohh-ohhh, ohh-ohhh .

Day 24: Living In (and Regretting) the Past

We as human beings tend to live in the past a lot, with our regrets, and wishing we could have done something different to change an outcome, or wishing we could rewind time and take a different route than the one we chose.. We look back so much that we start to stumble on what is in front of us, Whether we regret the decisions we made or are looking back at “the best times of  our lives” for some reason we can’t stay out of the past.

Often times we hear the statements “If I could rewind the hands of time” or “If i had a time machine I would…” I’m very guilty of it, at one point in my life I spent so much time regretting a decision I made when I was eighteen I was twenty two and still regretting it. Then I realized that there is nothing I can do but move on, and know that even in my stupidity God works. I was so focused on the past that I could not see what God was doing right in front of me. Sometimes our desires to change the past can blur our present.

-Dyamond

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

When we become Christians many time automatically are burdened with guilt and shame because of the life we lived before we came to Christ. We apologize a million times for our sins, to make sure God forgives us. Once we give our lives to Christ, once we submit ourselves to Him and repent we become a new creation. Everything we did is no more, we can let it go because God did the moment He forgave us. God doesn’t dwell on our past, He loves us in the now. Micah 7:19 says Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

Philippians 3:13-14

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

There is something greater that lies ahead, we just have to keep moving forward. We can glance back sometimes to see the progress and where we have come from, but we can’t stay there. Sometimes we have to move forward without looking back. Where we’re going is far greater than where we’ve been. And where we’ve been has put us on the path to where we are going. So appreciate the past, don’t live in it but appreciate it and move on. Press toward Christ, to eternity, press toward His love and His final destination. We can’t keep tripping on the present because we’re too busy in the past, it won’t work.

Isaiah 43:18 (read scriptures 14-28)

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

In this chapter Isaiah is speaking to the israelites who have been exiled in Babylon for the last five decades. God is about to deliver them out of the hands of Babylon. As He reminds the people of the Exodus He tells them to forget the former things. Forget about that because He is about to do something new, possibly better. Sometimes we look at how good things used to be and can’t imagine how they can be as good or even better. When we think like this  we make the past so much bigger than the present. Having faith in what happened long ago instead of what is happening now.  Something we have to realize about God is, He never changes, the same miracles He did a thousand years ago He can do today.   I think God wants them to leave the past in the past and focus on what He is doing now. We must take our focus off of what happened years ago and focus on what is happening now, the past can’t do anything for us right now.

Reflection

“If I knew then what I know now…”

1. Complete the above sentence, without thinking about it just write.
2. Now think about who you would be, how different your life would be if you “knew then what you knew now”
3. Realize that everything happens for a reason and everything moment is an opportunity for growth. You had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you, and know what you know. Appreciate every moment, even the not-so-smart ones, and look forward to growth.

Prayer time

Lay your heart down before God, ask Him to search your heart, and remove any regrets. If you are holding on to the past, surrender it to Christ and let it God. Be willing to let go of whatever it is you are holding on to. Speak to God, Cry out, do whatever you need to do. Go into a prayer closet or find a secluded place where you can be alone, and just open your heart to Him. Spend this time with God and be completely honest with Him.

Day 23: Weekly Recap

Thank you everyone for this week, I hope you had an amazing Sunday. Sorry for the late post. This week we will be talking about time,living in the past present and future. Walls, and Jesus our Cornerstone.  Give me some feedback, comment, tweet, message, tell me how it's going. Be sure to share this with someone and come back everyday (6m Pacific, 8am, central, and 9am Eastern) for more. Thank you!

Day 22: Everybody Needs Somebody

I am a firm believer in the statement that everybody needs somebody. We all need God, every second of everyday, but God also wants us to be in fellowship with one another. Community is a beautiful thing. Life is hard, and we will have seasons where we need to be alone, but we shouldn’t have to do all of life alone. Not when there is an entire body of Christ, we need community; loneliness is a silent killer.

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

We are at a time in our lives where building relationships and being around the right people is very important to us. Our friend groups get smaller and closer as we grow up, many of us have at least three friends we know we can count on and call on no matter what. We need people in our lives that we can grow with, that we can learn from. We need people who will pick us up when we are down, and give what we need not always what we want, and we are here to do the same for them. We are here to live in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not doing anyone any good by staying isolated from the world.

Sometimes we think we don’t need anyone to help us, we have God and that’s it. But God places people in our lives for a reason, they may not always stay but for the time being they are there because we need them, they need us, or we need each other.

1 Samuel 18;1-5 (extended passage 1 Samuel 18-20)

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house.  Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.  And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

David and Jonathan were the best of friends, the bible says they became one soul. They would keep this friendship for the remainder of their lives. These men risked their lives for one another and loved each other unconditionally. Their friendship was built on trust and obedience to God. A friendship like David and Jonathan’s is truly a gift from God. We don’t see these types of friendships as much anymore. Our generation has developed this attitude, that we don’t need anyone we can do everything on our own. We close ourselves off from one another in an attempt to get ahead or out of fear of getting hurt. We’ve covered up our feelings and let no one in, and we wonder why everyone is so angry all the time. We love to be needed, we just don’t like needing others.  

We all need that one person that we can just pour our hearts out to and not feel judged. Even if it’s just one person that God has sent to us. We have to learn to trust one another. I think many times in our teenage years, we have had so many friends who have come and gone, we don’t know who’s real and who’s fake anymore.. We’ve had friends who have turned on us, hurt us, or just completely walked out of our lives. Due to this we lose faith in close friendships and start to avoid them. We are cordial with people but we will never call them friends we call the acquaintances. We might not have found a friend like Jonathan or David but we can ask God to send them to us, or lead us to them. Building friendships is very important; these are the people we do life with, the people we are most vulnerable with. God honors friendships, and there’s nothing wrong with needing people. We all need someone.  We can use David and Jonathan’s relationship as an example of what our friendships should look like. How we should treat our friends and the type of people we should be surrounded by.

Reflection

1. Who is your David or Jonathan, in your life?
2. Do you think that you need people or can you do life on your own?
3. Why do you think, we as a generation have such a hard time being vulnerable with one another?

Prayer Time

Today, pray for your friends. Pray for the ones that are in your life, the one that are no longer in your life, and the ones that are on their way. Ask God to help you to be a better friend, and be open to friendships. Openly talk to Him. Remember that prayer is just a conversation with God.

Day 21: I'm Scared!

We all have that one thing that we fear, for me it’s needles. I hate needles, I’m so afraid of them. I’m

twenty four years old and my mom still has to hold me down because I will run out of the doctor’s office when it’s time to get a shot. What I have learned as I’ve gotten older, and still afraid, is that every time I got to the doctor I have to face that fear and overcome it. Also my fear of the needle makes it so much bigger than it actually is. I’m not afraid of the pain, I’m afraid of a little needle, that ends up helping me and not harming me.

-Dyamond

As we get older we a stricken by fear when it comes to moving forward in our lives. We have to step outside of comfort zones and take leaps of faith. The hardest thing to do is leap or take a step and you have no idea where your foot is going to land. It’s scary! We are stepping into new territory, and responsibilities, and many times we are taking a leap of faith trusting God, but deep down inside there’s still some fear. Will I make it? What will happen? Where will I go? How will I get there? These are just a few of the questions that go through our head. I think fear is normal when we are entering new territories of our lives. However, we can’t let that fear paralyze us and keep us from moving forward. We can be scared for a moment, then we have to face it head on and keep going.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

In this scripture Paul is writing to Timothy, his protégé, and encouraging him. Telling him to use the gifts God has given him, to be courageous and not be afraid. We can take that same advice, to be courageous, and knowing that fear doesn’t come from God, we have nothing to fear in Him. We have to be courageous and take on life like we own it, or it will get the best of us.

I think many times our fears are ingrained in us from a young age due to a bad experience, or sometimes we just all of a sudden are overcome and stricken by fear and we don’t know why. But we find comfort in Christ, because we know that no matter where we are He is there with us, and He never leaves our side.

Psalms 23:4

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

God is constantly encouraging us and letting us know that we don’t have to fear, we are courageous through Him. He knows when we need encouragement the most and that’s when He gives it to us.

Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Three times in Joshua 1 we see God tell Joshua to be strong and courageous, because He knew Joshua needed the encouragement for what was ahead of Him. Joshua was about to lead the entire nation of Israelites into the promised land, he was the successor to Moses, and he had to take on a huge responsibility. But Joshua was constantly reminded that He has nothing to fear because God was with him. I think we can learn from this, no matter what we are up against we don’t have to fear because God is with us, and we get courage from Him. The same way David defeated Goliath, he wasn’t afraid.  Fear makes a situation bigger than it is. Fear does nothing but stagnate us, we have to be courageous enough to step outside of it and face it. God is so much bigger than our fears.

Reflection

1. Write down your fears.
2. What’s stopping you from facing those fears?

Prayer Time

As you identify those fears, ask God to help you overcome them. Ask God for courage, and know that He is always with you. Speak whatever is on your heart and be honest with God about your fears. He can handle them, give all it to Him. Remember that prayer is just a conversation with God.

Make sure yo come back tomorrow for Day 22, and if this is your first devo, welcome! You can catch up on all the days from Day 1 , if you'd like. Either way I'm so happy you're on this journey with me! I love you.

-Dyamond 

Day 20: Patience

Patience- the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Our generation seems to have a huge problem with patience, we lack the ability to be patient. We don’t like waiting for anything. We don’t like delays. We despise traffic, we hate waiting in long lines, we want things that are quick, smooth and easy. We want things right then and there and we do not want to wait. We will wait if we have to but it will take everything out of us not to complain about it.

As Christians we must learn patience because everything does not come to us the moment we pray and ask God for it.. Something I had to learn is that God’s timing is perfect. I know that’s a statement we hear all the time, but when we finally commit to waiting on God, we will see just how perfect and spot on His timing is. The most cliché statements I have ever heard are the ones that resonate with me the most. God, might not come when you want Him, but He’s always right on time. This statement was in a song I sang in children’s choir growing up. I never understood that line until I experienced it. God will answer that prayer at the exact moment you need it answered and you will thank Him for it constantly. That is why I have learned to pray and leave it in His hands because I used to expect an answer to my prayer within 24 hours or I was convinced that God did not hear me. I think He allows us to be in a position where we must wait on Him in order to teach us patience.

Galatians 6:7-9

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Romans 8:25

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

We have gotten used to instant gratification for our good deeds. We will sow what we reap in due time, but sometimes that harvest is farther off that we want or expect. It’s like planting a seed and waiting for it to grow. That tree, or plant, or that garden is not going to sprout up overnight. It takes a lot of patience, and in that patience we must continue to water the plant, cut the weeds, make sure it get all the nutrients it needs. And in the meantime we may not see any growth. But one day it’s going to sprout, and one day it will be fully grown. We just have to keep going and being patient know that those seeds are growing, and we will see the fruit of it soon. If you really want to test your patience, start a garden or plant a tree.

We cannot stop when we don’t see growth, we have to wait for it and work for it. Patience is learned.

The most important part in being patient is our attitude while we wait. Anyone can wait if they have to, but how did they wait? Are we constantly complaining and grumbling? Are we frustrated and angry? We’re happy when the wait is over but what about when we are in the middle of it. We have to make sure that in all ways we acknowledge and glorify God. This means that we honor and praise Him in the worst situation and in the happiest of situations. We have to learn to be content throughout the wait not just in the reaping.

Psalms 27:14 “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

There’s a reward in the wait as well, we grow in our faith. We grow closer to God, He will strengthen our hearts. But we can’t turn the deaf ear to Him just because we’re impatient.

Reflection

1. Are you a patient person?
2. What does you attitude look like when you are waiting on God?
3. Why do think it is so hard to be patient?

Prayer Time

Talk to God about your patience, whether you are very patient or impatient, talk to God about it, ask Him to teach you how to be patient and wait on Him. Remember that prayer is just a conversation between you and God.

Make sure yo come back tomorrow for Day 21, and if this is your first devo, welcome! You can catch up on all the days from Day 1 , if you'd like. Either way I'm so happy you're on this journey with me! I love you.

-Dyamond