Living the life God intended

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seems hopeless? Maybe you can’t imagine getting out of debt or getting through a sickness that is ravaging your body. Maybe it is a child that you haven’t seen for a long time or that’s not walking with God. Every day you wake up and it seems the situation still screams at you “I’m still here”.

But you don’t have to stay there. Sure your miracle may not happen straight away. My question to you and I today is how are we preparing for the day when our miracle comes. What do you mean preparing? Well it’s time to start to dream a little. What will your life look like when your sickness is gone, your bills are paid, your children come home or are found in God’s house? Pause for a moment and dream big.

While you are still dreaming – let’s look at the story of the Prodigal Son. Generally we focus on the son that goes astray or sometimes we focus on the one that was left behind. But today we are going to focus on the father and his preparation for his son’s return.

Our story is found in Luke 15: 11 to 32. We will look at the story of the father from the start. His younger son came to him and asked him for his share of the inheritance. I don’t know about you but generally an inheritance is not given unless a person has died. In essence, this son was saying to his father – you mean nothing to me. I just want my inheritance and then I am going to treat you as if you had died. What a terrible situation for that father to be in. How his heart must have broken at those words.

But notice that he didn’t talk his son out of it, no he just divided up the inheritance between his two sons and the younger one took the money and left. The father must have watched him run down the road and wonder what was going to happen. Would he ever see him again? That’s how it can be with us. Our situation can be so overwhelming that it looks hopeless.

But that isn’t the end of the story and hopelessness is not the end of our story either. The son was so destitute that he made a decision to come home. I want to touch on a couple of things that the father did to prepare:

1. He looked for the son. Are you and I looking and hoping to see our situation resolve itself? Are you looking for your healing or looking for your finances? What are you doing to prepare for your miracle?

2. The father was filled with love and compassion for his son. There was no anger and hate in his life for his son. Are we filling our hearts with the Word of God for our situation? Have we sought forgiveness for our sins and not believing and trusting in God? Is our hearts full of love and compassion?

3. He clothed him. What are you clothing yourself with? Is it doom and gloom regarding your circumstances or are you showing the joy of the Lord in your life which is your strength? Are you clothing your life with God’s strength?

4. The father killed the calf he had been fattening and held a feast. How are you going to celebrate the end of your sickness, the end of your debt or a child coming home? Have we even thought about it? The father had everything there he needed to welcome the son and see his miracle.

So, if you are feeling a sense of hopelessness regarding your situation today, think on the above strategies and put them in place. Look for your miracle, focus on the Word of God, clothe yourself with joy and strength and prepare to celebrate.

Celebration day is just around the corner. Have a great day and keep living the life God intended for you.