A few weeks ago a friend came to visit and brought a plant for me. It sits on my dresser across from the bed so I can see the pretty flowers. It looked great for awhile, but then one day it looked dead. So then I watered it. Surprisingly it came back to life! However another week passed, the plant looked dead, then I watered it, but it has not returned from the dead this time.

The same thing happens in our lives. We go along for awhile with everything being fine, forgetting or pushing aside God, we don’t need Him anyway since life is good. But difficulty comes and we find ourselves withering. We refocus on Christ, read the Bible and pray, and we come back to life. The difficulties don’t seem that bad. But we keep following this cycle, only calling on God when life isn’t good and easy. Pretty soon we’ll end up like my plant: dead, lifeless, no longer pretty.

One of the best habits I ever started was reading the Bible everyday. I would journal too writing down the verses that stood out to me and how it applied to my life. I did this for years. Then one day I didn’t read. I must have slept in longer or been in a rush. But that one choice made it easier to choose again not to read. I wasn’t turning my back on God. I was still very much following Him, just not making it a priority to read His Word.

I don’t think it’s a sin if I miss one day reading the Bible. I don’t do it because it’s a ritual. I read the Bible because it is life-giving. It shows me how to live, how to love others, what to do in difficulties, and how much God loves me. It’s like water for a plant. You can’t wait until its dead to water it. You need to give it attention everyday. Then it will sustain difficult seasons.

If you haven’t made a commitment to read the Bible everyday, start today. Turn to the very beginning and read a page. I guarantee you won’t regret that time.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8

The culture we live in is training us to be impatient.  When was the last time you waited for anything? 

• At the grocery store we have self-check out lanes so you don’t have to wait in line.
• At amusement parks you can buy a fast pass to skip the lines.
• Call ahead to restaurants ensures a table when you arrive.
• Order food, groceries, you name it over the phone so you can just walk in and pick it up.

Even while all the technology we have makes many things much easier, it also makes us available all the time.  I’m currently waiting for a friend to text me back. It’s been 2 hours since I wrote her, but honestly after 10 minutes I was wondering if her number changed, or she lost her phone, or if we’re not friends anymore.  I’ve been trained to expect immediate responses. I’ve been trained not to wait. But frequently in the Bible we are told to wait.

• Abraham was told he’d be the father of many nations, but it was decades before God gave him a son.
• David was annointed king over Israel as a teenager, but waited until he was in his 30s before taking the throne.
• Even Jesus, the Son of God, waited 30 years before beginning His ministry on earth and fulfilling His purpose.
• Esther waited a few days before presenting her request to the king.

Whether its days, years, or decades, waiting is a Biblical principal.  Beth Moore says, “we won’t see the fulfillment of our greatest purpose, if we don’t wait on the Lord.” I don’t like waiting because I feel like I’m not accomplishing anything.  I could be doing better things with my time than waiting. But in our waiting, even if we feel inactive, God is at work.  God is often preparing the hearts or circumstances of those involved.

Isaiah 40:31 says “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.” The verse shows us that not only will those who wait on the Lord renew their strength, but that means that those who do not wait on the Lord will lose their strength. The longer your wait is, the more your strength is being renewed.

So the next time you’re at the grocery store, instead of searching out the self check out or shortest lane, challenge yourself to stand in the longest line.  While you’re waiting with your groceries be reminded that God wants you to wait on Him – His timing for your desires to be fulfilled, your purpose achieved, your dreams to manifest.  And as your waiting in line, wait on God, and know that your strength is being renewed.

Perception can be a funny thing. Since I’m in bed all day, I rarely know what the weather is like. I see through my windows that the sun is shining, the trees are barely moving, “It must be a nice, warm spring day,” I think. Until a visitor shows up… wearing a down jacket and scarf, and I realize it’s actually quite cold. Or like yesterday when it was cloudy and the trees were moving back and forth, so I thought it must be cold and windy. Then my dad comes over and says its 60 degrees out! Good thing I’m not a meteorologist.

Sometimes what we see with our eyes can be deceiving, yet other times it can verify the truth. When Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to the disciples, Thomas wasn’t there. The disciples told Thomas “Jesus is alive!” but Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe” (John 20:25).

Eight days later Jesus came back to the disciples and this time Thomas was there. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Busted! Jesus knew what Thomas had said and He came back to let Thomas see Him for himself. Have you ever been in a situation like that? Caught red-handed, an awkward moment, you didn’t think the person you were gossiping about would ever know you said that…

But Jesus didn’t come to Thomas to ridicule him for not believing, or to rub it in Thomas’s face that He really was alive. Instead Jesus gave Thomas the opportunity to believe.

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Thomas gets a bad reputation for doubting. But here he sees Jesus and believes. Look back at verse 25 – Thomas says he won’t believe unless he puts his fingers into Jesus’s nail marks. But once he sees Jesus he believes. No extra proof necessary.

If you are looking for Jesus to show up in your life, believe He will. If you are wondering if He really exists, seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him. If you are waiting on a miracle, ask Him and believe He will do it. But know that He might show up in a different way than you expect. You may have to walk through some storms before you get to your miracle. But blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Bible story is found in John 20:25-29