Suddenly I see...

Job 15
Acts 19, 20

SOAP Suddenly I see...

Scripture
Acts in general but the scripture I liked most was Acts 20:24 "However I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to God's grace."

Observation and Application
I don't know what it is about Acts exactly, but something about it got me thinking about work this morning. I think it is the fact that the disciples and apostles could easily have felt like they had an impossible task in front of them, and could easily have backed away and not embraced that task. But they depended on God and moved forward and had great success. In thinking about work, I was remembering the various tasks I've been given through the years that seemed impossible to me. When I first started thinking about it this morning I was really just recalling things that have made me mad and reviving some old bitterness. Sounds like a dumb plan, I know, but I couldn't seem to stop thinking about these stupid work projects. I started thinking through each one and remembering what went wrong, how it turned out, etc. Many have the same story... I get assigned a project that is big and scary, I don't think I can do it, I ask for help and they tell me I should be able to do it, things go wrong, I fail miserably and I get in trouble for it. Umm... yeah, that definitely made me mad many times. Then I remembered that this summer I had a HUGE project that in many ways was bigger and scarier than any of the rest... and yet it turned out ok. Things went wrong but they got fixed, I didn't think I could do it, but I did. And I wondered, what is the difference? And it really was one of those moments when you suddenly see the difference and think "wow, that's so cool! God made all the difference!" Before, I was relying on me or maybe help from coworkers, but that is it. This summer I was totally relying on God. I depended on him alone to make it possible for me to do what I needed to on that project. And he helped me every day, whether it was be providing me with coworkers to help or helping me figure out things that seemed impossible to me. There were times when it felt like he made time stand still so I could finish what I needed to. He gave me words to say when I had to talk in front of people in meetings and stand up to opposition to my plans. He gave me strength when people said things that hurt my feelings. God is awesome! Anyway... it was just a really cool realization to me this morning that the only difference between all those projects that resulted in miserable failure and the one that resulted in success (and even a bonus) is that God was my foundation in my success. Without God I am nothing. With God I feel power, not that I am powerful but that I can feel God's power within me. I need him every day for every "project". He is a great foundation for success in life's big scary moments and in the little things we do day to day. He is everything to us and our hope is to love him and serve him in all our ways.

Prayer
Dear Lord thank you for the reminder this morning that you have done many awesome things in my life and allowed me to be someone I didn't know I could be, someone I can't be without you. Thank you for all your help this summer at work. And thank you for your help in every day. Dear Lord, your love is amazing. Thank you for your love and your grace. Dear Lord I need you today and every day. I want to do my best to serve you. Amen.