‘IF THEY HAD BEEN THINKING OF THE COUNTRY THEY HAD LEFT, THEY WOULD HAVE HAD OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN.’ HEBREWS 11:15 NIV

Any pilot will tell you that there’s a point of no return. The runway has all been used up. It’s fly or die! In Hebrews 11 you discover a list of ordinary people who did extraordinary things because they never lost their vision; who in the worst of times refused to turn back: ‘If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country.’ But when you decide to follow God not everybody will be happy about it. Your vision could be their nightmare. Your success could prove their predictions wrong, or remind them of dreams they didn’t follow or abandoned. Often the first place you’ll feel this is at home. Joseph did. So did Jesus. That’s a price you must pay. If failure is not a possibility then success doesn’t mean much. When Abraham decided to leave home and follow God he had no idea where the journey would take him or what it would involve. Neither will you. Divine guidance usually begins with God ‘stirring up your nest’ (See Deuteronomy 32:11). Until your misery factor exceeds your fear factor you won’t move! If you’re too comfortable don’t expect God to give you more – you’re not ready for it. When you start taking risks you’ll pray like you’ve never prayed and stay in God’s Word until you get answers because your life depends on it. Bottom line: when you decide, ‘I’ve come too far to turn back,’ you’ll begin to see God’s hand at work in your life!

‘HE WHO WALKS WITH WISE MEN WILL BE WISE.’ PROVERBS 13:20 NKJV

Certain people stoke the fires within you to be all you can be. When you find them, feed off them! When you have little or no water in your own well, be willing to draw it from theirs. Elisha spent many years living in Elijah’s shadow. But he saw it as a privilege, not a put-down. He was willing to set up tents, cook meals, wash clothes and run errands because it meant he would experience first-hand some of the greatest miracles in history. As a result Elisha said to Elijah, ‘I want a double portion of the spirit that’s at work in you’ (See 2 Kings 2:9). And before his life was over Elisha worked twice as many miracles as Elijah. Understand this: you must have a foundation – and you can’t build it without help! Seeing God bless someone else should challenge you to reach higher. This is not envy – just a strong desire to receive more. Look at Hannah, Elkanah’s wife. She wanted a child. In order to stir her up God used Peninnah, who was married to the same man but able to bear children. The more Hannah saw Peninnah have children the more she wanted her own. Peninnah challenged her. She also made Hannah pray. That’s the right response! It wasn’t that Hannah was jealous and didn’t want to see Peninnah have children, it was just that she wanted her own. If seeing others succeed makes you want to sabotage their success, you’ll never prosper. Learn how to rejoice over the blessings of others, and realise that the same God who blessed them can bless you too. Let their blessings challenge you to reach higher!

“I WILL GUIDE THEM…I WILL NOT FORSAKE THEM.” ISAIAH 42:16 NIV

One day when he was skiing in Colorado, Peter Lord said he saw some people wearing red vests with the words BLIND SKIER. He thought, ‘I have a hard enough time skiing with two good eyes, how can they ski successfully with none?’ The answer was – they had a guide whose instructions they totally trusted and followed! As the guide skied beside them, he’d tap his ski poles together and assure them he was there. Then he’d say, ‘Go right! Turn left! Stop! Slow! Skier coming up on your right!’ What a picture. Life is like skiing downhill blind. We can’t see even 5 seconds into the future. We can’t see the struggles to come or all the other skiers who might run into us, or over us. And those fears are heightened when we recall how often we’ve been blindsided by people we trusted and circumstances we didn’t see coming. Humanly speaking it leaves the strongest of us feeling vulnerable. And that’s when we must place our confidence in the God who never changes and never fails. Here’s what He has to say to you today: ‘I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths. I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them’ (Isaiah 42:16 NIV). What is it that gets you through the unfamiliar places, the dark places and the rough places in life? God’s rock-solid promise: ‘I will guide [you]…I will not forsake [you].’ And His assurance is all you need!

‘God bought you with a high price. So…honor God with your body.’ 1 Corinthians 6:20 NLT

Respect your temple (1) At the resurrection, ‘Our earthly bodies…will be raised to live forever’ (1Corinthians 15:42 NLT), but in the meantime you must ‘honour God with your body’ by observing a few basic principles like: 1) Exercising regularly: Half of us who start exercise programmes abandon them within six months. The secret is to start slowly. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park the car and walk, play ball with the kids instead of watching TV. God designed your body to move, and strolling from the car to your desk every morning doesn’t cut it! Exercising thirty minutes 3-4 times a week reduces blood pressure and stress, and boosts your sense of well-being. 2) Eating right: Many of us eat for the wrong reasons, like fatigue, anger, and low self-esteem. Eat to live, don’t live to eat. Insufficient fruit, vegetables and fibre and too much fast food can wreak havoc with your health. Practice self-control. Remember, ‘Those who belong to Christ…have given up their old selfish feelings and…things they wanted to do’ (Galatians 5:24 NCV). 3) Getting enough sleep: Pastor Tony Jenkins consulted his doctor about his wife’s snoring. ‘Does it really bother you that much?’ he asked. ‘It’s not just me,’ Jenkins replied, ‘It’s bothering the whole congregation!’ Seriously, we live in a sleep-deprived society but most of us require 7-9 hours shut-eye. You can probably get by on less, but do you just want to ‘get by?’ The Psalmist said, ‘It is no use…to get up early and stay up late…The Lord gives sleep to those he loves’ (Psalm 127:2 NCV). So turn off the TV and the computer and turn in at a reasonable hour!