A Journey from Surviving to Thriving

A friend recently commented, “Now that we’re becoming seniors, the challenge is to focus on “BEING More and DOING Less”.   I admit my first response to this comment was not a positive one.   After all, I’m a doer and to contemplate DOING less simply did not sit well with me.   But after pondering this during some quiet moments, God began to cause me to see a bigger picture.   Yes, for us “old guys” there comes a time, because of the usual physical limitations that come with age, the demand for us to “do life” as we’ve always done it begins to change.   But it also occurred to me that as followers of Jesus, God’s priority concern for all of us, regardless of age, is on what we’re becoming, not what we’re doing for Him.  BEING always precedes DOING at any age! The Psalmist expresses God’s desire for us in Psalm 51:17 — “ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (ESV)  God indeed is first concerned about our hearts and minds

I was recently impressed by the psalmist’s response to God in Psalm 119:50 — “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” (NIV)  David obviously discovered something therapeutic from God’s promises!  This immediately begs the question for me: what are the specific promises on which I personally firmly stand and can I experience that same sustaining power?  Through the years, I’ve “claimed” many promises for life and ministry.  I thought it might be helpful (for me at least) to put on paper the promises that currently provide stability and power along my present  medical journey  — and that indeed “preserve my life”. WHAT IS A PROMISE FROM GOD?  But first, just what is a “promise from God”?  The dictionary says a promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. In Scripture, the promise of God is the declaration or assurance which God has given in his Word that He will bestow certain blessings on