daily devotional

Everyone loves the story of a great comeback. Wasn’t the Superbowl a little bit better because for a time, the Chiefs were behind, then they came back. The story is better because the suspense is greater with a little back and forth. I have to believe our God loves a good story. He loves the suspense of the struggle, and he can, because he already knows the victory ahead. God is not shaken by the setback or the score. The end has already been determined and he has promised it will be worth it!

2 Corinthians 4: 17 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

Whatever your worry is, whatever your trouble is, whatever the struggle or hardship, it is temporary. This will not last forever.

Sometimes isn’t that what we need to know? We just need to know this won’t suck forever. Somehow, someway, life will go on, the sun will shine again and God will show you his grace and mercy. Your joy will come back. The song in your heart will come back. Your hopes and dreams will come back. The score may not be in your favor right now, but God says what’s coming is WAY BETTER!

Yesterday I met with my mentor, Mr. Winton. He of course asked me about my children because the last time he saw me they were in middle school. I proudly told him about my two soldiers. Then he asked me about my little beauty, my youngest daughter. I had secretly hoped the conversation wouldn’t come up because while I wanted to be honest, it hurt to admit the truth of our current situation. I shared how she had been away from our family for 8 months, living life on her own terms without contact. I saw the tears well up in his eyes as he shook his head. Then I confidently said, “but it won’t be this way forever. I know God is working a good story through this. I fully trust it will all be used for good.”

Just saying it with my own mouth brought peace to my heart. She will make her comeback. She will come back. Somehow, someway, what God has coming will be better than the story I could have written for her.

Do you need to declare the comeback is coming? Do you need to say it with your own mouth so your heart hears it too? Why don’t you do that today? You don’t have to know when or even how, but you can trust God is working and has a victory ahead.

The song from our playlist that played first this morning was “The Comeback” by Danny Gokey. Another American Idol contestant like yesterday’s Mandisa, who competed and lost. Hmmmmm, seems to me God has a theme for us here.

Losing happens. And God is still working through the loss. What you thought was the end, God says is just the beginning. Your defeat may be God’s redirection to a life greater than you could have ever imagined.

Put that through the filter of your own life. Has there ever been a past personal defeat that has brought you to a today that is greater than you imagined? I was fired … and it pushed me out to pursue my passion full time. I likely wouldn’t be here talking to you today if I still had that guaranteed paycheck. My defeat was actually for my benefit. God was always working in the details of my disappointment for the delivery to my destiny.

GOD IS WORKING IN THE DETAILS OF YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT FOR YOUR DELIVERY TO DESTINY

Once again, another theme for this week’s messages from God seems to be the reminder that we don’t see the full picture, only he does. We’re working on limited information, and we can trust God has better information than us.

Danny with all his talent and passion lost American Idol. But Danny knew about loss before he ever took that stage. As a young husband, just 4 weeks before his audition, his beautiful bride died in surgery. He showed up for the show broken, lost, and filled with grief. Seems to me God would want him to win. I remember seeing him for the first several weeks of the show, hearing his story of loss and just knowing he was going to be the winner. God would surely orchestrate the win for him. It all made sense. The perfect comeback.

And then, he lost. He wasn’t the winner. Once again, I’m kinda thinking I could have wrote the story better than God, but he never quite gives me the pen. The man who had lost so much loses again.

Could that be where the lyrics in the song come from:

And from the ashes you will take your place
Here comes the comeback

We all want the comeback without the setback. We all want the beauty without the ashes. But God knows exactly what he’s doing when he allows life to touch us. He knows how his plan will work it all together for good and the time for our comeback will be set.

Don’t count yourself out yet sister. This may just be the time for your comeback. Take your place now.

Isn’t that the key? TAKE YOUR PLACE.

Know your place. Your place is not a place of shame, guilt, regret or defeat.

Romans 5: 3-5 (MSG): There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

God wants to partner with you. With his limitless power and your God given potential, you can do the impossible. You can comeback from every single failure, setback, heartache, and hardship. You not only CAN comeback, you were DESIGNED to comeback. DESTINED to comeback.

This is your destiny. This is your time. This is your place. Step up and declare what is yours now. Your comeback.

Come back.

Come back to your dream again. Come back to the place of believing it’s possible. Come back to your truth … the truth that was threatened with this defeat, but it’s still within. The truth that God created you for a purpose, and that purpose is to live this life as only you can live, and live it well darn it. Take your place and live this thing.

Where is your disappointment? Where is your defeat? Where is your delay?

GOD IS WORKING IN THE DETAILS FOR YOUR DELIVERY TO DESTINY.

Your destiny to COME BACK.