daily devotional

For the past 24 hours, I’ve been hearing it. Mememememe. And typically when I hear something repeatedly it’s because God is speaking to me and asking me to share. You see, yesterday was my birthday. It was the first birthday of my life I didn’t have my Daddy here to sing to me. Every year for 43 years my Daddy would greet me with Mememememe, then the most ridiculous, boisterous rendition of Happy Birthday. To say I missed that yesterday is an understatement, however I heard it throughout the entire day. So, it’s today’s devotional, courtesy of my Daddy and my big Papa God.

The 5 me’s. How God is speaking to me and what he has asked me to share with you.

Me #1: God created me for a BIG Life.
And what he did for me, he did for you as well. Genesis 1:27 says “God created human beings in his own image.” I take this to mean two things. First, he created you as the human likeness of himself, and second, he first imagined you, then he formed you. Our God is BIG. Bigger than anything we can possibly fathom or imagine. Scripture tells us he measured the entire universe between his outstretched thumb and pinky. Yo, that’s BIG. And God created me and you in his own image. We were created for a BIG life! He had BIG things in mind when he formed you, chose you, and gave you breath. He wasn’t playing little. He didn’t settle for you. No, you were his first choice. You are his best. You have all the potential for a BIG Life right inside of you, just as God imagined.

Me #2: If I’m living little, that’s on me.
Yes, life happens. It happens to all of us. But it was never meant to beat us down and keep us down. Life happens because first we live in a fallen world. Girl, this isn’t heaven and perfection isn’t found here. You can stop holding your breath for things to be all better. Life calms down when we die, that’s called flatline. Until then it will be a constant series of ups and downs. This is the heartbeat of life. If you’re sitting it out, afraid of failure, you’re missing out. Playing it safe isn’t what you were create for honey. 2 Corinthians 6: 12 & 13 in the Message translation reads “Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!” If you feel stuck, that’s because you’re living little. If you feel bored, that’s because you’re living little. If you feel restless and unfilled, that’s because you’re living little. It’s all a sign you were created for MORE but you’ve settled for less. How do you stop living in this “small way” that scripture refers to? Read the next verse. “Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively.” Translation … girl live BIG! Dare to do big things. Dare to take a risk and fail. Dare to go for it and know if you fall, God’s got you! Life happens to all of us who are alive, and maybe it’s for your benefit. Maybe the setback is a setup for your success. Maybe you’re getting ready to be launched into your destiny and first you’re being pulled back like the arrow. Uhhhh huhhhh, that’s what I’m talking about.

Me #3: God is for me, not against me.
At it’s core, this is a life changing truth. After life touches us a few times, we begin to believe somehow we’re being punished. We’re a disappointment. We’re a failure. We’re a hopeless “less than” version of what we were created to be. But understand this, God looks at you and all he sees is exactly who he created you to be. He knows what’s inside of you because he put it there. He’s rearranging heaven and earth to help you get on the path that takes you to the best life available to you, to fulfill your purpose and live up to your greatest potential. He’s not against you, he is for you. Romans 8: 31 & 32 says “If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” God will stop at nothing to get to you. He will climb every mountain, he will part every sea, he will tear down every wall, he will break every chain COMING AFTER YOU. Not to get you, but to GET YOU. Understand the difference. He’s not chasing after you to get back at you for your wrongs, he’s chasing after you to get and rescue you. To set your feet back on solid ground. To turn you around in the right direction. To give you hope and a future. He is NOT AGAINST YOU. If God is chasing you understand it’s not because he’s mad at you, it’s because he loves you.
Mama’s, remember chasing your toddler. Remember when they first learned to walk and when they had a moment of freedom and confidence they would take off in a sudden jolt, running away from you. You went after them didn’t you? Why? Because you love them. And remember your toddlers response to your rescue? A wild hissy fit! And aren’t we much the same? We’re running off in some wild direction as if we’re on a direct mission to ruin our lives and God swoops in and rescues us, and we respond with a wild hissy fit. Let me go … let me do this my way … I don’t need you. But we do. Oh how we do. So there may be a little swat on the behind and a little smack to the head occasionally to snap us out of our fit. Gosh we need that don’t we? But remember, it’s not because God is against you, it’s because he’s always for you. He wants what is best for you and he simply won’t settle for less … you shouldn’t either.

Me #4: God uses all things for the good of me.
(yes, I know it would sound better to say it like “God uses all things for my good” but we’re sticking with me theme here … go with it.) Nothing brings me more confidence than to know God is using everything for good. He wastes nothing. He uses my mistakes and misteps as part of the dance. He takes even that which was meant for bad and uses it for something ridiculously good. Genesis 50:20 is Joseph’s reply to his brothers who sold him into slavery and wished him dead “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” If Joseph can find the good in the evil deeds of his family which led to 22 years of hardship, then can’t we find the good in a bit of seeming misfortune? Can’t we trust all the times it didn’t work out for us to ultimately be for our own good? Can’t we trust today’s hardships to grow something better within us? Can’t we trust God is busy at work, rearranging, realigning, and plotting to use every darn thing for good. Don’t you know he can? He can use ALL things for good. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Yes, even this thing. The thing you woke up worried about. The thing weighing heavy on your heart. He’s ready to work in that. He’s ready to use it for good now. You have no idea what God is doing through all of this, but we know this … it will ultimately be for good. Remember that. It will give you strength for this journey. It’s all going to be used for good.

Me #5: Life is God’s gift to me, what I do with it is my gift to him.
Jesus came to give you life. What are you doing with this gift? You and I have a responsibility here. We can’t waste this. The ability to live and breathe is a precious gift, and not all received it today. But we did. What is our response? It can be nothing short of “THANK YOU GOD, I LOVE IT.” I love life. I love the opportunity to live in your creation. I love seeing your hand at work in every detail of my life. I love taking the next step towards my destiny. I don’t have to have all the answers. I don’t even have to know the step ahead of this one. I can just trust God has already gone before me and he has made a way. I don’t have to worry my way through life. Nor do I have to fight my way through life. This is all a precious gift from our creator, my job is to not waste it! In John 10:10 Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” What Jesus did was for me. And it was for you. It was his personal response to your personal need. Don’t miss that. If you were the only one in the world, Jesus would have died to save just you. And he did. What will you do with this gift of life given to you? Will you live it? Will you live it well? Will you live it big?

Mememememe

1. God created me for a BIG Life.
2. If I’m living little, that’s on me.
3. God is for me, not against me.
4. God uses all things for the good of me.
5. Life is God’s gift to me, what I do with it is my gift to him.

Some of my Daddy’s final words to me here on earth were “you’re not the winner.” Not the inspiring, heartfelt blessing I was expecting. It left me questioning that entire day what he meant. I’m reminded, Daddy ran his race and he won. It was his time and he received his heavenly reward. I wasn’t the winner, he was. He was reminding me this was his race. He won. Now, I still have my race to run. He didn’t want me to give up on my race. He wanted me to run as he did until the very end and win. I can’t waste of day of this. I have a responsibility to move on and do my best. And so, with the gift of his mememememe that will forever be in my heart, I will remember the truths required to win my own race.