Oh For the Day and Other Thoughts

There are a few thoughts that the Lord keeps bringing to my mind lately and I wanted to share them here.

The first came from a situation I was stressing over that involved some conflict with another believer.  I felt as if this person was trying to prevent me from a desired end.  As I was praying for and dreading interaction with this person, God whispered these words to my soul:

Remember who the enemy is.

Too frequently I become frustrated with fellow believers.  These words serve as a reminder that we are all on the same team.  I also become frustrated with those who do not follow Christ.  Again, the real enemy is the prince of darkness not mankind.  

A second phrase that keeps giving me hope came from a discussion with my friend Sindy.  She sat on my couch one night and confessed she thought that one day she would become too much for me and I would abandon our friendship.  I laughingly but in all seriousness told her that she could not get rid of me that easy and I was not going anywhere.  She told me she went home and cried the first time I told her that and it helped her understand that God is not going anywhere either.  A day or two later as I prayed, God breathed these words to me:

Candace, I’m not going anywhere.  You are mine.

I confess that I may have shed a tear or two at these words.

Yesterday I became frustrated that there have been some delays.  I have a plan for my life laid out and my reality is not syncing with that plan.  As a result I have been sort of wasting my life out of frustration that things are not moving at the speed I desire.  I finally pinpointed the root of my aimlessness yesterday as a lack of vision and purpose for the present.  God lovingly reminded me yesterday: 

This delay means that I have purposes for you in this life situation right now.  Don’t waste this time.  

With this new idea in mind, I have begun praying for each day that God would open my eyes to how He wants to work through me in the present moment.  

A last thought comes from a sermon I heard by Matt Chandler.  He said as he drives around his city, he begins prayers with these words:

Oh for the day...

As he drives past strip clubs, he prays, “Oh for the day that you can’t make money off of that anymore.”  It has led me to start praying similar prayers.  Oh for the day when people will be filled by Jesus and the sex trafficking industry vanishes.  Oh for the day when dads take a greater interest in their families than in their hobbies.  Oh for the day when the church will again be a lover of the Word and will love each other more than themselves.  Oh for the day...

What kind of "Oh for the day" type prayers do you hope and wait for?  Please comment below.