Category Archives: Change

Asking, Bible, Blessing, Change, Courage, Direction, Following, Future, God's Will, Scripture

FROM NOW ON

HAGGAI 2:19

“‘Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’”

“From now on” hints at a change. Something is about to happen that will change your circumstance or maybe even your life. When my children left home, they faced some “from now ons.” They no longer were protected under my roof. They were either married with a new family or in a new city with a career. Some “from now ons” are scary while others are exciting. Let’s look at the one described in verse 19 today.

What starts out as a continuation of the description of their suffering due to their disobedience ends with a “from now on.” Look at it. The last sentence says, “Yet from this day on I will bless you.” The literal translation is “From this day I will bless.” Things were changing. God was returning His blessing on His children. Don’t you know a shout went up when they heard that news? After years of suffering, God was going to rain down His blessings on them again.

APPLICATION

Have you been in a period of suffering? Take heart, friends. God has not forgotten you. His “from now ons” still happen today. He can change the trajectory of your life with one flick of His little finger. He has certainly done that in my life on a number of occasions. Moving to a new ministry or meeting that certain person can make a new “from now on” happen.

Are you praying for a “from now on” moment? Stop and pray for God’s perfect will in your life. I am reminded of the passage in James. James 4:13-15 says, “13 Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’” 

“From now on” in the life of the believer can mean many different things. But one thing is for sure – from now on the Lord will be with us. From now on His mercies are new. From now on Jesus is interceding for us. From now on…

From now on, Lord, I will pray that Your will be done in my life so that I can learn to trust You more.

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Bible, Change, Following, God's Will, Judgment, Obedience, Restoration, Scripture

A CHANGING LANDSCAPE

ZEPHANIAH 2:6

“So the seacoast will become grazing places, with pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.”

Going back to visit a location you haven’t been to in a while can be eye opening. The landscape changes. What used to be a cotton field is now a shopping mall. What used to be a shopping mall is now luxury condominiums. Things force change. Sometimes that is for the good of the community. Other times it is not.

Zephaniah continues his message of doom to the neighboring nations. Verse 6 is a continuation of the message to the Philistines. Their seacoast will change from dwellings of warriors to pastures for the shepherds to use to graze their sheep. A nation of war will become a place for peaceful men to dwell. Quite a change. Quite a promise for Judah as well.

APPLICATION

Are there areas of your life that need to be changed? Do you have a rebellious spirit that argues about everything? God wants to transform your life into a place of peace. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

A transformed landscape can involve many little changes over time. God may choose to use sandpaper to smooth off your rough surfaces. Or He may choose to take more drastic measures and bring out the jackhammer and sledgehammer. That’s usually how God works on me, lol. He gets one area of my life’s landscape shaped up and then starts demolition on another.

Now, the difference between our transformed landscape and the Philistines is they were being judged for their idolatry and rebellion against God. We are not being judged by God as He transforms us. We are safe under the blood of Christ. He just wants to make us look more like Him, to reflect the image of His Son. That is transformation that is welcomed. Right?

O Lord my God, shape me into whatever image You feel is right. I trust the work of Your hands on my life.

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