Beauty and the Best
“In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.”- Isaiah 4:2
This is my favorite time of the year! School has begun, football is about to kickoff, the weather will be cooling down, and the holidays are right around the corner. But what gets me enthusiastic and exceedingly expectant about the fall, is SEPTEMBER MARKS VISION MONTH for our church. In Habakkuk 2:2 the Lord declares, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” We dedicate the entire month to uniting our hearts, leaning into God’s heart, and focusing on the mission we have been given. Each Saturday will include special prayer times, testimonies, communion, sharing mission, and teachings from a series entitled, “It’s Time!” And that is just the start of the great coming our way!
The idea of having vision is not necessarily seeing with clarity or having the complete picture from the start. However, as we trust in God’s promise and enter the places He is leading, we will witness something far more beautiful than we original thought was possible. In Ecclesiastes 3:11 King Solomon writes, “God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We may not see all that tomorrow holds, what is around the corner, but we can choose to surrender, trust, and hope in the One who is loving, all-knowing, and good. This truth reminds me of one of my favorite travel destinations.
Our family has been blessed to enjoy the popular cruise from Seattle to Alaska. Let me paint the picture for you: As you get ready to disembark, you’re surrounded by the backdrop of the city on one side and the natural beauty of the Puget Sound Islands on the other. That is only the start of the amazing journey, because as you get up into Alaska, the breathtaking factor increases exponentially! This is similar with our following God. From the start we are called by name, forgiven of our sins, and made new in His love. What an awesome gift! It does not end at that moment, as the Lord calls us to continue to receive, grow, and walk in His glory. John 1:16 tells us, “Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of a grace already given.”
Today, let’s come together as a community of Jesus followers who capture a vision to believe that the amazing, abundant, and awesome things of God are coming. Your best days are ahead! His promises never fail! In Romans 8:24-25 Paul declares, “But in this hope we are saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”