Editor’s note: It’s graduation season and before we know it, our graduates will don caps and gowns and hold diplomas for photos! Before we launch them into the next season of life, let’s bless them with hope from Jesus. Enjoy this excerpt from Max Lucado’s Let the Journey Begin for the Graduate.
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A Road Map for Success
Deep in every heart you will find it: a longing for meaning, a quest for purpose.
If you ask the secularists, “What is the meaning of life?” they will say, “We don’t know.” At best they might agree that we are developed animals. At worst, rearranged space dust.
What a contrast to God’s vision for life:
We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to devote ourselves to the good deeds for which God has designed us. — Ephesians 2:10 NEB
God has placed His hand on your shoulder and said, “You’re something special.”
Untethered by time, He sees us all. In fact, He saw us before we were born.
And He loves what He sees. Flooded by emotion. Overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, “You are My child. I love you dearly.”
And He loves us forever. Should you ever turn from Him and walk away, He has already provided a way back. Nothing can separate you from His love. If you anchor these truths firmly in your heart, you will be ready for whatever you may encounter on the road ahead.
So let the journey begin!
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Direction for the Road Ahead
Occupy yourself with the nature of God, not the size of your biceps...
That’s what God told Moses to do. Remember the conversation at the burning bush? The tone was set in the first sentence.
Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. — Exodus 3:5
With these eleven words Moses is enrolled in a class on God. Immediately the roles are defined. God is holy. Approaching Him on even a quarter-inch of leather is too pompous... No time is spent convincing Moses what Moses can do, but much time is spent explaining to Moses what God can do.
You and I tend to do the opposite. We would explain to Moses how he is ideally suited to return to Egypt... Then we’d remind Moses how perfect he is for wilderness travel... We’d spend time reviewing with Moses his résumé and strengths.
But God doesn’t. The strength of Moses is never considered. No pep talk is given, no pats on the backs are offered. Not one word is spoken to recruit Moses. But many words are used to reveal God. The strength of Moses is not the issue; the strength of God is.
~The Great House of God
Excerpted with permission from Let the Journey Begin for the Graduate by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.
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Your Turn
Graduate, your life is about to change, but what doesn’t ever change is God and His love for you! Let Him guide you to and through what’s next. Lean on Him because it’s not in your own strength that you will succeed; it’s in His! ~ Devotionals Daily