Stretch a Little Further!

Take a moment to stand up straight (unless of course your driving...and if that's the case...pull over. LOL!)

OK. Now, as you stand straight, lift your right hand way up into the air; stretch it over your head as high as you can. Hold it for 1-2-3 seconds. Now stretch it further.

Were you able to go higher? Most of us can.

Isn't that strange. We hear the first command to stretch it over our head as high as we can but at the second command we some how stretch even further.

1 Corinthians 10:13 promises us: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (NIV)

God has a way of stretching us without breaking us. So, be encouraged; you are going to make it! You can take one more step to press on. You can remain silent when you are persecuted for righteousness. You can love the unlovely. You can serve.

WHY?

Because God is faithful. He is merciful. He is ALL Powerful. And He will not abandon you or forget His promises to you.

Deuteronomy 4:31 says: "For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath." (NIV)

He will strengthen you. He will uplift you. He will sustain you!

If you are like me, sometimes life has a way of making us feel like a rubber band that has been stretched to the point of snapping. Our elasticity gets tested. We sometimes feel like I can't go any further. I'm done. I can't stretch any more.

In moments like that, we need to STOP and remember to SIMPLIFY our life. We need to remember that we can do nothing in our own strength. We are simply called to LOVE GOD and in so doing...We will find HIM and be renewed.

Today, consider and meditate on the following verses:

• Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (NIV)
• Psalm 34:17-19 "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all." (NIV)
• John 10:27-30 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (NIV)

Friend, YOU are loved. YOU are called. And God will hold YOU securely in HIS HANDS. You are NOT alone. So...stretch as high as you can today...hold it...1-2-3...NOW STRETCH A LITTLE FURTHER!!! :)