Devotionals for the Heart: Injecting HOPE into our hurting world

God Is Moving
A devotional by Julia Wilson

“God’s spirit is on me;

He’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,

Sent me to announce pardon to the prisoners and

Recovery of sight to the blind,

To set the burdened and battered free,

To announce, ‘This is God’s year to act!’” 

–Luke 4:18-21 (The Message)

I have read this passage from Luke, which echoes Isaiah 61:1-2, many times over the years, and from different translations. It is a familiar passage and one of my favourites. God’s Word is alive and last week as I read the above, I saw it with fresh eyes. “This is God’s year to act!” really leapt out at me. How we need a movement of God right here and now.

Like the rest of the world, 2020 in the UK has been a year like no other. As I write, we are at the start of another national lockdown. No one knows what lies ahead but we do not need to worry because God is already there. God sees all our tomorrows. Nothing surprises God.

Our nation and our world needs a movement of God now. We are His mighty warriors! We need to inject hope into our hurting world.

Our pastor, Leon Evans, gave us some wise advice. He recommended starting and ending each day with the Word of God and not the news.

When we look to the world we can easily become down and depressed. No one knows when COVID-19 will end. But when we look to God, He gives us hope. He is alive and active. If we do not tune into Him, we might miss Him. We need lives that recognize His voice and His movements.

“This is God’s year to act!” God is acting. Within our church, people have come to faith during this lockdown season caused by the pandemic. They have done Alpha (a course that explores the Christian faith), joined connect groups and experienced God … yet, some have never stepped foot inside the church.

God is not confined to a building. God is alive and active everywhere!

Have you ever stood and witnessed a sunrise or sunset and just been overwhelmed by the beauty of it all? I certainly have.

I have also been struck by the love of God while doing ordinary household chores. My response was to be to get down on my knees on the kitchen floor and to worship and thank God right there and then. If I had waited, I would have missed the moment.

We have the whole world that needs a reason to hope now. We have a world that needs to know God. Jesus Christ tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 NIVUK). This is our mission. Our neighborhood is our mission field. During times of lockdown we cannot travel far. However, we do not need to go overseas to find people who need a touch of God. We need to seek and save the lost in our neighborhoods and towns!

This is God’s year to act! Will you partner with Him and inject hope into our world today?

Please may I lead you in a prayer?

Let’s pray: Dear Lord, Thank you for dying for me. Help me to live for You. Open my eyes to the world around me. Show me who needs to hear from You. Give me eyes to see our hurting world as You see it. Give me hands to do Your work. Thank You for Your presence and Your promise to never leave us nor forsake us. In Jesus’s precious name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

My name is Julia Wilson but I also go by Christian Bookaholic. 

I live with my husband and five cats in a small town in Worcestershire on the banks of the River Severn (England). We have four grown up children and three granddaughters.

I have always loved reading and have always been surrounded by books. I used to work as a teaching assistant for special needs in the local high school. Ill health forced me to stop working in December 2015. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (known as M.E.) and fibromyalgia. I now have plenty of time to read and review books!

Our eldest son set up my Christian Bookaholic blog. I review every book I read. I read over 300 books a year. I read Christian and mass market. I prefer stories set from 1850 onwards. My favourite type of books to read is stories set in WWI and WWII, and Russia under Czar Nicholas II.

I am a historian, having a Combined Humanities degree where I majored in History and minored in English. I also love swimming. I only learned how to swim in 2017 and go swimming four mornings a week for 90 minutes before breakfast, it keeps my joints going.

I am also a crazy cat lady. I absolutely love my cats. I have grown up with cats and cannot imagine life without them. My dream is to own an old fashioned seal point Siamese … but not while we have our young rescue cat as she hates other cats!

I love God and love going to a large lively church called Lifecentral. I cannot imagine life without God. He gives a peace even when life does not. He guides my life. He is my Rock.