Going with the Flow
Navigating the Streams of Life
Linda Estes
Energion Publications
Gonzalez, FL
2018
Copyright © 2018 Linda Estes
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard
Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971,
1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-63199-493-7
Print:
ISBN10: 1-63199-491-3
ISBN13: 978-1-63199-491-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018930614
Energion Publications
P. O. Box 841
Gonzalez, FL 32560
850-525-3916
energion.com
And so the journey continues…
As I write the forward to this, my second devotional, my sweet husband, Alan, has been in Heaven for over a year now. It’s mind boggling that I have already lived this long without him, eighteen months to be exact. There are days that I still think I hear him coming through the door. No, I’m not losing my mind. Others that have lost a spouse tell me that’s normal. The time I have spent without him has been hard but not nearly as hard as it would be if I didn’t know the Lord, and if I didn’t have friends and family supporting me. Jesus has been my rock and He has abundantly blessed me by putting so many beautiful people in my life.
As you read through these devotions, you will hear all about my Lord and Savior and how He has helped me day by day live a life that is pleasing to Him. Just like my first devotional, Alan will be found throughout these pages, too. Even though he is physically gone, I still carry Him in my heart and I’m looking forward to the day when I will join him and other loved ones that have entered Heaven before me.
God always knows what we need. For me, God knew I needed to stay knee deep in His Word to survive the loss of Alan, and so He gave me this project. Until the Lord takes me home, I will continue to do the Kingdom work He has given me. For now, my mission field is wherever this collection of devotions ends up. I appreciate you allowing me to share with you the things that the Lord is daily showing me. He is navigating the streams of my life and He will guide you through your life, too, if you let Him. My prayer is you will do just that.
1…The Art of Relaxation
Good morning! The cover of this book was taken at Bennett Springs State Park in Missouri, my new favorite place to “unplug.” Relaxation is becoming a lost art in this fast-paced world we live in. For most people, we don’t have time to relax, as we have too much to do, and not enough hours in a day to get them done.
In the sixth chapter of Mark, I was reading about the disciples and their mission that God had given them. The mission trip put lots of demands on the disciples and when they returned from it, they were totally worn out, in every aspect of their lives … physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I was struck by Jesus’ response to their fatigue. No, Jesus didn’t tell them to suck it up and deal with it, as we are often told in this world when we’re just spent. His response came in verse 31. He said, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest for a while.” I think I just heard a collective “YES” from all of us who have just been so tired that it’s a struggle to get through the day.
If Jesus told His disciples to get away from everyone and rest, then it’s safe to say that He is telling us the same thing. So when was the last time that you “unplugged” and got away from the daily demands of this world? From my experience, taking a few days of true R&R, and spending time communing with the Lord can make all the difference in your world. Praying you schedule some relaxation time in your busy life.
2…Lifelong Learners
Good morning! As a former teacher, one of the things I tried to instill in my students was the love of learning something new. I wanted to help them become a lifelong learner. I told them that at the point in their life where they didn’t want to learn anything new, would be the point where they would really quit living.
The same principle is true in our Christian walk. We should want to learn something new about God every single day. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Through Scripture, we can learn about God’s character. As we read the Bible, we need to be like a sponge and soak up all He has to tell us. And then, as we go through our days, we need to listen to the Holy Spirit as He shows us how to apply God’s words in our daily life.
Another way we can learn about God is through other Believers He puts in our lives. There is nothing like a Christian brother or sister who comes along side us and encourages us with God’s words. Such encouragement spurs us along in our faith. Whether it be a Scripture that we need to help us through the challenges of life, or a reminder from a fellow Believer that God always keeps His promises, God always gives us what we need, exactly when we need it.
3…Pruning for Our Good
Good morning! I love feeling fall in the air. I’m able to be outside more to enjoy God’s beauty. Just a couple of weeks before Alan died, he planted two rose bushes in front of our house. He said I deserved roses every day and so this was his way of giving them to me. He was sweet that way. I’ve pruned the rose bushes several times to help them grow stronger.
As I was pruning them yesterday, I was reminded about how God does the same thing with us. John 15:2 tells us why God prunes us. “Every branch [aka … Believers] in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.” I prune my rose bushes by removing dead branches and trimming back the good branches to allow them to grow more blooms. God prunes us so that we too would bear more fruit. If you’re not producing fruit, He doesn’t cut you back, which is pruning, — He cuts you off. Ouch! Sometimes seasons of being pruned are not comfortable because God gets rid of whatever is keeping us from producing more fruit. That might mean He will ask us to give up some things or even relationships. God wants us to be everything He designed us to be so He will get rid of anything in the way of that ultimate goal. Our God is The Master Gardener. He knows how much to prune and the best time in our lives to do the pruning to achieve His desired results of producing fruit that makes Him happy, which in turn should make us happy. So when we find ourselves being pruned, don’t fight it. God is taking what is good and making it better!
4…Dancing in the Rain
Good morning! “Life isn’t about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain.” This saying is embroidered on a towel in my kitchen. I have to chuckle every time I change my decorative towels. You see, I have a towel rack that hooks over one of my lower kitchen cabinets. Alan always told me to hang the towel that I didn’t want him to actually use on that rack and that way he’d never mess it up.
In life, there’s always going to be messes. We are guaranteed to have problems. John 16:33 tells us so. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Jesus warns us that we should expect to have trouble in this life. But He has also told us that we can have peace despite our trials. The peace that Jesus refers to will come when we keep our eyes on Him and not on the trouble we are facing.
The Christian singer, David Crowder, sings a song, Come as You Are, that says the same thing that Jesus tells us. The lyrics say that, “Earth has no sorrows that Heaven