Lately

"A man's steps are directed by the Lord,
How then can anyone understand his own way?"
- Proverbs 20:24

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed."
- Proverbs 16:3

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
- Proverbs 3:5-6

These verses have helped me a lot to make sense of life and relax and take it as it comes, they are gems. But recently its occurred to me that maybe my life will make more sense if I focus it not on what it means for me, but on applying this life I've been given to what Jesus has intended it to accomplish.
In order to understand this, I need to learn about Jesus; who he was, what he taught, how he lived. It is so foundational to what I 'believe' but, admittedly, something I've been so far away from discovering all these years.

The more I learn about Jesus lately, the more I realize that there's a lot I've been missing. I love what God says about him through Isaiah:

"Look well at my handpicked servant,
I love him so much, take such delight in him.
I've placed my Spirit on him,
he'll decree justice to the nations.
But he won't yell, won't raise his voice;
there'll be no commotion in the streets.
He won't walk over anyone's feelings,
he won't push you into a corner.
Before you know it, his justice will triumph;
the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even
among far-off unbelievers"
- Matthew 12:18-21 (Message Version)

Biblegateway.com's verse of the day seems especially appropriate as a conclusion to this thought:

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:5-8

May we all continually be learning and loving more.
Peace.