'...from that day forward.'

“Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD took control of David from that day forward.” 1 Samuel 16:13

The pages of the Bible are filled with ‘from that day forward’ experiences. Throughout the Bible we are introduced to a cast of characters without a recorded history. We learn of their lives at an intersection in which God calls them to act. We know little about from where they came or their childhood. We are introduced to them because God chose to shine a spotlight on their lives marking a defining moment wherein they would never be the same.

In Feb, 2006 God awakened me to Himself creating a dividing line in my life. When I am considering different parts of my life everything seems to be categorized in two areas. I relate to my life as either before I awoke or after I awoke. Every day is measured on that measuring stick. I have believed IN God, but it was at that time in my life when I starting BELIEVING in God. There is a big difference between the two. One is based in the knowledge that I will experience God in Heaven because of my salvation given freely by Him. The other is the reality of experiencing God on earth because of my intimacy with Him.

God will use each of us at different points of our faith, according to our faith, if we are consistently walking in fellowship with Him. I do not have to be perfect in my usefulness – just willing. Walking consistently in fellowship with God equips us with faith to fulfill future assignments. We learn to recognize Him at work in our lives and learn His character, His will and His ways. We learn to respond to Him immediately focusing on His agenda instead of our own. We learn that through ‘turning our eyes upon Jesus’ we are no longer blinded from our own self-focus. Once we awake into Him God will train us to consistently walk in fellowship with Him. ‘This stage of our faith walk is incredibly important because God has tied everything about our lives – our intimacy with Him, our blessings, our rewards, and our usefulness to Him – to our ability to walk by faith.’ By Faith, p. 56

‘…from that day forward.’