Tag: earth

7. Run to the forest of God’s word

Exodus 23:25  You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.

Exodus 23:33   They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

Deuteronomy 10:12     “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deuteronomy 10:20    You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him,

Deuteronomy 11:13-14     “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,  he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.

Deuteronomy 13:4    You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

Deuteronomy 28:1-6    “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.  Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.  Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.  Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Joshua 24:24    And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

1 Samuel 12:24     Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Do you ever wonder what interferes with serving God with all your heart and with all your soul?  Scriptures say “obey the voice of the Lord your God” and then it says to “serve Him with all your heart and soul.”  You have heard  of the question “Does a tree falling over in a forest makes a sound if no one is there to hear it.”  If it is not perceived by someone does not mean it did not make noise.

If we don’t spend time in the forest of God’s word there is no chance we will hear His voice, let alone, be able to follow and obey it with our whole heart and soul.  Spending time in the forest of God’s word allows us to see the massiveness as well as the singularity of it.  It allows us to see the beauty, promises, strength, power, might, and steadfast grace, mercy, and love of God.  Paul speaking to unbeliever said it this way – “how are people to hear unless someone tells them.  but Peter speaking to believers said it this way – “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Believers should desire and seek the forest of God’s word.  They should run to it each day to hear the voice of God speak into their lives.  They want to hear Him speak so they can serve, follow and obey.

I think people stay out of the forest of God’s word because they have seen all they want to see from a distance.  By staying outside of the forest there is little chance they will need to listen and because they are close enough to see it, they think they are ok enough.

Do you want to see truth and beauty – Run to the forest of God’s word with a desire seeking to hear Him speak into your life.  Blessing comes to those who spend time in the forest listening and obeying Him speak.

 

4. His commandments are not burdensome

Exodus 20:1   And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:29     Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Jeremiah 32:39-40     I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.

Acts 2:39     For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

John 14:21    Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

1 John 5:3     For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

God spoke and said that we should have no gods before Him, a command for us to follow.  He spoke of more commands for a righteous and moral living.  We know these first commands as the 10 commandments.  Some call them the “do’s and don’ts”.  Prior to giving these commandments, He told Moses to get the people ready for He wanted the people to hear Him speak to Moses.  He set limits for how close the people could come.  The Israelites had just been told that God had chosen them for a treasured possession and they were to listen and obey Him.  The Israelites answered together saying “All the Lord has spoken we will do.”

God is now allowing the people to hear Him speak to Moses.  They had prepared themselves for three days and were to come to hear God speak to Moses.  When God came down to the mountain and it was covered in smoke, fire, and the whole mountain trembled.  He called Moses up to Him and spoke.  The Israelites were set at a distance away from the mountain but could certainly hear God speak.

And what do you think the people said when they heard God speak?  They trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

I wonder how many times we want others to speak to us rather than God.  Is it because we think we can distance ourselves from Him?  Do we think we are going to be less accountable?  Do we think it will be easier to discount this person rather than neglecting God?  Do we think serving, following, obeying is burdensome?

We should desire to be close to God, seek Him, listen to Him, trust Him, and obey Him.  Being close to Him is a choice just as being distant from Him.  Staying close requires faith, reliance, hope, and trust.  Being distant requires nothing and in return sees and hears nothing, leading us down a path of disruptive living.

Choose to be close.  Choose to hear.  Choose to listen. Choose to obey.

3. To obey and listen is better than sacrifice

Exodus 19:1   On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

Exodus 23:22    “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 24:7     Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

Deuteronomy 28:1    “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Joshua 24:24    And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

1 Samuel 15:22    And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

How many times do we try to do good as a means to gain or earn God’s favor?  Doing something with the hope or expectation of a reward for good behavior is much different than doing it as an honor to the person without expectation.  Note the words in Samuel; “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

Listening and obeying are signs of a life honoring God.  We can do all the good we want to do but if it is not for the honor and worship of God it is in vain.

How is a person to listen and obey if they are not in His word, or not intentionally choosing to listen and be guided by God.  Performance is different from humble service.  Stay in His word each day with the expectation of knowing more, understanding more, and learning more of Him and His ways, love, promises, and purposes for your life.

1. Because He is God

Exodus 18:8   Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.  Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

Nehemiah 9:9-15    “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,  and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day.

Psalms 66:16    Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

Psalms 71:17-20    O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.  So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.  Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?  You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.

Psalms 105:1-2     Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

Psalms 145:4-12     One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.  On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.  They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.  They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.  The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.  All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,  to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

When we choose to intentionally commit to know and understand God and begin to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, follow, and obey Him we will see new wonders, mighty deeds, awesome power, steadfast love, and being witness to these, we speak rejoicing.  We speak joy.  We speak love.  We speak hope. We speak kindness. We speak reliance. We speak about trust and faith.

“Come and hear…. I will tell what He has done for my soul,” “One generation shall commend your works to another,” “Proclaim your might to another generation,” “Make known His deeds,” “I will proclaim your wondrous deeds”

We rejoice in times of plenty and in want.  Why? Because God has become our rock, refuge, and hope.  In Him and His purposes and plans, we confidently place our faith because He is God.

While they are yet speaking I will hear

Exodus 16:9    Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”  In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

Numbers 16:16     And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD,

Ezekiel 34:30    And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 39:22    The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward.

Joel 3:17     “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.

Zechariah 13:9    And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

Zechariah 10:6     “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

Psalms 34:15-19     The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Psalms 50:15    and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalms 91:15     When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

Isaiah 65:24    Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

Jeremiah 29:11-12    For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

Romans 10:12-14    For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I am intrigued by these verses.  God, showing His love, mercy, awesome power to a nation of grumbling people.  They were not calling on God but rather grumbling against Him.  They were not believing in Him, trusting in Him, relying on Him but rather living in the circumstances and the situation they were in.  They are just weeks from where God showed 8 great wonders prior to delivering them out of the hands of Egypt, days past when the Red Sea was parted and fewer days from water being supplied.  Still, these great wonders of God did nothing to change there heart.  Did they see these things as works of an Awesome God or just flukes of nature?  Did they not question how these things could happen apart from God?

When you think about it, complaining and grumbling does not take much effort.  It comes easy.  It does not need much of a push to get us there.  This seems to be our natural state of mind if left unchecked.  Still, it is a choice.

Just as it is an intentional choice to grumble and complain, it is an intentional choice to believe (trust in, rely on, cling to) God.  For those who do, they will see the Mighty hand of God at work.  They will hear His whispers of leading, encouragement, hope, peace, and joy, with eyes and ears wide open.  They will cling to His promises.   They will call on Him.  They will pray to Him.  They will rely on Him.  They will trust in Him.  They will seek and desire Him.  They will honor and glorify Him.  They will humbly serve Him.  They will wait on Him.  They will follow Him.  They will obey Him.

1. Walk in My ways, and do what is right in My eyes

Exodus 15:26  saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

Deuteronomy 7:12-13     “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.  He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.

Deuteronomy 7:15    And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.

Deuteronomy 28:1-15     “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 12:28    Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

1 Kings 11:38    And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

2 Kings 22:2     And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

When I read these verses I think about how is a person to know they are carefully obeying, listening to the voice of the Lord,  giving ear to His word, being faithful, doing what is right, not turning aside to the right or the left?   Maybe the other question that should be asked is what is keeping us from all of this? What is the measuring stick or means to know the path you are on is in line with the purposes and plans of God for your life? Why do things get clouded and confused when trying to answer these questions?

Our culture speaks into our lives.  True, false and slanted news taints how we think and live.  Laws, tolerance, live and let live, separation of church and state, biased views based on liberal agendas and the list can go on and on.  All of these eat away at our ability to carefully obey, listen, give full ear to God unless we are intentional about it.  Intentional would mean we are staying in His word, growing in our knowledge and understanding of Him, growing our faith through times of testing, using His word to challenge the prevailing thoughts of our culture, using His word to speak to our heart and mind, desiring to hear His whispers of leading, seeking to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, follow and obey Him.

We can look very good when we compare ourselves to the culture we live in.  We only have to be a little be different to falsely think we are right in God’s eyes.  I can remember 35 years ago a Pastor telling me he continues to see the church always 10 to 15 years behind adopting what is not acceptable now.  It only takes that short time to weaken our thoughts and resolve if we are not faithful in our time in His word, faithful in our walk with Him, faithful in our intentional commitment, faithful in seeking Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul.

How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?

Exodus 7:7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Exodus 7:10   So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded.

Exodus 7:20  Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded.

Exodus 8:17 And they did so.

Exodus 9:14  so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Exodus 9:27  Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.

Exodus 10:3  So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?

Exodus 10:16  Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.”

Exodus 12:28  Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Exodus 12:50  All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt

Exodus 13:3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.

Exodus 13:17  When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.

Can you see the committed following of Moses and Aaron, and as well the hardening of the hearts of the Egyptians.  Though they saw first hand the might wonders, signs and works of God they denied them and the power of God.

Before doing what the Lord God asks of us we need to be willing to hear and willing to act.  There will be those who oppose God.  There will be those who will join God.  There will be those who will follow God.

It is apparent who is opposing.  They will say and do things that expose their heart of stone.  They will try to explain away God.   God is not hindered or blocked.  His plans and purposes will come to pass.

Joining and following God is more than words.  It is a change of heart, mind, and soul.  It is permanent. It is life changing. It is life long. True commitment will be seen by their actions “so they did as God spoke“.  They want to hear God’s whispers and will hear them speak into their heart.  They will act on His leading.  They will trust in His promises. They will grow in their humbleness toward Him.  They will cling to Him, rely on Him, and trust in Him.  They seek and desire to honor and glorify Him.

However, it does not take much hardening to deafen our ears to be able to hear God speak to our heart.  The quickest way to hardening our heart is through busyness. We seem to find this excuse permissible and justified in our commitment and walk with Him.   We need to be intentional in our walk with Him and be able to discern when busyness over takes us.  We need to know what is non-value added into our lives and say “no more”.  We may need to say no to some good things to be in control of our intentional walk with Him.

I don’t know how many lives of people I have seen where God intervened in their busyness by some trial or troubling event.  God did not take them through and easy path – He led them straight to the Red Sea where there was no way back and no way forward but by the Hand of God.  These people were changed because there was a new “God induced”, “God priority” set in their lives.  If this is what it takes to renew, refresh, recommit, and establish a new level of commitment to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, and obey, I wish it on all people, rather than watch them spend another day without God being their joy, peace, love, hope, courage, strength, power, refuge, and guiding light.

I am the Alpha and the Omega

Exodus 3:13  Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel:  ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me,

Exodus 6:3     I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.

Job 11:7     “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

Psalms 90:2    Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Isaiah 44:6     Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

2 Corinthians 1:20     For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Revelation 1:8    “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 4:8    And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Aren’t you amazed at the response “I am who I am”?  When someone asks you who you are, you might say John Smith, brother of Bill and Tom, Son of Brad and born in the city of X, county of X, country of X in the year of XXXX.   You might continue on and say you are married to Martha and work for IBM as a VP of technology.  You might say to volunteer at such and such organization(s).

God however has no beginning or end.  He has no father, mother, brother, sister, and is complete in Himself.  He is not bound by time.  He is outside of all that is created.  He is all knowledge, wisdom and understanding.  He is all love, righteous, and justice.  He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.  He is all powerful, mighty, and Holy.

And though we see Him partially, like though a fog, we will see Him fully in eternity.  We will understand His holiness, love, majesty, power, wisdom, and the fullness of “I am”

We serve a living God without limit.

Blessed who remained steadfast

Exodus 2:21   During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Isaiah 19:20    It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them.

Psalms 18:6     In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

Psalms 107:19-20    Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

James 5:7   Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

In times of trouble, confusion, distress, anxiousness and hurt waiting seems almost impossible.  Yet it is in the impossible we see the hand of God.  We experience peace above all understanding.  We grow more in our expectant deliverance at the hand of God.  We find firm hope.

Will we always see the end of all Gods intervention?  Sometimes yes and other times – no.  Does this mean He does not or will not act in our behalf – no.  It does mean that His plans and purposes are far above our understanding.  Can we trust that He will always do His best for us – Yes.  In our trial is where trust, faith, and reliance are grown and are one of our ways of glorifying and honoring God.

Note  Dan 3:16  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Note what Jesus said in Luke 22:42  “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

In all things we must leave room for God’s will, purpose, and plans.  His ways are not our ways.  His thoughts are not our thoughts.

God is sovereign, all powerful, and steadfast in His love for us.  We can trust that He will work all things together for the good of them called by His name.

Sufficient in ourselves?

“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,”

Genesis 41:15  And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

2 Kings 6:27     And he said, “If the LORD will not help you, how shall I help you?

Daniel 2:18-23     and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.  Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.  Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.  He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;  he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.  To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Daniel 2:28-30    but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:  To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.  But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Acts 3:12    And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

Acts 14:14-15     “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

As a christian believer how many times a day do we think our accomplishments are the work of our strength, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding?  How many times do we look at the work of our hands and proudly claim it as such.  Are these not given to us by God?  Are they not given to us so that God is glorified and honored?

Me, myself, and I are always under the surface of our sinful nature trying to be first for praise, first for credit, first for acknowledgment.  We must be aware of this.

Placing Him first is a daily choice of the heart and mind.  It is a moment by moment choice.  Placing God first is a direct result of a desire to do so.  We would be hard pressed to keep Him first apart from daily seeking Him, needing to be fed by Him, wanting to honor and glorify Him, desiring to hear His whispers, and seeking to follow and obey Him.

It is not so much about reading His word every day (though this is always a good thing to do) but the want, need, desire to do so that will keep (me, myself and I) at bay.  “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”.  “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.”  “My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”  “my soul thirsts for you like a parched land”  “ My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.”  “my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning”