Tag: eyes of the Lord

50.u. Wilderness – 15. “If you will indeed obey”

 

 

Deu 11:8-15  “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. “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. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.

Remembering what God did in history should lead Israel to greater obedience and enable them to take the Promised Land. The sacrifices in obedience were well worth it for Israel. They had the promise of a land which was far superior to Egypt, which did not need to be artificially irrigated, but was watered by rains which God would send upon the obedient nation. God simply promised to provide for Israel if they chose to obey Him and put Him first. As Jesus said: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. The promise of the blessing of rain was important, because one of the attractive Canaanite gods was Baal – the god who was said to control the weather and rain. Perhaps the Israelites would be tempted to think, “well, we are in Canaan, and if we want rain, we should worship the Canaanite god of rain.” But the LORD makes it clear that if they would worship and obey Him, He would supply abundant rain. God declared His special care for the land of Israel, both then and now. (Guzik)

Moses sets before them, for the future, life and death, the blessing and the curse, according as they did or did not keep God’s commandment. Sin tends to shorten the days of all men, and to shorten the days of a people’s prosperity. God will bless them with an abundance of all good things, if they would love him and serve him. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is; but the favour of God shall put gladness into the heart, more than the increase of corn, and wine, and oil. Revolt from God to idols would certainly be their ruin. Take heed that your hearts be not deceived. All who forsake God to set their affection upon any creature, will find themselves wretchedly deceived, to their own destruction; and this will make it worse, that it was for want of taking heed. (Henry)

Moses sets before them, for the future, life and death, the blessing and the curse, according as they did or did not keep God’s commandment. Sin tends to shorten the days of all men, and to shorten the days of a people’s prosperity. God will bless them with an abundance of all good things, if they would love him and serve him. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is; but the favour of God shall put gladness into the heart, more than the increase of corn, and wine, and oil. Revolt from God to idols would certainly be their ruin. Take heed that your hearts be not deceived. All who forsake God to set their affection upon any creature, will find themselves wretchedly deceived, to their own destruction; and this will make it worse, that it was for want of taking heed. (Keil)

“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong”. 

What is it that nourishes the mind and strengthens the soul? Paul and Peter both have said in their letters to Christian churches that many of them in these churches were like infants and only eating baby food. They were not growing. They were just surviving – barely, and they were satisfied being babies in both their understanding of scripture and its application in their lives. Let this not be said of you. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

3.s. But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.

Ezra 8:21  Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

2 Chronicles 16:9    For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him

Psalms 33:18-19   Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,  that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

1 Peter 3:12    For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.

Zephaniah 1:6    those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”

Hebrews 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Faith in action.  It takes a very close humble walk with God to have this kind of faith, where you are ashamed to ask for protection from the king, who is more than willing and able to supply the protection, because in your heart you know God is more protection, more powerful, more awesome, and no one can defeat what He has put into motion.  I am reminded once again of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they told the king that our God is able to protect us from your threat, but even if He does not we will not bow down and worship your image.  Ezra is saying about the same thing when he purposed not seek the king’s help and protect but chose faith in God.  He was ashamed to have even thought the thought of asking the King.

If we were true to ourselves and asked how many times do we seek help outside of seeking and trusting God, what would that number be?  Trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation is a little easier as there is no other savior who can save us.  However, when we come down to living out our daily lives and see we can get help outside of asking Jesus we easily turn toward a non-faith, non-Jesus, solution.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  Our faith will only mature as we grow closer to Jesus.  Our closer walk with Jesus will only mature when we spend time in His word.  Time in His word will only mature when we intentionally/daily commit with our whole heart, mind, and soul to humble service, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, following, trusting, and obeying Him.  Our maturity will then happen line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little.  When we see Jesus Christ as our all in all for every moment of every day we will begin to grow and mature in our faith.

3.m. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love

Ezra 5:1  Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

2 Chronicles 16:9   For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

Psalms 32:8    I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalms 33:18    Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

1 Peter 3:12   For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Psalms 34:15  The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

There are always going to be those in opposition to the work, plans, and purposes of God.  They cry foul, make accusations, and try hard to stop this work.  God’s word is full of examples of men in opposition.  They only succeed when it is in God’s plan and for His purpose.  Sometimes it is for our testing so that we know what is in our heart.  Other times it is in God’s wrath to the fallen and deliberate hardened heart of those who choose to be neglectful and complacent in their walk with Him.

When we are faced with opposition let our eyes, ears, heart, mind, and soul be focused and trusting in God.  Praise and trust in His promises of steadfast love, power, strength, refuge, peace, and rest.  Philippians 4:12-13  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We are never alone.  God’s eyes are always on us.

2.x. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.

2 Chronicles 26:3  Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. The whole number of the heads of fathers’ houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.  But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord.

Have I ever allowed my walk with God to drift?  Have I ever been neglectful and complacent with His word and with listening and serving Him?  Have I ever just said today is mine to do as I want?  Have I ever allowed myself to seek and desire that which is self-centered, self-satisfying, prideful, greedy, and hurting to someone else?  Have I pretended to be ok?  Have I trusted in myself, my possessions, and my own actions? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes?

I have allowed my desire of Him to be taken over by desires for things of this world that are pleasing to me.  I have allowed my pride to allow me to think I can handle things on my own.  I have sought more for myself than seeking and humbly serving Jesus Christ.  I know who I am and the tendencies I have to glorify and satisfy self.  However, when I commit to start each day humbly serving Him and am studying His word I see the day in the newness that can only come from Jesus Christ.  I hear the guiding whispers from His word speak into my heart and mind and soul.  I am made aware of this sinful nature within me that shouts pride, hate, greed, unforgiveness, selfishness, and self-seeking desires.  In His word I am able to make a distinction between serving, honoring, following, trusting, and obeying God and that which is not.  I grow in understanding and knowledge.  I find peace, joy and rest when I commit and yield to honor, follow, trust, and obey Him.

Uzziah’s actions are no different than what each of us has done.  We may not be a leader of a nation but we all must be aware of the sinful nature knocking at our heart’s door.

Oh God, please allow us to see our sinfulness and be able to recognize it for what it is and make it clear that we have a choice before we commit to giving in.  Give us eyes to see it and a mind to understand it so that we clearly know what we choose – to either give in to self or to commit and yield to You.  Keep us on paths that honor you.  Speak loud into our heart and mind.  Fill us with more and more desire for You.

2.c. You did not rely on the Lord your God

2 Chronicles 16:1  In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, “There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

We can learn so much from this about God and our natural intents.  Here is Asa a man who was wholly true to God and when he needed help he went to man, not God.  He trusted in his own wisdom and cunning to overcome the issue at hand and it worked.  I doubt he even knew he walked down a path apart from God until the seer spoke to him.  It is never good for us to walk apart from God.  It is always good to seek God in decisions we are thinking about making.

Look at Asa’s reaction.  He was angered, retaliatory, and mean spirited.  He did not even seek the Lord for his physical problem.  We all have to be mindful of our ability to become neglectful and complacent with our service and honor to God.  One day, one decision, one moment away from the presence of God and we can take a path away from Him.  Paul told us to be on guard and to put on our whole armor for each day will be a battle with self.  We are to renew our mind each day.  We are to study His word and be a workman approved by Him.  We are to open the door of our heart and mind to Him every single moment of each day.  We are to seek and desire Him more and more each day.  We are to grow in this knowledge and understanding each day.  We are to confess our sins each day.  We are to live by faith each day.  We are to desire to hear Him speak into our life each day.  We are to seek to honor and glorify Jesus each day.  We are to deny self each day.  We are to forgive each day. We are to be generous each day.  We are to keep our eyes focused on Him each day.

Be mindful of how easy it is to trip, slip, and drift away from God.  It is never God drifting away.  It is always us when we do not keep a daily intentional choice to live to humbly honor, serve, glorify, follow, trust, and obey Him.

1.z.

2 Chronicles 14:1  Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace. And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

Acts 9:31     So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Psalms 105:3-4     Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!  Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Jeremiah 29:12-14    Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

1 Peter 3:12     For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Matthew 11:28-29   Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Asa the son of Abijah followed in his father’s footsteps and stayed close to God.  He set an example for the people and held to it.  He was the King and people looked to him, followed him, and learned from him what it meant to follow after God.  We can look at this and say if we are a King or leader the expectations are different for us in the eyes of the Lord.  At the same time, we say this we then think because we are not a King or a leader the expectations on our life is not as great.  In fact, we generally think and set the expectation on our lives much much lower when it comes to visible actions, when it comes to thoughts we mull over in our head, and when it comes to what we say.  We seem to allow ourselves to land our God-honoring humble service and obedience at the lowest expectation possible and still feel “good” about our lives.

During a bible study last Friday with a small group of men we discussed what life might look like if we actually took seriously the ever and always presence of God.  Would we set our expectations low?  Would we think, act, and speak differently.  Would we seek His word more diligently and desire His presence more deeply so that our humble service would continual in greater honoring, glorifying, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ.  Would we actively seek and desire and expect to hear His quiet whispers of leading?  Would we take every thought captive and lay it out against His word so that we would never allow a non-God honoring thought to dwell in our mind.  Would we examine those actions we are planning on doing and compare them against the word of God so that every action was honoring Him?  Would we examine what we are going to say against His word so that we ensure it was honoring Him?

Setting low expectations leads us to allow ourselves to be neglectful in His word and complacent in its application into our very lives.  You are a child of the King, a child of God, and priests to God, and a Holy temple to the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Your expectations need to be set very high and in line with God’s Word, for the honoring of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

178. O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.

2 Kings 6:8  Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Chronicles 16:9    For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Isaiah 8:10    Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Matthew 26:53    Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

Romans 8:31    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

I am always intrigued when I read this account of Elisha and one of his servants when surrounded by the Syrian army. Two against a powerful army.  Elisha was so matter of fact.  “Do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And then to add to this statement he prayed that the Lord would open his servant’s eyes so he should see those God had supplied.  “The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  “If God is for us who can be against us?” “for God is with us”, “but with us is the LORD our God, to help us “.

Has God changed?  Is His protection ever far from us?  No God has not changed and He is never far from us.  He is always present.  So why does it feel like He is not close and not helping?  Is it because we are not close to Him?  Have we strayed from Him?  Have we come to love this world and what it has to offer more than humbly serving God and following and obeying Him?  Have we become blind in our faith and deaf to the knowledge of Him?  Are we like Elisha’s servant who says “what should we do”?

We stray from God when we neglect His word.  We stray away when living for Him has been replaced by so many other things that keep us busy thinking about everything but Him.  Busyness is not an excuse – it is a choice.  We can choose to be close to Him, honoring Him, serving Him, relying on Him, following Him, obeying Him, and trusting in Him – ALL OF THE TIME!!!  Not just when it is convenient or fits our schedule.

Choose to be close to Him, stay in His word each day, seek His leading, and listen for His direction.

130. The LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

2 Samuel 22:7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.

Psalms 116:4    Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Psalms 120:1    In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.

Exodus 3:7    Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

Psalms 34:6     This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalms 34:15-17     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.

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.

Who has not been in distress?  Who has not been beside themselves for the trial that they are having to walk through?  It is not as though we go looking for trials and troubles, though at times I think some people do, but more like they find us when we least need to be having it.  They come up out of nowhere,  They hit us from the blind side.  They hit us where we thought we were strong.  They can leave us in a very anxious, fearful, wanting, and desperate state.  God’s word is full of promises and testimonies of His steadfast and ever-present help.  We need only to lay our trials and troubles into His hands and trust His unchanging and unlimited love.

“In my distress I called upon the Lord”, “He answered me”, “The Lord heard him”, “The Lord saved him”, “to my God I cried for help”, “The Lord hears and delivered them out of all of their troubles”, “He heard my voice”, “my cry to Him reached His ears”

125. “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”

2 Samuel 15:24  And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also with all the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

Judges 10:15    And the people of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.”

1 Samuel 3:18     So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”

Job 1:20-21     Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.  And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

“It is the Lord let Him do what seems good to Him.” “ Father all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” What kind of heart and mind trust in God so much that for good or what seems bad they leave it fully in God’s decision.   Note Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego – “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.”

Trusting God is a conscious choice to rely on Him and cling to Him and to know that he is the author and finisher, alpha and omega, beginning and end. In Him, we can find joy, peace, rest and strength when we yield the outcome into His hands and know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. When we place our burden in God’s hands and there is a strength and confidence that fills our soul because He is in control of the outcome.  No longer do we have to go it alone and in our own strength and with our own wisdom.  We can give it to Jesus and KNOW that He will do what is right and perfect for His honor and glory.  Every day is a new opportunity to trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ.