Night – Praying Pint

42.i. “Let My People Go” – 10.f. Angel of God stood behind them

Exodus 14:19  Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,  coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Numbers 20:16     And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

Isaiah 63:9    In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Psalms 18:11    He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.

Proverbs 4:18-19    But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.  The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

The pillar was a source of darkness to the Egyptians but a source of light to Israel. This is a vivid picture of how the glory of God or work of God can be light to one person yet seem dark to another. “Thus the double nature of the glory of God in salvation and judgment, which later appears so frequently in Scripture, could not have been more graphically depicted. We often have little idea how much God does to protect us from the attacks of our unseen enemies. We sometimes feel that we are overwhelmed in a present spiritual struggle, but we may not know what it would be like if the LORD pulled back His protection. (Guzik)

The word and providence of God have a black and dark side toward sin and sinners, but a bright and pleasant side toward the people of the Lord. He, who divided between light and darkness, Ge 1:4, allotted darkness to the Egyptians, and light to the Israelites. Such a difference there will be between the inheritance of the saints in light, and that utter darkness which will be the portion of hypocrites forever. (Henry)

Thus, the same cloud produced light (a symbol of favor) to the people of God, and darkness (a symbol of wrath) to their enemies (Brown)

We may see and we may not see the protective hand of God in the midst of our troubles. Certainly, a retrospective look will clearly show us His mighty protective love was, in fact, there protecting and guiding us. It amazes me that the same darkness that God blinds people with is Light to others. It has nothing to do with our worthiness or being deserving of it. No, it has only to do with God’s grace, mercy, and love. How many times has God protected us from death while we were still unrepentant and unforgiven sinners, and thereby heading straight to eternal Hell should we have died? This should bring us to our knees in awe, humbleness, gratitude, and worship. Nothing but the Hand of God will soften the dark heart of those who see His holiness and the sinfulness of their sin. It is truly hard to understand the mystery of how a person can be pulled from darkness into light while others choose darkness over light. We often think we chose to come out of darkness to find light, but the truth is that while we were in darkness the light of the gospel was revealed to us. God displayed this light into the darkness clouding our lost souls. Somewhere in here we intentionally choose to believe in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and repent, trust, follow, obey, and rely in Him, but make no mistake about it, were it not for God softening our hearts, showing us the sinfulness of sin, removing the darkness clouding our understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we would all be continue to be in darkness.

Every single person is surrounded by darkness and when this darkness is broken by the light of the Gospel some choose to run back into the darkness for they find comfort in it. Others will see the light, run to it, and want nothing to do with the darkness. How a person is able to reject the light and wants to stay in darkness truly is a mystery. Miracles, signs, wonders, creation, God’s Word, and the fact that God has placed within every person a beginning knowledge of Himself, and still people choose darkness. In Matthew and Mark we are told a parable of the seeds. Some of the seeds don’t make it, they are choked out and wither and die. These people saw the light, took hold of it, rejected the watering and nurturing required for growth. They saw the light was good. They spent time in the light. They tasted the drippings of its sweetness of peace, joy, hope, comfort and refuge, and yet they returned to darkness.

Stay in the light. Commit to living every single moment with purpose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do. To do otherwise will leave you ever inching toward darkness away from the light.

27.i. “I will bless the Lord who counsels me— even at night when my thoughts trouble me.”

Psalms 16:5 Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me— even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely.

ii. “Preserve me from the world; let me not be carried away with its excitements; suffer me not to be before its blandishments, nor to fear its frowns. Preserve me, from the devil; let him not tempt me above what I am able to bear. Preserve me from myself; keep me from growing envious, selfish, high-minded, proud, slothful. Preserve me from those evils into which I see others run, and preserve me, from those evils into which I am myself most apt to run; keep me from evils known and from evils unknown.” (Spurgeon) David’s heart was instructed first by God and His Word, and therefore his heart could also instruct him in the ways of God. How many times do we lay awake at night to try to figure out our problems? We wrestle with fear, confusion, anxiousness, and worry. It seems as though we get on a train of thought and continue to stoke up the steam engine to get it down the track to the town of “I have figured it out” which is right next door to “I have a plan to make it right”, only to find, after numerous times of stoking we have never left the station. It is not wrong to meditate on the worries of life but it must be always in the presence of God, surrendering it into His hands, and with a heart and mind the trusts and rely on Him. When we find those worrisome thoughts pounding in our head we need to take them captive. Don’t allow them to consume our peace and joy. When we recognize thoughts that are giving us a mental beating we can talk to God about them. We can place them where we can stand back and see them and then see the mighty power, awesome love, and all-knowing Heavenly Father. When we do this our heart turns from worry, anxiousness, fear, and confusion and starts to begin to rejoice in God, His power, His love, and how He is able to handle and make sense of it all. Give it to Me. Rejoice in Me. Know that I have it all under control. I will give you peace and rest. Trust Me. We can find a security, joy, peace, and rest that only God can give.

21.f. “Cast off and cast away your cloak of filthy rags”

Romans 13:12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Ezekiel 18:31-32   Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

John 3:19-21   And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

1 John 1:5-7   This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Galatians 5:16   But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

1 Thessalonians 2:12   we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

We must cast off before we can put on. “The rags of sin must come off if we put on the robe of Christ. There must be a taking away of the love of sin, there must be a renouncing of the practices and habits of sin, or else a man cannot be a Christian. It will be an idle attempt to try and wear religion as a sort of celestial overall over the top of old sins.” (Spurgeon)

The flesh will be as active as we allow it to be. We have a work to do in walking properly, as in the day – it isn’t as if Jesus does it for us as we sit back; instead, He does it through us as we willingly and actively partner with Him. (Guzik)

Spurgeon makes the point of the idle attempt to think it is possible to wear the cloak of religion over the top of unrepentant, unchanged, self-reliant, self-worthy, and self-serving heart, and expect it to, by some means, make you right before God’s eyes. There are those who spit on the garment of salvation. They want no part of it. They see this garment as a filthy rag. They deny it has any beauty or purpose.

There are people that may recognize the need for Christ but they continue to wear the cloak of self-reliance to cover their sin rather than an intentional choice to cast off the cloak of all hope in anything they can do and put on the garment of salvation. They are quick-change artists. They are able to slap an off-market garment that gives the appearance of being a Christian but under that garment still remains the filthy rags of un-repented sin and self-reliance. They never want to take off their filthy rags only cover them up.

The Word of God exposes the stench and ugliness of these filthy rags we cling to so tightly. In His Word, we are able to see them for what they are. We smell the stench and see the ugliness. We become aware and are able to cast them off. It is in this “casting off” that we are able to put on the pure clean garment of salvation. Casting off requires us to recognize the stench and ugliness of what cloaks our hearts, minds, and souls. Without this recognition, the need for the garment of salvation will never be put on. Jesus Christ paid the price (bought our new garment) and when we recognize the filthy rags clothing us and humbly take them off and lay them at His feet, He places this new garment of salvation on us. The stench and ugliness garments are removed forever.

The stench and ugliness of our filthy rags is sin. The garment of salvation is believing in, clinging to, trusting in, and relying on and in Jesus Christ. Recognition, confession, repentance, turning away, from the cloak of sin to the garment of salvation is an intentional choice. We can never buy the garment of salvation, it can only be given to us by Jesus Christ as we cast off our cloak of filthy rags.

21.d. “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Romans 13:11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

Matthew 16:3   And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

Matthew 24:42-44    Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3    Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.  For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Revelation 22:12   “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

Revelation 22:20   He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Matthew 25:5-7   As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

Mark 13:35-37   Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—  lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.  And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

1 Corinthians 15:34  Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31   This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short.

2 Peter 3:13-15   But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

Because we know the danger of the times and we anticipate the soon return of Jesus, we should be all the more energetic and committed to a right walk with God instead of a sleep-walk with God. People talk in their sleep, walk in their sleep, hear things in their sleep, and even think in their sleep (dreaming). We can do many religious or things that seem right in our own eyes and still be asleep toward God, it is important for every Christian to make sure they are truly awake and active in their life before God. (Guzik)

It is a very dangerous state of mind to be in, seemingly being awake. People who see you might even think you are awake. You do things that would give the appearance that you are awake. You say things that sound like you are awake. But in all truth and reality, you are asleep in and to things of God. When we sleep we are resting our bodies and mind. While we sleep we are not aware of things that happen or that have happened. We can wake to find a severe storm has come and gone in the night. How many times have you heard, “I slept right through it”? “Didn’t hear a thing.” We may even say that it was a good night’s sleep. We may say that we slept like a baby. Though our mortal minds and bodies need sleep and rest, our spiritual should never be in that state. From the morning to evening our spiritual awareness should never be found asleep. “Study God’s Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night…”, “but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law, he meditates day and night.” “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”

What are the signs of being asleep? Neglect, complacency, paying little to no attention, disregard, ignore, set aside, lazy, self-worth, self-reliance, pride, contentment, carelessness, self-contentment. When we are asleep to things of God and the Word of God we become more and more spiritually unaware. What we do, what we say, and what we think looks like those who, for all practical application, are in a comma concerning things of God and His Word. Though our fleshly bodies and minds need sleep our spiritual lives do not and should not ever be in the state of sleep. Jesus gave warnings about being found asleep when He returns. Paul gave warnings about being found asleep and gave encouraging words to stand fast, remain true, every grown in our knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ, keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, continually be looking and anticipating Christ’s return. The day is coming. Jesus is returning. Will He find you asleep?

11.y. “They will call upon my name, and I will answer them”

Psalm 17:3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

Psalms 66:10    For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

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.’”

1 Peter 1:7     so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:4    For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

Testing and refining come to every Christian. It comes in different forms and at various times in our lives. It can come physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and relationally. We lie in bed at night unable to sleep as the burden laid on our hearts and minds consumes our sleep. There are times we just can’t seem to handle anymore. William Gruanll said something like this, “Faith is a plant that grows more in the darkness than in the light”. When we cry out to God with the burdens weighing heavy on our soul, that is ok and right for us to acknowledge before Him. We acknowledge that it is beyond our strength and ability to handle it. Crying out to God is the one place our burdens will be lifted. Oh, we try and try to handle it on our own over and over again, but we end up at the same place we started – trying to carry a burden we were never intended to carry alone. Why do we cry out to God? God will answer! God has promised, “Come on to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.” “you will find rest for your souls.” But, there are times our path in life has taken a road/path that leads us away from God. There are many temptations that our sinful nature will grab on to that lead us in to being apart from God. In these times it is good for God to lay burdens on our hearts and minds so heavy that our souls find no peace. Maybe we will turn from our wayward path and turn back to Him. There are other times, in our lives, we are walking in the light of His Word and, best to our ability, humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, following, trusting, and obeying Him and still, a trial/burden lands deep into our hearts and minds. We lie awake at night and our heart aches and our mind mulls over and over again that which is giving us no peace or rest. It is in these times we cry out to God and thank Him for His promises. We acknowledge that we are helpless and lay our burdens at His feet, trusting, by faith, He will lift the burden and carry it for us. He has promised it and is more than capable to give us peace and rest over it. “Faith is a plant that grows more in the darkness than in the light”, water it with the Word of God, fertilize it with steadfast faith, and rejoice in the fruit it will produce. Quit trying to carry a burden we were never intended to carry alone.

8.u. The Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Can you even begin to imagine what heaven is going to be like? No sickness, being in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, no more curse , no more darkness, no more lies, etc……worshiping them forever and ever in perfect peace and rest. It is hard to think what life, culture, and society would be like without sin. Our thoughts are clouded in a dense fog of understanding. Even the thought of a sinless world is beyond our comprehension. And yet we are given glimpses of what it is going to be like. Could you imagine what your life would be like if there was no pride, greed, lust, hate, self-worth, self-reliance, self-justified, and many other self-centered acts we commit each day. Many times we are not even aware of how self-centered we are unless we are seeking God to expose it to us. Remember how David put it; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Our hearts are very deceiving and in them we hide away from what it means to give our whole heart, mind, and soul to humbly serving, following, obeying, and trusting Jesus Christ. We keep scripture at arms length so that we can’t hear the guiding whispers of the Holy Spirit. We apply that which is pleasing to the way we choose to live but do not seek that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ. If we did more time would be spent in His Word than we do on everything else that easily occupies our time. Given the verses today we should want to be practicing total service and worship of Jesus Christ right now. Just try to spend 10 minutes per day in His Word for the next 30 days and see what Jesus Christ opens your understanding too.

4.u. No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Job 5:12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night.

Psalms 33:10-11    The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

Proverbs 21:30    No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

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.

Psalms 21:11    Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

Psalms 9:15-16    The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.  The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Psalms 7:15-16    He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.  His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

1 Corinthians 1:19-20    For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

It does not take much time reading or watching the news in either local or foreign outlets to hear those who have no regard for God. It comes from those in business, education, military, unions, sports, and politics. It seems the louder they speak and the more absurd their thoughts the more attention they get. They would have us believe things like: only the weak seek a god, there are many gods, there are multiple ways to God, your life is all about YOU, and you are intolerant if you do not agree with that which opposes honoring God. They feed fuel to the lies of Satan. The most unsettling thing about this is that more and more people are believing these lies. They join in full force to the cause of the day without giving thought to God. I would like to say that people are brainwashed over time and have little to no chance of not being pulled along this path of destruction. The truth is that God has placed within each of these hearts knowledge of Him and they have chosen to reject Him. At the end of the day, they are without excuse, hope, or true hope and peace. We can shake out head at them in disgust but the truth of the matter is that we too were just like this, lost and without hope. God in His perfect plan, softened our heart and in this softening, we heard whispers of the need for forgiveness, salvation, and repentance. Our minds were spiritually opened to the mystery of grace, mercy, and love through Jesus Christ. This wisdom and understanding were not of ourselves but of God.

I get lost in my thoughts when I try to understand this in light of our free will to open the door to our heart to Him and His softening of our heart to bring us to this point in our life. I see these lost people and what they say and what they believe and get a bit miffed with all of it. I easily forget how I was also this way. I forget the darkness I lived in. I forget all the time I spent in this darkness and liking it. I forget all of the time spent apart from God and never giving Him a single thought. They are lost for sure but while there is breath in their lungs there is still hope for salvation, forgiveness, and repentance.

We honor God by exposing the darkness. We honor God by speaking and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We never know who or when a hardened heart will be softened, but we do know that salvation and forgiveness are given to all who believe in, trust in, and rely on Jesus Christ.

4.f. “They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed”

Nehemiah 9:6 “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

“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. And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Nehemiah gives an account of Creation and the hand of God choosing Abraham because of his faith and making a covenant with him and his descendants to give them the possession of land from people who were evil and vile. He speaks of their rescue from Egypt and the wondrous works God performed then and in the wilderness. In all of this, Nehemiah recounts their father’s sin in refusing to be mindful of God’s wonders and obey. He also called out the fact that they themselves were no different and had stiffened their neck – they proudly denied serving God and did what was right in their own eyes.

We too must be mindful of our heart and know what is residing in it through the light of God’s word. When our necks stiffen it is not as though we have taken a firm, knowing stand against God, but rather we have chosen to neglect His word, what He has done, what He has promised, and what He will do. In this neglect, our eyes to our heart come to the point of being blind and our ears to our soul become deaf to His leading. We are left with a stiff neck toward the things of God and since He is not the light and the bread of life to our soul we end up doing what is right in our own eyes for the door to our heart, mind, and soul is closed tight through this neglect.

Read God’s word with the intent of gaining godly wisdom and understanding. Read it with eyes expecting to see something new revealed to your heart. Read it with ears desiring to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading. Read it with the door to your heart, mind, and soul wide open. When we start to read it with this commitment we will start to understand what it means to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, praise, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ.

75. And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped.

Joshua 10:12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.

Job 9:7  who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;

Psalms 74:16  Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

Isaiah 28:21  For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim; as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused; to do his deed—strange is his deed! and to work his work—alien is his work!

Habakkuk 2:20  But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Zechariah 2:13  Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

It is hard to try to understand how the Sun and moon could stand still for about a whole day. Likewise, it is hard to understand how God created heaven and earth, light and darkness, man, animals, plants, and everything else that was created. Our minds do not have the capacity to understand the vastness of God or what He can do. Scripture says He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Who can imagine the 8 plagues He caused on Egypt, the host of miracles performed in the wilderness, and the numerous works, deeds, and wonders of Jesus Christ? All of these are beyond our knowledge but not our believing. With our heart and mind and soul, we trust in God and believe He is able, sovereign, all-powerful, mighty, and awesome, capable to do more than our limited understanding. It is good to rest in His awesome unlimited love and power. In Him, we find peace, rest, comfort, hope, and purpose.

Do not limit what God is capable of doing by your lack of belief.

“Whom shall I send”

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”

Exodus 3:4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “ Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:1     After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:11     But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 46:2     And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:4    Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”

1 Samuel 3:10    And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Acts 9:4    And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Acts 10:3    About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

Isaiah 6:8     And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Mat 4:18  While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 9:9     As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Mark 2:14    And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

John 1:43  The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

There was a Call from God and the reply was “here am I”. There is a call from Jesus was “come follow me” and the response was “they followed”. These calls came as these men were in their normal everyday activities. Their responses would indicate a willingness and even possibly wanting to hear from God. I am not so sure any of them were sitting around and had a conscious thought “if God calls to me I am going to say here am I”. I think they were more inclined to believe there was a living God and they had reverence in their heart for Him in such a way that their ears, eyes, heart, mind, and soul were open.

Here I am – I don’t know what you want but I want you to know I am listening.

Here I am – I know you are God or from God

Here I am – I want to hear what you say

Here I am – I am willing to do what you ask

Here I am – I am willing to go where you send me

Here I am – I want to do what you ask of me

Here I am – lead me, I want to follow you

Here I am – use me

I wonder if our ears are able to hear God calling. I wonder if we are seeking to hear God speak into our life. I wonder if we are willing to be led. I wonder if we would follow. I wonder if we want to be used by God for His glory and honor.

It is so easy to get caught up so tight in life and things of this world that we have closed our ears and are deaf to God’s calling. Is our heart so hardened that His call and love falls on a heart of stone and deaf ears?

Many, me included, had hearts hard as stone and were not giving a single conscious thought about God when His word broke through the heart of stone and brought understanding and knowledge of the need for forgiveness and salvation. What we see many times as a heart of stone no man could change, God, in a moment, softens their heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When we think there is no possible way fora lost sinner’s soul to respond “here am I,, save me” God does the impossible work in their heart and mind so that they see the need. They are changed in that moment of confession and trust in Jesus Christ. Never to be the same again. At least we hope not.

It is an intentional walk with God each day to have our ears open to hear His word come alive into our life. It is an intentional heart and mind that seeks and desires to hear and be lead by God.

Be intentional in reverence, listening, following, and obeying His call into your life each day.