Tag: press on

10.o. “I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.”

Jonah 2:1  Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

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 26:16     O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.

James 5:13    Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

Hosea 6:1-3    “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.  Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 5:15     I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.

Idle ineffectiveness for eternal things has a way of gaining our attention on our own comfort, enjoyment, self-worth, self-reliance, and self-satisfaction.  Troubles, trials, and distress in our lives, on the other hand, have a way of resetting out wayward inner self-reliant beliefs.  Well, that is true for some.  Others harden their hearts and will not even give God a second glance for help.  For those who are humbled and realize their only hope in the situation is from the Mighty Hand Of God, and when they call out to Him, their prayer will be answered and they will be rescued and delivered.  Why is it so hard t repent and turn back to God?  Why do we choose to neglect His word and applying it in our lives?  Are we not blessed and find joy, hope, rest, peace, and strength when we are always desiring and seeking to be nearer to Him?  And yet, we seem to find time after time neglect and complacency creep in.  I can tell you this with 100% assurance when God’s Word is not hungered and thirsted for our natural default is neglect, complacency, and worldly contentment.  Spend time in His Word and intentionally choose to grow closer and closer to Him.

5.i. You will look around and take your rest in security.

Job 11:13   “If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear. You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.”

Isaiah 12:1-2    You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.  “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Hosea 6:3    Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

There is nothing like feeling secure.  We find a peace that passes all understanding when we humbly come to Jesus Christ with a contrite heart, repentant heart, and a seeking and desiring heart.  We enter into a restful peace because we have yielded all claim to self and self-reliance into the hands of Jesus Christ.  We know this to be true and yet too often we wait until there are trials and troubles before we do the yielding.  The fact is we could have more satisfying and fulfilling lives if we would just learn to live with a daily committed yielding of any claim to our life and yield it all to the honor and glory and obedience of Jesus Christ.

85. Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?

Judges 6:36  Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Hosea 6:3-4     Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Isaiah 43:19-20     Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 50:2    Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?

I read this article in Share Faith Magazine and thought it had a very interesting view on Gideon’s fleece.

Gideon did not put out the fleece to figure out God’s will. He already knew God’s will. That was plain within the first thirty seconds of his meeting with the angel. He put out the fleece even though he already knew what he was supposed to do.

Gideon put out the fleece because he was faithless and unbelieving. Gideon had already seen miracles. Why did he need a wet fleece and dry ground? He laid out the fleece because He did not trust God to fulfill His promises. He knew God’s will but refused to go and do it.

Do you sometimes try to lay out the fleece before God?

Think about what you’re doing. Whether it’s figuring out if you should take the job offer, move to another area of the country, have children, buy the car, take the vacation, or start the new ministry, you don’t need fleece. You simply need faith.

God still performs miracles. God still shows His power. God still provides direction, but He doesn’t need your fleece to do it. When you think that maybe you should lay out the fleece, instead surrender in faith. God does not reveal His will by having us devise little tricks and tests to see what He will do. He is gracious and kind, but He doesn’t do stunts on demand. He guides in His own ways, on His own terms, in His own timing. That’s what sovereignty is. That’s why we can submit to God’s gracious and loving sovereignty.

Discerning God’s will isn’t voodoo or divination. We don’t need fleece, or any other techniques to figure it out. It is a matter of simple obedience and submitting to His leading, step-by-step. God is big enough to carry through without fleece, tests, or other tricks. Your “fleece” may simply be confusing you or getting in the way.

Instead of laying out the fleece or trying other techniques to figure out God’s will, merely trust and obey.