Our lot and heritage are from a providential and generous God. As Psalm 16:5 tells us, Our life is a gift from God…for He is our source, and in Him alone we will find our delight and joy. We can also take comfort in the very familiar Psalm 23:5… encouraging us that our cup overflows with God’s abundance and favor…as He alone sustains, protects, and secures our future.
“Fear not the future, for God is already waiting there.” Charles Spurgeon
Revelation 22:13 is clear, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Or as Hebrews 12:2 puts it, Jesus not only starts the story of our life but writes its perfect conclusion. That’s because He is the Lord of all…past, present, and future, and exists outside of time…encompassing all creation from its inception to its conclusion. And so in the end, the Lord promises that our story will culminate exactly as He wills. (Colossians 1:16-17)
The Lord invites us to come as we are, but not to stay as we are.
In John 3:3, Jesus declared to Nicodemus that spiritual rebirth was an absolute necessity for entering the Kingdom of God. Rebirth, then, is an essential part of our Christian walk for without it, entrance into God’s kingdom is impossible. But we can’t call ourselves saved without changing…for another theological term for rebirth is regeneration…which means new beginnings or turning over a new leaf. Peter called it being born again as God places a desire for Himself in our hearts…and we become new creations. (I Peter 1:23) But this rebirth requires repentance on our part…a changing of the mind – not just lip service, but an entire change in the direction of our life. It involves a radical turning from sin to Christ…from the false kind of repentance known as attrition to contrition, a true and genuine confession of our sinfulness. It’s then that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within and work to grow us towards sanctification…bringing about in us change and a more righteous life and heart.
I Chronicles 29:14 ” But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand.”
The mighty warrior and King, David, readily acknowledged that he was powerless and hopeless apart from God’s blessings. He also acknowledged that finite humans could not begin to grasp or contain an infinite God. This is known as the incomprehensibility of God. It’s not that we don’t know about God…rather, it means our knowledge of Him is limited. For we can know God to the degree that He chooses to reveal Himself to us. (Deuteronomy 29:29) Or as both Psalm 89:11 & Psalm 121:1-2 tell us, everything in heaven and earth is God’s and that He is the source of all help, protection, and care…so we need to give Him our praise and thanksgiving…for all gifts come from Him.
John 10:39 ” Again they tried to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.”
Many times across the Gospels we see unbelieving Jews pick up rocks to stone Jesus for what they perceived as blasphemy under the Law. (Leviticus 24:16) But every time, Jesus walked through the crowd and went on His way unscathed. John doesn’t give us details, but makes it plain that nothing could happen to Jesus until God’s appointed hour. (John 7:30,44 and Luke 4:30) Even at the wedding in Cana, (John 2:4) Jesus asserted to His mother that it was His Father that determined the timetable of His earthly Ministry…not Him, not her, nor another other human being. Thus, all plots against Jesus’ life would never succeed until God’s designated time…His plan was never rushed or thwarted…it was perfectly timed by His Divine and sovereign agenda.
If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.” Corrie Ten Boom
Looking at the world today we can become anxious and deeply concerned. And if we listen to worldly wisdom we’ll quickly realize the great divide between it and Godly wisdom. For worldly wisdom is arrogant and blind to the Truth…and if we allow ourselves to be sucked in, we’ll find ourselves at odds with God. (I Corinthians 1:21 & James 4:4) For it tells us in I John 2:15 not to love the world or the things of the world, for they are full of rebellion and pride, and pull us far from God…only adding to our distress.
And if we look within ourselves… our wretched, contemptible, and despicable character and nature…we can’t help but be depressed. For only we (and God) know the deep dark secrets of our heart and loathe them. That’s because, in our natural state we are, “Sons of disobedience and children of wrath…carrying out the desires of the flesh.” (Ephesians 2:3) “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
But if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we can find rest for our weariness, (Matthew 11:28) security, and wellbeing. For only in Him is the ultimate source of all good things. (Psalm 119:68)
Galatians 2:11 ” When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.”
Galatians 2:11-14 is a passage about Paul confronting both Peter and Barnabas in what he saw as succumbing to societal pressure and wavering in their stance concerning the Truth of the Gospel Message. A group of Jewish Christians had coerced them into compromising their former practices and beliefs…and Paul called them on it in front of everyone. He rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy and fear of repercussions from the group of Jewish Christians who insisted that the Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul then went on to stress that justification comes only through faith in Christ, and not by adhering to the works of the Law. Thus, in their compromising, Peter and Barnabas were undermining the very message of God’s grace, the blood of Jesus Christ, and His work on the Cross. The lesson here is simple…the fear of man can lead to actions that contradict the Truth of the Gospel Message…therefore we must stand firm in our faith with boldness and integrity.
James 1:17 ” Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light, with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Some seasons are hard to praise God through. But worship can’t wait for easy days. That’s because worship is rooted in Who God is, not in how we feel, our current situation, or what we’re facing. This kind of worship is deliberate and thoughtful…it’s the kind of worship that carries the most weight…because it comes from a heart that has suffered and still chooses to praise God. It doesn’t feel natural, it goes against our common sense, but it’s necessary. For this type of worship is intentionally focused on the transcending goodness of God…regardless of our present season of affliction, misery, or injustice.
Psalm 143:8 ” Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.”
We need to greet each new dawn with gratitude and the heartfelt desire to experience God’s steadfast love anew. And with each new morning, there is hope, as we allow God’s mercy to shape our attitudes, actions, and interactions that are to come. Our prayer should simply then be, “Teach me what I cannot see.” (Job 34:32)…acknowledging our limitations with humility and submission… and seeking God’s guidance and accepting His correction.
Both faith and fear demand you to believe in something you can’t see. The choice is yours as to what you believe.
If you look through the Bible, you’ll see that both fear and faith are written about a lot. We see many Bible characters vacillating between the two emotions as they lay their troubles before the Lord. And over and over again, the Lord gives assurance that fear is not from Him, (II Timothy 1:7) that He is always with us, (Isaiah 41:10) and that we should stand firm in our faith. (I Corinthians 16:13) For God is our foundation, and as we hold on to the core Truths of His Word…we can remain steadfast in our faith despite the challenges.
Safetypinlove 