Month: July 2025

There will be times in everybody’s life when sleep evades them and they long to just “turn their brain off” when they hit the pillow. They’re desperately looking for peace & tranquility, but can only find anxiety and stress. But in Leviticus 26:6 it reminds us that it’s God who gives us peace to be able to lie down without being afraid. That’s because our security and peace rests in our hope of the Lord. (Job 11:18) For God is our Protector, Provider, and intimate Presence which allows us then to dwell securely and sleep peacefully, fully confident in the Prince of Peace.

In the quiet darkness of the night, we are at our most vulnerable…and our minds become a playground for every failing, argument, and fear we’ve ever had. We mentally go over tense conversations with others… composing new and snappier comebacks to leave the person speechless. We cruelly admonish ourselves for every perceived thing we think we should have done in the past…all the while increasing our anxiety and fear. Ephesians 4:26 very wisely cautions us not let the sun go down while we are still angry. And in this Scripture, it adds that we should instead search our hearts and be silent. What does this mean? Well, it starts with, as Psalm 63:6 reminds us, “On my bed I remember You.” The destiny of our nightly search needs to be the Presence of God, and this means examining our hearts and minds for God’s best for us, not anger or fear.

David composed this Psalm in the middle of anguish and emotional pain. Much like Psalm 102:2 when he lamented, ” Don’t hide Your face from me when I’m in distress.” David cried out for God’s response and help… all the while remembering that God is faithful and merciful to hear his pleas. (Psalm 17:6) There is then renewed boldness in David’s prayer, for he knows that God is his righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6), will turn His ear towards him (Psalm 88:2), and will graciously listen and respond (Psalm 84:8).

Every farmer wants to plant good seed, but in this Parable of the Weeds, Jesus explained that during the night an enemy came and threw weed seed on the newly planted field, so soon the weeds were coming up with the wheat. Now my dad was very proud of his clean fields, so this would have probably driven him crazy! To that end, as children, we joined him in walking the corn & bean fields…much to our dismay. Therefore, many a Summer morning we would start out first thing after breakfast…wet corn or beans slapping our legs as we moved down the rows pulling weeds…all three of us girls complaining all the way. But dad was undeterred by all our griping and soon his fields were picture perfect.

This is a powerful promise of God that day and night and the Seasons will continue as long as the earth endures, and that the earthly order as we know it would not end prematurely. But along with the promises of God about seedtime and harvest, there’s also Scriptures concerning His blessings on farming, such as Psalm 67:6 that tells us that God will bless the farmer with not only a harvest this Fall, but will bless all his future harvests. And in his rebuke to the people, Jeremiah urged them not place their trust in idols, but to instead place their confidence in their all-powerful God, Who truly was the one that controlled the seasonal rains upon which their lives and livelihood depended. Our good God blesses the farmer as he patiently waits and prays for a bountiful harvest… and whether he really would like to or not…the farmer knows he must ultimately place those fields of corn and soybeans into God’s hands for safe keeping.

Jesus was teaching on the Parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35) to show what mercy is all about. The Greek word for mercy or giving mercy is inadequate in its simple definition of clemency, forgiveness, or holding back of a deserved punishment. It’s rather a concrete expression of pity and compassion to relieve affliction, alleviate suffering, and ease misery to the totally undeserved. Isaiah 30:18 tells us, “The Lord longs to be gracious to you, and to show you compassion.” But remember, if we have known God’s mercy, we must operate on the same principle of mercy. For if we won’t show mercy, we won’t receive it from God…for an unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart.

This classic statement of Joseph’s shows God’s Divine Providence and Sovereignty…illustrating how God can turn evil human intentions of harm into things of greater good. That’s because, nothing or no one can change God’s perfect plan and purpose of working only good. (Psalm 119:68) In this story of Joseph and his brothers, it brings out clearly how God works out His Will through the actions of human wills, without violating the freedom of those human wills. For what Joseph’s brothers had intended for evil, the Providence of God was still working not only for their families, but for many, many others.