An old saying among orchardists is, “The most heavily laden branches always bow the lowest on the tree.” The Lord’s faithfulness to us doesn’t ever change…regardless of our actions. He is always loving, generous, gentle, gracious, and compassionate. And the result is a overwhelming of our soul…humbling our haughty heart, crumbling our tough outer crust, and pulverizing our pride. As Proverbs 25:15 tells us, “A gentle tongue can break a bone.” And the Lord’s unrelenting mercy can crush the most vilest of sinners, and flood the most arrogant with His lovingkindness…bringing them down in self-awareness of their folly & need for a Savior.
The misery, pain, and suffering that come into our lives can do one of two things…they can cause us to define ourselves as victims, or they can refine us to become victors. Just look at Joseph, whose brothers plotted to kill him and then sold him to a caravan of Ishmaelites traveling from Gilead to Egypt. He had every right to bemoan his plight and beseech God with, “How can You make any good out of this mess?” But God did! He turned tragedy into triumph…and rather than defining himself as a poor innocent victim, Joseph withstood the testing and came out as pure gold when he saved his entire family from famine.
If you get nothing else from this Devotional today…know that God will never forget you. He will never neglect your heart when you are hurting, He will never disregard what you’re going through as trivial or meaningless, and He will never ignore your cries for mercy. Your name is inscribed on the hollow of His hands as a permanent pledge… to constantly remind Him of you and His promise to always & at all times have you before Him.
Later, John writes of Christ laying down His life for us in I John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” So because Jesus emptied Himself of all but love…we can be filled. Because His blood was shed for us…our sins can be forgiven. And because Jesus finished His’s Father’s work…our life now has worth. Because of the love of Christ, He willingly laid down His life for us on the Cross…accepting death that we might be saved from eternal punishment…atoning for our sins and redeeming us by His sacrifice.
I’ll be the very first to admit that I’m a day planner & list maker, especially while I was working. But even today, despite being retired, I still make mental lists of what I want to accomplish for the day ahead. But what happens when something interrupts my well planned-out day? Am I compassionate, or do I just complain? Am I gracious, or do I grumble? This is when I have to reconsider this interruption as a divine opportunity. Think about it, Jesus’ planned Ministry day was interrupted a lot. In Luke 5:18-20, He was interrupted while He taught by a bunch of men lowering their friend down through the roof in order for him to be healed. In Mark 11:46-52, Jesus was stopped by a shouting blind Bartimaeus as He was leaving Jericho. Finally, in Luke 8:42-48, Jesus was on His way with Jairus to heal his daughter when a woman with an issue of blood grabbed ahold of the hem of His garment and stopped Him mid stride. To this group of people, these interruptions became moments of great importance to them, for they were all healed by Jesus. So the next time your day is intruded upon…think to yourself, How did Jesus react to His interruptions?
The series on pouring our hearts to the Lord I started on Sunday July 17,2022 I will finish up today, by looking at our response to God in times of turmoil. Do we run to Him first for refuge…or after everything we’ve tried has failed? Do we seek Him in the storm or try to hang on by our fingernails as the thunder crashes around us? Do we run to Him as our haven or wander in the wilderness? Bottom line is, God is our very best refuge…He is our shield, our fortress, and our rock. Remember this…Psalm 2:12 tells us that we are blessed when we take refuge in Him… and Nahum 1:7 says that God is a refuge in times of trouble…so run to Him first not as a last resort.
Once more, I’m following up on pouring our hearts out to the Lord I started on July 17, 2022. Today we’re going to look at temptation & obedience in the middle of personal trauma. That’s when our conversations with God may sound something like this…”I’m tempted to disobey Lord, I need your help right now. Give me strength to obey You, to take my eyes off the situation and refocus them back on You. That’s because I tend to look for relief or escape from pain, suffering, or uncomfortable feelings and/or situations by seeking refuge in someone or something other than You.” One of the best places in God’s Word to start is Psalm 119…the longest Psalm in the Bible…a whopping 176 verses long, but within it you will find a blueprint to follow for learning the love of and obedience to the Word of God. The Psalmist uses terms such as, “Turn my heart toward Your statues, Teach me Your Word, I will run the path of Your commands, I seek Your Word.” But Psalm 119 is also balanced by the Author’s awareness for the need for forgiveness when he has strayed. “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word. ” (Psalm 119:28) and “Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget Your Law.” (Psalm 119:109) That’s because the Writer knew his obedience to the Word had to come from a deep-seated faith in his God.
Again, I’m continuing the series off of Psalm 62:8, of pouring our hearts out to the Lord. (See July 17, 2022) Trusting God for the unknown is probably one of the most difficult things any Believer will ever do. And admitting our helplessness in the middle of the dire situation can be just as hard. But God is trustworthy…just as Psalm 34:4 tells us, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” The truth is, trusting God is not a passive action but rather a very vigorous act of our will…a minute by minute choice to place our confidence in God…despite what our situation looks like. But we have God’s Word to comfort, guide, and reassure us that we can trust in Him. For His Word gives us ample evidence that we can completely place our confidence in Him. (Romans 8:18-39) and so our prayer can then be, “Lord help me to believe the truth from Your Word.”
For the next few days I’d like to build on yesterday’s Devotional from Psalm 62:8 (Sunday, July 17, 2022) that spoke about pouring our hearts out to the Lord. Many times our prayers are impassioned statements such as, “Lord, right now I’m feeling….” “Lord, more than anything else right now, I want…” or “Lord, I don’t want to…” Tough words, spoken in the middle of tough times when our feelings & emotions are raw. But God has already seen our afflictions and knows our souls. (Psalm 31:7) And we need to remember that every emotion we’ll ever experience is an occasion to draw nearer to God. We are to cast all our cares on Him as He makes our steps firm…for even if we falter He won’t let us fall. (Psalm 55:22 & Psalm 37:23-24) Baring our souls to the Lord when we’ve come to the end of ourselves, is taking our hands off the situation and placing it into the more than capable hands of God.
As the faithful, we are to put our hope and dependance in God forever and in all circumstances & life events. Just as Hannah poured out her soul before the Lord in I Samuel, we too can bare our souls in sorrow or anger to the Lord… being confident that our deepest and most private thoughts and feelings are safe with Him. So go ahead, talk to God about the problems you’re facing today. And remember, He already knows what’s going on, nothing can ever surprise Him, and He will still love you no matter what you say.
Safetypinlove 