The Apostle Paul’s journey was far from comfortable & safe. He suffered mightily for the sake of Christ & the Gospel Message…always looking beyond the hardships to the ultimate goal…his final destination becoming more important each day as God’s plan & purpose played out in the process. Nevertheless, most of us want to reach God’s goal in our life painlessly…but consider this: We will never fully appreciate it if we don’t first go through the long, hard process of transforming into His likeness. Just as the potter forms the clay, the silversmith works the metal. and the artist paints on the blank canvas…our lives are being changed for His good daily.
Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional
Philippians 4:4 ” Rejoice in the Lord always.”
Paul’s exhortation to the Church in Philippi to rejoice & praise God, no matter what, can always be obeyed…even in the midst of conflict, strife, or adversity. How? Because our joy doesn’t rest on favorable circumstances, good health, or an easy life…but “in the Lord.” And that means whether we are up or down, going through good times or bad, in sunshine or storm, we are to continually and at all times praise Him. Our praise should be as unbroken as God’s promises are to us…or to quote Habakkuk 3:18, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord…” For if you take a moment to read verses 17-18 in Chapter 3, you’ll see as Habakkuk lays out the terrible devastation before him, he doesn’t lose his praise…because he is certain of God’s faithfulness to all His promises. So despite everything, Habakkuk gathered up his “at all times” trust and hope and praised God.
A light in the darkness…
As Jesus tells us in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.” promising to lead Believers as the pillar/cloud of light went ahead of the Israelites in the wilderness…providing light & guidance. In the Word, light & truth go hand in hand…as does darkness, lies and deception follow each other. But ultimately, it’s our decision which path we follow. Though in contrast, there will also be difficult times when the decision isn’t ours to make, for the Lord will not lift the darkness from us. However, we must still trust in Him…even if He appears like an unkind friend, an unnatural father, or an unjust judge. The Lord still remains the light shining in the darkness.
” The Lord may not give gold, but He will give grace: He may not give gain, but He will give grace. He will certainly send us trial, but He will give grace in proportion thereto. We may be called to labor and to suffer, but with the call there will come all the grace required.” Charles Spurgeon
In I Corinthians 15:10 the Apostle Paul confesses that it’s only by the grace of God that, “I am what I am.” And that’s true of every Believer. God’s grace abounds where we are weak…His grace there in our time of need, or as Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” God has never promised us all worldly things…but He has promised us timely support to sustain us in the midst of temptation & suffering.
Isaiah 40:29 ” He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Life isn’t all mountain-top experiences…in fact, most of our life here on earth is comprised of plodding slowly ahead, one foot in front of the other. Our walk at times becoming heavy & slow…our daily life laborious & monotonous. And as we are sapped of strength, we are then prone to simply endure the drudgery & fatiguing work before us. But God promises to strengthen & sustain us through His Word. Or as Jeremiah 31:25 tells us, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” or Psalm 119:28, ” My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word.” God’s Word is all powerful in sustaining the weary, giving strength to His people, and will never be ineffective.
I Samuel 2:3 ” For the Lord is a God Who knows.”
There’s nothing more humbling than a “I don’t know” prayer. “I don’t know what’s happening right now God…I don’t understand what’s going on, and I don’t even know where or what to do.” This type of prayer is devoid of pride & boasting, for I’ve come to the end of myself…admitting to God & myself that I’m lost in this chaos & confusion. So all I can say is, “Yes, I don’t know, but You do God.” And so, I will take my tiny mustard seed of faith, while also asking God to help me with my unbelief, (Mark 9:24) and trust Him to intervene…remembering all the while that God understands and knows me better than I know myself. (Jeremiah 9:24)
Ephesians 5:8-10 ” For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
We first hear about the comparison of fruit & our behavior as Believers in Jesus’ Parable of the Tree and its Fruit in Matthew 7:16-20. As He explained, fruit is either good or bad and easily recognizable. But as Paul stressed here, it is not our job to be “fruit inspectors” of others, but to constantly evaluate and ascertain if our lives are producing good fruit. Do we demonstrate peace and joy, or strife and division? Are we filled with patience and kindness, or greed and destruction of the faith? Galatians 5:20 sums it up well, “By their fruit you will recognize them.”
Job 37:12 ” At His direction clouds swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them.”
You can be sure of one thing during the summer months in the Midwest…thunderstorms & tornadoes. And as the weather quickly changes, the National Weather Service (N.O.A.A) sends out in rapid succession severe thunderstorm & tornado watches and warnings…as the TV & our phones are filled with information about derecho & straight-line winds, bow echoes, and radar indicated rotation. But in all its advanced technology, the weather service can only predict what they think will happen…for they have no control over the unpredictability of an approaching storm. In Job 37:1-16 we see a very descriptive account of the sheer magnificence and control God has over the weather…from unleashing the lighting and hail, to controlling the clouds and wind. Which is made very plain in the middle of the storm just how much we’re at His mercy.
Psalm 1:3 ” He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.”
When God places you in a new season of your life…it all starts with an ending of the old one. Now this closure may come abruptly & with little warning… leading us to franticly bang on the closing door, grasping to keep it open. Why? That season of our life may have become very comfortable, fulfilling, and may I dare say, self-serving. But it was a season designed for that particular time. So, we need to be thankful, not unhappy for the closing of that door…or as Oswald Chambers wrote, “Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you’ve never been.” The Lord has purposed each season of our life…we need to only obey & walk through each new door of opportunity.
Proverbs 8:13 ” To fear the Lord is to hate evil.”
Another way to look at it is, the love of God and hatred cannot co-exist in our hearts. For if we allow hatred to dwell where His love should abide, we’ll never be effective in God’s work. That’s because of hatred’s intense negative emotional response that overrides wisdom and can even provoke an unstated legitimization of violence against the object of our hatred…whether it be person, place, or thing. Unfortunately, hatred is a tangible measurement of the evil in the world today as it spreads ugliness in all directions of the globe…for hatred only breeds more hate. We must hate evil and love good, (Amos 5:15) for hatred is not in accordance with the teachings of Christ Jesus, & the righteous way we are to live our lives.
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