by David Brenneman
"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." 1 Peter 5:6-10.
The Bible is a riveting book of realism. It never denies or ignores our troubles; it simply reminds us of the transcendent truth of God's presence and power during our frequent bouts with difficulty. We may have many dangerous roads to traverse and obstacles to overcome, but with the Savior's enabling, we can endure. He keeps us strong when we are weak, gives us His peace when we're troubled, and directs us when the path ahead grows dim. And whatever our current lot, we can be sure that the suffering we now bear is not forever and that the Lord will ultimately
lead us to a magnificent victory. His plan is so exceedingly good that words can't justly describe it.
So today, be confident that God will come to your aid. He will sustain you when you're at your breaking point. He will revive you when your body and spirit are exhausted and spent. And He will give you wisdom when you don't know what to do, and hope when all seems lost. So put your faith in the Lord and accept His help because He will see you through these difficult days perfectly.
Jesus, thank You for being in this with me, I need You, my
Savior. Amen.
------ Mainly taken from Trusting God with Today by Dr. Charles Stanley.
I went back a few verses to include more at the beginning of this particular devotional.
Realize, my Dear Reader, regardless of any particular situation in which you find yourself, Jesus is there with you in it.
There's an element of truth in that now famous poem "Footprints". The harder part for us at times is our forgetting that Jesus permitted the course change in our lives and He will see it through. Whatever Satan means for our detriment, God will turn for our good.
Nothing can get to us that hasn't been vetted by Jesus Christ our personal Lord and Savior.
My season in life isn't unique. Millions of people in the United States alone are looking for employment. God will place me in a new job when that job is ready for me. It's on me, during this time, to keep at whatever He's put before me to be doing. I more than fulfill my obligations to keep searching through opportunities. I also have been given short-term things to be doing that help others by Jesus. It's the Spirit of God who places each one of us in the body as He sees fit.
My prayer is the same as what Dr. Stanley wrote at the end of that devotional.
The Spirit points me to the Word of God. God is the God of the impossible. Abraham was sent from his family to be the father of many nations and he wasn't even a father of a single child. Abraham was waiting over a year for the promise of God for a first child to be fulfilled in an extremely old age.
Daniel was cast into a den with some seriously hungry lions who were turned into docile big cats until the time when the Lord drew him out. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego all were cast into a severely lit up furnace and walked around in it with Jesus as if nothing was amiss, not even the smell of being burned was upon them. King Nebuchadnezzar...once the most evil of people ever to breathe, a man worse than any other in human history, was turned to become a child of God.
Oh my God knows how to deal with the impossible. A storm brews while Jesus is in the boat...and He opts to take a nap. The storm wasn't going to dictate His well-being.
We find ourselves in storms because that's how roots get deeper. Trees with shallow roots never can withstand the true storms of life.
I pray daily and do indeed pour out my heart to my Savior and my God.
He has His plan and purpose for me. It may not look like what I am wanting it to be but He does have it worked out. What all He's done in my life won't be wasted. He's been training me my whole life for His purposes.
Keeping pace with the Spirit is where it's important. As my friend has said on many occasions in any race, the Spirit will always win. We have a race to run and it should be us keeping pace with the Spirit. Learning whatever He sees we need to learn. Anyone who's seen the movie The Karate Kid knows of the scene where Daniel needs it explained to him just what the exercises were for that he was doing.
We may not always get to know the why's behind what we are learning but we are to obey the Lord in everything.
Jesus takes the billions of chess pieces called people in this world and moves them all according to His purpose and plan for each one as well as the future of mankind. Add to all if this...He knows each piece personally.
Trusting and obeying is on each who claim that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior. We may not know this side of Heaven why we went down many roads we have but we are to trust the One who leads because He loves us.
Keep that prayer we read earlier in mind. Keep your walk with Jesus personal. He surely takes it personal with you.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment