Nothing will change His purpose and that’s a promise we can rest on. Habakkuk 3:17-18 tells us what we should do when things don’t go as planned. “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”
Why would we rejoice in the God of our salvation when our circumstances change? Because God keeps His promises and even though I might not like the change being made to my plans, I know that God’s plans are far better than any plans I could ever come up with. Change just means something good is coming down the pike. So what disappointments are you dealing with as a result of an unexpected change? Are you going to let that change defeat you or are you going to exult in the Lord, even if praising the Lord doesn’t make sense?
Lord, as we deal with changes and disappointments in life, help us praise You as we look for the good that is on the horizon. Amen.
30…THAT STILL, SMALL VOICE
Good morning! Have you ever had a feeling you needed to do something but argued with yourself about doing it? I experienced that yesterday morning before I went to church. That still, small voice within me told me to put a box of my devotionals back in my car that I took out the week before. Because I was running late, I argued with myself about taking the time to do that and I would have missed out on a blessing if I hadn’t done what the Holy Spirit, which I referred to earlier as that still, small voice within me, prompted me to do. But I’ll get back to that in a minute.
Spiritual power and worldly power are not all the same thing. Worldly power is what we can do ourselves but spiritual power is what Jesus was talking about in Luke 24:49. Jesus told His disciples that He was “sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” The type of power that Jesus was talking about was the power given through the Holy Spirit. And then in Acts 1:8, Jesus tells us why we need the Holy Spirit. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit is our helper in life. But if we don’t train ourselves to hear that still, small voice within us and be obedient to what we are told, we aren’t going to be able to utilize that power effectively. If we discard the promptings of the Holy Spirit with little things, we definitely are not going to hear Him when He tries to help us with bigger things. Because I yielded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I was able to make a new friend at church and have available one of my devotionals that she was wanting because they were in the box that I put in my car.
Lord, help us to use the power within us effectively by yielding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
31…SANDCASTLES
Good morning! Where or who do you run to when life gets crazy? We will come back to that question in a minute. As I was watching HGTV this weekend, there was a family that was playing on the beach. The younger kids were building a sandcastle and they had a pretty big one going when all of a sudden this huge wave came crashing onto the beach. The parents picked up the kids just in time for them not to get drenched but the sandcastle that they had worked so hard on disappeared into the sea when the wave went back out.
Isn’t that just like life? If we don’t build our life on a firm foundation, the waves of stress, loss, disappointment, etc. can wipe out what we have been working on, too. A foundation of sand will not stand up to the trials of life and can leave us feeling empty and defeated. But the good news is that we can choose a different foundation on which to build our lives upon that will stand as strong as a rock when life’s waves coming crashing over us.
Psalm 18:2-3 says, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliver, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” There is no better foundation to build your life upon than the one God offers every believer. All we have to do in order to receive that foundation is to accept the gift of salvation, asking Jesus to come into your heart to be your Lord and Savior. So back to the question above, where or who do you run to when life gets crazy? Praying your answer is that you run to the Lord, the only solid foundation that will not be moved.
Jesus, help us to run to You when life gets crazy. You are the calm when life’s waves come crashing down on us and try to sweep us away just like the tide does with sandcastles on a beach. Amen.
32…TANGLED
Good morning! Have you walked into a spider web lately? I have and it wasn’t even attached to anything! It was just floating around in the air. How does that happen????? Those webs are some tough stuff. Case in point. Friends of mine just went to Chicago to pick up a piece of farm equipment. Apparently this piece of equipment needed to be washed off because there was a huge spider web on it. That spider web made it from Chicago to home, almost 500 miles, and it was still in one piece. Unbelievable but true!
Something else that is unbelievable but true is how sin in our life can tangle us up as though we were in one of those strong spider webs. The more we try to free ourselves, the more we get tangled up in it. And there lies the problem. “We” can’t rid ourselves of that sin without Jesus. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is good news though. With Jesus we can conquer that sin our life. Romans 8:37 tells us that we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. Overcoming a sinful life is a war but within that war are daily battles. Every time you say “no” to temptation, you’ve won that battle which means you are a step closer to winning the war.
Satan is like that spider web that was just floating in the air and that got all over me. He’s roaming around looking for a soul to wrap up in sin. Does sin in your life have you entangled in a web of destruction? Confess that sin to the Lord who knows all about temptations. Jesus came to free us from the penalty of sin. With His help, we can win those daily battles...one temptation at a time. So here’s to living in the freedom that only Jesus can offer.
Oh Lord, help us live in the freedom that You offer. Please help us get untangled from the sin in our life. Help us remember that You have already won the war. Thank you for being our All in All. Amen.
33…HIS WORD
Good morning! As I was reading over some familiar scripture this morning, I saw something new within the words. Matthew 6:32-33 says, “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you.” The verses before these two were talking about God caring for our needs. He tells us not to worry about what we will wear, eat or drink. Jesus said that if God would feed the birds in the air, and clothe the flowers, surely He would take care of our basic needs, too.
Look back at verse 33. Jesus assures us that God will provide our basic needs IF (there’s that word again) we make Him number one in our life. So if God is our top priority, we don’t have to worry about our basic needs being satisfied. He knows what we need and He promises He will provide those needs for us when our focus is on seeking His kingdom and righteousness.
Too often we concern ourselves with things that God’s promises have already covered. It’s just one more reason why we need to be familiar with scripture. If we don’t know what God’s promises are, there is no way we can stand on those promises. The way we learn about God’s promises is by spending time in His Word. Sure, we can go to church and listen to the pastor’s message and pick up some of the promises that way but there are too many promises for your pastor to cover them all. If reading the Bible isn’t a priority, I’d like to encourage you to start reading it now. If you’re not comfortable with reading it alone, read it with others like your spouse, kids, friends or join a Bible study. The important thing isn’t “how” you read it, it is “that” you read it.
Lord, help us make You and Your Word our top priority. Thank you for all of the promises that You have given us to stand