“Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?” Isaiah 64:12 Why is life difficult? Why does such evil dwell in the hearts of men? Did I do something to deserve this treatment, this life? ”There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” Isaiah 64:7-9 Continue Reading…
Tag Archive - God’s Will
God will where you cannot: Isaiah 64 and 65
The greatest commitment of your life: Isaiah 27 and 28
What is commitment? Do we commit only when there is some benefit to ourselves? Is there a greater motivation to what we do? Why do we get up every morning? Once we identify the motivating factor behind our commitment we will truly know who we are and what we value. Does money motivate you? Do the pleasures of life bring you satisfaction? Can family and friends produce a lasting motivation that carries you through life. Has your faith in God pervaded your life to spur your motives? There are many things that we claim as motivators in life but true motivation can only be found in God. Continue Reading…
The unstoppable will of God: Isaiah 21 and 22
Will you acknowledge your Hope? When you find yourself blessed do you attribute that blessing to your own prowess or your luck? Do you remember that God is that one who is at work in your life? Read the story of Isaiah 22 and learn what happens when selfish pride overwhelms man. “Therefore I said: ‘Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.’ For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.” Isaiah 22:4,
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Just turn and start that journey of faith before you: Isaiah 19 and 20
Can anything that we hold in high regard give us lasting hope? Can money buy us assurance? Will friendship provide the lasting fellowship we crave? Can the power and renown of our ethnicity, nation, or religious denomination grant us the hope that tomorrow will be better than today? “An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers; and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.” Isaiah 19:1-4 In Isaiah 19 we see how nothing can stand against the will of God. Prowess, power, and cunning are of no use against God when He determines to move.
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Our inherent need fulfilled in the sovereignty of God: Ecclesiastes 1 and 2
Solomon, the son of David, was imparted with great wisdom beyond measure. This king of Jerusalem did not lack anything in his life. This life of Solomon is truly what many people today are striving to obtain. If I could just have more money, family, friends, and fulfillment I would be complete. We desire to surround ourselves with items that promise satisfaction for our every desire. Will you listen to the words of the man who had everything? What did Solomon think of life? ”Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 The length and breadth of mans life is but a small ripple in the ocean of eternity. How do we reconcile the futility of our lives with the vastness of creation? What are we living for? Continue Reading…
Find your trust in God’s faithfulness and sufficiency: Psalm 138
Do you believe that God answers every prayer? Do you view answered prayers as the ones with results matching your expectations? Do not fall into the habit of believing that God’s care and concern for you is summed up in whether you get what you desire. Remember that when God decides that your desire is not ultimately best for your life that He is answering your prayer. Are you willing to rest in God and wait on Him? Do you respond with humility, thankfulness, and reverence to God? Do you find strength in God? ”On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3 It is imperative that we trust God and believe that He will work for our best when we come to Him in prayer. ”The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8 Will you trust in God’s faithfulness? Will you trust in the sufficiency of God? Continue Reading…
The deliverance of God is never passive: Esther 9 and 10
Is the deliverance that God extends to us a passive activity on our part? In Esther 9 and 10 the day that Haman had set for the annihilation of the Jews arrives; God moved the heart of the king to allow the Jews to defend themselves and a fear of Mordecai and the Jews fell upon on the hearts of all the people of Persia. Was this all that there was to the deliverance of the children of Israel? Could they sit back and watch God deliver them? If the Jews of Persia would have sat idle they would have had no deliverance. The people of Israel had to rise up and fight for their lives in the face of those who hated them. God granted the Jews victory but they needed to embrace and trust that God was faithful and able to help them. Were the actions of the Israelites a result and evidence of their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
Was the greater battle for the people of Israel when they wrestled between relying on their own strength and the strength of God? When we are faced with our own moments of trouble and annihilation will we be willing to trust God? When we trust God we are giving up the control over our lives and placing it in the hands of God. In the moment of trust we need to remember that no matter where our lives turn God is allowing and ordaining all that happens in that moment. It is easy in the moments we need help from God to lay out the plan for our deliverance and recite it to God in detail. God is not looking for us to qualify how we want Him to help us; God desires us to trust Him and wait. When we place our expectations upon how we want and expect God to work we are truly not giving up control in our lives. Give up your striving today and let God work in the ways that only He can.
Tools perfected in the hand of God: 2 Kings 5 and 6
Do you place any requirements on your ability to serve God? Do you need assurance that there will be many people, a lot of danger, a great distance between you and home, or a difficult task before you are willing to be a tool of God? How often do you think of the renown that you get in your service at church, the soup kitchen, or the mission field and wish you were recognized more for your work?
The man Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5 was a man of renown within the armies of Aram because God had used him as a tool, a valiant warrior and captain, to bring about a great victory. This man of renown within the Aramean society was also an outcast because he was a leper. Can you imagine how this man hurt because he couldn’t live a normal life let alone enjoy the renown of life that God had granted him? Continue Reading…
final moments
I have been thinking a lot about moments in my life where I had an experience that change my life to the core for the rest of my life. These moments may be joyful or painful but they are moments that shape us.
Spring 1997 – I was a freshman in college and I was stuck in a rut that I didn’t know how to get out of. I had started listening to music that was full of foul lyrics and also smoking cigars because my ‘friends’ in college were doing that. I remember crying myself to sleep one evening when I had hit a wall where I knew I was created for a life where I didn’t need these things in my life but I didn’t know how to get out of the rut I was in. Continue Reading…
Abraham’s faith an encouragement to all: Genesis 23 and 24
What a great example of faith Abraham is to me. He was so open with his faith in God that even his servants came o have a strong faith. After my life is complete I wish that I could have that type of impact on the world through my life alone. Am I living out my faith in an infectious way? I hope andy pray that God would use me in a way to reach people like Abraham. I am also amazed at God’s faithfulness and lovingkindness. How is it that He cares enough for us to be concerned with us. Being single it is difficult to imagine life other than what I have but the story of Isaac shows that you never know what God has planned for His people.
