As
Authentic Believers, as long as our days remain on this earth, we are faced
with a dichotomy of priorities and choices. Both may seem wholesome and hold a
promise of natural blessings; yet only one is the perfect will for that moment
of time in our life.
Sometimes
life feels like God turns His heart and hand against us, because He leads us to
walk in darkness for a season, rather than in His light (Lamentations 1:1-3).
This is when we cling to Him closer still.
We have no
right to complain or to rail against God when we pay the consequences for our
sins. Instead, God calls us to take a searching moral inventory of the way we
are living, and to turn our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our
faith (Hebrews 12:2; Lamentations 3:39-40).
God may
allow our body to reap the consequences of our behavior, which may be painful
and result in bodily harm (Lamentations 3:4-6). He may even hedge us in, so
that we get the full effect of these results of our behavior (Lamentations
3:7). Often, pain is our best teacher in this life (Lamentations 3:19).
However,
God promises to shower His Saints with His mercy and to give us the unmerited
favor of His grace (Lamentations 3:21-22). As we wait on Him with hope in our
heart, and seek His face each moment of our day, the Lord shows only good to us
(Lamentations 3:25).
In our
stubbornness and pride, God often has to push us beyond what we can humanly
endure, so we realize our need to cling to Him through every circumstance. God
always gives us second chances, and sometime several opportunities to walk in
His will.
We still
reap what we sow from all of our choices. This can cause frustrating
circumstances, ill health or major disruptions in our life. However, God
always, ultimately blesses us with His goodness and joy (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Prayer:
Father
God, in Your mercy, You often allow us to suffer deep loss and deprivation in
order to turn our heart to You. We learn that You alone are faithful to us at
all times and in all things (Lamentations 3:32-33). Often, we turn our back on
You, believing Satan's lie that You let us down, that You are sadistic or that
You are unfaithful.
Yet, if we
remain steadfast in our relationship with You in the face of every fiery
furnace, we soon learn that You are right there in the fire with us, keeping us
from the effects of the smoke and rejoicing with us in dancing in the midst of
the flames (Daniel 3:25). We rejoice in Your presence and depend on Your Spirit
for comfort, safety and direction each moment of every day.
Thought
for the Day:
God calls
us to focus our energy and actions on pursuits which promote our storing up
treasure in heaven rather than on this earth; this only occurs as we walk by
His Word and in His ways, demonstrate His love with our example, and stand firm
in His calling on our life.
