Divine Appointments

 

 

God is very involved in our life. We do not always recognize His participation, because we think we are the ones earning the blessings, which He freely showers on us each and every day.

Divine appointments and interventions occur moment by moment. His angels protect us and His Spirit directs us to safely progress from one event to the next.

We rarely give God the glory and we often take the credit for how smoothly our life is running. He not only introduces the events of our life, but He also coordinates the timing and circumstances surrounding them.

He leads us and other people involved with us to say and do the right thing at the exact time and way in which we or they needed His divine intervention the most.

If we practice sitting still and quiet in His presence (Psalm 46:10), we will know with more assurance that He is God; and we would see His involvement in our life, which would build our faith in His faithfulness, love and care for us (1 Kings 19:11-13).

During times of companionable silence, God communicates with us in His still, small voice that penetrates our awareness deep within us. Silence truly is golden and more productive than the stress of worldly demands, negative self-talk and destructive friendships and activities (Psalm 46:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we desire above all else to walk in Your Spirit and to do only those works which come from Your heart. Do not allow our thoughts, words and actions to grieve Your Spirit, but give us words of life that make a difference in another's life.

All of our good works are nothing more than dirty rags if they are not done by Your Spirit's direction (Isaiah 64:6). It is only what we accomplish by Your Spirit that lasts into eternity. Rise up in us and accomplish Your will in and through us (Acts 14:1). We give You all the credit for the fruit of our life and we praise You for your strength, which is our joy.

Thought for the Day:

The whisper of God teaches us to listen more, to limit our actions and to wait on Him rather than to race ahead of His Spirit's promptings; rather than jumping into stressful activities to which He is not calling us, we truly listen and do only those activities in which He call us to participate.

Living without God's Spirit and Word

 

Imagine living in Old Testament times. No Bible, except the Pentateuch at the Temple, and no Holy Spirit abiding within our Spirit. No intimate connection through Christ with the presence of God within.

Sure, there was an occasional Christophany when Jesus appeared to an individual; but how many times did that happen? Once in a while the Holy Spirit embodied a person, such as a prophet, but the normal rank and file person had no connection with Him.

If I had no Bible and no Holy Spirit, I would be in an asylum. Emotional, mental and spiritual meltdowns would be the natural order of my day. My emotions and melancholic thoughts would dominate my life.

Bereft of God's Spirit and Word, I would drift with the tide of life and get deeper and deeper into undertows and whitewater designed by Satan to snuff out my natural life.

I barely survived like this for the first 18 years of my life; but in God's mercy, He saved me and gave me the fullest measure of His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-19).

I weep uncontrollably at the thought of not living as the temple of the Spirit of God (Psalm 51:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The presence of God's Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance with Christ, and it assures us that we are truly Born Again (Ephesians 1:14).

How could we survive one moment of life disconnected from the life-giving flow of God's Word and the security and direction of His Spirit's presence in our life?

Thankfully, God's Spirit does guide each moment of our day with precision and comfort (Proverbs 3:5-6), leading us with His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). We can approach God's throne with complete confidence (Hebrews 4:16). He is all we ever need.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Spirit and Your Word. I do not know how people survive without Your intimate presence in their life. I do not go one moment of the day without consulting You, casting my cares on You and praying for Your blessings and a more intimate union with You.

I feel so blessed to be living in this day and time with the internet access and the speed at which we can connect to Your Word day and night. Your Word is truth and we devour it ravenously; it is sweeter than honey and the honey comb (Psalm 119:103). We can never have enough hours in the day to show our appreciation to You for all You do for us.

Thought for the Day:

Having no intimate union with the Trinity, enjoying no assurances from the promises of God's Word, abandoned and alone without the unconditional love daily showered on us by our Heavenly Father would leave us rudderless in a sea of deprivation, confusion and illusion.

The Healing Journey - Part 3 - Dwelling with Understanding

Eighteen months after my marriage dissolved, God introduced me to a loving man who was also rejected by his former mate. It was not long before I fell back into my old schizophrenic habits whenever I felt fearful and insecure.

Rather than to reject me, he dwelt with me with understanding and helped me to heal from this inappropriate behavior and to learn new habits.

First, he taught me to gather all of the facts when I felt slighted, wounded or harmed by his behavior. He insisted that he would never purposely hurt me, so I needed to discuss my feelings with him right away in order to get clarification and assurance.

He asked me not to allow my feelings to build up until the last straw and then to blow up like a volcano, but to share with him as they were happening.

We soon discovered that I often did share my feelings appropriately, but he did not always take them seriously. As a man, he did not see the relevance of some of my feelings and just ignored them.

This revelation taught him to start listening to me more earnestly. Also, I learned to discern when his ears were disengaged; so rather than blow up I would jokingly say, "Are you going to pay attention, or do I have to pull out my Italian temper?"

This reminded him to help me to resolve the issues that bothered me. He realized that if they were important enough for me to communicate them, then they were important enough for his full attention.

He learned to have compassion for my concerns, even if he saw them as inconsequential. He made an effort to stop making decisions that affected my life without discussing them with me first. I felt more understood, less fearful and less insecure.

Divorce is never an option, because there is no disagreement that cannot be resolved. God brought us into a new and deeper union with one another and with Him, than we ever thought possible on this side of heaven.

We do not take one another for granted and we nurture and enjoy each other. We make a great team as mates and as co-workers in the Kingdom of God. Together, we are learning to hear and to follow the leading of God's Spirit even in the minutest details of life.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for bringing two rejected individuals together, to help one another to heal, to grow in our relationship with You and one another, and to work together as we bloom where You plant us. Teach us to continue to live in harmony, and to love and appreciate one another as our personality needs to be loved.

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Thank you for using us as examples of a loving relationship to inspire other couples to lay down their life for one another and to mutually submit to one another as co-heirs with Christ (Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:7). We cherish our relationship with You now and we look forward to eternity in Your presence as well.

Thought for the Day:

As we maintain a pure heart before the Lord, He makes all thing beautiful in their time. - Ecclesiastes 3:11