God Cares for Us

 

God has a special interest in the underdog. He usually chooses the downcast and trodden to use as His servants. He is no respecter of human qualities, but looks for humility of heart (James 4:10; Matthew 5:3).

It is wise for us to put our complete trust in our Father God, who loved us enough to come to the earth as our defense (John 3:16-17; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). He is our refuge in times of trouble and oppression (Psalm 9:9).

When God is with us, just as He was with Moses and Joshua, no one can successfully oppose us. He never abandons or fails to help us (Joshua 1:5). He takes the anxiety out of all of our tomorrows as we live one moment at a time (Matthew 6:34).

God listens to our prayers and gives us all good things to enjoy, with hopeful plans for our future. We find Him if we will seek Him and look earnestly for Him, walking in His will by His Spirit (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Christians world-wide experience trials like ours and some even worse than ours. Satan looks for those that he can attack, harass and shred. So, we can lay our cares and worries on God's capable shoulders, since He is always thinking about us and watching out for our concerns (1 Peter 5:7-9).

God has not given us any reason to fear, but showers us with His power, love and stability of thoughts and feelings (2 Timothy 1:7). When stress and anxiety threaten to overwhelm us, His presence in our life brings us life-altering peace and joy (Psalm 94:19). 

Prayer:

Father God, You have never forsaken those who seek You. We sing praises to You, O Lord, as You dwell not only in Zion, but also within our spirit. We will declare Your wondrous deeds among all people and nations (Psalm 9:10-11). You give us Your peace so we do not need to fear anything life throws at us (John 14:27).

Nothing will ever separate us from Your love - not any current or future trial. No demon from hell, circumstance in our life, or natural or man-made disaster can shake our foundation of salvation in Christ (Romans 8:37-39; Isaiah 41:10).

Thought for the Day:

Whenever we are afraid, and we will be afraid from time to time, we can put our faith in God's faithfulness. - Psalm 56:3; Philippians 4:6-7

Growing into Christ

 

In our growth into Christ, we acknowledge that we are indeed crucified with Christ, we are dead and our new resurrection life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3-4).

We are raised from spiritual death with Christ, and we set our mind on the eternal aspects of life. We feast on His Word until it dwells in us richly. The cares of this life fade away and we abide in His unlimited rest, peace and joy.

We live by the faith of the Son of God through every new adventure He devises for us (Galatians 2:20). Even in secular employment and activities, we do all in the name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:31).

As we seek first His Kingdom, He provides us with everything we need to fulfill His purpose with our life (Matthew 6:33). Christ in us is greater than Satan and all of his demons (1 John 4:4).

God's Spirit gives us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and helps us to take our carnal thoughts captive and make them obedient to Him (2 Corinthians 10:5).

We understand the things of God by His Spirit, having His discernment in every area of life (1 Corinthians 2:5-15). We do not have to strive and strain to die daily to our flesh.

We simply fully embrace the truth that Christ lives in us and wants to live through us. We are raised with Christ in newness of life and we will appear with Christ in glory at the end of this age (Romans 6:4,8,10).

These facts have practical relevance to our walk in Christ each day on this earth. They give us hope, faith and the power to walk in the Spirit, to pray without ceasing and to love God with our whole heart.  

Prayer:

Father God, through Christ in us, we minister to one another and to the world around us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-16; Ephesians 2:5-6).  Enable us to set our affection on eternal matters and not to worry about or stress over the issues in this life. You gave us citizenship in Heaven with You now (Philippians 3:20).

Remind us that we have no meaningful life apart from Christ in us. Help us to adopt His purpose to seek and to save the lost; His perspective of doing Your will; and His practice of prayer, humility and obedience (Luke 5:16, 19:10; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 5:8).

Thought for the Day:

Since we are fully human, we often feel like we are fighting life, the world and Satan all alone; but if we remember that Christ in us is fully divine with all the power of the triune God, then we can step aside and allow Jesus to deal with any situation that is troubling us.

 

Quietness and Confidence are our Strength

The proud and haughty think only of themselves. They have a superior attitude and demean others in order to make themselves greater in their own sight.

They gossip, backbite and bully people; thinking they are wise and better than anyone else. Some people really believe this, but some are insecure and hide behind this mask (Psalm 131:1).

It is only as we are quiet before the Lord that He can search us and teach us to know our own heart. He tries us and knows our thoughts. He sees the wickedness within us and leads us to His everlasting truth (Psalm 139:23).

Our soul is like a little child within us - frightened, demanding and careless. As we learn to trust in the Lord now and always, we rest in His loving arms (Psalm 131:2-3).

We wait in hope by faith, and God gives us His Son of righteousness as our salvation (Galatians 5:5). We rest in His secure hope and safety (Job 11:18). Courage and strength fill our heart as we hope in the Lord (Psalm 19:7; 31:24).

God is our help and shield (Palm 33:20). We never feel ashamed, even in hard times, because we have patience and rejoice as we pray to and trust in Him and worship His holy name (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:3).

God reveals to us the mysteries of the riches of His glory through Christ who dwells in us, and gives us a living hope of dwelling with Him for eternity (Colossians 1:27).

We do not even have to worry about what we will eat or wear. As He cares for nature, He provides even more for us. Worry cannot add an hour to our life or an inch to our stature. In fact, stress from worry reduces the quality and quantity of our life (Luke 12:22-26).

Only as we cast all of our cares on God's strong shoulders can we truly enter into His rest. He will never let us fall (Psalm 55:22). He is our light, our salvation and our stronghold, so we have no need to fear (Psalm 27:1)

Prayer:

Father God, this world often terrifies us; but the fact that You will never leave or abandon us gives us hope, strength and courage (Deuteronomy 31:6). You hold our hand, help us and redeem us (Isaiah 41:13-14; Proverbs 29:25). You are our refuge, strength and ever-present help in any times of trouble (Psalm 46:1, 118:6-7).

You surround us with Your holy angels and protect us from threats and trouble (Psalm 34:7; 1 Peter 3:14). As we call on You, You free us from all of our fears and You fight for us (Psalm 34:4; Deuteronomy 3:22). Nothing will ever separate us from Your love - not even the power of Satan and all of His demons (Romans 8:38-39).

Thought for the Day:

Whomever dwells in the shelter of God Almighty will rest in the shadow of His wings; we climb into Him as our strong tower and refuge and are safe. - Psalm 91:1-16