Our Intimate Father

The Lord searches us and knows us intimately. He sees us when we sit down and wake up. He recognizes our thoughts, even the ones we have not even thought about yet. We will think about them tomorrow or next year, but He already knows what they will be. He already examined the actions, which we will take in the future, and He is personally acquainted with everything about us.

Before we even speak a word, God knows exactly what we are going to say. He enfolds us with His peace and covers our past and our future with His love. This familiarity with each and every one of us is too hard for our finite mind to comprehend. He is absolutely amazing (Psalm 139:1-6). Still, our soul yearns for Him in the night and our spirit attentively seeks Him all day long (Isaiah 26:9).

There is no place on earth that anyone can take us, which will be away from God's Spirit. His presence is always with us and in us. If we are in a plane, a submarine, a horrible circumstance or the most exhilarating event, His hand is right there to lead and protect us. His thoughts are centered on us. These facts are so precious to us; yet equally as unfathomable (Psalm 139:17-18).

Even in our darkest hour, God's presence in our life surrounds us with light, because darkness is not dark to the Lord. Darkness and light are the same to Him, and everything works out according to His plan. God formed us in our mother's womb. He wonderfully knit us together so that we would have the personality, shape and appearance that He wanted us to have. He made us uniquely His own (Romans 8:28; Psalm 139:7-12).

Prayer:

Father God, the soul of each person, even if they deny it, knows without a doubt that You are our creator. You watched as our embryo developed and You continue to watch as Your Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). You pre-ordained every one of the days that we will live, and You wrote them down in Your book before one of them ever existed (Psalm 139:13-16). We give You all the praise, honor and glory for who we are in You.

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is righteous in all of His ways, and completely gracious in everything He does. - Psalm 145:17

God in the Darkest Hour

Our human will drives us to retain control of our life and to live as we choose, rather than to live in submission to anyone else. We often feel the need to manage our own life, as well as the life of all those who have influence over our existence in any way. We do not want anyone to disturb the orderly peace we create in our sphere of reality. If anyone tries to disrupt our serenity, we fight them with our whole being.

In reality, we can never attain any amount of true peace through our own vigilance over the order of our life. Our only victory is in submission to God. He teaches us to respond in kindness to those who attempt to abuse us, because we rest in the fact that God will use all of our trials for His glory. When the situation is impossible to bear, we can remove our self from an unsafe or unsavory situation. There, we wait on God to work out everything for our benefit (Romans 8:28).

There is absolutely no reason to divorce another person, even for sexual infidelity. God allows divorce in this case because of uncleanness; but if possible, we simply move out in order to have some space and protection from the situation. God desires reconciliation in every case, where both parties submit to one another and do His will. However, if one person does not want to reconcile, God will always protect His Saints in their darkest hour.

God will influence the offender’s decisions, but He will never force His will on them. He has unconditional patience, giving the hardened person plenty of time to repent and to reconcile. Even Believers, who are imprisoned for their faith and unable to escape, find that He sustains them from the inside out. He gives us His supernatural comfort and joy in our darkest hour, which surpasses all of life's horrifying circumstances, which we are forced to experience (Philippians 4:6-8).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to submit to You rather than to attempt to control our own life. Help us to bear the unsavory circumstances we encounter in this life and to be a witness for You through it all. We will walk by Your Spirit on the narrow road to Heaven. Through Christ in us, help us to influence this generation, which is walking on a wide road that leads to destruction. Use us in our sphere of influence to point people to Jesus, so they will choose to end their life of abuse, addictions, divorce and devastation.

Thought for the Day:

Authentic Christians live in quietness and confidence, which is our strength; and we dwell in peace and safety forever, regardless of our circumstances. – Isaiah 30:15, 32:17-18