No One is God's Equal

 

Our awesome God formed the earth with the power of His Words (Genesis 1). He holds the seas in the hollow of His hand, and He measures the sky with the width of one of His hands. He knows the number of the grains of sand on the seashore and the dust of the earth. He even calculated the weight of the mountains and hills (Isaiah 40:12-18; Isaiah 46:5).

No one can compare to our awesome God. All the nations of the earth added together are a mere drop of water in the ocean, and they always do His bidding. He reduces rulers and cares nothing about the decisions made by judges. No one directs God, because He is in control. We are like insects compared to Him.

His throne is above the circle of the earth. He gave us the ozone layer to protect us (Isaiah 40:22-23). No one compares to the Lord or is His equal. He stands above the crowd. He brings out the stars by number and calls each one by name (Isaiah 48:13); and not one of them is missing. We cannot even see all of the galaxies, yet God knows the name of every star within them all.

God never grows sleepy or exhausted, and His wisdom is deeper than any human philosopher will ever figure out (Isaiah 40:25-28). When God acts, no one can reverse it (Isaiah 42:13). Once we understand all things, all of God's judgments will be proven holy and righteous, (Isaiah 5:16, 8:13). He preserves His Saints as we devote our life to Him.

He is our God and we trust in Him and serve Him each day (Psalm 86:2). God knows the end from the beginning, because He does not dwell in time. His purposes will stand and we serve at His pleasure (Isaiah 46:10). There is nothing that our God cannot do. When we call on Him, He will respond to us and demonstrate to us His vast and almighty deeds (Jeremiah 33:3).

Prayer:

Father God, You are the first and the last. You are the only God. You made everything. You even formed us in our mother's womb according to Your perfect plan for our life. You know the number of hairs on our head (Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 48:12). Apart from You there is no other God. You are the Lord and there is no other (Isaiah 45:5-6). We thank You for your eternal salvation and for Your love and daily provision of all of our needs.

Thought for the Day:

God already decided what would happen on the earth from creation to eternity. - Isaiah 45:21-22

 

 

Assurance of His Promises

When Christ takes possession of our spirit, He gives us His rest for our soul – our mind, will and emotions. His righteousness, peace and joy give us a new life, which replaces our life of worry and deprivation (Romans 14:17). He provides all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). We live in ceaseless wonder at the sacrifice He made for us, and the heavenly home, which He provides for us, as we abide in Him forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

We no longer seek to sanctify our self by crucifying our flesh or by our works for God (Galatians 3:1-3), but we accept the work of Christ on the cross for us, which gives us eternal salvation simply by our relationship with Him (John 17:3). By faith, we accept His sacrifice on our behalf (Hebrews 7:22), and we submit to His Spirit as He crucifies the deeds of our flesh (Romans 15:16).

The nation of Israel is a perfect example of God’s people who try in the power of their flesh to live for God (Hebrews 8:7-9). They occasionally made great strides, but they constantly failed to keep the law. We have no more success than they did in obeying God’s Word on our own. We fail just as miserably.

As we rely on our triune God, He sanctifies us through our union with Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2,30), the washing of the water of His Word (Ephesians 5:26) and our obedience to His Word (Hebrews 12:14; 2 Timothy 2:21-22). We are the sons of God (1 John 3:2), members of Christ’s Body (Romans 12:5), and filled with the fruit of His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We do not work for God, but Christ lives and works in and through us (Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 2:10).

Our justification, sanctification and glorification are not obtained through our human effort, but by the work of our triune God within us (Titus 3:5). Our Father God provides our sanctification (Hebrews 8:10-12; Philippians 2:12-13), Jesus is the instrument of our sanctification (Ephesians 5:26), and the Spirit does the work of sanctification within us (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

Prayer:
Father God, Your Word is truth and You sanctify us by it (John 17:17). We are heirs of Your promise (Ephesians 3:6). We find our rest in Your everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27). Thank You for giving us Jesus as both the fulfillment and the guarantee of Your covenant with us. You cause us to walk in Your ways and to keep your statutes (Ezekiel 36:7), and You give us Your assurance by Your promises (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Thought for the Day:

The more we abide in Christ, we deeper we realize the security and blessings of our position and promise in Him.

 

Mistaken Identity

I spent the first third of my life searching for my identity as I grew from an infant to a woman. After high school, I married and had three children, each eighteen months apart. I supported my husband as Sarah served Abraham (1 Peter 3:6), centering my focus on him and his needs. In the churches he pastored, I taught in the children’s ministries, and discipled and mentored the women. I busily served God vicariously through my ministry to my family and our church.

Although years earlier I came to understand my need for a relationship with the true and living God through Jesus Christ, presently my obsessive busyness pervaded every moment of my life. I knew God; yet, I did not know how to be one with Him. I loved Him, claimed His promises for my life and spent my days trying very desperately to please Him. I knew my eternal Salvation was guaranteed by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. However, I was so active for God that these distractions prevented a qualitative relationship with Him.

I stayed at home with my children in their toddler years, then home schooled them through part of their elementary years, and center my life around my husband’s and children’s needs, activities and interests during their high school years. I went to every ball game, band concert, art exhibit, school function, church program and Taekwondo event they participated in. I taught them to cook, keep up their own laundry, clean a home and balance their checkbook. Then, they launched out into college, one right after the other.

One day, I came to the sudden realization that they did not need me any longer. They had lives of their own. The empty nest took me by complete surprise. My identity disintegrated. My husband resented me for clinging to him to fulfill my ravenous need for attention. I was alone for much of the time. I had no idea what to do with myself! I still read my Bible, went to the church and worked in my job; but I was not used to receiving so little attention on a daily basis. I suffered with depression and melancholia. The empty house and the barren loneliness haunted me.

One day during my quiet time, I thought about the disciples in the upper room. They waited for days for the Holy Spirit of God to come to them, as Jesus promised (Acts 2:1-6; Luke 24:49). During this time in my life, I decided to wait quietly on the Lord too. This became my own personal Pentecost: a time where day after day I stayed in my prayer closet, until the Lord revealed Himself to me more intimately than ever before. I totally surrendered my will and my life to Him. I truly felt like we were one, just as He and God were one (John 17:21).

As I continued to sit quietly at Jesus’ feet over the successive days, weeks and months (Luke 10:42), God required that I completely empty myself of all of my negative thoughts and feelings. He taught me how to stay connected to His Holy Spirit throughout the day (Galatians 5:16, 25; Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:1, 4). The hollow place within me eventually filled with His peace and joy that transcended all of the circumstances in my life (Philippians 4:6-7).

I realized from that moment on, that out of this relationship flows our ministry to our family, our church, our workplace and our community. God’s Spirit within us allows us to ride serenely in the wake of every storm in our life. We are never alone or lonely, because He lives within us, fills us, fulfills us and makes us complete in Him (Hebrews 13:5; Colossians 1:27, 2:10; Romans 15:13). His love pours over us like a waterfall, if we will quiet our soul – our mind, will and emotions – long enough to experience it (Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 58:11).

Soon after this time of sitting still before the Lord, I went to work at a fast food restaurant. Thankfully, my boss identified with my place in life. She pointed out to me that I was a person too. She reminded me that I could minister to my own needs, just like I ministered to the needs in others. It was not necessary for me to codependently wait on my children, a husband or a best friend to make me happy or fulfilled. We are sufficient with Christ within us to live as a whole, completed person (Colossians 2:10).

At this same time, my husband went through a dark night in his own soul. He decided there was no option for us but divorce. God had a purpose even in this, however. Since I had that deep, abiding relationship with Christ now, and I learned how to meet my own needs, I was not overwhelmed by his defection. I was one with Christ and I lived with the assurance that God loved me unconditionally (John 15:4; Romans 5:8).

God had a plan for my life that did not include my former husband or my children. They had their own lives now, and God had a fulfilling life in store for me as well. Over the next eighteen months, I put into practice everything I learned at Jesus’ feet. I followed His Spirit’s leading for each new day’s adventure and I looked forward to Him writing the new chapters of my life.

One night, the Spirit led me to help a girlfriend with her project at Books-a-Million bookstore. There I met a Pastor whose wife was divorcing him. We had a great deal in common and hung out together or talked on the phone every day after that. He had young children, and I helped him to do their laundry and to fix wholesome meals for them. We soon realized that God wanted more for us than friendship. God took the ashes of our individual lives and forged from them a union of beauty and a harmonious pastoral ministry to His people.

Now, even when my husband’s schedule keeps us separated for much of the time, when I do not hear from my children for months on end and my friends are busy with other pursuits, I still have the abiding presence of the Lord filling my days and nights. My unity with the Lord is the foundation for my life. This brings fulfillment to me that no earthly relationship provides.

Even when I am alone, I am never lonely. God’s unconditional love transcends any lapse in the circumstances of my life. God is truly all we need. As we abide in Him, we have His love that surpasses anything available to us on this human plane. Each and every day, He fills us through all of our being with all of His fullness and gives us the richest measure of His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Prayer:

May our God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him alone, expecting nothing in return; so that you may overflow with hope by the power of His Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Thought for the Day:

We are complete in Christ, lacking nothing (Colossians 2:10; Psalm 23:1; James 1:4).