Never Alone

We never go through a trial without God in the midst of it with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). Christ and the Holy Spirit reside within us (Galatians 2:20).

Even through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us (Psalm 23:4). Whenever we feel that God is not with us, it is due to our behavior, not the Trinity. We leave them or grieve them by our choices and behavior (Psalm 13:1-6).

This causes us to lose courage, strength, joy and heart. We feel abandoned and forlorn. We have no will to go on any more. We may even feel betrayed by those who are supposed to love us, including God.

God is just waiting for us to completely surrender to His love. The Way, Truth and Life is always with us and in us, giving us wisdom and bringing us into God's glory (Colossians 1:27; John 14:6).

The Lord wants us to accept His will without any conditions or self-will. Praise opens the gates of hell, which we are experiencing, and allows us to understand the freedom of our union with God (Act 16:16-40).

Praising God for the negative circumstances, for the seed for a miracle within the trial and for His goodness, even when we are hurting, is the key to spiritual victory.

Jesus knew Calvary awaited Him. He first requested that God save Him from the cross (Matthew 26:37-42). Then, He prepared Himself for this trial through a time of prayer in the garden with His disciples.

Jesus knew that the only way to traverse any trial is to embrace the will of God in and through it. Therefore, He changed His focus to the glory, which awaited Him (Hebrews 12:2).

We follow Jesus' example and praise God regardless of His deliverance or blessings for us in this life, because we know the glory, which also awaits us in Heaven (Romans 8:18).  

We know that God will work out everything - even the most unbearable circumstances in this life - for our ultimate good.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to worship You in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Remove any hypocrisy in us and help us to live, move and have our being in Christ (Acts 17:28). Draw us close to You, because we know You will never, ever let us go.

We will pour out our love for You even when the flames of the fire, winds of the tornado, or destruction of the disease rip our life out of our clutches; because we know that our last breath on earth is followed by our first breath in Heaven.

Thought for the Day:

The God of the universe never, ever leaves or forsakes us; so, what is there to worry about? - Hebrews 13:5

The God of Heaven and Earth

 

The heavens and earth are our whole world. Without them, we could not exist. A one-degree change in the tilt of our axis would demolish us. One inch closer to the sun would incinerate us. The exact precision of our position in our solar system and in the Milky Way ensures the existence of mankind on the earth. We can see God's hand in this exactitude in nature (Romans 1:20).

He is so much greater than what we deem so important in our little microcosm on this earth. Consider the heavens with the sun, moon and stars, which are the work of His fingers (Psalm 8:3). There is no man-made cathedral, which can house His amazing influence and majesty (Acts 7:49). Even the highest heavens cannot contain Him (2 Chronicles 6:18).

Heaven is God's throne and the earth is His footstool (Matthew 5:35; Isaiah 66:1). He lays the beams of His upper chamber on the firmament around the earth (Psalm 104:3). He makes the clouds His chariots and rides on swift clouds and on the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3; Isaiah 19:1). The windstorms are His chariot and His horses are faster and more magnificent than eagles (Jeremiah 4:13).

He often uses tornadoes, hurricanes and storms to remind humanity of His great power (Nahum 1:3). He uses lightening as arrows and sends them forth to do His bidding (2 Samuel 22:15). He channels the sea; and even the heart of kings and the flow of rivers follow the course, which He prepares for them (Isaiah 43:19; Proverbs 21:1).

He constructed the foundation of the universe and at His rebuke, or a blast of His breath from His nostrils everything will be laid barren (2 Samuel 22:16). His voice is like a waterfall, like a mighty trumpet (Revelation 1:15; Ezekiel 43:2; Hebrews 12:19; Psalm 93:4). Clouds and thick darkness surround Him as His canopy, and a blazing fire goes before Him (Psalm 97:2; 2 Samuel 22:12-13).

He parts the heavens and comes down with dark clouds under His feet (2 Samuel 22:10). He cautions us not to swear by heaven, because heaven is His throne on which He sits (Matthew 5:34, 23:22). He fills heaven and earth and there is no place that we could ever hide from Him (Jeremiah 23:24). The earth, as we know it, will pass away, but His Word will live on eternally (Matthew 24:35).

Prayer:

Father God, You come to us with earthquakes and booming thunder, with windstorms and blizzards and flames of devouring fire (Isaiah 29:6). Yet, You also come to us as a baby in the manger, as a servant King and as a risen Savior (Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-7; Romans 10:9). You are so mighty that our mind cannot contain the fullness of who You really are. We praise You with all of our being, because although You are the great, powerful and awesome God, You keep Your covenant of love with those who love You and keep Your commandments (Nehemiah 9:32; 1 Kings 8:23; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4).

Thought for the Day:

Our mighty God rescues us and is our support in a safe and comfortable place, even in the face of a strong enemy who overpowers us and hates us and confronts us in our times of misfortune. - 2 Samuel 2:18-20