God in the Details

 

God does not often show Himself strong for us during a trial. Initially, this hurts our feelings and causes us to doubt His love for us. However, God's love is exactly what prevents Him from rescuing us from life's hurts and challenges.

God is teaching us that this life is inconsequential in His larger scheme of the ages. His goal in our life is to transform our body, soul and spirit from this humble, earthly state into conformity with His glorious eternal plan for us.

He also shows us that all things, even our health, finances, comfort, suffering, family and life are subject to Him (Philippians 3:20-21). As His Spirit sanctifies us, we learn to submit to His will and to surrender our entire life to His wisdom and direction.

This gives us hope in God, rather than despair from overwhelming circumstances, thoughts and feelings. He is constantly at work in our life, planting seeds for a miracle in all of our trials.

We just have to patiently wait for Him to reveal them to us. He longs for us to trust in Him alone, and to desire His will instead of our own goals and plans.

We eventually learn that our suffering in this world cannot be compared to the glory of living in God's presence both now and throughout eternity (Romans 8:18).

Hardships are merely temporary and fleeting, especially as we keep our eyes on Christ and the prize of our inheritance of the Kingdom of God (Acts 17:11; 1 Peter 4:12-13; James 1:1-13).

Prayer:

Father God, help us to meditate on the truth that You are in complete control of everything in this world. Allow this fact to penetrate deep within our soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings - so that we learn to trust You and not our human reasoning throughout every moment of our day. We do not need to understand Your thoughts, because they are so much more profound than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

You simply ask us to remain open and willing to submit to and accept Your will and ways - even in the trials. You renew our human spirit by making Your truths known to us. We are created in Your image (Colossians 3:10), we have Your mind (1 Corinthians 2:16), and by Your Spirit we learn to walk as You would walk in our shoes (1 John 2:20).

Thought for the Day:

As the reality of the fact that our life is hidden with Christ in God becomes more of a reality every day, we draw away from the world, the flesh and the devil and find our true joy only in service to our King Jesus. - Romans 12:2

Union with Christ - Not of This World

Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14). We are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by this world (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His timeless glory now as well as in eternity. He is our strength, and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10).

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. We do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our thoughts. We give in to his defeatist thinking and we buy into his lies, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but they do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions. We see God working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28).

Do not waste time wanting what you do not have. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Jesus died for us all, and rose again so that we will not live for our self, but for Him (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Prayer:

Father God, we do not have to spend one moment longing for anything or anyone but You. We do not want to love this world nor the things that it offers to us. If we really need something in our life, which we do not have, You will give it to us. You will move us to another state, or give us a different car or house, or provide us with a spouse or a child, if it is Your will for us.

Remind us to trust only in You and in Your provision and timing. You have a perfect plan for each one of us and living in the center of Your will is the happiest place on earth. We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of the realm of the flesh and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

God is in Control - Daily Stress and the Terrors of Life

 

 

Fear comes from imagined or real stress and trials. In God's perfect love, there is no room for fear. His love drives out our fear, because He makes us perfect in His love (1 John 4:18).

God gives us His power, His love and a stable thought life (2 Timothy 1:7). When anxiety threatens to overcome us, His comfort brings joy to our soul (Psalm 94:19).

God calls us by name and redeems us, because we are His children (Isaiah 43:1). He sends His children to cheer our anxious heart with a kind word, so that we do not get too discouraged or weighed down (Proverbs 12:25).

We can even walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear, because He is with us and comforts us with His guidance and protection (Psalm 23:4).

There is no need for us to succumb to the terror of this life or to allow it to discourage us, because God is with us no matter where we go, and He is coming to our rescue (Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 35:4).

He has our tomorrows in His hand so there is no need to worry about the future. In fact, today has enough trouble without borrowing concerns over the future to add to them (Matthew 6:34).

As we live humbly before God, His mighty hand lifts us up in His own good time. We can leave all of our concerns with Him, because He absolutely cares about every aspect of our life (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus gave us Your guarantee by promising that we do not have to worry about our life or any aspects of our needs. Remind us that we cannot add one single blessing to our life by worrying, but worry will shorten our life and impede our health if we succumb to it (Luke 12:22-26). You promised to care for us as You do the birds and the flowers.

You are the light of our salvation and our glory and the lifter of our head. We have nothing to fear in life (Psalm 27:1). Every trial is an adventure, and You plant a seed for a miracle in each one of them. We give all of our cares to You, because You sustain us through the good times of life as well as the bad, and there is nothing to fear; You will never allow us to fall (Psalm 55:22; Mark 6:50).

Thought for the Day:

God is our Lord and Redeemer, and He takes hold of our right hand to lift us up, help us, guide us and protect us through the issues of life. - Isaiah 41:13-14