Created for God

Did you ever wonder why the earth's axis holds its exact degree of slant and stays in its exact obit? If it did not do this, we would all be frozen or burned up.

It is only due to God's great love and compassion that we are not consumed. His care for us never fails. It is new every single morning because God is faithful. This fact gives us unending hope.

The Lord is our provider as we wait upon Him. He is good to those who quietly hope in Him and concentrate the largest portion of our energy on seeking Him and the fullness of His salvation (Lamentations 3:21-26).

At times, we feel like the Lord does not really care about us. That is only because we have unrealistic expectations of Him that are not part of His will for our life.

We treat Him like a genie in a bottle created to grant our wishes, rather than as our Lord and King who created us to do His will with our life.

If we align our will with His, we are never disappointed in the answers to our prayers, because we pray in the Spirit rather than in our flesh.

We are taught by false prophets to claim Biblical promises, as if this puts God under obligation to us to do our will. He provides His promises to encourage us, not to give us some weapon to use against Him; which by the way, does not work and just leaves us frustrated.

God never changes. His mercy never fails us. His goodness is everlasting. His love is eternal. He is under no obligation to grant our wishes or to do our bidding. Instead, He requires that we lay down our life every day, take up His cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24; Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17).

Prayer:
Father God we often weave a tangled web with the circumstances of our life and then expect You to get us out of the mess we made. When we live in the center of Your will, Christ strengthens us to accomplish everything which You call us to do. You make us more than conquerors over the issues of life which You allow us to encounter, not over the jumble we create by our self-centered pursuit of this world.

In You we find peace, joy and boldness to walk in Your ways, which are so superior to our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Remind us that at the moment of salvation You move into our life, abiding there and desiring for us to get out of the way and to allow You to use us to accomplish all that You created us to do.

Thought for the Day:

As we live fully in each present moment, with no expectations or goals of our own, we can more easily follow the leading of God's Spirit and walk in the center of His will; we hope in God alone, instead of hoping that He meets what we think are our needs.

Joy Comes in the Morning

At any given moment of the day, when we least expect it, circumstances arise that cause fear and despair to darken our attitude. Heaviness shrouds our spirit and joy flees in retreat. Other people are making decisions, which adversely affect our life.

They ignore our wishes and do not consult our opinion first. They drag us through the negative consequences of their decisions. Eventually anger may arise to shield us from imminent suffering, and we explode and strike out at those causing the issues.

It seems to them that we are reacting with severe sharpness at some small offense, and this leaves them wounded and resentful.

We are only attempting to restore order to our life; but our soul pours forth a storm of accusations, which drench the recipient to the point of drowning. Then we feel guilty for over-reacting.

Our anxiety and depression deepen and we withdraw into a stoic abyss, shutting our self off from life. Our heart is full of anguish and fear, and we feel horrible and overwhelmed.

We wish we could fly away with the wings of a dove and be at rest. We would gladly stay in a desert, if it was far enough away from the torment we currently feel. We cry out for shelter from the tempest of disappointments (Psalm 55:4-6).

The good news is that our Lord is our Shepherd. He provides all of our needs and shelters us from every storm. He walks with us, even through the valleys of the shadow of death.

We can trust God to restore our soul and help us to bring order back to our life. He will heal our wounded soul with His love, joy and peace (Psalm 23, 30:5).

Prayer:
Father God, You lead us to fountains of living water and You dry all of our tears (Revelation 7:17). Now, teach us to get along with difficult people who make a mess of our life, and then condemn us, because we get upset with them.

They act like we are the ones at fault, and they blame us for all of their problems. We cannot dwell in unity with this type of person, unless You come to our rescue. We ardently trust You to work out even these alarming situations for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:
As we dwell in the secret place of the Most High, He will lead us, guide us and make all things work out for our good. - Psalm 91

The Victory of Surrender

 

Have you surrendered all of your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Is there any part of your spirit, soul or body that you reserved for yourself and that you refuse to surrender to God? What areas of your life are you unwilling for God to see or to deal with? We have the King of the Universe dwelling within us; yet, we think we know how to run our life better than He does.

We want to reserve part of our life exclusively for our self. However, in refusing to surrender all, we forfeit perfect peace, indwelling joy and the spiritual power and authority of Christ in us. However, when we do surrender to God, we learn that He has only our best interest in His heart. This makes it easier for us to surrender more and more of our self to Him.

Yet, we often continue to hold back some areas, which we hold most dear. Until we give God all of us, we cannot have all of Him. God will not trust Himself fully to one who does not fully trust in Him. He wants our heart’s affections, our deepest fears, our crudest sins and our most private hopes and dreams. When we surrender everything to God, He gives back to us in greater measure than we could ever imagine.

Jesus is not our Aladdin’s Lamp to grant our wishes. He is our Master and Redeemer; and He has a perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10). Once we consider the fact that Jesus gave up His glory in heaven to live on this sin-cursed earth for 33 years, that He suffered persecution and died a horrendous death solely to redeem us, then it is easier for us to trust Him with our whole life.

Prayer:

Father God, we can cast all of our cares on Your broad shoulders, because You care about us (1 Peter 5:7). We can give You our whole life and worship You with our whole heart. You are our all in all, and You are more precious to us than any person, place or thing in this entire world. Thank You for giving us Your redemption, as well as a treasured place in Your family.

Thought for the Day:

There is no one alive who can enjoy more success in their life than the person who is totally surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.