Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:22-24, NIV*
As I prayed for a friend who has serious health trouble, the Holy Spirit seemed to prompt me to ask the Father to reassure her that He’d be with her whatever the future brings, but also that she’d know His nearness today.
We all long for some kind of reassurance for the future – specifically that things will be fine – but God asks us to focus on today. That’s the whole “living in the moment” thing I’m still trying to learn.
Definitely, we need a solid faith that God knows what lies ahead and can deal with it, but we’re not in the future. We’re in the present. And as Jesus said, today has enough troubles of its own. (Matthew 6:34)
Father, I’m so thankful that You know what tomorrow holds. Nothing will catch You off guard. Help me to trust the future to You and to live in the present – knowing You’re with me. Open my eyes to what you want to do through me today, who You want to touch. Help me enjoy Your company on the journey.
…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31, NIV*
In one of his books, Mark Buchanan points out the progression in these verses: The eagle rides the wind currents, the runner has a limited distance expectation (even if it’s marathon length) but the walker might be expected to carry on for a long time.
He said it better than that, and it sounded more logical, but the idea is that the walking is both the least glamorous and perhaps the hardest because it’s such a long, slow slog.
I’m back in a quiet state again. It comes every so often, when I’m empty of the usual plans and enthusiasm. I used to try to psych myself back into action, but now I think it’s a necessary part of the rhythm of my life with God.
It’s not so much low energy as a holy hush. A call to wait. To hope in God.
Today I’m embracing the quiet. With my inner clamour stilled, I feel like I’m waiting… in hope… for God. There’s nothing big going on in my life right now, and I’m not expecting some great gust of Spirit wind to set me soaring, but a greater sense of His presence would definitely renew my strength for the next steps of the walk.
Maybe that’s why they call it “walking with God”?
Father God, thank You that You don’t set us on the road and leave us alone. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, with us to comfort and to guide. Thank You that anytime, anywhere, we can quiet our own spirits and rest in You. Please help us learn to do this more and more, so we can grow strong in relationship with You and follow You without growing weary or fainting.
Our song this week is “You Raise Me Up,” performed here by the group Selah.
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not … if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:17,18, 22b-24, NIV*
We’ve been talking about Philippians 4 and thanksgiving vs. anxiety for a few weeks now, and the irony is not lost on me: Today started with a sense of restless urgency, and my prayers kept circling back to someone for whom I care deeply.
I reminded myself to pray with petition and thanksgiving, to trust God’s care. Several times. Somewhere in the cloud of nervous energy He helped me realize something: today’s issue isn’t about my loved one, it’s about me.
Is there an immediate problem or danger? No, although I sense trouble in the offing. Does God need to do anything about it this second? No, although I believe He has a plan and a timetable for action, and has been calling people to pray.
So where’s the trouble? It’s me, fretting. Not letting go as I pray. Not being confident in God’s ability to work all things to His glory and His children’s good.
This always brings me back to Mark’s story of the man and his son, as I echo the man’s words: “I believe. Help my unbelief.”
Jesus, help me believe You. You haven’t given me any specific word about this particular need, but I have plenty of truth in Your Word to cling to. You have already won the battle, and all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Thank You for the peace You give when I finally stop long enough to remember Who You are. Thank You for what You will do, in the Father’s perfect timing and wisdom. Thank You for caring about me and my loved ones today.
I’m so thankful for Scripture, and for music which reminds me of God’s truth. A song that spoke peace to my spirit just now is Steven Curtis Chapman’s “Yours.” Take time to let the words sink in….
Give ear, O God, and hear;
open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name.
We do not make requests of you because we are righteous,
but because of your great mercy. Daniel 9:18, NIV*
Sometimes the very magnitude of prayer needs can reach a point where prayer feels more like a barrier to fellowship with the Lord than a doorway into His presence. We ask and don’t receive. We knock and hear no answer. The mountain’s not going anywhere but up.
Still God invites us to bring our cares and needs to Him. (1 Peter 5:7)
As we pray, may God grant us to yearn for Him, to see Him, to be still long enough to sense His presence. We may come because of external need, but let’s stay until we’re reminded that our souls’ real need is Him.
Father, thank You we can find our rest in You, that we can bring all things to You, our Rock and our Salvation. Turn our eyes and hearts to Yourself, and by Your presence give us hope. Help us rejoice no matter what our circumstances, because You are mighty to save, and You are with us.
I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2, NIV*
“Circumstances and challenges are constant, but thank God we know where our help lies.” That one sentence from Canadian writer/speaker Mary Haskett pointed me to this week’s verse and song.
Our help lies with God. So do our purpose, direction, our only possibility of getting life right.
God is not a distant hope, a Divine sort of cavalry waiting in the hills to ride down and rescue us when we signal. He’s here with each of us who have committed our lives to Him. He takes that commitment seriously – as seriously as His commitment to never leave us.
It’s sad that so often we don’t remember He’s with us. In our best moments, we’re aware of His quiet presence. In those moments we have peace, joy, assurance. We live each moment in His, and it shows.
Father, help us in our weakness. Help us remember Your presence with us and depend on You. Remind us that You are bigger and more powerful than the circumstances and challenges that threaten us today. On our own we are helpless, but we praise You that by Your grace, our hope… our help… is in You.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers [and sisters], whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4, NIV*
I’ve read these verses over the years and always thought the “pure joy” at trials was for a level of spirituality I hadn’t yet reached. The Apostle James could do it, and probably folks like Billy Graham and Mother Theresa, but not me, not yet. Then I noticed something new: there’s no period after “trials of many kinds” – there’s a comma, an explanation.
James isn’t saying “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials.” He calls us to consider it joy because behind the trial is a test of faith. And it isn’t the pass/fail kind of test to disqualify us. It’s the kind of test that proves our faith is real and strong. It’s the kind of test that will strengthen and develop us.
So… we can consider it pure joy to see that God is using the circumstances of our current trials to prove the strength of the faith He has given us, and to develop perseverance within us. He’s completing the work He begun in us, and in that we can be joyful.
Father, You are so good to us. Thank You that nothing comes to Your children without being filtered through Your fingers. Thank You that what the enemy of our souls means for harm, You can work to good. Please strengthen our faith, help us trust You, grow us in perseverance. Because of Jesus. Amen.
Sharon Fawcett is a Canadian author and speaker whose ministry offers hope: in the daily stresses common to us all, and in the anguish of depression and eating disorders.
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. Acts 14:8-10, NIV*
Paul was spreading the good news of Jesus: Emmanuel, God with us. He saw this crippled man – really saw him, and saw he had faith to be healed.
This reminds me of Jesus teaching in his home town: “… he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matthew 13:58, NIV) And of the way He had to first deal with the father’s faith issue before healing the tortured son:
“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” Mark 9:19-25, NIV*
God is all-wise, and if He chooses not to heal someone, no amount of manufactured faith can make it happen. But if He offers healing, or deliverance, or salvation… it seems to me like we need faith to receive it.
The good news here is it’s God who gives us the faith: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
The gift of God: but we still need to receive it.
For the people on my prayer list, this adds to my prayers. I’m praying for God to give them faith to receive the salvation, healing, and/or deliverance they need.
For me, I need to pray for faith to receive whatever God wants to give me. He’s still growing and shaping me, and I don’t want to miss anything because I couldn’t receive it.
I wanted to share a link to Robin Mark’s “With All Faith,” but couldn’t find it on YouTube. Instead, here is a song the LORD and I shared yesterday as part of my prayer for a young man who doesn’t know Jesus. I’m playing it now in anticipation of the day when he can sing it himself. This is the David Crowder Band’s rendition of “Heaven Came Down” from the Illuminate CD. I prefer the simpler version on their Lime CD, but this is still great – and check out the pictures with it.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27-28 NIV*
There is security in being shepherded by Jesus. Eternal life gives us security for the future, but today I’m drawn by the day-to-day side of it: No one can snatch us out of His hand.
No one can snatch Him from us either. He’s with us for the duration.
We know from Psalm 23 that the pastures won’t always be green nor the waters still, but He will always be with us. And if He leads us through a dark valley, He has a purpose and a plan.
Sometimes we see those valleys coming: the doctor’s appointment or the bad news we have to break. Sometimes our easy path takes a sharp turn and we’re blindsided.
Jesus is never caught off-guard. By His very nature, He cannot vanish in a puff of confusion. His rod and staff are with Him to comfort us, and He knows the best route through the valley.
The most beautiful discovery I’ve made in those dark parts of the journey is this: God was still with me. Even when I was completely surprised, He already knew how He planned to bring me through. He knew it, and He did it.
Jesus thank You that You are the good Shepherd. We can trust Your intentions, wisdom, strength and care… whatever happens. Please give us the faith and courage we need to stay by Your side instead of fleeing when we see danger.
Our song this week is an old hymn, “Be Thou My Vision,” sung here by Michael Card. This one was my sustaining prayer on the way into one of those valleys I saw coming and feared the way out of.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5, NIV*
“I can’t do this without You, LORD.”
Many of us pray this way regularly, about hard tasks or scary appointments, or just about hauling our exhausted selves out of bed to face another day.
It’s a fine prayer, and it’s scriptural. Jesus warned us, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NIV)
The key is where we put the emphasis. If we focus on the difficulty “I can’t do this” it weighs us down. If we focus on Jesus, our hope and strength “I can’t do this without You” it reminds us where our confidence lies.
Acknowledging our weakness keeps us from getting into messes. Focusing there could keep us from doing anything at all. Let our weaknesses remind us that Jesus offers His strength. Our confidence is in Him, and He is enough.
