Tuesday, October 21,
2014, 2:30 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Believe Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Philippians 4:4-13 (NASB).
Trust Him
Sometimes in life we have questions for which we don’t have
answers. Sometimes we pray and we can’t hear God speaking, i.e. he seems silent
concerning our requests. And, so we cry out for him to hear us, even though we
know he does, and for him to answer. Yet, he doesn’t always give us the answers
we desire, nor does he explain all of his ways to us. He just says “Trust me.”
“Believe me.” “Rest in me.” And, he reminds us that his ways are greater than
our ways and his thoughts are greater than our thoughts, i.e. he doesn’t think
and work like we do. He has purposes for what we go through in this life beyond
our human comprehension. We may even desire the right things, but he may have
planned for us to go through injustice or heartache, and so he asks us to just trust
him that he knows best.
Not Anxious
Rejoice
in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known
to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Phil. 4:4-7
No matter what we are going through in life, as followers of
Christ, we are to rejoice in the Lord. What this means is that we are to
delight in the Lord, and be thankful and glad for his grace and love to us.
Sometimes life kicks us hard, and we can feel sad, discouraged, confused and/or
disheartened over our circumstances, but what brings peace to our hearts is
when we choose to be thankful and praise the Lord in and despite our times of
trial.
We are to let our gentle spirit be known to all human
beings. Gentle does not mean weak, though. This does not mean we don’t stand
for what is right, or that we compromise with the world, or that we succumb to
false teaching so that we appear gentle to everyone, and so we don’t offend
anyone. Jesus had a gentle spirit, but he was definitely not weak in his
convictions, in his beliefs, or in his testimony and stand for the gospel of
Jesus Christ. According to biblehub.com, “gentle” means: “mild, forbearing,
fair, and reasonable;” follows the spirit of the law, and not just the letter
of the law. Jesus Christ is our example for how to remain strong in our faith,
and to stand on the Word, and yet remain loving, fair and reasonable, forgiving
and patient, trusting in the Lord to work all things out for our good.
We are not to be anxious (fearful) about anything. Worrying
never changes anything, but it only makes things worse. Worry is the opposite
of faith. Instead of fretting over our life’s situations we need to take these
things before the Lord in prayer, making our requests known to him, trusting
him that he knows what he is doing, and that he has a plan and a purpose for it
all. We need to call on him in prayer, tell him our heartaches, and place our
burdens at his feet. When we submit our will to the will of the Father in
prayer, and we truly rest in Him, even when we don’t understand it all, he will
fill us with his peace.
Give Me Courage, Lord
Be
strong and very courageous,
For
your God will go before you.
Do
not fear. He will not leave you.
Wait
for Him. He’ll not forsake you.
These Things
Finally,
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any
excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things
you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things,
and the God of peace will be with you.
In this life, and in this world of ours, we will be bombarded
with all kinds of messages. Especially this will be true for those of us who
live in a progressive society and where information of all sorts is readily
available at the touch of a fingertip. So, we must be discerning about what is
good and worthwhile vs. what is junk or trash, which needs to be avoided and/or
discarded entirely from our lives. If we want to keep our minds centered on
Christ, and on what is good and lovely, etc., then we need to guard our minds
and hearts by not allowing garbage into our minds, by not being entertained by
it, and by us, instead, filling our minds with the things of God, and by
allowing our minds to dwell on those things.
What we have learned and received from the Word of God, and
from the godly examples of those who have lived in practice what they say they
believe, according to what the Word teaches, we should then practice these
things in our own lives. Yet, we must be very discerning here to make sure that
what we are learning is truly what His Word teaches, and that the examples we
are following are those who are truly following the Word of Truth and not the
philosophies of humankind. Some things can look good, smell good and feel good,
and not be good at all. So, we just need to make sure that what we are
following and practicing is the truth, as found in God’s Word. And, his peace will
be with us.
I Rejoice!
But
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern
for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that
I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I
am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in
prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being
filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do
all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to
share with me in my affliction.
How many of us can honestly say that we have learned to be
content in whatever circumstances in life we find ourselves in? I am not
speaking here of being content in living in sin or in spiritual adultery,
apathy and complacency, though. May that never be! Paul is speaking here of
being content in life whether we have plenty or whether we are in need; whether
we are rich or we are poor; whether we have lots of friends or few; whether we
are liked or we are hated; whether we have the answers we are looking for, or
we still have questions; whether life always makes sense, or if it is somewhat
confusing; and/or whether we see progress, or we are still waiting on the Lord
for his perfect timing. Life doesn’t always go the way we hope, and it doesn’t
always make sense, but when, by God’s grace, through faith, and in His
strength, we learn to be content, then we will have peace.
Trust
in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in
all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight. – Pr.
3:5-6 (NIV)
Believe Him / An
Original Work / July 15, 2013
My heart cries: Lord,
won’t You hear me
Seeking You for the
answers
To my heartache and
questions
I have concerning my
life?
Speak, Lord, to me
right now.
“Oh, dear one, why
don’t you trust Me
With your life’s
circumstances?
Give your all on the
altar
In submission of your
will
To My purpose for you.
“Surrender your life
completely
To your Lord and your
Savior.
He has all things
planned for you
For His glory and
honor.
He’ll work all things
for good.
“Believe Him. He will
fulfill all
Of His promises to you
For your life and your
future.
Trust Him. Rest in His
love.
He’ll give you peace
from above.”
No comments:
Post a Comment