Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Thursday, July 29, 2021

He's Faithful to Who He Is

Our God is Faithful

Psalms 119:89-91

 

“Forever, O Lord, your word

    is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

By your appointment they stand this day,

    for all things are your servants.”

 

Our God is absolutely sovereign over all that he has made. There is nothing outside his control. Evil cannot exist except God allows it to exist for a time. Nothing can touch our lives but what God allows it and that he intends to bring good out of it, for he works all things for good for those who love (obey) him, who have been called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28).

 

No matter what humans do in opposition to our Lord and to his purposes, no human being can thwart God’s purposes, for his purposes will prevail. And no matter what people do to attempt to destroy the word of God and to bring it into disrepute, God’s word will remain steadfast and will not be destroyed. It is firmly fixed in the heavens.

 

Our Lord is completely faithful in all that he does, but not faithful to our man-made images of him, and not faithful to our misperceptions of him, and not faithful to what we want him to be, but he is faithful to who he says that he is, and to what he has said that he will do, and he is faithful to his will and to his purposes and to his designs for our lives.

 

My Delight

Psalms 119:92-93

 

“If your law had not been my delight,

    I would have perished in my affliction.

I will never forget your precepts,

    for by them you have given me life.”

 

As human beings living on this planet earth, we who live in flesh bodies are going to have pain, sorrow, and suffering. We are going to go through trials and tribulations. We are going to have surprises that are not all good, things that we did not anticipate happening, but they did.

 

I know that, for myself, I must keep reminding myself that God is in control, and that none of what I am going through catches him by surprise, and that nothing can thwart his purposes. He has a plan in mind for how he is going to work all things in my life for my good.

 

Also, as Christians, when we go through trials, we have a perspective of our trials that others don’t have. We don’t have to fear what is happening or what might happen, or how we are going to deal with this situation or that, or how we will survive, for we know our Lord is in control.

 

So, when we are afflicted, we can look to our Lord and to his word to be our comfort and our support. And we can be encouraged and strengthened in our faith, and we are then able to rise above our circumstances and to be at peace within even though a storm may be raging from without.

 

In 2016, the Lord moved me and my husband to a smaller place with much less storage space. I used to write journals of my times with the Lord in his word on paper, and I had notebook after notebook of these journals in a large bookcase. But they had to go because I had no space for them.

 

So, it was then that I moved my journaling (when I journal) to the computer, and so I also moved from reading a paper Bible to reading the Bible on the computer. But when I used to use a paper Bible more frequently, I used to underline and sometimes date Scriptures which encouraged my heart at particular times.

 

Sometimes I will go back to the paper Bible and see the times and dates which I underlined Scriptures and I can recall what I was going through at that time, and how much those Scriptures encouraged my heart, and they did give me life, and they still give me life every day.

 

The Wicked Lie in Wait

Psalms 119:94-96

 

“I am yours; save me,

    for I have sought your precepts.

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

    but I consider your testimonies.

I have seen a limit to all perfection,

    but your commandment is exceedingly broad.”

 

If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in wholehearted devotion to his will and to his purposes, we are going to have enemies, for there are many people in this world, and even within the gatherings of the church, who are opposed to our Lord and to his gospel of salvation. Thus, if they are enemies of Jesus, they also will be our enemies.

 

But we don’t have to fear their threats or their resolves to take us down and out. We don’t have to fear their opposition or their attacks against us. For, our God is in control. He will not leave us nor forsake us if we are his by genuine faith in him. So, we are not alone. We are not left comfortless.

 

Our Lord will give us the strength and the wisdom to know how to respond to all opposition, and he will work good out of every difficult situation. We just have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on our circumstances, and we must keep surrendering our lives to God, believing that he is in control.

 

The Great Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Francis Foster, 1915

Music by Samuel W. Beazley, 1915

 

How I love the great Redeemer

Who is doing so much for me;

With what joy I tell the story

Of the love that makes men free.

Till my earthly life is ended,

I will send songs above,

Then beside the crystal sea

More and more my soul shall be

Praising Jesus and His love.

 

He has purchased my redemption,

Rolled my burden of sin away,

And is walking on beside me,

Growing dearer day by day.

That is why I sing His praises,

That is why joy is mine,

That is why forevermore

On the everlasting shore

I shall sing of love divine.

 

Glory be to Him forever!

Endless praises to Christ the Lamb!

He has filled my life with sunshine,

He has made me what I am.

Oh, that everyone would know Him,

Oh, that all would adore!

Oh, that all would trust the love

Of the mighty Friend above

And be His forevermore.

 

He is everything to me, to me,

He is everything to me,

And everything shall always be;

I will never cease to raise

A song of gladness in His praise;

Here, and in the world above,

My soul shall sing of saving love;

Life and light and joy is He,

The precious Friend who died for me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD-LJGRnUZY

Caution: This link may contain ads

No comments: