Wisdom

 Today, I thought I'd share a little wisdom that I've gathered from my prayer journal. May it speak to each of us....

"How could you ever be dismayed at your situation with Christ at your right hand?" Henry Blackaby

How? Yet we so easily are. That's because the devil is very skilled at making us believe we've been abandoned, forgotten, set aside. He gets us to seeing everything through the eyes of flesh instead of the Spirit. I know. I've walked in those places. Maybe you are right now......One such time for me was on a bitter winter night in 1989. I was living alone on our District campground, living through the early stages of my eventual divorce. I came home late at night, feeling as discouraged and hopeless as I ever had. I wanted to just give up. I went down to the cabin I was staying in, and opened my Bible, looking for hope. I came upon the passage where Paul is speaking of his first defense before Caesar, and how everyone, even his closest associates, had left him. Then he related how as he stood there, alone, His Lord Jesus Christ came and stood with him. Neither Caesar, nor anyone else saw Him, but Paul did. He knew he was not alone. Christ was at his right hand. I knew then that he was at my right hand as well. I had begun to think that the cabin and barren campground were where it would all end for me. It wasn't. He led me out of there and into new areas, new opportunities, and best of all, a new life. How can we be dismayed if we know He stands at our right hand? Do we know this today? Do you?

"God is my Father. I will never think of anything that He might forget. Why should I worry?" Oswald Chambers

We are prone to anxiety, stress, and worry. In large part because we seek to maintain control. So, we constantly wonder and stress over whether we have made preparations for every potential happening. This is impossible, and in our hearts, we know it, but it doesn't stop us from trying. Chambers speaks a fact we too often forget. He is our Father. He is a good Father. His best for us is always in His heart. If we'll trust Him, He will bring His best to pass. We cannot foresee every eventuality, but He does. The pressure we subject ourselves to, and that the devil delights to increase, vanishes when we realize all we have in Him as our Father God. Jesus said that our Father loves to give good things to His children. In the Judean desert, stones had the appearance of loaves of bread, and scorpions could ball up and have the appearance of an egg. Jesus said if we asked Him for bread, He would not give us a stone, and if we asked for an egg, He would not give us a scorpion. He has given us all things in Jesus Christ. He could not possibly give us anything of more value than Him. Why do we doubt that He will care for us? Why might you be doubting today?

"Job's first reaction to his trial was to worship. He knew God was sovereign and that He was good." In our trials, few of us have the inclination of Job to worship. Complain, question, get angry? Yes, all of these and more. We do so because very likely, we have not settled the question as to whether we really believe He is good and that He is sovereign over all, even our most terrible circumstances. Because of this, we can't worship Him. What would happen in our lives if, when we gathered this week in our fellowships, we simply laid our cares and burdens upon His altar, at the foot of His cross, and left them there? What if we dared to believe that no matter how dark our circumstances, how permeated with death, He was in control, He was moving, and He had His ultimate good in mind through all of it? Would we be able to rest in Him? Would we be able to worship Him? This is an element that is missing in so much of what we call worship. Sinclair Ferguson says that the modern church is interested in what gives pleasure and what we will enjoy, and very little of the awesome holiness of God. This leaves very little room for the truly brokenhearted to come before Him, to lay it all before Him, trust Him, and find total peace in worship. Job's first reaction was to worship. How often is it ours?

Just a few thoughts for the day. Blessings to all.

Pastor O