God makes Himself known in our lives in many ways.
He comes in the strength and the power of the Word and the Spirit to answer our cries as often as we cry out to Him. He never grows tired of hearing and answering our calls for help.
He does not sleep, but always watches over us to protect and rescue us from attacks of the enemy on our mind and the rough uncaring attitude of the world on our emotions.
He carries us over deeps we cannot measure and sustains us through circumstances that would devour us if given access to us.
He is worthy of our trust.
Psalm 55
v.1 Listen to my prayer, O God, ...
v.2 hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
v.3 at the voice of the enemy...
v.4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me.
v.5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.
v.16 But I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
v.17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
v.18 He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
v.22 Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.
v.23 ...as for me, I trust in You.
His grace works miracles unheard of for people undeserving of the bountiful blessings and riches immeasurable that He brings into our lives.
He takes the weak, the worthless, the useless, the hopeless, the ones which the world has cast aside as having no value, the ones who can see the merit of what God offers and hunger for it, the ones who have no pride or confidence in themselves but are willing to be servants in His house.
He takes them and through His boundless, limitless grace makes them His inheritors, lifting them into positions of authority in His kingdom.
He transforms them into productive, useful, loving people, clay vessels which carry great treasure within them, flawed vessels which have been accepted as worthy of use in the King's house, broken and repaired vessels which show not only the skill of the artisan but His grace as well.
2 Corinthians 12
v.5 ...I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
v.9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
v.10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
His love appears in our lives as we reach out to others who are in the same situation we once were.
After we experience the grace of God, we can demonstrate the power of God by sharing the love of God with those we meet.
As He has comforted us in our needs, let us share those things we can testify of to others with similar needs. Love dresses for work, not for fashion; once we have experienced the touch of God's love, we will be motivated by a real willingness to help where God places us.
Through His love, we can walk without fear or anxiety among those who seek to beleaguer and beset God's people.
In the midst of battle and judgment around us, we can carry a serenity in our character and a peace in our heart that can not be understood by those who withstand the grace of God.
By giving of ourselves so that others may wake to the Spirit and rediscover life, and life more abundantly, we walk in the footsteps of Christ who gave Himself for those the world judged unworthy and thus we fulfill His commission to us.
His love sustains us in the battle and the fear and dread of the Lord, the reverence and obedience to His name, keeps us pure and unspotted from the world.
Isaiah 8
v.10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
v.11 The Lord spoke to me..., warning me not to follow the way of this people
v.12 ...do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
v.13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread,
v.14 and He will be a sanctuary;
Lord and God, on this day, let us stand shoulder to shoulder with the workers You have brought to the harvest field, and take up our part of the load.
There is much work to do and few hands to do it. We pray that You will send workers into the harvest, and we pray for eyes to see what You value and understanding to encourage the hearts of others working around us.
Thank You for making us happy, respected, and useful in Your kingdom; remind us to be grateful for the strength we receive, the love we know and the peace we have through Your grace.
#devotional, #weak, #power, #broken, #grace,
