When there was something important the Lord wanted His followers to hear in the Bible, He would repeat the word two to three times to draw attention to it. He continues to do this in our present lives as well. This message of redeeming grace continues to come up in my daily reading, in testimonies I’m listening to, and in my own life’s circumstances.
As I resisted the Devil and drew near to God, He drew near to me. I could feel the anger give way to peace. Through asking the Lord for help and singing the songs, I held up my fists of prayer and praise. The Lord then guarded my mind and heart and the enemy had to flee.
… “Lord, I am so done with all of this. I need You! I know I need to be in Your word. I’m sorry for trying to be in control and run everything by my own wisdom… Show me the way. I’m tired of this life without You being in the center of it all. Please help me to be disciplined in time with You and in the Bible every day. I need Your sustenance. I love You. I’ll do whatever it takes. I just need more of You…”
Have you ever felt like the Lord isn’t present or doesn’t care about your situation? Perhaps you’re on the verge of feeling hopeless? It can be easy to lose sight of the mission you’re on with Christ when life gets hard. How do you strive for Him when it feels like He isn’t for you?
As a fun and easy post for the kick-off to summer holidays, I thought we could give this a try using Psalm 46:10. It’ll be a great way to memorize a verse and meditate on it without taking up too much of your time. I’ll first lay it out the way I mean and allow you to think about the meaning. Then I’ll do it again and add my own thoughts to each line afterwards. Enjoy!
Fear can be a silent creeper that works its way into your mind and heart. It slowly takes control over your thoughts and becomes your idol.
Elisha was a prophet that walked hand-in-hand with the Lord. If God told him to go left, he went left. He listened for the Lord’s voice. This is clearly stated by the Aramean soldier who told the king that Elisha knew what he whispered in his bedroom. Was Elisha a supernatural being? No. He didn’t have any power in himself. The Lord put the words in Elisha’s ears since God is all-knowing. Elisha listened well and was eager to respond. He studied the Scriptures which allowed him to recognize the voice of God. He leaned into Yahweh, giving greater room for the Spirit to work mightily within him. Then when the miraculous encounters took place, it was a natural extension of what Elisha had been experiencing with the Lord already.
The Spirit’s encounters are miraculous and very important but do they overshadow the desire for a deeper relationship with Jesus and you? How do the two work together and what can you do to appropriately appreciate both?
The Lord guarantees us that He will be with us, will never leave us, and is our ever-present help. So why do we worry that necessary things won’t get done when they need to?
Do you ever feel that way? You’ve got a deadline at work and the pressure is mounting to get it finished, but things aren’t coming together? Or, is your schedule full of important responsibilities with little room to budge?