I Will Remember - Day 42

Psalm 69:22 - Psalm 89:13

 

          The Psalmist in chapter 77 is coming to the Lord with a song of trouble and complaint (vs. 3).

 

 

          He is wondering where God is and "is his mercy clean gone for ever?" (vs. 7)

          Then  says that is my problem but God is still God and he is still good.

"And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

 

I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?

 

Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.

 

The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.

The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Psalm 77:10-20

         Because of the cross and Jesus's sacrifice I am able to boldly go to the throne of God and pray my heart and my feelings out no matter what they are. What I need to come back to in the end is that God is God. He is almighty and good. He has wisdom to know what is best for me and gives me blessings and strength before I even know what or how to ask. I need to remember that. It is about God. It is not about me.

Seek God - Day 41

Psalm 45:15 - Psalm 69:21

 

          David seems to be distressed in the section of reading with his enemies, with Saul, and with his own sin.

 

 

"Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice." Ps. 51:8

 

           David keeps seeking the Lord. He knows that as long as God is with him he will get through these trials.

 

 

"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." Ps. 57:1

 

 

          Whether I have troubles or someone is out to see me hurt or even if it is because of my own sin, I need to learn from David and keep seeking God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Name It and Claim It - Day 39

 

Job 42:1 - Psalms 24:10

 

          I have in the past come to the Psalms for comfort. There are a wide range of emotions represented here in this book; Rage, sorrow, fear, rejoicing, and gladness.

 

          There are quite a few verses on how God will deliver the righteous and make the wicked pay. I tried to get comfort from those verses, assuming I was the righteous one and the other guy was the wicked. I took for granted that I knew how God would respond in my situation. I was greatly disappointed.

 

"But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." Psalms 13:5-6

 

 

          I may never know how God is treating some else and I am foolish to think I know how God is dealing with someone by what I see going on in their life. I only know how God is treating me and sometimes I am not so sure about that. What I have learned is that God is hard to figure out in my life so how can I assume I know how he is treating some one else.

 

"The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Psalms 19:9

 

          In the Psalms there are comparisons of the righteous and the wicked. The righteous being well taken care of and the wicked falling to shame. I am very cautious now to apply those verses to my life because I may never see the results, good or bad, that come from my decisions or some one else's. I do know that God is good and his judgements are true. That is where I will find my comfort.

 

 

God is Doing It - Day 37

 

Job 8:1 - Job 24:5

 

          Job is going through a lot of different emotions.

 

"If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;" Job 10:15

 

 

          Job does not know what God is up to, yet, he knows to trust the Lord.

 

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." Job 13:15

 

 

          With all the words spoken by Job's friends, this is really all we remember of them;

 

"I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all." Job 16:2

 

 

          Job may not have understood what God was doing but he knew that God was doing it.

 

"For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him." Job 23:14

 

 

         We need to remember that all that happens, good or bad, it is all part of God's plan for our lives. It may be confusing and our friends may not understand why we are going through a trial but we need to keep our eyes on the Lord.

 



This was of God - Day 32

II Chronicles 7:11- II Chronicles 23:15

 

 

          After Solomon dies, his son Rehoboam becomes king. Rehoboam gets advise from wise men about how to treat the people. Then he gets advise from his peers on how he should treat the people. He takes the advise of his peers and treats the people harshly and with a heavy burden. Consequently, this was all part of God's plan.

 

"So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat."

II Chr. 10:15

 

 

          When I think of God's plan for my life I think of all the good things. Good health, successful business, and the kids doing well in school.

 

          I must say that when things are going horribly wrong my first thought is not how this might be fulfilling God's word in my life.

 

          God's plan does not always make sense but as long as it is His plan, I know I am in good hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepare the Way - Day 31

I Chronicles 24:1 - II Chronicles 7:10

 

 

          David had a heart to build God's house but God said no.

 

"But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood."

II Chr. 28:3

 

 

          Now David could have pouted and thrown a fit about God's decision. He could have wasted years being angry with God and Solomon; However, he chose to get busy. He gathered the items, supplies, and tools for his son Solomon to build the temple.

 

 

"Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance." I Chr. 29:2

 

 

          Solomon has everything he could possibly need to build a house for the Lord. Solomon finishes the temple.

 

 

"Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God."

II Chr. 5:1

 

 

          Sometimes we are just the see sower. Our job is to just plant seeds for the Lord. We are preparing hearts for the Lord. Then someone else comes along and reaps the harvest. As long as God's plan is fulfilled, that is all that should matter. We are a part of something much greater.

 

 

 

 

 

          

Trust - Day 21

I Samuel 16:1 - I Samuel 28:19



          Saul allowed his emotions to rule his conduct. He had anger and jealousy towards David.

"And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod."

I Samuel 23:9

          David realizes what Saul has planned for him which makes him turn towards God.

"Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 

 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down." 

I Samuel 23:10-11

          When the prophet Samuel dies, that throws off Samuel even more. Saul still does not turn to God. He disguises himself and seeks after a witch.

          "And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee."

I Samuel 28:8

          Take note that Saul does not sin alone. He took two men with him.

          David was not a perfect man but he keeps turning to God for help. Saul turned to a man and when that man died he turned to a witch.

          I need to keep my sights and my heart close to God. I need to look towards the Lord for answers and guidance in my life. I have children that will watch and follow the directions I take as things go good and bad in my life. Am I showing them to turn towards the Lord or am I showing them to depend on man?



Trust Day 1

Genesis 1:1- 16:16

          God was blessing Abram so much that there was not enough room for Abram and Lot to live in the same area anymore. So Abram gave Lot the choice to pick the area where he would like to live. Well, Lot chose the best of the land and Abram would get the land that God would bless.

           In Chapter 15, after being led out of Haran, misleading a king, separating from Lot, battling with kings and then rescuing Lot; Abram is getting a serious talking to by God.

"After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not Abram: I am thy Shield and thy exceeding great reward." Genesis 15:1 KJV

          Then God told him again of his plans. Some where good and some of the plans were not so good. But Abram believed God.

"And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15:6 KJV



          What I learned is that I need to trust God's word. I may not understand all that God is showing me or what he is bringing me through. I need to realize that God knows what He is doing and keep following Him.

 



You Won't Believe it!

“I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.” Habakkuk 1:5b

I came across this verse and it has been on mind ever since. When I first read it I just laughed because if someone would have told me what I would have to go through to leave an abusive relationship I would have, for one, never believed them and for two, I would have ran away scared to death. When I prayed to God about my marriage I prayed for a miracle. I was praying for a Cinderella miracle or a Fireproof (the move) miracle. I wanted the changed life and happy ending, miracle. Oh I got the changed life alright, but just not quite the way I would have done it.

When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced Nebuchadnezzar and told him that even if they had to go into the fiery furnace they would still not bow down to him, did they ever imagine that it would actually happen?

Then there is Lazarus who was so sick that his sisters sent for Jesus because they knew that if he was here that Lazarus would not die. But Jesus did not show up. Lazarus really did die. Lazarus really got buried. Days went by and he was still dead and Jesus was still not there.

As we read the names written in Hebrews chapter 11’s “Hall of Faith,” it can be staggering to read what they went through. God uses their story to give us strength when things in our own life become difficult and God does not act in a way that we would chose. We can still trust him.

Can you imagine the reaction of the three Hebrew children if God would have told them that one day they would be put in a furnace? How do you respond to news like that? How do you prepare yourself for that day? Of course we know the ending. Jesus was there waiting for them in the furnace. But they did not know that.

What about Lazarus? What if God told him that he would be sick, and Jesus would be asked to come but Jesus would not show up and consequently he would die of the sickness? His sisters will be distraught and cry for days over his death.

I do not know about you but God’s thought process makes me wonder about Him. I would not have chosen for the men to end up in the furnace or for Lazarus to die. God knew that he would get more glory if those horrible things happened. I would not have thought that.

God takes our ashes and turns them to beauty (Is. 61:3). He takes the desert and makes a stream. He takes the broken and builds upon it. Our God takes what this world rejected and brings salvation. God is in the miracle working business still today. It just may not come in a manner that we are expecting but that is why God wrote that “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord” (Romans 8:28).

I am glad that God does not tell us what He is up to because it allows us to take things in stride.  He then can prepare us so others can see God through our life. When we realize that it is about God and not about us, the situation takes on a whole new perspective. I will take God’s choice of a miracle over what I had in mind any day.

This Path I Am On

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Proverbs 3:5,6 King James Bible

          This path that I have been on has not gotten any easier with time. It seems the momentum of the battle is getting more strenuous or could it be that I am getting weary on this journey. The path seems to be a constant climb in elevation. At times I can feel the oxygen getting thinner and it is harder to breathe. It has been painful. So extremely painful. No physical wounds that I can bandage up or take a pill to dull the pain. Hurt that can be so unbearable. It has been brutal on my emotions as well as my spirit. It has been grueling on my walk with the Lord. I have experienced doubt, fear, and loneliness. I have had to endure so much with no arms to comfort me. I have had to stand alone against lies that have been told about me. I will not even go into the heart wrenching emotions that are involved with the treatment of my children during this nightmare.

          In all of this and so much more I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Seriously, no where else. This is the path that I know that God has for me. He is here with me every step of this baren path I trod. Am I only going to trust him when things are going good and the weather is fair? I found out that I am better than that. I have seen God's strength in me when I was all tapped out. I have felt his presence when I thought I was alone. I have experience the victory that only the cross of Calvary can offer. I want to be where my Lord is no matter what the conditions are. I learned that as well. Hymns have a renewed meaning. I really hear what they say. Like this one. Did I really believe that I would trust the Lord through it ALL? Only by His grace.

Through It All

Written by- Andrae Crouch

Verse 1:
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
there's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consulation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.

Chorus:
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.

Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.

Verse 2:
I've been to lots of places,
I've seen a lot of faces,
there's been times I felt so all alone.
But in my lonely hours,
yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus lets me know that I was His own

Chorus

Verse 3:
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do.