Are you suffering in some way today? Have you been in prayer concerning it? If so, how do you perceive the agony you are enduring, and in what way are you asking that it be lifted from you when you pray? Is your prayer a selfish one as you pray “Father heal me!”, or do you pray A righteous prayer... “Father heal me that you might be glorified, and I might serve you better!”. How do you view the pain you suffer; is it punitive, or an opportunity afforded you by God to bring glory to His name?
How is our faith affected when we face physical suffering, and how about the times when we are tormented spiritually by people who don’t want us to speak the gospel to those who need to hear it? All of the apostle’s faced rejection and trials as they carried the good news of Jesus Christ around the world, but even though they faced great physical and spiritual abuse, they continued on... even to horrific death and martyrdom. Can we hold to our faith in the face of such persecution?
When we fear the Lord and seek after Him, we receive His blessings throughout our journey, but even this doesn’t mean we will not be without pain and suffering. We can strive to obey the commandments of our Heavenly Father, but in doing so, we pay a price in sacrifice. Before iron can be reshaped into something useful, or beautiful it must enter the furnace, and before clay can become fixed in its new shape, it must be fired. So it is with us as Christians... our redemption comes with a price, and our rebirth into a new creature requires an often uncomfortable transformation. So we rejoice in our trials, and claim the blessings they make real in us.
As we dwell on the Word of the Lord we are made to pause in awe, and with raised hands declare, in tears, His greatness. O the wonder of who He is. O the grandeur of His creation. O how our Souls are thrilled by knowing the least of His thoughts, and our hearts warmed beyond measure by the slightest touch of His hand. Do you search God’s Holy Word for a glimpse of Him? Do you see the creator in all of His creation, and Come to know anything about Him?
We say we are Christians; we say that our lives have been transformed by Christ, but has that conversion been solidified in the heat of our faith’s kiln, or is it still malleable, and able to be reshaped by the world around us? Our new Christ-like self is meant to be as He is... without sin, and founded on the Word of God, but we often treat it as temporary, and as such it does us little good. How firm are we in our faith, and how strong is the new creation that Jesus has molded us into?
Some see the beauty of the world that God created, but missing the fallen nature of man that inhabits it, and not possessing a belief in the creator Himself, they make it the sole focus of their lives. Unbelievers seek after creation rather than the creator, but as believers, and the children of God, we look to heaven and desire nothing more than God Himself. Though His creation is beautiful, awe inspiring, and amazing in every way, we worship God alone... seeing His hand in all things great and small.
God watches over His children even when they are unaware. He looks after us whether we are awake and actively praying, or asleep and dreaming about some earthly dread or sweet thing. When we are His, He never lifts His hand from us, and stands vigilant over us... even if we are not conscious of His efforts. So sleep peacefully in His care, and know that He will awaken you in the morrow.
Each week we are meant to rest on the Sabbath as God did, but so many do not listen to this commandment, and do not rest. When our lives on earth are complete the people of God will rest once again on the great Sabbath, but many people will not have listened, and will not be there. We live a hard and difficult life on earth, and it wears us down. We need bodily rest each night, and a Sabbath each week to refresh us, body, mind, and soul, as it prepares us to continue doing God’s will. Then following our judgement, those who are found worthy will rest again, and enjoy a greater Sabbath at the table of God... do you honor the Sabbath today? Will you rest, and eat the Sabbath meal with God in heaven?
God is merciful and full of grace; we say this repetitively, but do we say it because we believe it to be true, or because as sinners we desperately need to believe He is? We depend on God’s mercy every day, and since we can’t save ourselves, we need His grace. Yet, simply believing these things doesn’t make them so, but as we witness His behavior, and read His Word, we come to know it is indeed the truth.
Do we think that we are spiritually wealthy? Do we think that we have succeeded in our faith to the point where we are not only righteous, but perhaps we feel that we are on the verge of becoming holy? If our chests are puffed up in our spiritual walk, and we feel that all our blessings are well deserved, then at our best, we are only on the cusp of faith, and are worshipping ourselves.
We are told in scripture that we will be transformed, or become a new creature in Christ, but What does this process look like? Are we transformed instantly in the twinkling of an eye, spend our lives suffering through lesson after lesson, or dance our way before God into a new life?
How do we envision God to be? If we are asked to describe who God is, do we begin by saying He is all powerful, all knowing, ever present, mighty, wise, or do we begin by saying that He is love? What makes God worthy of praise and worship in your eyes?
Who do we call on in times of trouble? Where do we turn when all seems lost, and we are wandering blindly in our lives? We each have fallback plans that we engage when we can’t solve our own problems. We might not even realize we do this, but it is true. Some people call their friends for help, others go home, and some seek help from professionals such as doctors, psychologists, bankers, lawyers, or such, but all of us have some safety net we depend on... where does God fit into your list of those you turn to?
God is with us always, yet we don’t always admit that fact to ourselves. We know this to be true, and yet continue to pretend He is gone, and sin in His imagined absence. We read scripture regarding this fact as if it were preventative medicine, but it is also a cup of wedding wine served to heighten the celebration of our spirits. The joys we feel during secret acts of faith, the prayers that we offer without speaking, the sweet release of forgiveness, and the quiet tears we are moved to share while observing His miracles, are all witnessed by the great I Am. God hears the increased beat of our heart, and our nervous breathIng as He approaches... He sees in us our thrill in Him that no others are meant to know.