We look out across the wilderness and think to ourselves that this is a desolate place of danger, where people face hard challenges, and meet death face to face, but for the believer this is not the case. The wilderness is a place that only the hand of God has groomed; an untamed place that man has not cultivated, or brought under his control. Like Jacob, this is where we meet God in solitude, to be nourished by Him, and to whisper with Him in prayer.
Oh that our eyes would be opened to what God has surrounded us with. We walk through our days and think that we are alone, or listen to the silence on a quiet walk when we are sad or contemplating some problem, when all about us there are amazing spiritual things occurring. We should pray each day that our eyes be opened to the wonders that swirl about us. Then perhaps in those moments when we are longing to speak with Jesus, or calling for the Holy Spirit to come, we will realize that all we must do is speak, and that the Holy Spirit is all about us.
When we go through trials, and are suffering terribly, do we only give the Lord the glory once we have emerged from them? Do we look back on what has happened and glorify the Lord for having rescued us? As we approach Easter it is a good time to look not only on the risen Christ, but on the glory He brought His Father in every moment of His suffering. His obedience, dedication to the will of God, and unwavering faith in the midst of horrific suffering. The pentacle of His Glorification of God was most certainly in the completion of God’s will, but He also glorified Him by suffering on the cross, or as Isaiah wrote… “in the fires” themselves. How do we personally endure our fires? Do we glorify God in them, or only after they have been extinguished?
Have you ever prayed and meditated on God’s Word before the sun has come up? There is something incredibly personal about sharing this quiet time with God. We find that the wee hours of the day are indeed the most quiet, and have the fewest distractions as we approach our Father. In the stillness of morning our hearts are filled with the presence of the Almighty. It is like the calm before a storm when the wind is settled, and we feel that something is certainly coming without having to see it… it is the height of our faith that thrives in the very sound of silence… it is our hope that rests on the very tip of day’s tongue.
What is the peace we get from God? Sometimes we think it is a calm and uneventful day, or the absence of war and strife, but the peace we receive from the Lord is far deeper than this. The peace of God is to stand in the midst of the worst terrors and turmoil that the world can throw at us, and fear not… it is to trust in Christ, and know beyond all else, that even in death, especially in death, we have victory… and that His joy awaits us for all eternity.
What do we do when we find ourselves far from shore, being beaten by the waves of life, and we can’t make any headway towards safe harbor because the wind is blowing strong against us? We have all experienced times like this, so what did we do? Did we fall to the deck and consider ourselves lost? Did we pull our sails down, get out the oars, and try to row ourselves out of trouble, or did we look out across the churning sea of life for Jesus, as we cried out for spiritual help? If we find ourselves in this situation, and Jesus comes to us, do we recognize him, and if he calls us to come to him in the midst of the gale, will we go?
How black is the deep darkness that surrounds us? Do we think we are lost because we see no light before us? The light of our Lord God is never extinguished, even in the darkest places in our lives it shines. In hopelessness He is like a dim light in the distance on a pitch black night. His light still surrounds us, and we know this because when we turn to face Him our eyes see Him clearly, and we realize that His light has been with us all along… bathing us in His presence, and glory. Had this not been true you would have seen nothing when you turned.
In whom do we trust our lives? We like to say that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, that we listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and have placed our trust in God, but then we retreat to our prayer closets and try to dictate the path our life will take. Before we say that this doesn’t describe us I ask that we each do some soul searching. Let’s ask ourselves how often we pray for what we want to happen, and compare the frequency of those prayers with how often we pray “Father, your will, not mine, be done!” We all have things we want to have happen in our lives; new jobs, healing, provision, and every order of blessing, but do we trust in God to give us these things in the best possible way, or do we want Him to do exactly what we want, and to do these things precisely as we have envisioned that they should occur? Who are we really entrusting our lives to?
The Lord tells us what He is going to do, and does it. The question becomes this… do we trust in Him enough to do our part. If the Lord says that the moment our feet touch the waters of the Jordan River it will part and we can cross on dry ground, will we step boldly out into the river? Will we look at the swift water, swollen by the spring rain, and step confidently into it? We all face such moments of faith in our lives, albeit they might not be flood waters, but they certainly could be to marry a person God tells us to, to take a job that we feel marginally qualified for, or to go on a journey to a dangerous place that makes us uncomfortable. We are all asked to step out in faith at some point in our lives, but will we be bold enough to obey?
What do you see in your mind’s eye when you envision Jesus? When at last you behold God’s glory will it be all that you have imagined, greater than you could have possibly guessed, or do you fear that His appearance will disappoint you in some way? Well, in this world we see with our eyes, but on that day when we behold Him face to face, our eyesight will yield to our other senses, and we will see Him more completely with our entire being, our heart, and our soul… it will overwhelm us like lightning. On that day all of creation will meet us in Him, and Him in us, for the first magnificent time.
What is enough for us? When we pray and ask God to provide things for us, what is it that we ask for, and how much of it does it take to satisfy us? More than that, at what point does God feel He has given us enough to satisfy His will, and purpose?
Are we having a good day, or bad one today? I hope that this is an exceptionally good one for you, but life is also sprinkled throughout with days where we wake up wondering how we will make it, and praying for deliverance. On days such as this we need to stoke up the fire of our faith, and remember that no matter what happens during this day we are God’s children, and this is the day that He has made. It is alright to feel a sense of desperation, as a matter of fact every Bible account shows us that our Father demonstrates His greatest love, mercy, and provision, during desperate times, so if we trust, if we have faith, then He will lead us, and we will not succumb to despair, or find ourselves in the grasp of our faith’s greatest enemy… fear.
As men and women of God we do many things of faith while following Jesus with our crosses on our shoulders. We feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, comfort the dying, and so many other acts of mercy. We love God, love others, give hope to the hopeless, and open our hearts to those who walk through the world invisible to everyone around them, but as we are busily doing all of these things we should never neglect our own spiritual growth. Sometimes we are so busy doing the THINGS of faith that we forget to nurture, and grow our own faiths. In this way we live perpetually in a state of shallow spiritual immaturity.
When we go about trying to earn our own way into Heaven, or win eternal life for ourselves by doing good deeds, it might temporarily make us feel better about who we are, but such efforts have little to no effect on our salvation. These are called dead works, and although all good deeds have some intrinsic value, these deeds are a hollow attempt at creating our own version of redemption. Only through Jesus Christ can we come to God, and truly be cleansed of the sin and guilt that has plagued mankind since his fall in the Garden of Eden.
What do we want to be written about us, to be recorded in the book of remembrance? Will what is found there speak of our faith, Jesus Christ, our righteousness, and our fear of God? Will these words recall our obedience, and the spiritual events which have made us holy, and worthy of eternity? Will what is detailed there speak of how our name is also recorded in the Lamb’s book of life?