02/22/2022
It is tempting to ask the Lord to do something for us, and then to become so anxious over it that we take it back out of His hands as if He needed our help to complete whatever it was we asked Him to do. When we give something to God we need to realize that we are no longer the owner of that thing. If someone gives us a pair of shoes would we expect them to take them back? Well no we wouldn’t. So why should we expect to take back the problems that we have given to God? When we do such a thing it demonstrates a lack of confidence, and trust. We are prompting Jesus to say “Oh ye of little faith!”. Is this the message we want God to receive regarding us?
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Psalm 37:5 ESV
The Lord is truth, and He never wavers from His promises, so when we receive His Word it is steadfast and will not fail us. He promised the Messiah, and He sent His Son Jesus to save us, redeem us, and then He watched as fallen man beat Him, whipped Him, and nailed Him to a Cross where He died. He watched Jesus, in whom He was well pleased take the sin of the world upon Himself, so why then would we ever doubt our Lord… our God.
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
Numbers 23:19 ESV
When we put our hope in His hands, we are returning to God the reflection of the love He showed us in Christ, and we owe Him the heart of our trust, and faith. He never lies to us, and we should be true to Him… giving Him our troubles, our suffering, and our faithfulness, while never drawing it back, or letting go of His hand with ours.
“Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”
Psalm 31:5 ESV
Jehovah is our God, and the light of our lives. In Him we find our strength, and our hope forever, and in Him is the love that will never let us go… even when Adam failed so miserably in the Garden of Eden He loved us. In the Garden of Gethsemane He knew the bitter wine that was being served in the cup of Christ… the blood of our New Covenant with Him. Yet, knowing how undeserving we were, and the price His Son would pay, He stood by His Word. How is it then that we can doubt Him now with our meager prayers?
“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
Hebrews 6:17-18 ESV
Our prayers are made certain in Him, but when we waver, or take back from Him that which we once entrusted by Him, then our faith has become a lie, and we have denied him in our heart. In this truth concerning His inability to lie, we have come to realize, and understand, that our prayers, once given are truly His possession, and that his steadfastness anchors our soul.
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6:19-20 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Word, and the truth we find in the New Covenant that we have made with you by eating the bread, and drinking the wine that Jesus offered us. We trust in you Lord, and we thank you for your Son who took our sins as His own, and for you who hears our cares through the prayers which we pray in obedience to your will, and in the name of Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us without fail, and speaks truth to us even when our unbridled fear whispers to us that your promises are somehow less. Praised be your name for the faith you have instilled in us, and your grace that covers us. Help us pray with certainty, and then comfortably leave our troubles and needs with you. Wash us in the blood of Jesus to remove our sins, and in this way make us worthy to be in your presence. Hear our prayers as we pray them in your will, and speak them in the name of Jesus. Call us your sons and daughters, and seat us at your table forevermore. Know that we love you Father, and that we wish to worship you for all eternity. You are our strong tower, and our eternal hope in prayer.
Rich Forbes