Posts Tagged ‘trust’

Are You Discouraged in Devotion

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Verse: “Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast…and come, follow Me.
– Luke 18:22

Quote: “Our Lord never pleaded, He never cajoled, He never entrapped; He simply spoke the sternest words mortal ears ever listened to, and then left it alone.”

God wants to give you every opportunity possible to live the life He has designed for you, but He is not going to force you to; that does Him no good. He also isn’t going to promise you that everything will be easy for you, because it more than likely is not going to be. God lays out the truth, and lets you decide what to do with it.

Chambers says that if Christ’s words have never pierced you the way they did the rich man from the above verse, then you have probably never heard Christ speak. That is to say that until you are completely His, there is always something in your life that you don’t want to be reminded of, and when a rebuke comes with the undeniable authority of the voice of Christ, it penetrates deep down and shakes you to the core.

The rich man heard the penetrating voice and left discouraged, but Christ knows that His Word never returns void, so He allowed the man to leave. When you feel discouraged, remember that no one lives the life of Christ on their own strength. Give to God all that He asks, and trust that He will get you to where He wants you to be.

The Theology of Rest

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Verse: “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?”
– Matthew 8:26

Quote: “What a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead.”

Sometimes the most painful truth is not that you’ve done something to hurt Jesus, but that you’ve robbed Him of a joy. This quote shoots straight to my heart and reveals an area of my life that needs improvement.

We should have an unwavering confidence in our Lord, and He has a right to expect that from us, especially in prayer. We have to remain sure of God in our trials, or our prayers become quick and panicky like the prayers of the ones who do not know God.

When a crisis arises, you will reveal where your trust lies. Learn to worship God through trust, and rely on Him until the crisis is over.

This Experience Must Come

Monday, August 11th, 2008

Verse: “And he saw him no more.
– 2 Kings 2:12

Quote: “If you want to know whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your Jordan alone.”

The reference to “your Jordan” is from the story that today’s verse is taken out of. In verse 12, Elisha, Elijah’s student, has just witnessed his master being taken up into heaven by fiery chariots and horses. Elisha had witnessed countless miracles during his ministry, but up until now they had all been called upon by Elijah.

Back just a few verses in verse 8, Elijah parted the Jordan so the two of them could pass to the other side. Now Elisha is at the bank of the river without his master, needing to cross. Without hesitating, Elisha calls on the God of his master to part the Jordan and crosses it alone.

It is good to study under strong, Godly people in your life, but there will come a time when you have to face obstacles on your own. Only then will you truly put your faith in God’s omnipotence to the test. If God is the God He claims to be, then you can go through any trial with Him alone. Learn to rely completely on God’s goodness, and nothing this world throws can shake you.

The Sacrament of the Saint

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

Verse: “Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing.
– 1 Peter 4:19

Quote: “To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing.

Suffering by itself is never a good thing—it is the result of the evil that man brought into this world. However, remaining patient during your suffering and continuing to trust God through every situation is a blessed opportunity to glorify the Father.

God doesn’t want to see any of His children suffer, but He does want to see them remain loyal to them in the inevitable darknesses of this life. Don’t look for suffering, but do look for God in your suffering.

The Discipleship of Disillusionment

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Verse: “Jesus did not commit Himself unto them…for He knew what was in man.
 – John 2:24-25

Quote: “Many of the cruel things in life spring from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts; we are true only to our ideas of one another.”

We often demand things from one another that no human being can provide; only Jesus Christ can satisfy the “last aching abyss of the human heart.” Jesus knew precisely what we were capable of, which is why He didn’t trust man. But He also knew what God’s perfect grace was capable of, which is why He never gave up on anyone.

We have to lose the illusions we have that this world exists apart from God, and instead put our trust in His nature and rest in His shadow.

The Notion of Divine Control

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Verse: “How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” – Matthew 7:11

Quote: “Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural.”

Chambers believes Jesus’ emphasis was not on God giving you what you ask for, but that He can give it to you; God is all-powerful.  Always keep your mind on the idea that God is in complete control of your circumstances, and communicate to Him with that understanding.  Don’t ask blindly for everything you want, but out of the knowledge that God knows your situation and knows what’s best for you, and rest in perfect confidence that He will “give good things to them that ask Him.”  If you pray along this line, it may be that what you receive is far greater than what you asked for.

The Will to Loyalty

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Verse: “Choose this day whom ye will serve.” – Joshua 24:15

Quote: “You have no business to find out where God is leading, the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.”

If you choose to serve God, you have to be willing to follow where He leads with no explanation.  If you always knew exactly where He was taking you it would be easy to follow, but He wants you to trust Him knowing that He has your best interest in mind.  Keep your sight on God, not a destination, and allow Him to reveal Himself to you in whatever situation you are in.

Don’t Calculate Without God

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

Verse: “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” – Psalm 37:5

Quote: “The one thing that keeps us from the possibility of worrying is bringing God in as the greatest factor in all our calculations.”

Chambers frequently stays on a specific topic for multiple days in a row, and it almost always coincides with where God is working in my life at the time.  I am now learning that worrying can be a past tense verb too, in the form of regret.  If we commit an area of our life over to God, we should trust that He has taken all variables into account, past, present, and future.  We are here to do God’s work, so trust that as long as He leaves you here, He has work for you and provisions for that work.