Jeremiah 32-34, Nothing’s Impossible

 ““Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭32‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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What a delight to remember that nothing is impossible for God.  So many things around me seem broken beyond repair but God is bigger than all of them!  The damage and destruction that people cause themselves are the raw material of Gods handiwork.

Lord, help me to believe that is true…restore my faith in Your purposes.  Lord would You be glorified by putting every piece in place and drawing each person back to close relationship with You!

Isaiah 19-22, Wrong Strength

 “He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭22‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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The people of Jerusalem in this prophecy were excellent planners and strategists!  They made sacrifices and rightly prioritized their defenses and future survival…in other words they did all the right things!!! But they failed to seek Gods help…and for that one simple reason, they were destroyed.

Lord, how many times is that me?  Please help me to turn to You first!  In small decisions and trivial things so that I never miss out on Your help and guidance.  I know that You should always be the first line of action, rather than what I am tempted to do…accomplish everything I can think of, then ask God to bless my plan.  How foolish!?!

Chronicles 3-5, Trust God

 “They received help against these enemies because they cried out to God in battle, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them.  He was receptive to their prayer because they trusted in him. ”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Even in this boring list of names, we are told of a group of people who trusted God and defeated their enemies because they turned to Him in prayer.  God listened and acted on their behalf for one reason: they trusted in Him!  Not trusting in themselves, their skill, their numbers or their strength…they trusted God!  Lord, I pray that my words, actions and motives reflect that I trust You in every moment of my life…

Psalms 43-45, 49, 84-85, 87- Trust Worthy

 “Through you we drive back our foes; through your name we trample our enemies. For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory. But you give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced. We boast in God all day long; we will praise your name forever. Selah”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭44‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, sometimes it is so easy to trust in the skill You have given or the blessings You provide…remind me that those are not mine and that You are the only one worthy of trust.  Help me to trust in You alone!

Deuteronomy 28-29, Blessing vs Curse

“Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name, and they will stand in awe of you. ”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭28‬:‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Both following the Lord or rejection the Lord bring about the same result: People will recognize that God is doing something and His name will be exalted!  But the experience of His people will be vastly different…incredible blessing versus unimaginable suffering!

That is a no-brained for me…follow God and experience blessing!  Lord, help me to lay down every decision as a living sacrifice asking the question: “what does God want me to do in this scenario, right now?”  Then do that and only that!

Numbers 21-22, Infinitely Better

 “The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” ”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭21‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The snake on a pole is clearly an image of Jesus on the cross.  Anyone who has faith to believe and follows through with looking to the snake is healed.  Poking toward the image of the very thing that cursed them … 

We are required to look at our curse too,  Jesus took on the curse of our sin on the cross, and our salvation is from believing Him and confronting the penalty that we deserve…

Lord, I need more faith to trust You, because so many times my temptations seem better than chasing You!  What a lie!!! Help me to see through it and know the truth that You are infinitely better!!!

Numbers 11-13, Sovereign Orchestration

“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. 

But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers, yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 

The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak? , Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭18‬, ‭21‬, ‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Everyone was complaining against God…asking for more than they were given and God responds by providing superabundantly in an impossible way.  This was also a tragic moment, because the complainers died after seeing Gods provision and even Moses didn’t believe God could follow through on His promise.

When do I view God as incapable or unable?  What an insult, a slap in the face to the One who created the universe, planned salvation and has always provided abundantly for my every need!  Lord, strengthen my faith to never doubt Your ability to accomplish Your will.  Your arm is not weak, but powerful. Your Sovereignty is over every detail and You personally weave every scenario to perfectly accomplish what is best for us all.  Help me to never doubt your power or love for me!!!

Leviticus 26-27, Obedience = Flourishing

 “For the land abandoned by them will make up for its Sabbaths by lying desolate without the people, while they make amends for their iniquity, because they rejected my ordinances and abhorred my statutes. Yet in spite of this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or abhor them so as to destroy them and break my covenant with them, since I am the Lord their God.  For their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God; I am the Lord.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭43‬-‭45‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God cares so much about us living according to His plan, that He tells them that they will suffer if they don’t obey…but He will not completely destroy them.  He will remember the promises and restore them after they have endured suffering.  Remember this suffering is only intended to bring them back to their senses and finally obey Him.

Seems like the best way is just to obey from the start so that we don’t have to also endure more suffering…why is that so challenging for some of us?

Lord, build my faith so that I can trust You...  So that I can fully believe that in EVERY situation Your ways are best and literally bring flourishing to me.

Leviticus 24-25, Promised Provision

 ““You are to keep my statutes and ordinances and carefully observe them, so that you may live securely in the land.  Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat, be satisfied, and live securely in the land. If you wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we don’t sow or gather our produce? ’ I will appoint my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭25‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Gods promise of provision is amazing here.  It is dependent on following Gods instruction, but results in supernatural harvest that will carry them through obedience to sabbath the land.

When we worry about living the way God commands we are demonstrating our trust in our own abilities rather than trusting what He says.  Whatever He calls us to, He will provide sufficiently.

Lord, help me to follow You without fear, knowing that You will provide for all of my needs!

Leviticus 1-4, Sinful Ignorance

 ““Now if any of the common people  sins unintentionally by violating one of the Lord’s commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt, or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed. He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭4‬:‭27‬-‭29‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Interesting that there is a whole chapter dedicated to sacrificing for people who unintentionally sin, but someone tells them about it.  Obviously when it domes to sin, ignorance is not absolution…you are still guilty of sin if it had been committed!  This is an example where Gods standards are so much higher than ours.

I am so thankful that God points this out, because I think it is easy to slip into shrinking God down to our size, or making Him like us, only a little better…but there really is no comparison!  He is incomparable to us, just so much higher and more holy.

Lord, thank You for caring enough about me to make a way for relationship with You.  And thank You that because of Jesus, the process is so much simpler.  Lord, help me to trust You at every moment of life!

Genesis 48-50, Faith & Patience

 “Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die,  but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land he swore to give to Abraham,  Isaac,  and Jacob.”  So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.” ”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Joseph was in Egypt at least 90yrs…the Israelites would be there another 300 before God comes to save them.  That is such a long time to have faith, to trust that God is at work.

Lord, build my faith to trust that You are at work especially when You are slower than I would want.

Genesis 46-47, Supernatural Provision

 “Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.  

…Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph made the people servants from one end of Egypt to the other.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭47‬:‭11‬-‭12‬, ‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The stark comparison between how God treated the family of Israel to the people of Egypt is amazing.  Gods hand of provision was on His chosen people even through the most severe drought that literally enslaved the people of Egypt.

Gods protection for His people is incredible but also in an unexpected way.  I can’t help but see similar assistance from God in ways that seem to be trials or at very least confusing situations.  Things that don’t make sense in the moment, but further down the road are obviously Gods handiwork.

God, your protection and provision are obvious and we are blessed by all of it!  Help me to see your fingerprints even in the chaos, or give me faith when your work isn’t so obvious!

Genesis 32-34, Reminders of Faithfulness

 “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. Please rescue me from my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.’

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭32‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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These moments come up quite often where people are, in humility, reminding God of His past promises.  It is interesting because God doesn’t need the reminders, it’s almost as if they are reminding themselves (and the reader) to bluster their own faith.

This is actually the same strategy we can use to build our faith in God as well.  Reminding ourselves of what promises are shown for us in scripture as well as remembering Gods past faithfulness in our own life.  These memories demonstrate Gods character and scream to us that He can be trusted!

Lord, help me to purposefully think on Your demonstrated faithfulness in my life and the people I know.  Help me to meditate on scripture so that Your faithfulness is always on the front of my mind.  In these ways, fight against my inclination to forget and start to lean on my own abilities…

Genesis 30-31, Injustice Overridden

 “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, certainly now you would have sent me off empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and my hard work,  and he issued his verdict last night.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭31‬:‭42‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What a story that rages against our modern morality! Every twist and turn seems marred by sketch activity…but God shows that he is looking out for the underdog.  He is caring for the weaker and the oppressed.  He sees all the mistreatment and injustice going on and reaches into the situation to help.

Lord, help me to live this characteristic to reflect You.  Show me when I am taking advantage of a situation selfishly and help me to graciously bless others instead.

Lord also build my faith to trust you when I am in a situation where I feel like I am not being treated fairly.  Remind me that You are over all things and have my good and Your glory in mind at every turn!

Genesis 12-15, “Helping” God

 “When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live.  Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I wish that Abram’s actions to “help” God were less familiar.  I feel like I default to attempting to accomplish “Gods will” in my life…looking for ways to force things to work out in a way that gets me what I want.  It’s sad to look back and see how common this has been for me.

Lord, thank You for helping me to see this pattern of faithlessness.  Thank You for gently correcting me and removing my blinders.  Help me to trust You to accomplish Your will…give me patience to wait for Your perfect timing and Your plan. Build my faith in You, and You alone!

Job 40-42, Sovereign

 “I  know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. ”

‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I am so thankful for this truth about God!  All things are within Gods ability to accomplish, and nothing can stop His plans.  This is such an encouraging reminder because oftentimes I look around at the trial I am in and my own worry shouts that I am in trouble, because things look hopeless.  But in this worry and fear I am acting like God is powerless…how foolish!

Lord, build my faith in You and my confidence in Your plan!  Remind me of all the ways you have been faithful in the past!!!

Job 38-39, Purposefully Limited

 “Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words?  Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question  you, you will inform me.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭38‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Just like the thunderstorm reminds us of our small place, Gods questions to Job remind him of his smallness.  It’s as if God were demonstrating Jobs ignorance…

Lord, the humility of humanity means we are limited.  Help me to embrace who You created me to be, including my limitations, weakness and failures…

Job 17-20, Truth vs Feelings

 “But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust.  Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh.  I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger.  My heart longs within me.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭19‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The confidence that Job has that he will see his Redeemer even after he dies is encouraging.  It is easy to despair of all the truth you know when you are in the midst of a trial, yet that doesn’t change God or who He is.

Lord help me to rest in You when trials come.  Allow your eternal truth, the Word of God, to be the thing that I believe, rather than the feelings that fade and change.

Job 1-5, Trustworthy God

 “However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and would present my case to him. He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. 

See how happy is the person whom God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal. ”

‭‭Job‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jobs destruction is so complete and unimaginable!  I really hate it…his friends have a couple helpful things to say: “go talk to God about this!”

I am so thankful, that God does not shy away from hard conversations with us.  He doesn’t pretend like everything is fine…at the same time, He doesn’t always give us the answers that we want to hear.  Yet we can be confident that He does all things for our ultimate good.

Lord, help me to trust You in every situation, especially when I cannot see the why or the end result.  You have proven Yourself to be faithful thousands of times in scripture and dozens of times in my life.  Give me the strength to have an immovable faith in You!

John 21:20-25, Do YOU Believe?

“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. ”

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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John was selective about what he wrote because he was telling a story about the greatest man to ever live…a story that would be compelling and force the reader to deal with the truth about God.  The undeniable truth is that Jesus was a real person, He performed miracles that are not possible even today, He loved people as if they were His family even when they were against Him, and He spoke with authority, clarity and conviction like nobody in history. Then, He died, punished as a criminal for you and me, and miraculously came back to life.

All of these things were undeniable.  The people who witnessed them could have torn down these as lies when they were written if that was the case…but they didn’t because it is all true.

So, the question is: will you believe?  Or will you reject Jesus love for you?  That is the only question that matters…