2 Kings 5-8, Harmonious Orchestration

 “And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My Lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.””

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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God’s ability to orchestrate dozens of moments illustrates how He is sovereign over everything.  How comforting to know that God is perfectly weaving this tapestry of life.  Every interaction is used for His purposes.  Lord, help me trust that You are at work and leading even the moments that I hate, to Your glory and my good!

1 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 17, Seek God

 “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Seeking the Lord is right in every moment of life.  Attempting to know Him and to love Him more intensively will always produce further sanctification.  Obedience is part of seeking and especially when temptation is at hand following His direction is great evidence of our love.

Lord, strengthen my heart to seek you every moment of every day!  I want to know You and serve You alone…

John 20:19-23, Peace & Confidence

“When it was evening on that first day of the week,  the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”   Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

‭‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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In the midst of fear, chaos and confusion, Jesus often steps in and His first words are “don’t be afraid, be filled with peace”.  What a comfort it is knowing that the God of the universe is here with me at every moment. If I behaved as if that were true, I would never have fear or anxiety.

Lord, help me to live my life in a way that reflects this truth!  Forgive me for ignoring You at times and being filled with selfish thoughts and chasing after my own ideas.  Allow me to trust You fiercely!

John 11:1-16, Gods Plan!?!

So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 

When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. 

So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬-‭6‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This narrative shows that Gods ways are not our ways!  His plans are always deeper and more profitable than my small mind can comprehend.  I would have wanted Jesus to heal my brother before he died…that would have avoided so much pain and sadness.  That is what I want after all…minimum pain, minimum sadness, minimum suffering.  When those things are increased, I am tempted to feel like God isn’t there, or at least He is not helping.

Yet this passage tells us that sometimes God allows things we would never choose because He LOVES us!  He knows our hearts need to see the impossible so that we can trust Him even more.

Lord, admittedly, I don’t like this strategy…help me to trust Your plan, because I know You ALWAYS do what is BEST for me.

John 1:19-28, Reflect Christ

“This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?””

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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John lived his life in a unique way and people noticed he was different.  It was obvious there was something different about him and his message.  This caused people to go to him to ask the question, what’s the story John?

My life should also look different from the people around me…it should be obvious that I have the hope of Jesus.

Lord, I don’t want to be a freak, but I pray that people would want to know about You because of what they see in my life.  Help me to live vibrantly so that anyone who interacts with me sees You reflected in my words and actions!

Proverbs 25- Speaking What, When

“A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples in silver settings. A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, you have given me a ministry that relies heavily upon speaking into challenging situations to people who are hurt/hurting.  Let me depend solely on Your Spirit to know the appropriate timing and what to say so that they may benefit and You are glorified!

Psalms 119:169-176…Stupid Sheep

 “Let my cry reach you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. Let my plea reach you; rescue me according to your promise. My lips pour out praise, for you teach me your statutes. My tongue sings about your promise, for all your commands are righteous. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, Lord, and your instruction is my delight. Let me live, and I will praise you; may your judgments help me. I wander like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commands.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭169‬-‭176‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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“ I wander like a lost sheep; seek your servant”…

Lord sometimes I feel as if I am wondering around aimlessly, give me a clear purpose and direction. I know you have given me general guidance, and I will continue to do those things, but I need you to draw near to me and lead me clearly…I too easily miss your leading as I get distracted by every tasty patch of grass.  Help me to hear your voice and be delighted in your presence and purpose alone!

Psalm 44- Gods Story

 ”God, we have heard with our ears — our ancestors have told us — the work you accomplished in their days, in days long ago: In order to plant them, you displaced the nations by your hand; in order to settle them, you brought disaster on the peoples. For they did not take the land by their sword — their arm did not bring them victory — but by your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable toward them. You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭44‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This psalm is all about Gods people’s frustration that He is not taking care of them like they expect.  They are in a tough spot and feel like God should be doing something to help them.  So here is how they start: remembering all the work He has done in the past…giving God credit for every past victory.

I was impacted by this first section because the pull for me is so strong to want to do something great for the Lord.  After only three weeks in a slower paced job I am chomping at the bit to do more.  My temptation is to think that God made me to do more, to feel like I should be using all the skills He gave me to do something amazing!  That idea is so praised in my culture and I value it highly.  When I read this today the portions in italics were shouting to me.  Read it again:

”God, we have heard with our ears — our ancestors have told us — the work you accomplished in their days, in days long ago: In order to plant them, you displaced the nations by your hand; in order to settle them, you brought disaster on the peoples. For they did not take the land by their sword — their arm did not bring them victory — but by your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable toward them. You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob.“

All of the “You’s” in there are talking about God…I don’t see any the talked about them (or me)…God was doing all the amazing things!

Lord, help me to rest in You and be a player in Your story.  It really is about You, and You have brought me in to be Your tool.  Allow me to play a part in bringing You glory, but use me in whatever way is best to honor You.  I’ll be waiting here for you to call me into whatever that may be…and I bet You won’t use my strength, but rather my weakness.

Psalm 16- Abundant Joy & Eternal Pleasure

 ”Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬-‭6‬, ‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What a subtle and encouraging Psalm!  David has such peace and confidence in how the Lord has blessed him.  Even more wonderful is that the blessing is not because of great wealth or other physical things: it is God Himself.  In Christ, as followers of Jesus, we get that same blessing, God the Holy Spirit dwells within us!!!

The next line is what blows me away! My “boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”… We all understand that God has given us rules and guidelines in which to live out our life.  Many times those rules are opposite of what we naturally desire, sometimes they are frustrating but in the end make sense, occasionally we are totally on board with them.  But what David is saying is that all of those rules, when we live surrendered to them, are joyful and bring great pleasure!

I feel like I can wholly agree with David on this statement for the first time in my life!  Previously, I found many of the rules made sense but I lived with a constant dissatisfaction and I couldn’t experience this “abundant joy” or “eternal pleasure” David was talking about…only in the last year have I experience these incredible promises to the fullest extent!  The missing piece was surrender.  Surrender is having a confidence in God to do what is best in your life while not trying to control the details.

Lord, I can confidently repeat David’s sentiments “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”. Help me to stay surrendered in every part of life so that I can continue to live today in your abundant joy and eternal pleasures!

Amos 7- Gods Calling

 ”So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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We finally learn some details about who Amos is as people are getting frustrated with what he is telling them. What stands out to me is that he was faithfully doing his job (shepherd and farmer) when God asked him to do some thing else.  He wasn’t angling for a different job or efforting toward it…but God sought him out and gave him a new responsibility…a crappy responsibility for sure, but he was confident in his calling.

I have never been able to understand how to do this well.  I still don’t know what this should look like in my own life…most of the changes in my life were to some degree, worked toward.  I put effort toward making something happen.  I wanted something and decided to put all my effort into making it happen…and it usually did…bet rarely turned out the way I had planned…often times it was worse than expected or a complete disaster!

Lord, I don’t know where the line is for what You want me to do vs what I want me to do.  Please align my will with Yours, line up my desires with Yours, shape me into who You want me to be.  God pluck me out of faithfully doing the work you have given me and assign me a task for Your glory.  Let it be fully Your hand, Your guidance, Your will…and give me patience in the meantime!

Acts 17- Made to Seek God

²⁴ The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;  
²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 
²⁶ and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 
²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

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Let me remove some of the description to help you see what jumped out at me:

²⁴ The God who made the world and all things in it, ...²⁶  He made ... every nation of mankind...²⁷ that they would seek God,...

We all are chasing after something to fill that emptiness we feel.  Even when we know the truth of what Christ has done to restore relationship with the God of the Universe, we get distracted.  The Enemy of our soul and our fleshly desires come to us with an imitation of what only God can fully provide.  In our weakness we allow that temptation to capture out attention, which only draws us away from relationship with God.

We can see this most clearly as we look at our lost world.  Their seeking God often looks like lust, greed, power or sometimes being a savior to someone, or something else, anything that will give us purpose...

God, I pray that my life, my words and actions would be a lighthouse for You!  Use me to draw the lost and the distracted back to you...