|
Special Hymns Edition Devotions
Hind's Feet “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights” (Psalm 18:32-33). Picture the agility, coordination and grace of the mountain goat, and how effortlessly he leaps from one rock to another. This is the strength that the Lord wishes to arm us with. His desire is to make us “sure-footed” so that we can go forward in His strength to the changing terrain of life’s experiences. He makes my way perfect. The rough mountain terrain is perfect for a mountain goat. It provides a complete workout, complete exhilaration, and complete practice for keeping its God-given legs in shape. The “perfection” of our way, our own mountain terrain of challenge is not because the rocks, the boulders and the incline in themselves are the perfect road to walk on, but because HE has given us the perfect “feet” to match the challenge!
Not In Vain “Be steadfast, immovable ... abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians outlines the deep purposes of God for both a heavenly resurrection, and an earthly resurrection. Knowing the far reaching purpose of God to bless our resurrected human family through the heavenly, immortal ministry of reconciliation of Jesus and his Bride, we can continue our work for God daily, wherever He leads us, and whatever he directs us to do. We can continue to respond to the opportunity before us, regardless of the temporary outcome. People may or may not understand our stand. But we still stand for the vision of their blessing, always abounding in the work of the Lord. We may not see the results or fruitage of many of our efforts. We are not wasting our energy on anything that is done for God. All of our God-inspired efforts result in sanctification which prepares us for the role of resurrection blessing. “Nothing you do for him is ever lost or ever wasted” (1
Corinthians 15:58, Phillips). Under
Construction At a construction site, everything is everywhere. The old things are dug up and piled, ready to be hauled away. The new is slow-ly replacing the old. It looks messy. It creates inconvenience. It may be hard to picture the finished project. The project itself may seem overwhelming. Things may seem even worse than before the new construction began. We are a construction site! More than that, we are HIS con-struction site! He never once loses sight of the finished proj-ect (Philippians 1:6). Every step of excavation is planned so that what remains will be stable and unshakeable (Hebrews 12:28). The rubble may surprise us, but He knew all about it before the project was ever implemented and planned for its replacement. “And the house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built” (1 Kings 6:7). All the messy part of preparation will lead to a beautiful final construction in the resurrection of each one of the Lord’s people, fit and refined for glory. May we never let the appearance of impossibility or the messi-ness of the construction site take away our peace. The Master Builder is at work, and His project is going according to plan. The appearance of the mess is merely the necessary process of the Master Builder. There is a sign that He has posted on His construction sites that can be seen by faith, and it reads: Beware of Falling De-bris — Resurrection Power At Work!
And It Was
Good “And God saw the light was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). Through the often tumultuous process of creation God saw “that it was good.” On the seventh day he said it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). His creation did not have to be complete for God to see that it was good. Our challenge is to rest and rejoice in the final outcome, despite the cre-ative chaos of the permission of evil around us and in us. The spirit of God broods and hovers over us, and over all the random appearance of circumstance. We do not have to be at the end of our course for God to rejoice in us as His New Creation. We also can rejoice, aware of our immaturity and unresolved issues, because God is at work (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13). God’s creative “good” reaches beyond the incremental upheavals to the end result of blessing. Lord, teach us to declare by faith in Your creative power, that what we see is good.
Accessible “Be Thou to me a rock of habitation, to which I may continually come; Thou hast given commandment to save me, For Thou art my rock and my fortress.” (Psalm 71:3) He is our rock of habitation, a shelter rock, where shelter can be found.He is continually accessible as our shelter and refuge.He has given His commandment to deliver us, and no force in heaven or earth can resist His command. We have a continual and accessible source of misery. It is our narrow thinking.We have a continual and accessible source of joy and vision. It is our God. Which will I choose to make my dwelling place?
Radiant
Psalm 34:5 “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed” (Psalm 34:4-5). The word ashamed is #2659. It means detection (by prying or delving #2657), to blush, fig. to be ashamed, disappointed, to shame, reproach. Shame comes from the revealing of something that we would rather be hidden or unknown. Disappointment comes from the failure to experience hope, desire, or expectation. When we look to God, our focus becomes HIM instead of preoccupation with our own weaknesses and expectations. The result is radiance, the sparkle of life and joy, and the realization that our deepest needs ARE being met in the best way according to His eternal wisdom. There is no shame when we are living radiantly in His light. Think
Outside the Boat "‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid’." And Peter answered him and said, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ And he said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus" (Matthew 14:27-29). Jesus wants us to do what Peter did, to pray, "Command me to come to you." He wants us to walk over whatever stormy sea that is between us. The word, ‘Come’ gives us confidence. It is his invitation. We can go forward to face any fear or weakness or risk he directs us to in the power of his strength and authority. We know that should we lose our focus and get distracted, he will immediately reach out to us so that we can go forward in faith (Matthew 14:30-31). As
High as the Heavens "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him" (Psalm 103:12). God’s love for us is as great as the distance between the heavens and the earth. How high are the heavens above the earth? The closest cluster of stars to the earth is the Pleiades. The distance to the Pleiades is currently thought to be the higher value of about 135 parsecs (roughly 440 light years). How much do God and Jesus love you? More than 440 light years, more than we can imagine. We are talking about unfathomable distances, and therefore unfathomable depths of divine love and commitment. This unfathomable love will make the reconciliation of Kingdom blessing possible to a world that feels 440 light years away from God. Let's
Say Glory In the midst of a wild prophetic storm, with fierce lightning, trees falling, and the earth shaking ... in His temple all say "Glory." "The LORD sits as King over the flood; The LORD sits as King forever; The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace" (Psalm 29:3-8,9, 10-11). Sometimes our experiences seem like a storm: chaotic, devastating, with seemingly random destructiveness at loose in our lives. When all seems out of control, the truth is that He is in control — sitting, resting in full dominion and power over the flood of trouble, and over all the things that are beyond our control. From His Temple we can cry "Glory" or "Awesome" — even amid the storm, because we have full confidence that His power is over every prophetic or personal storm and because He is committed to bless us with His strength and peace. The
Power of We Wherever we are in our circumstance, a desolate place is irrelevant. What is relevant is WHO is with us in the desolate place. When God and Christ are in the equation — you do the math! Seven loaves and a few fishes can be multiplied by the power of God to feed a multitude of over 4,000. Regardless of the desolate place or the magnitude of the need, the result is great abundance and spiritual provision. "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Unquenchable Hope “But as for me, I will always have hope; But as for me: This is my choice. I will always have hope: This is a declaration of faith. I will have an expectation of the highest good and blessing for all in every situation, in the face of what does not make sense, and in the face of what seems to be impossible odds. I will praise you more and more: My praise for You will grow because each day You reveal Yourself to me and I see more reasons to praise You. though I know not its measure: We do not grasp the measure, the lengths and breadths, the heights and depths of Your salvation and deliverance. Your purpose is being worked out in every detail of human history and in every detail of our lives so that the end result can be blessing. It is beyond our ability to fathom, and therefore there is so much to praise You for.
|