Date:
Tuesday,
June 23, 2015
Chapters: Psalms 74-77
Message Title: Making U-Turns In Life
Hello My Friend,
As Christians, it can be hard to find purpose or meaning to the constant disappointments in life as well as the struggles we face. Sometimes we get a glimpse of something coming from the hand of God and we are eager, we talk to Him a little more, praise Him a little more, and get a little pep to our step as we see our prayers being answered right between our eyes. Then all of a sudden we hit a complete stop and not only that, make a u-turn, and find ourselves questioning whether it was God in the first place. Can I tell you that God does answer our prayers, and He does better than we even anticipate. It is the devil that places doubt in our heads and makes that u-turn in the first place. We can stop the devil in his tracks by remembering all that God has done for while we are waiting for Him to answer that specific prayer. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” - Colossians 3:15-17.
Sometimes when we hit a u-turn it can seem as though God is angry with us, that we must be doing something wrong. We call out to Him all day long and are still no closer to figuring it out, and it can seem as though He does not even hear us. We can learn a lot from the Psalms in seeking some sort of understanding from God. “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” - Psalms 74:1-4,9-12.
Quite often the reason for the u-turn may have nothing to do with us, but those around us. Perhaps God is trying to reach someone or many people through us and the only way He can do it is by flipping things around on us. I know it can seem mean and cruel sometimes, but think about this, where would we be if we were the ones doing what they are doing. Christ turned our lives around, and somehow others have gotten away from Him and are struggling, they need us to show them that He has not left them. Once we see that we are not doing anything wrong and stop condemning ourselves we will see things improve for us. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” - 1 Peter 4:14-16.
Did you ever make a wrong turn and found yourself way out of your way, you have to make a u-turn to go back in the right direction? This is what happens when we try to over analyze things. We must realize that the more we question ourselves and keep questioning God, the further we are going to get from our destination. “Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.” - Psalms 76:7-11.
Presents, you know we can give tithes, offerings, and all sorts of things to show God that we love Him and are thankful for all that He has given us thus far, but the one gift He longs for is to be feared. Fearing God means to honor and respect Him, to trust and believe that all things work together for good. Until we make that u-turn ourselves and start believing that God hears our prayers and will give us what we are asking, we will start to see things turn back around. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” - Matthew 21:21,22.
Quite often, when things do seem like they are moving further and further away from us that is when we start to cry out to God in a different way, wondering where He is. “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.” - Psalms 77:1-10.
Doubt, this is our infirmity, our sin, and as long as we keep doubting we are not going to see things turn back around. Let me tell you, the devil loves to play with our heads more than anything, he loves to keep us bondage to doubt. It's time we stop doubting God and ourselves, there is a reason why God tells us not to lean on our own understanding, we just keep making it worse. It's time to put away doubt for good and see things turn around, it's time to lean on God's understanding and not our own. Think about this, is what you are seeking from God good for you, is it something that you know has God's hand in it? If you can answer yes to those questions than the hardest part is just waiting once we make our own u-turn back to our trust in God. “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” - Proverbs 3:3-6.
Today's Prayer: God, I admit to You something that You know has been the source of the u-turn, I admit that I let me own understanding come between us. Instead of trusting You when everything was falling into place, I trusted my own reasoning and because of that I am struggling right now. God, I am sorry for over analyzing things, and allowing doubt to control me. Lord, lead me and guide me, revive my spirit and make me whole again. Give me wisdom to know how to turn things around, and let me not make a wrong turn again. Give me Your power to fight off the devil and his constant attempts to keep me from seeing Your hand in answering my prayers exactly as I am asking, and beyond that. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Chapters: Psalms 74-77
Message Title: Making U-Turns In Life
Hello My Friend,
As Christians, it can be hard to find purpose or meaning to the constant disappointments in life as well as the struggles we face. Sometimes we get a glimpse of something coming from the hand of God and we are eager, we talk to Him a little more, praise Him a little more, and get a little pep to our step as we see our prayers being answered right between our eyes. Then all of a sudden we hit a complete stop and not only that, make a u-turn, and find ourselves questioning whether it was God in the first place. Can I tell you that God does answer our prayers, and He does better than we even anticipate. It is the devil that places doubt in our heads and makes that u-turn in the first place. We can stop the devil in his tracks by remembering all that God has done for while we are waiting for Him to answer that specific prayer. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” - Colossians 3:15-17.
Sometimes when we hit a u-turn it can seem as though God is angry with us, that we must be doing something wrong. We call out to Him all day long and are still no closer to figuring it out, and it can seem as though He does not even hear us. We can learn a lot from the Psalms in seeking some sort of understanding from God. “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” - Psalms 74:1-4,9-12.
Quite often the reason for the u-turn may have nothing to do with us, but those around us. Perhaps God is trying to reach someone or many people through us and the only way He can do it is by flipping things around on us. I know it can seem mean and cruel sometimes, but think about this, where would we be if we were the ones doing what they are doing. Christ turned our lives around, and somehow others have gotten away from Him and are struggling, they need us to show them that He has not left them. Once we see that we are not doing anything wrong and stop condemning ourselves we will see things improve for us. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” - 1 Peter 4:14-16.
Did you ever make a wrong turn and found yourself way out of your way, you have to make a u-turn to go back in the right direction? This is what happens when we try to over analyze things. We must realize that the more we question ourselves and keep questioning God, the further we are going to get from our destination. “Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.” - Psalms 76:7-11.
Presents, you know we can give tithes, offerings, and all sorts of things to show God that we love Him and are thankful for all that He has given us thus far, but the one gift He longs for is to be feared. Fearing God means to honor and respect Him, to trust and believe that all things work together for good. Until we make that u-turn ourselves and start believing that God hears our prayers and will give us what we are asking, we will start to see things turn back around. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” - Matthew 21:21,22.
Quite often, when things do seem like they are moving further and further away from us that is when we start to cry out to God in a different way, wondering where He is. “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.” - Psalms 77:1-10.
Doubt, this is our infirmity, our sin, and as long as we keep doubting we are not going to see things turn back around. Let me tell you, the devil loves to play with our heads more than anything, he loves to keep us bondage to doubt. It's time we stop doubting God and ourselves, there is a reason why God tells us not to lean on our own understanding, we just keep making it worse. It's time to put away doubt for good and see things turn around, it's time to lean on God's understanding and not our own. Think about this, is what you are seeking from God good for you, is it something that you know has God's hand in it? If you can answer yes to those questions than the hardest part is just waiting once we make our own u-turn back to our trust in God. “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” - Proverbs 3:3-6.
Today's Prayer: God, I admit to You something that You know has been the source of the u-turn, I admit that I let me own understanding come between us. Instead of trusting You when everything was falling into place, I trusted my own reasoning and because of that I am struggling right now. God, I am sorry for over analyzing things, and allowing doubt to control me. Lord, lead me and guide me, revive my spirit and make me whole again. Give me wisdom to know how to turn things around, and let me not make a wrong turn again. Give me Your power to fight off the devil and his constant attempts to keep me from seeing Your hand in answering my prayers exactly as I am asking, and beyond that. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe: Daily Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?: God's Price
Visit Our Website: I'm Following Jesus
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Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
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