Date:
Tuesday,
June 09, 2015
Chapters: Psalms 9-14
Message Title: Questions For God
Hello My Friend,
From time to time even faithful Christians go through things that have us asking God, “Why is this happening?”. We must realize that it is okay to ask God questions, He wants us to ask Him questions. As we draw closer to Him through our trials, we not only get a better insight spiritually, we also find comfort in His answers to our questions, even if we still do not understand. What we are to never do is question God. While we may not understand what is going on, He does, and sometimes the best answer is just knowing that we have God with us. “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” - Ephesians 3:11-14.
David had his share of ups and downs before and after he was king, and while he knew that God was always with him, he still wondered where he was sometimes. “Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.” - Psalms 10:1-6,12.
It may seem as though God is far away and no where to be found sometimes, but that's actually when He is working hard at preparing us for the things that we have been waiting so long for. When we trust Him and remain faithful to Him in the midst of our afflictions, that is when we can expect Him to do great things, even if we have given up. I stopped praying on a particular matter because I was convinced that it was not in His will to give it to me, and now, here I am seeing this answer to prayer unfold before my eyes. Quite often, God waits until we are ready to receive what we really desire before He even reveals that He hears our prayer about the matter. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:8-10.
We cannot always run from conflicts, but we can stand firm in our faith. David's friends advised him to flee to the mountainous parts of the land of Judah to escape the danger which was threatening him. While David often did ask God where He was, he stood his ground and still trusted that God would work things out eventually. “In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” - Psalms 11:1-4.
There is not one Christian that does not go to God at one point and say, “Where are you God? I am in trouble and I need Your help.” All the time they are wondering why they are being persecuted for trying to do the right things when others who do wrong keep getting everything they want. “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.” - Psalms 12:1-5.
While it may look like God is afar, He really is close by and there will come a time when they will fall. I will never forget a quote from George Muller, “The Christian life will never be as pretty as we fantasize that it will be, but it is a life of victory.” We may not see it right now, but one day we will see the victory, and it will be something that will last forever, that is not something that the wicked will be able to say. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” - 1 John 5:3-5.
David's faith in God was often like ours, up and down like a roller coaster, one minute he had complete faith that God would deliver him from his problems, the next he was asking God why He forgot Him. Although his faith went up and down He still trusted Him. “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” - Psalms 13.
Our faith in God is never constant, but we do not need gigantic faith, we just need to have faith, in fact, all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed to see God move mountains. Trusting God is putting that little bit of faith that we have left only in Him, and that is all we need to see Him give us victory over our afflictions. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” - Hebrews 11:6.
Today's Prayer: God, Just today I praised You for giving me the talents that I have, let me never forget that all the talents I have come from You and are to be used for Your glory. Thank You for all that You do to keep me safe, protected, and provided for. Let me never forget that, even when You seem far away, because I know that You are always near. When people try to tempt, try, or test my faithfulness to You, give me Your power, strength, and wisdom to remain true and not puff up their egos. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Chapters: Psalms 9-14
Message Title: Questions For God
Hello My Friend,
From time to time even faithful Christians go through things that have us asking God, “Why is this happening?”. We must realize that it is okay to ask God questions, He wants us to ask Him questions. As we draw closer to Him through our trials, we not only get a better insight spiritually, we also find comfort in His answers to our questions, even if we still do not understand. What we are to never do is question God. While we may not understand what is going on, He does, and sometimes the best answer is just knowing that we have God with us. “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” - Ephesians 3:11-14.
David had his share of ups and downs before and after he was king, and while he knew that God was always with him, he still wondered where he was sometimes. “Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.” - Psalms 10:1-6,12.
It may seem as though God is far away and no where to be found sometimes, but that's actually when He is working hard at preparing us for the things that we have been waiting so long for. When we trust Him and remain faithful to Him in the midst of our afflictions, that is when we can expect Him to do great things, even if we have given up. I stopped praying on a particular matter because I was convinced that it was not in His will to give it to me, and now, here I am seeing this answer to prayer unfold before my eyes. Quite often, God waits until we are ready to receive what we really desire before He even reveals that He hears our prayer about the matter. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:8-10.
We cannot always run from conflicts, but we can stand firm in our faith. David's friends advised him to flee to the mountainous parts of the land of Judah to escape the danger which was threatening him. While David often did ask God where He was, he stood his ground and still trusted that God would work things out eventually. “In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” - Psalms 11:1-4.
There is not one Christian that does not go to God at one point and say, “Where are you God? I am in trouble and I need Your help.” All the time they are wondering why they are being persecuted for trying to do the right things when others who do wrong keep getting everything they want. “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.” - Psalms 12:1-5.
While it may look like God is afar, He really is close by and there will come a time when they will fall. I will never forget a quote from George Muller, “The Christian life will never be as pretty as we fantasize that it will be, but it is a life of victory.” We may not see it right now, but one day we will see the victory, and it will be something that will last forever, that is not something that the wicked will be able to say. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” - 1 John 5:3-5.
David's faith in God was often like ours, up and down like a roller coaster, one minute he had complete faith that God would deliver him from his problems, the next he was asking God why He forgot Him. Although his faith went up and down He still trusted Him. “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” - Psalms 13.
Our faith in God is never constant, but we do not need gigantic faith, we just need to have faith, in fact, all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed to see God move mountains. Trusting God is putting that little bit of faith that we have left only in Him, and that is all we need to see Him give us victory over our afflictions. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” - Hebrews 11:6.
Today's Prayer: God, Just today I praised You for giving me the talents that I have, let me never forget that all the talents I have come from You and are to be used for Your glory. Thank You for all that You do to keep me safe, protected, and provided for. Let me never forget that, even when You seem far away, because I know that You are always near. When people try to tempt, try, or test my faithfulness to You, give me Your power, strength, and wisdom to remain true and not puff up their egos. 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
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
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