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God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. Psalms 18:32
When life’s challenges seem insurmountable, the Psalmist reminds us that our strength doesn’t come from our own abilities, but from God Himself.
This is hard for us because our society tells us that we are the masters of our own destiny. But in God’s kingdom on earth we rest in his strength. When we feel weak, inadequate, or overwhelmed, we can turn to Him, knowing that He equips us with the strength we need to press on.
The hope we have in Jesus is not just wishful thinking, it’s the anchor of our souls in the midst of life’s storms. He is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. When we place our trust in Him, He guides us through every trial and tribulation. We don’t have to rely on our own wisdom or strength to navigate life’s challenges.
Instead, we can lean on Jesus, knowing that He has already overcome the world. As we surrender our lives to Him, He empowers us to walk in victory, no matter what circumstances we face.
Hold fast to the truth that we can trust in God’s strength to sustain us and His faithfulness to keep our path secure. We can lives in confident hope in the promise that Jesus is with us every step of the way.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts“ Isaiah 55:8-9
We live in age where knowledge is increasing at an amazing rate. According to one study, the rate of ‘knowledge volume’ increases every 12 hours, compared to doubling every 25 years in 1945! That boggles my mind!
One of my favorite movies is Apollo 13. It’s amazing to realize that crisis happened before computers as we know them. My cell phone has more power than anything they had back then, yet they put men on the moon!
While the increase of knowledge on the human realm is amazing, what’s more amazing is that no matter how much knowledge we gain on the human level, nothing compares to the knowledge God has.
When Job was questioning why God had allowed his trials, God responded with several questions for Job to answer. Job was speechless as he thought of the immensity of God’s knowledge and power. People have been trying to figure God out since we left the Garden of Eden and with all the knowledge we’ve gained since then, we are no closer to understanding the immensity of our God.
Psalms 135:6 reminds us that “The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.”
We can question, but we may never understand. God will do as he pleases. His actions may never be understood. But his plan is always for our good. Rather than trying to understand God, work to know Him better. Rather than question what you are going through, seek to see what you can learn.
His methods may not be pleasant, but the results will eventually work out for your good.
But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 1 Peter 3:16
We live in a world of fear. Fear shows itself in a variety of ways. Hate, hopelessness, Anger, frustration, despair,, revenge and confusion are just a few ways we deal with our fear.
Most times, if not always, fear happens because the things being done to us, or the things happening around us are out of our control. Our reaction to fear is often an attempt to regain control.
When you believe in a Sovereign God, and live in that truth you are, in a very real sense, giving up that control because you realize your God is in ultimate control. Because of faith you can relinquish control to a loving, sovereign God.
Another thing happens when you live in the shadow of a sovereign God, your hope and faith is seen by those around you, and quite frankly it’s a little hard for them to figure out!
Peter writes to a people in perilous times. In his day, there was open season on Christ-followers. Yet he encourages them to live in faith and hope, and when others question us about our hope we are called on to answer in a respectful, gentle way. No judgment. No hellfire and brimstone. No verbal abuse. Peter was a firey guy. Yet he calls us to gentleness, as does Paul and Jesus.
Our hope will speak more loudly when we live lives in gentleness and respect. Remember, it’s God’s Spirit that wins people to Jesus, not clever arguments, judgmental attitudes or anger.
Author Jerry Bridges states, “Both gentleness and meekness are born of power, not weakness. There is a pseudo-gentleness that is effeminate, and there is a pseudo-meekness that is cowardly. But a Christian is to be gentle and meek because those are Godlike virtues… We should never be afraid, therefore, that the gentleness of the Spirit means weakness of character. It takes strength, God’s strength, to be truly gentle.”
Ask Holy Spirit to guide you into gentleness.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Romans 5:2
For those of us who grew up in the church we have no doubt memorized or at least heard sermons on the beauty and grace promised in Romans 5:1, ”Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.“
All of grace is shown in that one verse. There are so many times though, that we tend to focus on one great truth and miss an even greater truth in the context of that verse.
While Romans 5:1 looks back at what Jesus did for us and what we have as a result, a greater nugget of truth may be found in the very next verse.
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we have the privilege of sharing in God’s glory. God’s Glory is a difficult concept to define or comprehend in our human minds. John Piper says, “So, here is an attempt at a definition: the glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections.”
This verse is so full of implications. First of all, because of Jesus and God’s Holy Spirit indwelling us, we are able to get a fuller grasp of how truly great our God is. As we grow closer to Him, we stand in awe of Him. We are His Temple, His dwelling place. Like some grand architect, we stand as a testament to His greatness. God communicates his greatness through us because we are His image-bearers.
But wait, there’s more! While we can’t fully grasp that in our human minds, (face it, I don’t do well at reflecting God’s glory most if not all the time) we have the promise that the glory of God is a promise we claim now and cash in in eternity.
Spend some time thinking of the Glory of God. Think about His power, about the intricacies of nature, the beauty of a sunset or sunrise. The wonder of life itself. How can you reflect that glory today through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit?
Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Ephesians 6:7
Let’s be honest. Even if you love your job, we all have those days when we just want to quit and retire to some deserted island.
This is especially true for those of us blessed with the opportunity to work with people. I say that with all sincerity. I love people. I love to hear their stories. I love when I can see a light in their eyes that says ‘they get it’, that I’ve made a difference.
But if you work with people, or even just live with people, I think you will agree that sometimes we can all be, well, difficult! People can be critical of our most sincere efforts if those efforts don’t meet their expectations. People can throw you under the bus when they want to protect themselves. People can scrutinize your words when they doubt your integrity.
Charlie Brown, the great philosopher in Charles Schultz’s ‘Peanuts Comic Strip’ is accused by his nemesis Lucy of hating mankind. Charlie replies by saying, “I love mankind, IT’S PEOPLE I CAN’T STAND!” I think we can all relate.
Some of us have been stomped on, misrepresented, criticized when we’ve done our best and taken advantage of. Sometimes, sad to say, this is all done in the name of Jesus!
So, how do we get beyond the feelings of rejection leveled against us? Paul gives us an idea. When we ‘work with people’ in whatever capacity we are subject to their opinions and standards.
The attitude we each must take is to remember we work ‘with’ people but we work ‘for’ Jesus. When we work for Jesus it’s a different story. He’s the one that created you. He’s the one that empowers you through His Holy Spirit. He’s the one that gave His life so you could live yours.
So, let me suggest that starting today you quit working for people and start working for Jesus. His expectations of you are that you will fail even on your best days. His requirements are to love Him. His promise is to never leave you hanging. And He’ll never throw you under the next bus!
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 