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Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:9 (NIV)
“Don’t you know me?”
The words are stunning really. It’s a phrase that hurts both the one saying it and the one to whom it’s directed. After all this time we’ve spent together, you don’t know me? After going through all these struggles, you haven’t noticed? I’ve walked by your side. I’ve eaten with you.
When you were sick I comforted you; when you were scared I held your hand; when you were confused, I gave you direction; when you were frustrated, I encouraged you. I stood up for you when you were under attack; I picked you up when you fell; I held the light when the path was dark and an umbrella when it rained.
Like Philip, each of us can get so used to the ‘idea’ of Jesus we tend to really appreciate who he is and what he does for us on a daily basis. Do you KNOW Jesus? Meditate on that question for a moment.
I know the guy at the coffee shop where I get coffee every morning. I know my neighbor across the street. I know the person in the next cubicle at work. But the way I know each of them is completely different from the way I know my wife, or she knows me. After being together all these years it still amazes us how we will be ‘lost in thought’ and blurt out the same idea. Completely random thoughts? Yes, but we know each other so well we often know exactly where our thought processes are going.
But even the intimacy and comfort of knowing my wife as well as I do is nothing compared to how Jesus knows me. Those thoughts I can’t put into words? He knows them. Those fears and doubts I don’t dare tell anyone? He understands.
And during those times when I feel too weak to go on, he turns to me and asks, “Don’t you know me?” Do you remember the storms I’ve calmed, the sick I’ve healed, the broken hearts I’ve mended? I haven’t changed. My love for you is, as it has always been. My power is available to you just as it was to the blind man, the crippled, and a bunch of fishermen being tossed wildly in the boat.
Do you know Jesus? Do you know the Jesus that is ready and willing to walk through the tempest with you? It’s much more than getting acquainted. It’s a life-long journey bathed in prayer and digging deep into his word. Knowing Jesus, really KNOWING him is the best thing for whatever trial you are going through.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m as guilty as Philip of not seeing you for who you really are. I depend on myself when I should depend on you. I doubt when I should trust. I am weak when I should tap into your power. Help me from this day forward to see you as you are. Amen.
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. Psalm 32:6
As I read Psalm 32:6 a picture came into my mind. It was a home video taken during the horrific Japan Tsunami of 2011. As flood waters came into a small seaside village, sirens wailed and residents took shelter on a small hillside, running to the safety afforded them by a single set of stairs. We all watched with amazement and horror as the sea crept down the streets, then gained momentum and began to sweep cars, truck, boats and other debris ahead of it.
The water rose higher and higher, endangering the small group of people taking shelter there. They were safe, but the destruction around them was a stirring testimony to the power of nature and the frailty of life
“Surely, the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them,” is a promise those of us that are believers in Jesus Christ can hold on to. Flood waters will come. Those earthy things we hold dear may be taken from us. Those things that have provided us security may falter or even fail.
Relationships we thought would last a lifetime end in divorce or death or job changes. Careers once though secure will end abruptly. Freedoms we hold so dearly too may be in danger or taken completely from us. The winds of time and age will change the lifescape we have always known.
Those who put their faith completely in God, who trust in Jesus Christ and build their security on the word of God and prayer, need not worry when the flood waters approach. We may lose all of our earthly possessions. We may watch as the world we once knew gets swept away. But our souls remain secure in the promise of Psalm 32:6.
Here’s the true beauty of this promise. Sometimes the flood waters that threaten us are our own doing. Sometimes they are the result of evil in the world. God’s promise of protection isn’t affected by the reason for our struggle. His promises are based on his character and strength, not ours.
When you see those flood waters approaching. When everything you held as secure crumbles or is swept away, remember that the God of the universe has promised to be a refuge from which the raging waters of the sea can not reach you.
PRAYER: Father, we are surrounded by adversity and pain and trials. It seems sometimes as though our hopes and dreams are being swept away in flood of adversity. During those times may we run to you for refuge and strength. We praise you for your promise of ultimate protection. In Jesus name, Amen.
Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord! Psalm 31:24 (AMP)
The amount of courage we have is dependent on what we put our hope in.
If I put my hope in my own ability to follow God I’ll be frustrated. I’m weak. I follow my own desires far too often. Selfishness sneaks up on me at the least likely time. I’m full of lust. My past haunts me.
If I put my hope in relationships I’ll be lonely. People fail us. The promise things, but fail to honor that promise. They all too often put demands on me that I can’t fulfill, or if I do fulfill them to the best of my ability, expect more.
If I put my hope in finances I fall short. Too many times that I have way too much month at the end of the money and if I do have the finances to get what I want, it’s often outdated by the end of the week.
Putting hope in religion is demoralizing. Religion puts far more expectations and demands on me than God would ever do. Churches seem to be ivory palaces full of dead man’s bones. Pretty on the outside but full of politics, judgmental attitudes and hypocritical leaders on the inside.
If I put my hope in living healthy, you know, doing the diet thing, exercising, and all the rest, someone else always seems to be trimmer or enjoying life more than I. And I still get sick. Some of the ‘healthiest people I know’ have suffered from debilitating illnesses or accidents that have robbed them of life.
Maybe you have felt some of the feelings listed above. Your strength to go on seems to have left you. Increased effort has only brought increased frustration and feelings of failure. It doesn’t have to be that way.
If we put our hope in God’s hands our frustration turns to a realization that our success has never been dependent on our ability. God has never put much hope in our ability to follow his rules, that’s why he offers me Jesus. That’s why he offers me forgiveness and grace.
He’s never measured our success by the amount of money in our bank account or the number of friends we have on social networking sites. He’s never demanded anything that he doesn’t first give us the ability to follow through on. He knows your heart. He knows your deepest fears. He knows your past and wants to walk with you into the future.
Losing hope? Frustrated? Worried? Tired of losing sleep. Have courage based on a loving forgiving God. Worship and praise him for fact that he has reached down to give you peace through his son Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Father God, there are many things that scare me today. I have lots of worries; lots of fears; failure seems to follow me wherever I go. Thank you that I can find my hope and rest in you. Help me have courage through your son Jesus Christ. Amen.
You have turned my sorrow into joyful dancing. No longer am I sad and wearing sackcloth. I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises, my Lord and my God. Psalm 30:11-12 (CEV)
A prayer of Praise and Worship:
Heavenly Father,
I come to you today in worship and praise for all you have done for me. I thank you that during those darkest times of my life, those times when I couldn’t feel your presence at all, I know you were there. I praise you for protecting me from my own decisions, and the evil actions of those around me.
I continue to be amazed that you, the Creator God of the universe loves me the way you do; that you have forgiven me of my past, understand the weaknesses that still haunt me, and promise me that my relationship with you will last for eternity because of your Son, Jesus Christ. All, this and because of my position with you, I can call you my daddy.
Like David, I dance before you today. Whether I am in silent worship or a rousing service of praise and worship, my soul dances before you. I can’t contain myself. The praise of my heart finds no words to express themselves. My Spirit will always sing your praise because my worship of you isn’t a time, place or activity. My worship of you is a very part of my essence.
Lord, I am surrounded by many things that still cause me to worry; things that shake my faith at times; actions I take and words I utter that I know are displeasing to you. Forgive me for my weakness. Empower me to praise you during the hard times that still attack me as well as the times of victory and prosperity.
You, O Lord, are my God and I will praise you from the depths of my heart forever and ever. I look forward to the day when my worship is face to face. Amen.
Pray that our Lord will make us strong and give us peace. Psalm 29:11 (CEV)
Psalm 29 speaks to us, to remind us that storms will come into our lives. Sometimes those storms are the result of our own sin and rebellion. Sometimes the winds of the hurricanes that block our paths are the evil actions of abusive people. Whatever their cause we are assured that it’s not a question of ‘if’ storms come, but ‘when’ and how often.
Storms can be physical such as illness, financial ruin, and destruction of our homes, careers or relationships. Perhaps the toughest, scariest storms are the storms within. Those flashes of lightning that remind us of our failures. Those life-shaking claps of thunder that make us question our ability to go on; that make us question our faith. These are the storms that can make us suffer in silence, or force us away from those who love us most.
Read back through Psalm 29 once more. Take time to reflect on the words of power seen in the words of the Psalmist. Your heavenly Father is pictured as being the most powerful storm ‘nature’ can muster. He shakes the foundation of the world; no one can escape or deny his mighty works.
Then, remember his great love for you today. There will be storms. Ask him to give you strength and courage to weather them. There will be times when life seems to jostle you about like a small boat on a great and windy see. Pray that in the very midst of the storm he will give you peace.
The great preacher/author Charles Spurgeon writes: Dear reader, is not this a noble Psalm to be sung in stormy weather? Can you sing amid the thunder? Will you be able to sing when the last thunders are let loose, and Jesus judges quick and dead? If you are a believer, the last verse is your heritage, and surely that will set you singing.
You oftentimes have no choice as to the storms that will enter your life, but because of Jesus you can choose how they will affect who you are and how you come out on the other side. Jesus Christ came, not only to give you forgiveness and eternal life; he came so that when the storms come you can rely on him to see you through.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you for your grace. I praise you for your forgiveness. But most of all, right now I pray for us as your children. I ask that during this present stormy time of our lives you would grant us the strength and peace we need to endure. In your name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 