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“For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.” Isaiah 28:10
Nobody likes rules. When we are young we yearn to be free of rules and then we get older and find ourselves making more and more rules! Rules tend to confine and control us. Rules take away our freedom. Yet, in our more mature moments we have to admit that the world would be in big trouble if it weren’t for rules. Although rules control us, they can also guide us and protect us from…well, rule breakers!
When the Prophet Isaiah was ministering to the Israelites one of the complaints he and the other prophets heard was that they said the same things over and over again. The Prophets constantly stressed the basics. Later, in Jesus day, the Pharisees took rulemaking to new heights by burdening the people with rules to help them obey the rules. The problem was, those rules eventually, and I think unintentionally, replaced the real rules!
One of the reasons the Prophet Isaiah and his cohorts continued to stress the basics of the Godly life and didn’t move on to deeper things is that the people weren’t following the things God had already required of them.
The same is true today. We have conferences on seeing God’s power. We have books about seeing God’s power. There are some who make money off the ministry of telling people how to see God’s power. But nothing seems to help. For many of us we go through life hearing about God working in magnificent ways overseas or in the lives of others, but fail to see his power evident in our own life?
The thing each of us needs to realize is that our Heavenly Father is desperate to do things in our lives, but he can’t give us the deep things he has for us until we get the basics down. Other religions say you have to follow a multitude of rules to gain ‘divine power’. Not so with as Christ-followers. From the moment you accept Jesus you have all the power of God at your fingertips. His rules are simple. Get into a love relationship that holds him as number on and you will see mighty things.
So why don’t we see mighty God-power in our lives? God doesn’t expect big things from us until we master the little things in life. What are those ‘little things’? It starts with getting rid of all the stuff that keeps you from God. Anything that keeps you from holding God as number one in your life hinders your love relationship with him.
A love relationship with God means we take time out of our busy schedules to pray, read his word and fellowship with him. Those seem like little things but those little things are all God expects from us in order to show his power. It’s not about all sorts of rules like religion will tell you. Following God’s rules is all about freedom to be you.
PRAYER: Father God. I want to be desperate for you. There are so many things that keep me from seeing your power in my life. Empower me with your spirit to focus on the simple things of prayer, Bible reading and fellowship. Let your life shine powerfully through me to others, in Jesus name, Amen.
When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. Psalm 104:28
Growing up I remember listening to a Pastor’s wife telling a group of us about her years growing up as a ‘Missionary Kid’. Her father was the pastor of a small struggling church and her mother worked at a nearby hospital that was run by a larger church in the area. Her parents were not missionaries to some obscure remote jungle area where they lived in complete isolation. It was a Western European country with a standard of living much like her homeland of the United States of America.
She told, with humor now, about some of the things the family received from very well meaning people in the states. Christmas presents for the kids that were obviously used and sometimes broken, clothes with holes in them and two or three sizes larger than the sizes asked for ‘so the kids could grow into them, and other similar stories. The two that stuck in my head were the box of used tea bags from a dear prayer warrior who attached a note saying she’d only used them once!
Another time a package arrived with sheets in them that were full of holes and of no value for the beds. “Mom and Dad figured that the women’s group from this particular church sent them thinking that they could be used for bandages since that is all some missionaries had for bandages in the early 20th century.” So they sent off a note thanking the women for the bandages (and promptly cut them up for rags!). Months later they received a letter from a friend in that same church telling the truth about the ‘bandages’. These were sheets that a couple of the church women had gathered to send to the family to use on their beds because “they still had some value!”
God gives us good gifts! The things He provides for us aren’t used, leftovers or discarded pieces of trash no one else wanted. He knows us. He knows what we need. As a loving Father He gives us just what we will have to have to make it through the day.
The Psalmist writes, in Psalm 102 that ‘You open your hand and they are satisfied with good things.’ That reminds me of the time in the wilderness when God provided Manna for the children of Israel. We still are not sure what manna was. What we know is that it tasted good and supplied nourishment for over a million people for forty years (along with the quail).
There was another interesting thing about the Manna. The people of Israel could go out and gather and eat as much Manna as they wanted and eat to their hearts content. But if they gathered too much it was rotten in the morning.
God’s lesson for them is the same as His lesson for us. He gives us just what we need for today. We can count on the fact that tomorrow He’ll do the same; and the day after that; and the day after that. There was no reason for the Israelites to worry about what they would eat tomorrow. When tomorrow came the manna would be there.
God gives good gifts. God gives us all we need to make it through today. There will be bumps along the way. There will be times we aren’t sure we’ll make it another day. But He has our tomorrows covered and He’ll strengthen us for the tasks of today if we trust in Him. God loves us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Creator sustainer of the entire universe. I thank you today for your provision. During those times when I fear the future or don’t understand today I praise You for the fact that I can look in the rear-view mirror and see how you have provided for my every need with good things. Things I needed, not necessarily wanted. Help me to live this day resting in the promise of your good and faithful provision. Amen.
And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
How would life be different if you knew that you were surrounded by an army of angels armed and ready to attack at a moments notice? How would that affect the things you are currently worried about? What ‘dream’ that you’ve put on hold would be taken off the back burner and pursued? If you knew that you had an entire army at your bidding how would it affect how you feel about yourself?
The prophet, Elisha, was being pursued by an evil Assyrian King who was angry with Elisha because Elisha had warned the King of Israel of the Assyrian Kings attacks. Time and time again Israel was able to avoid defeat at the hands of the Assyrians. The Assyrian King decided that in order to beat the Israelites he would first have to do in Elisha.
One day, Elisha and his servant looked out beyond the walls of the city and saw the Assyrian army surrounding them. There was no escape. They were doomed and the servant feared for their lives! Elisha prayed and asked God to open the servant’s eyes. When He did, the servant saw hundreds of thousands of angels surrounding the army. Through divine intervention the enemy army was defeated and Elisha and his servant were safe.
There are times in each of our lives when it seems like the troubles and conflicts of life have us surrounded. We see no escape and we feel like we are doomed to failure. It could be finances, school, friends, broken relationships or the consequences of our own poor choices. These things keep us from living up to the potential that God has for us. But the Bible tells us over and over again that our Heavenly Father loves us dearly and has promised to protect us. Our Father desires for each of us to experience His love and protection when the enemy attacks.
Our finite minds are unable to fully comprehend the fact that we are surrounded by the spirit world. Ephesians tells us that every battle we have to fight is not a battle that we can see. The battle is really a spiritual one in which Satan and his angels want to attack us with worry, defeat, guilt, shame and a poor self image. Satan doesn’t want us to know all the things God has in store for us. He’s happy when we are miserable.
God’s army of angels is standing-by, ready to attack Satan’s angels and keep them from pulling us down. If we could see as Elisha’s servant saw, we would realize that we are surrounded by God’s angels, armed and ready for battle on our behalf. With God’s army of angels protecting us, we can freely pursue all that God has for us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that you love me enough to protect me and fight for me. I praise you that even though I fail time and time again you want to bring me through the struggles of my life. Forgive me for constantly thinking that I need to fight my own battles. Keep me from listening to Satan’s lies. Help me see the warriors that you have on my side so I can live in victory for your name’s sake. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 