Cold Blessing

“He sends out His command to the earth;

His word runs very swiftly;

He gives snow like wool;

He scatters the frost like ashes;

He casts out His hail like morsels;

Who can stand before His cold?”

     Psalm 147:15-17 (NKJV)

Here in the Midwest and other parts of the country, we have been greatly impacted this week by the dangerously cold weather. Yet the Apostle Paul exhorts us to  “rejoice in the Lord always.” (Phil. 4:4 NKJV)  Can we rejoice even in a polar vortex?  Yes indeed! 

Sovereignty:  As the Psalmist points out, the snow and cold and frost come from God, so we can have assurance that even in these weather conditions, God is sovereign, He is in control—and that is a blessing!

Salvation:  With some extra free time on my hand this week, I listened to some of the music from decades ago that I used to enjoy.  That flash from the past brought some good memories, but it also reminded me that back then, I was lost in the world and my sin, and I didn’t even realize it.  It brought such gratitude to my heart once again that God saved me and I praised Him for his amazing grace!  And in checking on one of the musical groups, I discovered that the lead singer is now a professing Christian—another blessing!

Provision: Yes, I’ve experience a bit of cabin-fever being inside all week. And yes, it was disappointing to have Wednesday evening church cancelled. But this enforced confinement has made me realize how much I depend on God and how gracious He is to provide so well.  I have a warm apartment, sufficient food so I didn’t need to venture out, and the much-appreciated ability to work from home.  Most of all, I’ve enjoyed His peace and presence with me.  Every good gift is from God (James 1:17) and I’ve been blessed with so much from His gracious hand!

Goodness:  In the midst of this extreme cold, the blare from the political divisiveness and cultural divide seems to have diminished just a bit for the time being.  It’s been so encouraging to read about communities and organizations coming together to help those needing shelter and other necessities, noting the bravery of first responders, bus drivers and others who needed to be out in the elements, and knowing that families have gotten some extra time to spend together.  These good things have brought a smile to my heart. 

So as this week and the polar vortex comes to an end, I rejoice in the Lord for He is good, all the time! If we know we're in the will of God for our lives, if we know Jesus and have His presence with us, we can be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.  I pray that is an encouragement to you today.

Thursday Devotional - If He'd Only Waited

Have you ever told a child (or yourself) “If you’d only waited…”?

I know I have many times!

God specifically told Joshua and the Israelites not to take any plunder from Jericho when He delivered it into their hands. As we saw last week, Achan disobeyed and took things anyway. He brought destruction on himself, his whole family and other Israelites. If he had only waited, God told Joshua they could take plunder from the next battle!!

Joshua 8:1-3, 27-28            Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. ² You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”

³ So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night… 

²⁷ But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 

Where do you and I need to be obedient and wait? Maybe there is something we really want and haven’t gotten yet. I can’t say for sure we will get what we want by waiting, but I can say for sure that if we disobediently go after something it won’t end well. Going ahead of God’s plans and His timing never works. It may bring temporary happiness (a few days for Achan) but not lasting joy.

Let’s remember Achan the next time you and I want to make something happen or have something now. God knows best. We can ask for His help to wait. We can seek His plans and timing.

Alice

Blessed Assurance

“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.  And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”  Jeremiah 1:6-8

What does it mean to have confidence?  As I mentioned previously, I can tend to worry about things and lose focus on what matters.  The other day, I had a challenge where for one reason or another, I could not seem to get a project done.  There were many distractions that prevented me from working on it, and before I knew it, I was hitting against a deadline.  In this case, there was this feel of calm that came over me as I began to work on the task at hand.  Deep down, I knew I would be able to get the job done because of the confidence in my abilities told me that as long as there was time the job would be done well.  And that is precisely what happened.

The word ‘confidence’ came to mind as I thought of how God is always there for me.  There were times where He seemed distant from me and others where I focused on things other than Him.  However, as I re-center myself and focused on Him things begin to align, and I felt comforted and assured.  One of my favorite hymnals from my early church is called ‘Blessed Assurance,’ which starts:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

We should have full confidence in God’s presence and His word.  In reading the beginning of Jeremiah, Jeremiah was called to serve by God.  Jeremiah spoke to God like many of us when a situation or circumstance overwhelms us.  We look at our obvious deficiencies or flaws.  In this case, Jeremiah’s self-describe flaw was his young age, which estimated by scholars was in his early or mid-teens.  Instead of focusing on his age, God simply reassured him (don’t say ‘I’m too young,’ don’t be afraid), and instilled in him confidence (I will be with you and will protect you) needed for His will to be done.  We all can fall into the trap of looking at our deficiencies in face of what God may ask of us.  We have many reasons such as lack of time, something we’ve never done, or that’s not our responsibility.  We must remember all God has done for us, and as listed in the verses today when God says, “(Y)ou must go whenever I send you,” it kinda leaves out the ambiguity, doesn’t it?  We should go forward with confidence that whatever we are lacking in, God will provide for us.

God is always there for us.  He intercedes in ways where we will never know, and He provides for us when we do not see a way for us to do so.  This is how Moses was able to free the Israelites from Egypt after once asking God, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11)  It was how Peter walked on water when Jesus said ‘come.’ (Matthew 14:29) They, like Jeremiah, lacked the confidence to fulfill something, and God gave them all they needed to do the impossible.  Let’s us take from God’s word to have full confidence that He will always be there for us when we need Him.  Where in your walk of faith are you lacking confidence in Christ?  How can trust God more to fill in for what you see as a deficiency?  My prayer is that whatever troubles you today, you can have ‘Blessed Assurance’ that God will get you what you need.  Amen.

Be prepared for the storm

If you are anywhere near Michigan, you are likely being hit with a snowstorm today.  Pretty much all schools in Michigan closed last night.  Still as of this morning we hardly have any snow but we know it’s about to come and it would have made getting the kids home from school hard. 

When we have a heads up to a storm coming, we can prepare for it so much easier.  Our support team was able to tell reps that could work from home to do so.  Parents are better able to plan child care of the children with snow days.  People were able to make sure they had the groceries they needed.

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We have been given a heads up that in this world we will have trouble.  So why are we not prepared when it comes?  We have been told that in this world we will have troubles.  As Christians, we know this is true.  Therefore, we need to be preparing ourselves for those times.  How do you do this?  You start with being in constant communication with God.  As we learn to draw close to him, we will be equip to handle the storms of life.

Are you prepared for the storm?