What If? Then...

Deuteronomy 31:6,8 -  Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.

This blog has been sitting, waiting for me to publish. Tomorrow's blog will complete it. Little did I know when I wrote today's blog (a few days ago) I'd be writing as a reminder to myself...

Beth Moore alluded to this in one week's session of Esther. If ___, then __. We can all fill in with our own what if, then statements. Take one concern in your life and what if it as far as you can. If it seems hopeless, if God is not the final word, you need to read on.

As we work through the Book of Esther, every once in awhile Beth hits on a point and we linger there to get the full impact of it. In the last study we were impacted by a what if...then statement. It's nothing new, just another powerful way of looking at it.

I periodically bring up but God statements. If we are followers of Jesus everything is about but God. We are born sinners, we all fail, not one of us is righteous...but God...is able to change us, strengthen us, empower us, if we allow Him. Search but God in my blogs and you'll find several.

So in Esther's case it was when she realized the gravity of a situation where if she did not seek to see her husband the king the life of her people, the Jews...all of them..., would be killed. Yet, if she did go to him she was faced with another dilemma, that of possibly losing her own life by entering into the king's presence without his request...and divulging her identity as a Jew.

So then as a class we began a series of what if questions. They could apply to any of us in any situation. It comes when we are facing any difficulty. We either give in to it or we get through it. We overcome ourselves and face it...with God's help.

If fear is one of our greatest weaknesses the devil knows it and works to be sure it remains so. We all go through issues in life where we have very unsure moments. It may be the very common speaking in public. Oh, how I know about this. But on the other scale of the balance it might be an illness. It might be somewhere in between, like divorce or being the spouse of someone with a grave illness. Imagine the what ifs.

Sometimes these what if situations are what draw us to the realization we cannot do in our own strength, we need help. Our pride may have to go out the window. We have to make a decision how we are going to get through this. I wish I knew how often, really, a person is drawn to God because there is a sudden realization that we are not immortal. Or, in the case of divorce or possible loss of a child. How will we live without... What did we do wrong... What if, what if...

When we are in this sort of situation are we pointed to the only One who can really help or are we shaking our fist at Him for our situation? Do we want to trust a man or the One who created that man?

Remember who created us. Remember who numbers our days. Remember who holds our eternal life in His hands. Remember who desires relationship with us. Remember who has promises He will not break if we trust in Him. I will trust the Lord for my future. So whatever my what if might be, my answer will be then God (will see me through no matter what).

Again, little did I know when I reread this today I'd be speaking to myself! Praise God! Tomorrow will expand on this!

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Protection, Provision, Prosperity

Matthew 6:31-33 - Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?” or "What shall we drink?” or "What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

To continue with Monday's blog on knowing we are protected, provided for and prospered (not necessarily with riches), came an article by David Wilkerson (May 19, 1931- April 27, 2011) that a friend had to show me since we had discussed this.

I truly know that He wants us to remember what He does for His people, Who He is for us, how He will provide...because His Word proclaims these things. Remember is the key word! Like Israel on a sort of different level, we forget, as I mentioned yesterday.

Wilkerson's message was called God is Going to See You Through Hard Times. It was written in the 1990's.

It may have answered the question about how He will do this. In a nutshell, the answer is, any way He needs to. Not quite the answer we would like to hear...no specifics. But it's His answer.

As Wilkerson pointed out, It's not always about food. It's about His words being ours by faith! He went on to say that when Israel began their journey in the wilderness (remember this is where my first answer all began!) all God had to do was speak, like He did to create the world, and the people were given manna from heaven. Manna was a form of sweet, coriander-like tasting seed that came down from the sky. It sustained them just fine. When questioned what it was, Moses told the people: This is the bread which the LORD has given you (Exodus 16:15).

Like the manna, Jesus is the Word of God come down from Heaven. He is to be our daily bread. His Word, within our hearts and souls, as we also discussed in Sunday school, is what will sustain us. That means Jesus must be in our lives, hearts and the depths of our souls. Jesus is the Bread which God has given us!

Wilkerson wrote: Do you want to know how God is going to preserve you in all your hard times? YES!! The answer, please! He will do it by speaking a new word, if necessary--by creating all you need by the power of His Word. All God had to do was speak the word "manna" and an entire generation of Israelites was preserved. So, whatever our need will be at the time, He will provide.

If He did it then, He will do it again. Jesus knew only to listen for His Father's voice and then obey. He did absolutely NOTHING on His own, under His own power. He waited on the LORD. If He didn't have to know until the just the right time, neither do we...or I! When He sees our need, He will provide. This is something some of us have not had to do in huge ways and probably why it's hard to comprehend.

God has known since the foundation of time what our needs would/will be. We are to seek Him first and all our needs are handled.

I had that moment of anxiety about how God would provide and would I have enough faith...and look at the words He has given me! Isn't that provision of sorts? They are the very manna from Heaven for this soul! As Wilkerson went on to write: It is to bestow on us an unshakable conviction that he is going to keep us from the power of the wicked one. It is His Word tucked away in our spirits and hearts that give us this consolation. That's why it is so important to have it engrained in our spirits. So that we will know...or we can be easily reminded.

It's still all about Jesus, the Word, our Manna, our Sustainer in all things. He is the Word we are to keep hidden within our heart.  Jesus, the Son of God, the Word that became flesh...His Word in our hearts and lives. Do you see? Know Him comes first...so you can keep Him in your heart and when you know Him, His Word comes alive and can also be planted deep within your heart. The same word that will keep us then (in heaven) is the word that is sustaining us now, Wilkerson wrote.

He went on to say The overcomers ... triumphed in the worst of times because the whole Word of God came alive...  The Word became flesh. Jesus, our Word made flesh, who saves us from all unrighteousness by the power of His Word when we receive Him.

Psalm 119:49-50 - Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This  is  my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.

My Peace Can't Be Stolen

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

My peace can't be stolen...unless I allow it to be!

If there's anything at all I'm learning these days is that I am developing, and more often, maintaining my peace in the midst of stuff going on in my life. It sometimes takes an act of thinking on things to realize that although there might be some anxiety, underneath it all, there is peace. Doesn't matter what that stuff is. The enemy of our souls is working overtime to bring division...in families, in relationships, in the Church and in the world. Anything he can do to tear something apart is his main motive. Don't we see it happening? 

It's a good thing this peace thing is developing now because don't some of us know it will only get worse?

Lies about Christianity. Removing God from everything in the name of embracing diversity and removing "offense." This can even happen in the Church with the advent of seeker friendly churches, desiring to lure people in for the numbers and watering down the truth or hard word of God. Oh, I never want to see that.

A friend and I were talking and she mentioned that although she might go through difficult times, she stays in her own place of peace. It's how she survives. What a novel idea. Each taking on the responsibility of holding on to our own peace, through the power of God.

I added that's where staying focused on the Lord, being in His Word, being in His presence and seeking Him daily, if not hourly or minute by minute (which admittedly is difficult to do unless you're a monk), is where our peace resides. A lot of stuff that goes on around me could cause anxiety, even tribulation, but if I lay claim to the fact that I have the Prince of Peace by my side, it just don't matter what that stuff is! "Sounds like a blog!" I exclaimed. She said, "Yes, write it. You should."

Oh, and in the midst of turmoil....Praise God. Praise Him for all He says He is. Praise Him for all He says He will do. Praise Him that I am who He says I am. Sing to Him a new song! Worship Him in Spirit and truth! All helps to maintain peace in a difficult world. At a time of unrest over circumstances in our lives, we should throw ourselves into the Word. What blessings and peace come from that.

When we need instruction or clarification, we are to go to the Lord. Go to His Word. If our peace is eroding, we need to find the promises of who we are in Christ. If we have that relationship with Him and understand that's where our peace lies, He is there for us. He is our Comforter. He is the peace that passes all understanding.

What we see in this world and right in our own backyard of life might upset us. It might hurt or be confusing. We may question what is going on. We may question if we are being stripped of our discernment. We might think we are being led down wrong paths. But the Word of God is the truth that resides in us. It is our foundation. It will not crumble. We are to keep our minds on the things of God and ask for His discernment for all things. Line things up with scripture. Question. Pray for His guidance in understanding. 

In the last days even the elect of God is said to have occasion to be deceived. Occasion? Maybe even more. Who am I to think that I can't be deceived? That's why it is important to be close to the truth found only in the Word of God. But we must be sure that we are at peace, not complacency, thinking we are at peace when we might be lost instead.

He will direct our steps. He will give us rest. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of sound mind. Let's keep that sound mind focused on Him. We can cast our cares on Him. We must press on in the Lord, and as Colossians 1:11 tells us, to be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy... It's maintaining that peace that brings joy for it is of the Lord. Praise Him!

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

What Has the Locust Taken?

Joel 2:25 - "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you."

One of the promises of God is written above. Even as followers of Christ we have something for which we desire a change. Prayers sometimes seem to go unanswered. We have to cling to that unseen hope, knowing that God's will is going to prevail. Everything is in His time.

I've heard of miraculous things happening in the lives of people. Perhaps the restoration of a marriage or relationship that had gone sour. Perhaps the salvation of a spouse. Even the healing of an individual who was thought would die. There was even the account of a woman whose husband was not a follower of Christ and pronounced with a life threatening illness. He readily accepted the Lord at that point and she said of all their married years, despite the eventual outcome, it was the best year of their marriage. For many others it's a loved one who has turned away from God.

Why is it when something has been taken away or lost that we finally tend to realize its worth? Even our things. Our things, however, which we can hold to too dearly sometimes, can be replaced but if it's other than stuff, like relationships, in our life, it's much harder. Sometimes relationships will be treated like stuff; if it's lost, just replace it. But oh the real joy if true restoration occurs.

I think on the relationship I had with my father. His alcoholism became the thing that separated us because over the years it became intolerable and kept me away from him. I did not know Jesus at that time. Then when Alzheimer's struck at the end of his life, somehow the Lord brought healing. Not so much restoration because of the circumstances, but peace and lost love on my part, because I had the opportunity to lead Him to Christ. He did not change so much, but I sure did.

There are broken relationships all over...between those who called themselves believers and even among those who are not. In both cases the circumstances are difficult to bear. The difference is knowing and being able to rely on Jesus during it all and knowing where our hope comes from. God gives us the patience to endure. What does a person do without that hope and the promises He brings if there is no relationship with Him? The difference is the ability to have greater peace and the ability to forgive and let Jesus do the healing. What a great God we have.

Even within the Church restoration is necessary. We do not always see what God's plans are and we become anxious for change. He knows what needs to take place and we need to wait upon Him. If His truth Has been compromised, we may be waiting awhile. Like broken relationships, if we have broken our relationship with God, it is He who will bring the change, often within us. But for those who wait, the years the locust has taken will be restored.

Prayer plays an important part in all this, of course. Praying into the situation...for all involved. Throw away the victim mentality, the "why me." Stuff happens. It just does. It happens to everyone. Prayer will bring about that communication with God and show your desire for change...more often a change within yourself to accept and trust God for that change.

Job underwent one tragedy after another with the loss of his children and his property, despite His close walk with God. He was considered righteous but he suffered hardships just the same. A good example for us. He was about as down as a man could be. Even his wife said he should just curse God and die. His friends were of no help as they spoke more words to discourage than encourage. Some friends! Despite it all, He clung to one strand of hope. We are all going to go through times of adversity. That's where knowing the Lord is the only way to survive.

God's plans for His children are for good, not evil. Something is in the works in His atmosphere, His spiritual realm. He is putting things in order for the day of reconciliation. That's where our hope can be if we know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Another thought: that day of reconciliation may also be in the final days when we are reunited with Christ!

It can be a long, difficult walk. It may be a walk with "boulders" on the path or great divides to get across. But if Jesus is our Guide, He will show us the way. He will show us when to sit and rest and give us refreshing along the difficult road. He will show us when to make a turn for a safer passage. We need to trust in Him to bring about the perfect outcome of this journey in life. He restores our souls, as Psalm 23:3 tells us.

If there is a need, in your life, a reconciliation or restoration, look to the One who can provide the peace and bring that back time that has been taken away. We don't know how He does it, but by God's Divine nature it does! Sometimes we are given peace and the humility to submit to the situation. It might be we who need to change before the thing can be restored. A hard word sometimes. Pride and stubbornness can get in our way and until they are taken care of, God's plans take a little longer.

If we heed His voice, providing we know it, those plans that we view as unfair or evil, will turn into good. Praise God that He is into restoring the years of any circumstance. Praise Him that better days are ahead. To add to the word God gave to Joel above...

Job 42:10, 12 - And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning...

Sovereignty of God

Revelation 19:6 - And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"

Whether you follow my blog or have just popped in you will know that a few weeks ago I was troubled about something I couldn't put my finger on. I've been letting these thoughts sit awhile before determining if I should post. 

Since then I have overcome the intense feeling I was experiencing. Sometimes God just allows difficulties through which we are reminded of who we are in relation to Him...if we have taken the faith-defining step in receiving Him and being in Him. 

So this blog really has a few messages: He allows difficulties because He is sovereign. Whether we know Him personally or not...He is sovereign, and He does what He will...because He is sovereign. Even our salvation is based on His sovereignty. This might be a bit convoluted, so put your thinking caps on!

I know from comments made by others since my troubling time there is more of what I was feeling going on than just within me. And it will probably happen again. It's good to know I'm not the only one. After all, it's not all about me, but about all the saints of God who occasionally go through struggles, physically or spiritually. It might have been from getting caught up in the bad news of the days that seemed to never end, a bit overwhelming, as if the world was imploding. Who knows? What I do know is even what we see happening God has under control.

To those who know God's Word, we see the Bible's view of the last days creeping in: Wars, rumors of war, nation rising against nation, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes  But we are not to be frightened. We are privileged to see God so hard at work defining these days, despite the sometimes unsettling feelings. It's exciting to know that we were chosen for such a time as this. When we realize this is God's way, not the way that seems right to man, we are on the right track. Maybe He's getting us spiritually strengthened in Him for the days ahead. He knows how we each need to be strengthened.

So my distress, whether it was all about the news or something I still haven't determined...it was a reminder that two things remains the same day after day...God is sovereign and He will never leave nor forsake anyone who has laid claim to His great gift of salvation. If we have this understanding of who He is, days won't become easier for us, but His peace will remain with us. If a struggle is what I need, I'm all for it. We will see in retrospect that He was alongside after all...and our faith is built up.

We need to understand that God is sovereign. This might be a difficult thing for mankind to believe. It doesn't always seem right to man when man thinks he is able to control the forces of nature or even such a small thing as his own life. God is sovereign, nonetheless. He controls all things, including who He chooses us to become His children. This gift that He has given me and sets me apart from the world is available to all who respond, but as I have been reading in The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink, it is not for everyone. This is where my mind has taken a detour!

Listen to these words: It is commonly taught that God the Father desires the salvation of all mankind, God the Son died with the goal of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now trying to win the world to Christ. But isn't it a matter of common observation that the great majority of our generation are dying in sin and passing into a hopeless eternity? This was written in 1918 and sounds eerily like today. 

Pink goes on: the Sovereignty of God is absolute, irresistible, and infinite. Everything is in His right to do as He desires; He lives by His own rules; He is accountable only to Himself; He does not need to explain Himself. Sounds tyrannical but that's why He's God and we are not...it's the way that does not seem right to man and why often people will ignore His offer of salvation.

God is sovereign in the exercise of His power, mercy, love, and grace. He rules the world and all that is in it. Period. We are the ones who choose to do as WE wish and not heed God. Sovereign is defined as one possessing or held to possess supreme political power or sovereignty; an acknowledged leader. From what I understand it is nearly an obsolete word. And how many truly want to believe there is One who is greater than they?

When will God be looked upon as the One who rules...that by His word the world was created and He placed the stars in the sky and He causes the sun and moon to rise and go down at His own time? This pertains to the issue of salvation, too. According to Pink, God has the sovereign right to determine who will receive. So my exhortation is: If He allows you to hear His word and respond, I would not pass up the chance to take heart and respond, lest He make a negative determination through His own will.

What I'm getting at in all this is we will have our moments of uncertainty. We need to remind ourselves that God is in control. He might be developing our strength by allowing us to go through a difficult situation...and then realizing He was alongside all the time. Each time we go through something and come out unscathed, a trust in an all-knowing God is planted deeper within us. He is developing our faith.

Some people, I believe, might hide their difficulties, tending to make others think they are stronger in the Lord. Oswald Chambers said back on May 1 when I first wrote this blog and was referring to walking by faith, not sight: Some of us always want to be illuminated saints with golden haloes and the flush of inspiration... A gilt-edged saint is no good, he is abnormal, unfit for daily life, and altogether unlike God. We are here as men and women, not as half-fledged angels, to do the work of the world, and to do it with an infinitely greater power to stand the turmoil because we have been born from above. 

We are not perfect. We will slip, we will doubt occasionally. But God's power is greater and He is in complete control. God has us in His hands and He will set us straight, uphold us, do whatever He needs to strengthen us. We just need to walk by faith. We must remember that we should not be led by our emotion, as I did, but by that faith in God alone. As Chambers continued: Then comes the surprise - "Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!" 

Joshua 1:5 - No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.