Month: November 2024

So thankful . . .

As we prepare for Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, I am sharing a prayer written by a dear friend of mine. I hope it blesses you as it has me!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Promises, Blessings, and Smiles

“The promises are of no use or comfort to us, until they are meditated upon.” – Thomas Watson

Are you smiling today? If you are more stressed than joyful or more worried than peaceful, there’s something you can do that might help. Turn to God’s word, not just to read it, but to think about it, to ask him to help you see what he wants you to see. Here’s an example:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul (Psalm 23:1-3a).

Some of you know this so well, you can go on to quote the rest of the psalm. But do we really know what it means when God said that with him as our caretaker, we won’t lack anything? He controls everything – money, health, wisdom, weather, etc. And he promises not to withhold anything we need.

If we really believed that, how would it change our level of contentment? How would it calm our anxiety?

What does it tell us about God’s provision when we read that he takes his sheep to green pastures and still waters? What does it mean to have God restore our souls? Think about these things for a while. What do these verses say to you?

God intends for his word to be read, but he wants so much more than that. He wants it to soak into our hearts as we ponder what he says, and as we accept it as truth. When we do that, we are blessed, no matter what circumstances surround us. And that kind of blessing will bring smiles to our faces!

“My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promise.” – Psalm 119:148

His Personality

“Glorifying God does not mean obeying him only because you have to. It means obeying him because you want to — because you are attracted to him, because you delight in him.” – Tim Keller

At one point in my spiritual life I realized that God is a person. He has a personality, and he likes to be treated as other persons do. There is much revealed about him and his various attributes in the Bible – things like being all-powerful, holy, all-knowing, and everywhere present. But we almost have to read between the lines to find his personality. We see a range of actions – such as creation and judgment – and we see a range of emotions – anger, love, patience, resilience, for example.

But, as we get to know his Spirit who lives within us as a constant companion, we learn more. In fact, I think we learn a lot about the personality of God by looking at the characteristics the Spirit is developing within us to make us more like Jesus (Ephesians 5:22-23).

Through the Spirit, God is giving us a glimpse of his own personality. That means God is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. Thinking of him on those terms, don’t you find him attractive? Doesn’t it make us want to spend more time with him? Doesn’t it mean we can trust him?

The great and holy God of the universe has invited us into friendship with him. Let’s get to know him as the friend who never leaves, who understands, who helps us find our way even when it’s dark.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Healing

God alone is qualified to answer prayer, and at some point we have to let go and trust God, who can transmute our self-focused requests into an unimaginably larger plan.  – Philip Yancey

Do you have anyone on your prayer list right now for whom you are praying for healing? Most of us do. We read about Jesus healing people everywhere he went, and we believe he can still do that today. And he does – sometimes. Often, though, we wait in vain for the physical healing to happen.

These are the times when, as Spurgeon says, “we must meekly bow to his will by whom life and death are determined.” Wait! Bow to his will when the life of someone we love is at stake? That sounds hard. And, it is.

But what do we learn when we humbly bow to his will? We learn he is loving, kind, and good, even when we don’t understand. We learn that his power is not limited to physical healing. Sometimes he’s working on something of far greater value – something we will most likely not understand this side of heaven. In the process, though, we realize there are some things more important than physical healing and, if we could see the bigger picture, we would not trade the spiritual blessing for anything – not even healing.

I have heard people testify to this very thing. That the sense of God’s presence, the knowledge that he’s walking beside them in the pain, and the confidence that his will is best for them and for those around them is worth the suffering they are undergoing. I want that kind of peace and the comfort it gives. Maybe the only way to get it is by having some of my most earnest prayers go unanswered.

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him.” – Job 13:15a