Yesterday I spent sometime making a confession to the Lord about the things that I needed from him and received some very specific instructions to which I did follow. But there is still yet this what it seems like GIANT chasm between the energy to do His will and intention behind it. Every big declaration has been followed with a fall. The steps to come back are getting harder and harder because I think myself to have accomplished so much when I am clear for a few days.
The truth is that I am no stronger on the days I am not dealing with then I am on the days when I fail. No excuse to fail...but every reason to succeed. Its the idea behind Adam and Eve...there awareness of themselves was foremost on there mind after they fell...they thought nothing of Gods provision on His ability to provide.
Ironically enough that was the call I made to the Lord monday morning an appeal to provide and show himself for my needs in whatever way he sees fit. As emotional as I was I kind of knew what was next. Anytime I ask God for strength he feeds me a situation to help me be strong, or peace he sends trouble or the way he sends distractions or rather allows these things to be the foundation by which I find what he has.
7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
The insight in 2 Corinthian 12 seems very obvious by my prayer is even for more insight into nature of this truth. That Pauls experience be mine own. That see my handicap as gift...to keep me in the proper position before God seeking Him constantly...not about the sin...but allow the temptation of it draw a holy attention to my limitation so that I may ever more be dependent on Jesus.
Wow....This has been my one true prayer that Lord make me ever more trusting and dependent on him and look how he has done so. Each waking moment of my life right now is spent asking God to keep me strong and reveal his will and give me a clean heart so that I can worship him in lifestyle and attitude. Behold the manifold wisdom of God.
WHILST ALL YET STILL COVERED
MY SIN STILL REMAINETH
YET FAITHFUL REMINDER OF YOUR CLEANSING
OER MY WILL AND WONT HE REIGNETH
AND AS HE DOTH PURGE YET ALLOW A LITTLE
BEHOLD HIS WISDOM, NAY IN ALL I REMAIN IN HIM
TEACH ME HOW THEN, TO GLORY IN YOU.
TEACH ME MORE HOW TO LIE PASSIVE AND KNOW NONE BUT YOUR WILL.
TROUBLE
Recommended Reading: Numbers 20:14–21; 2 Chronicles 20:20–30; Psalm 83:1–18
Trouble comes in threes, they say. But who’s counting?
You’ve probably noticed that acknowledging and investigating troubles seem to make them multiply. Consider your house, for example. The roof starts leaking. So you climb into the attic to check it out and discover several bad spots, a rotten rafter, mold, mildew—and often the repair bills mount from there.
Obviously, ignoring problems also makes them multiply. Ignoring the leak today leads to the living room ceiling sitting in your lap tomorrow. So you face a dilemma: If your troubles multiply whether you examine or ignore them, what should you do?
King Jehoshaphat found himself face-to-face with trouble. A huge army marched toward Jerusalem, and the scouting reports didn’t hold out much hope. The problem on the horizon promised to be enormous by the time it reached the king. “Alarmed,” we read, “Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 20:3). He looked through the trouble. Faced with an overwhelming situation, the king immediately turned to Someone who is never overwhelmed.
As we face trouble in our own lives, our prayer can be like Jehoshaphat’s: “Lord, I know you’re in charge. So I choose to recognize this trouble as your problem, not just mine. I admit that I can’t handle this situation, yet it needs to be resolved. What do you say, Lord?”
Notice how God responded to this prayer of faith. He answered, but he didn’t promise to help Judah win the battle. Instead, he said he’d fight for his people. Could the king have anticipated this answer? There are times in our lives as well when God’s good answers surprise us. But notice also that the king still had his marching orders: God told him not to be afraid (twice), not to be discouraged (twice), to march out, to take positions and to go out and face the enemy. By the time the people had completed God’s instructions, the battle was over.
Again we face a dilemma. We often find ourselves a little too close to our troubles—so close that we end up wallowing in them. Or we find ourselves trying to avoid troubles—giving them the opportunity to pull a surprise attack. But God calls us to trust him, to look through our troubles and toward him.
TO TAKE AWAY
- How do you usually respond when faced with trouble?
- My approach is usually rather stoic I usually try to figure it out on my own and then end up crying or stressing about it later.
- What results have you seen when you’ve surrendered your troubles to God?
- Oddly enough some of the trouble remains but pressure of the moment seems to die down as I deal with what it poses. I have learned that God is confrontational and he has more to reveal and its his nature to show himself in the midst of his circumstance. Not only has God answered my cry but its so perfectly positioned until I cant miss him.
- What problems are you facing right now that need the Jehoshaphat approach? Pray for God’s guidance, intervention and protection in the face of these situations. And watch and listen for his answers.
- Employment, Ministry, Family and Natural and Spiritual Vitality. There is really no area that doesn't need Jehoshaphat approach but these things I have surrendered and will continue until I hear from Him.
Prayer
No comments:
Post a Comment