BibleTrekToday.com

Category: God will provide

  • Crying out to God

    Scripture reading for September 15: Psalm 88:13-15 “But I, O Lord, cry out to You; in the morning my prayer comes before You. O Lord, why do You cast my soul away? Why do you hide Your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer Your terrors; I am helpless.”

    2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

    Those who have suffered affliction or sickness for an extended period often struggle with believing that God hears them or knows their desperate situation. Weeks and sometimes years of crying out to God go by without the answer coming. Feelings of weakness, weariness and helplessness sweep over them. Psalm 88 was written by a son of Korah and was added to the worship set of Israel and stands for us as a reminder that God’s timing and answers are often mysteries. We must continue in faith and worship. We can honestly share our feeling with God and confess our weakness and our need of His strength.

    In the New Testament, the apostle Paul was given great revelation and insight by God. But he was also given a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass him. Paul sought the Lord three times to ask for it to be taken away. But God did not remove this ‘thorn’ as Paul had requested. Instead, God told him that His grace would be sufficient to bear up under this Satanic harassment. God was being merciful to Paul to keep him from conceit and pride. God’s power is made perfect in our weakness and dependence through faith. When we confess our weakness and dependence on God, then we are candidates for His sufficient grace to bear up whether for a short time or a long endurance.

    Prayer: Father God, these lessons from the psalmist and the apostle Paul are hard for me to process. I have been told to be strong and take authority over Satan and his attacks. Deepen my relationship with Jesus that I might honestly deal with my weaknesses and dependency on You. Amen.

  • Jehovah Jireh–God Provides

    Genesis 22:13-14 “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind Him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son (Isaac). So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

    God had given Abraham a son in his and Sarah’s old age. This son was now a young man and God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his only son as a sacrifice on a mountain He would show him. Abraham obeyed God and set out, arriving three days later. He had taken his son Isaac, who carried the wood and he had the fire and a knife. Isaac asked his father where the lamb was for the burnt offering, and Abraham replied that God would provide the lamb. Trusting God, Abraham prepared an altar, placed the wood and laid his son on the altar, preparing to offer him. This is when God stopped Abraham and confirmed that he had passed the test of supreme obedience. God then provided a ram in place of Isaac which Abraham gladly offered with his grateful son.

    This is an amazing story which occurred about two thousand years before Christ. It reveals the heart of our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father and Jesus planned the provision for man’s greatest need: a holy and complete sacrifice for sin. It is believed that the spot where Abraham offered Isaac is the same location where Jesus Christ was crucified between two thieves. Jesus was God’s only begotten Son and He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to His Father. He willingly gave His life as a substitute sacrifice for all mankind.

    ‘If God is for us, Who can be against us? He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32

    Prayer: Father God, thank You for revealing Your Heart of love that gives what we need most in our pilgrimage here on earth–the gift of Your Son. Because He is “I AM” the Provider, I can ask Him for whatever is my need and bring Him glory by trusting and obeying His gracious provision. Amen.

  • Day 5–Not One Word Failed!

    Scripture reading for April 24: 1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the Lord Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke by Moses His servant.” 1 Corinthians 3:17-18 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

    Solomon spoke this Word of Truth to the congregation as they dedicated the temple that his father David had planned and provided for and he had been allowed to build. He reminded God’s people of His faithfulness to His Word. God’s Word would stand any test of time and is not dependent on our faithfulness but on God’s Holy character. He is a God of Truth. He is not a man that He should lie. (Numbers 23:19) Heaven and earth would pass away, but His Word would never perish. (Matthew 24:35)

    In my nearly eighty years of my journey through earth’s wilderness, I have learned and continue to learn God’s Word is gold! What He has said, He will do. What He promises, He will deliver. This includes all blessings coming by faith as well as the curses brought on through disobedience and unbelief. God watches over His Word to perform it. (Jeremiah 1:12)

    Worship is our response to His goodness and promises and the fulfilment of them through His faithfulness. “Blessed be the Lord” was Solomon’s cry before God’s people. God’s presence had filled the temple with His Glory, causing the priest to not be able to even stand up outside the holy place. But now, we who believe in Jesus Christ, are being transformed by the Holy Spirit into greater degrees of glory into the image of Christ Jesus.

    Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your amazing Word and Your faithfulness to fulfill it. Help me to walk in rest and peace and freedom as I respond to those in need. Thank You for supplying all my needs according to Your riches in Glory in Christ Jesus. Amen.

  • Day 4–Provided with Life and Godliness

    Scripture reading for April 23: 2 Peter 1:2-4 “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him Who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

    When we think of God as a provider, we usually think of material things that we need or want. We are told in Scripture to pray and ask God for our daily bread. We are told we can ask Him for anything he has promised and He will provide. But Peter, writing to the church right before his death, asked that grace and peace be multiplied to the believers. This would be appropriated through a knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the Word of God made flesh. Grace and peace are provisions only God can give us.

    Peter taught that the resurrected Jesus through His divine power had granted believers everything they needed for life and godliness. Jesus’ glory and perfection in holiness was imparted to believers through the promised Holy Spirit as a down payment. Believers could appropriate and partake of God’s divine nature through faith in His promises and allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell within. These promises are more precious than gold or precious jewels. They are promises of eternal life, healing, joy unspeakable and full glory at Christ’s second coming. These promises help us escape corruption and the punishment of eternal damnation coming through our fleshly appetites.

    As first responders who believe in Jesus Christ, we should strive to know Him and the power of His resurrection. To do this, we should read and listen to God’s Word and claim by faith the precious promises. We can live in grace and peace and more effectively help those in various troubles. We can reflect Jesus Christ to the world.

    Prayer: Thank You Father for providing everything that I need for life and godliness as I live in a corrupted world. Help me to keep Your precious promises in my mind and heart so I can partake of Your divine nature and live eternally in Your glory. Amen.