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Fear takes a devastating toll on our lives. It paralyzes us from following God and keeps us trapped in the wilderness of doubt. Fear arises when we magnify the problems and minimize God’s promises; but faith grows when we minimize the problems by magnifying God’s promises. Which one are you doing today?
What a month this has been! The entire world has turned its attention to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, panic is widespread, cities look like ghost towns, and national economies are facing collapse. Times like these reveal what people have been trusting in for their sense of security and hope. Good health, a steady job and financial stability can all be gone in the blink of an eye, so make sure you are depending on the one thing that will never let you down.
“If God would just show me a miracle, then I’d believe!” So many people throughout the years have said these very words, but history has proven that even if God did show them a miracle, they probably still wouldn’t believe in Him. Have you ever demanded that God do something to prove His love for you? Do you find it harder to trust God and praise Him when life is difficult than when life is easy? If so, you may be basing your devotion to Him on your circumstances rather than simply on who He is. God has already shown us more than enough to know that He is good and that we can trust Him. Are you still asking for more?
So, there you are, faithfully following God, when all of a sudden you find yourself right in the middle of another trial! Have you ever wondered why God leads you into so many tests of faith? Today we find the Israelites trapped between an approaching Egyptian army on one side and the Red Sea on the other. Why did God lead them there? Does He not care about them at all? Even though there was an easier route, God brought them to this crisis in order to show His power. Could it be that the situation you are wishing would disappear right now is the very thing God wants to use to show His power and strengthen your faith?
Any life that is going to be used by God must be humbled and broken first. This is God’s process of showing us who He really is, and who we really are by comparison. But we fight against this process because we don’t want to be humbled; we don’t want to be broken. And so we continue trying to live in our own strength, by our own resources, and in doing so, we miss out on what God wants to do through us. Are you still resisting this work of God in your life?
Are there situations in your life right now that have brought you so much pain or fear or discouragement that you are beginning to doubt God’s love and faithfulness? Do your prayers sometimes feel like they are falling on deaf ears? No matter how long you may have to wait for an answer, you can be absolutely certain of this: God’s providence is at work behind the scenes, orchestrating all things for His ultimate glory, and you can trust Him through it all.
It has been said that we will never truly know how to live until we have learned how to die. This simply means, unless our faith for what happens to us after death is firmly anchored in the truth of God’s promises, we will live our entire life filled with uncertainty and fear. So what are you counting on to get you through death? Your accomplishments, your money, your friends won’t do you any good when that time comes. There is only one thing you can trust in completely when life is over, and you either have it right now, or you don’t!
When life turns out differently than we had hoped, when our plans are dashed, when hardships and suffering come our way, we tend to say, “God, where are you?” This is because we are basing God’s presence and love for us on our immediate circumstances instead of on His Word. Joseph was a young man whose life was filled with trials, yet he continued trusting in God, even through the tears and pain. He could do this because he knew that, despite the trouble that came his way, God was with him, and He was using it all for His greater purpose.
As we have studied the lives of Abraham and Sarah, we have learned many lessons from both their failures and their faith. But despite every setback and every obstacle, God’s plans prevailed, and ultimately they trusted God’s Word right to the very end of their lives. Can the same be said of us? Is our faith in God so secure that regardless of the problems that may arise, our trust in His Word will stand firm to the very end?
Waiting. It is no one’s favorite thing to do. We wait in traffic, in stores, at doctor’s offices. We wait for our vacation days to get here, children wait eagerly for Christmas morning… it seems we spend a lot of our life waiting. But have you ever waited 24 years for anything? God promised that He would do certain things for Abram, but 24 years later, Abram was still waiting! Today we discover some things Abram learned through this experience that can help us in our own waiting.
Have you ever lost hope in something important? It’s a tough place to be that can cause us to make poor choices out of desperation. Abram and Sarai found themselves in that place, and they made a big mistake by taking matters into their own hands. But there is much to learn from it, and we should pay attention to what this historical account can teach us. Let’s prepare ourselves for those times when hope fades.
It’s funny to watch two children staring at the last slice of pizza or the last piece of birthday cake, trying to decide who will get it. Even as adults, we find ourselves racing other people to the closest parking space, or arranging the details of a business deal to make sure we get better returns than anyone else. When we let our desires lead us instead of asking God for direction, we will never end up where He wants us to be. So, what is driving your choices in life right now?
