Monday, February 18, 2008

Words of Encouragement





This picture was taken on 1/23/2005 at 4:21 p.m. How awesome God's handiwork is!


At that time I pleaded with the LORD: "O Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon." - Deuteronomy 3:23-25

God’s Sovereignty. Lost opportunities. I was reading an article and found something interesting that I would like to share with you this week. The writer of this article was talking about faith in God and in his sovereignty. He talked about how God wants us to have a relationship with him and how this calls for an understanding of faith to be relational. What would your wife or husband feel if you went up to them one day and said, “I believe you exist?” Would this impress them? The writer of the article said his wife would not be too impressed with that revelation from him.

As I read the article I laughed but the truth of what he said hit home. God is not impressed when we say we believe he exist, he already knows that. What he wants to know is will you trust him? Will you trust his words to be true or will you doubt them? This goes back to faith being relational. The writer said his wife would be more concerned about him trusting her to keep her word and his ability to have trust in her abilities as a wife. It is no different with God. He wants us to trust him to keep his word and to trust his ability to be God.

In the scripture today, Moses talks about his pleading with God to allow him to be able to go over and see the promise land after God had forbidden him from entering in. Moses says in the verses that follow this one, that God told him no and that he would not speak on this matter any more. Some having read the story about Moses would think surely this is too harsh a treatment? But the message we must understand is the sovereign God has the right to direct us as he chooses. And when you or I refuse to do it actually as we have been instructed, we risk missing the opportunity to receive blessings God has set aside for us. Yes, Moses had done so many things right, but it only took one wrong thing to change his outcome. We must not be foolish enough to think we can weigh what we do against the wrong and think we will come up on the winning side. If Moses losses his opportunity to receive the blessing, what makes you think we are any better? Don’t miss judge and think because I am under grace my foolishness will go unchecked. Not so!

Today I pray for us that we do not allow our disobedience of the ways of the sovereign God to set us up to lose out on godly opportunities and blessings. Lord help us to see the way of our sins so that we can walk in you way and in your will.