Knowing God - Feed, Feed, Feed

Psalm 37:3

                                                                     

 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

NKJV

Feed on His faithfulness – this is an interesting command.  This means that God’s ability to take care of us and be absolutely consistent in His concern towards us is something we can actually taste and be nourished by.  Feeding has to do with taking something in.  It is not looking and admiring something.  It is consuming it and enjoying it.  It is chewing, swallowing and digesting it.  Many times we chew on the unfaithfulness of others or even ourselves.  We analyze, surmise and criticize.  We become the restaurant reviewers of people and their ways.  Here we are instructed to pass those dainties by at the buffet of experiences and rather serve ourselves heaping portions of God’s faithfulness and character.  Are you so well acquainted with the offenses and failings of others or yourself that the very texture, taste and after effects still linger in your being?

Throw it up if you have to.  Confess this to the Lord and start today taking bites and chewing on all God has done for you to prove His faithfulness.   Start at the finished work of Christ and move on from there.  God’s very name is Faithful and True.  Bon Appetit!

Proverbs - When Someone is Offended

Proverbs 18:19

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

A strong city is a walled city.  It is surrounded by walls able to resist penetration.  These walls have towers in which watchman are always on alert for impending conflict.  When someone is offended and has not forgiven they are like this city.  They begin to build walls and keep a fortified distance between their heart and passers by.  They have a portion of their personality always looking out and expecting any relationship on the horizon to be hostile and their defenses are up. Their justifications for their personality change are many and well built like bars on a castle.  This person is hard to connect with and oftentimes easily defensive.

We should be warned by this text in two ways.  We must know that there are people like this in our lives and we mustn’t give up on them.  Even if we find ourselves not connecting with them, we should pass the walls of their city often praying for an opening and then taking the opportunity to go in when we find it.  We must realize that some of their anger may in fact be rooted in a past offense and be willing to see them through their social awkwardness and be committed to them in love.  We must pray that they will forgive and show them that kind of love.

We should also be warned to not be like this offended brother.  Has a past offense created walls in which you hide and feel safe and yet are losing out on the opportunities for new relationships and memories?  The enemy wants us to be isolated.  He knows this makes us vulnerable, stubborn and not fit for the Master’s use. 

Lord, show us if we have built these walls and help us to forgive from the heart.  Help us to remember that as You, God, were in Christ Jesus forgiving us, we, from the heart, must forgive one another.

Proverbs - Settling Differences

Proverbs 18:18

The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

We can find ourselves in situations where passion and conviction bring men to a place where a decision must be made but there seems to be no give.  This could result in division and how the enemy likes to use division to accomplish his goals.  When we are in a place where there is not necessarily a right or wrong but rather strong preference, the casting of the lots might do us well to cease the division and get on with life. 

Casting lots means to do some sort of procedure where chance alone dictates the outcome as far as the human ability to influence its outcome.  Flipping a coin, choosing which hand has the coin and drawing straws are all forms of casting lots.  The Lord does not want us casting lots for those issues His Word and Spirit speak to us on, but when there is division between people because of preference casting lots can solve the problem.  When two children run for the same toy and deference is not what the Lord seems to be teaching them, a mother could flip a coin and for who is first and then set a time limit for the next player.  A mother would most likely not be blamed for showing favorites in this case.  Another good method for splitting portions of food is to let one child divide the portion and the other one gets to pick first which portion to consume.  Casting lots is not the way to run our lives but definitely comes in handy at times of contention.

Knowing God - He Meets Us Where We Are

Matt 4:23

 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Jesus travelled.  Jesus went to the meeting places, the hills, people’s houses and public places.  Jesus taught those who had come to learn, proclaimed good news to those who were discouraged and healed those who were sick and hurting.  Jesus didn’t stay in one place and ask people to come to him.  Many of the sick were most likely so ill it would have been difficult for them to connect with Him if Jesus had chosen this way of touching those He came to reach.   Jesus loves us and He meets us where we are.   He is in the learning institution, public places and painful situations we find ourselves in.  He is a God who did not stay in the heavens but left His glorious home to dwell with us in human flesh.  How then shall we doubt His accompaniment with us throughout our various seasons and mindsets?k

Proverbs - Watch Out For What is First

Proverbs 18:17

He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

This bit of wisdom not only works for mothers trying to sift through the muddled cries of conflict between her children but this counsel is an excellent warning for sifting through our own internal conflicts as well.  The first thought is not to be trusted.  We can find our hearts and minds rising up in response to information or a situation and conclude this is the just response.  This is not necessarily true.  It will feel like the most natural and definitely gives us a sense of direction.  We need the neighbor of the Holy Spirit to search us out and either bless and empower this response or convict and restrain us in this response.

It is natural to consider our instincts as the way we should go because they are most likely rooted in the familiar.  We, like Abraham, must be open to leaving a familiar land of response and go to a new land of reaction and response.  We, like Peter, might have to leave the boat, and walk on that which we have never walked on before.  We, like Gideon, might have to approach a battle with way less resources than we would naturally think we need.  We, like David, may have to dwell in the wilderness and still believe it is the king’s habitation.  We, like the woman with the issue of blood, may have to break through our religious and cultural mores to reach out and receive from the Lord what He has for us.  That which may seem right in our own cause, must be brought before the Judge who judges righteously and request His judgment on the matter.  

Knowing God - He is With Us to Deliver Us

Jer 1:19

And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

The Lord is speaking to His servant Jeremiah and warning him ahead of time of the opposition he will face.  He assures His servant that those who fight against him will not prevail.  Why?  Because the Lord will be with him.  We are seeing that God’s promised presence will enable us to not be overcome by the things that come against us.  He is with us to deliver us.  He is not with us just to be a friend with whom we hang out, but He is a deliverer who is with us in times of trouble.  He is not with us just to help us not feel alone in trouble, but with us to deliver us from the enemy’s plans.  This is why it is so important for us to cultivate and consider the relationship we have with God.  This companionship is vital for support, strength, and deliverance.  We must take the time, often, to connect with Him so we are assured of this truth.  If you are facing a strong opposition, now is the time to draw away and become acutely aware of the fact that He is with you.  This will protect you from fighting in your own strength or deciding to give up to the pressure and onslaught.  He is with you to deliver you!

Proverbs - Gifts in Us Make a Way

Proverbs 18:16

A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

Our culture tries to convince us that we have to make our own way.  We are taught to be assertive and draw attention to our strengths.  The Lord’s way is much different.  He tells us that the gifts He has given us will draw their own attention while we seek to serve Him and be faithful in all He asks us to do.  Our evaluation of how we should be used is rather corrupted and biased.  We must focus on being faithful to use whatever the Lord has given us in a way that is diligent and unto Him.  He will bring the spotlight on us at His time for the works He has foreordained for us to walk in.  We must be women who seek to serve the Lord and not seek the recognition or favor of man.  The Lord brings promotion and the Lord assigns His people to the works He wants them to do. He knows when we are mature enough or spiritually equipped enough for the tasks He has for us.  If we take the higher seat in a situation and the Lord has not bid us to come, we could end up falling off of it with some serious spiritual injuries and unnecessary wounds and pain.  We don’t see as He sees and we are not to tell the Master what His servant should be doing.  Let us evaluate the gifts He has given us and use them today in secret that when the Lord, who sees in secret, sees our faithfulness, He may exalt us due time.