Knowing God - The Lord is on Your Side

Ps 118:6

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear:

what can man do unto me?

The Lord is on My Side

This verse lets us know that fear is related to feeling we are outnumbered - outnumbered by people, circumstances, demands or needs.  This verse tells us that the Lord is on your side.  When a team has the best player on it, those who are less skilled still feel like they will win because the best player is on their side.  Ladies, the Lord is on your side.  It doesn’t matter how poorly you do, He is on your side.  This would be a great truth to proclaim when you feel intimidated or like you are losing.  Don’t just say it though.  Speak it, believing! 

Proverbs - Our Attitude Towards the Poor

Proverbs 17:5

                                                                     

Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

We can grow weary of the demands around us.  People in need are always there.  The poor we will always have with us.  We must never be glad at the calamities in a poor person’s life even if it is their own fault.  The Lord takes this very seriously and we must not slip into this.  Many times due to an addiction or laziness people may find themselves in need.  It is not our place to mock them but instruct them and look to their Maker to rescue them from such patterns.  Others find themselves in need due to health issues or even being a victim of someone’s selfish gain.  When we meet someone in need let us be cautious in our response.  Let us be sympathetic to their plight regardless of the cause and ask the Lord what our part is.  Let us never be high minded but humble and know that their Maker is watching out for them.

Proverbs - Listening to Lies

Proverbs 17:4

                                                                     

A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips;

and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

When we are doing something that the Lord doesn’t want us to do and consistently doing it, we are giving heed to false lips.  There is some sort of lie that we believe every time we choose to obey that temptation or go beyond the boundaries we know the Lord has for us.  It would be a good thing to ask the Lord to reveal what sort of lies we believe in our hearts that are empowering us to go in the way of wickedness.  The next time we find ourselves in a place where compromise might be approaching, let us listen to what sort of lies are being spoken to us.  Then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we should speak the truth and obey that.  The devil is the father of all lies and it is with a lie he brought down Eve.  We, as women, should learn from her and remember that if lies worked in the past, lies can work in the future.  We should rather hear the truth and obey it!

Knowing God - He is With Us!

Josh 1:5

 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

The Lord Wants to Affirm Our Leadership

The Lord didn’t just command Joshua what to do and how to do it, the Lord assured Joshua of His presence, help and commitment to Joshua and this call.  The Lord never intended us to carry out any sort of work without a complete dependence upon His presence, power and peace.  He wants to live through us.  Christ in us is the hope of glory.  We are privileged to be born at a time when the Holy Spirit does not dwell in a temple or tabernacle made with human hands but in our actual bodies.  We, like Joshua, should face our roles as moms, wives, employees, students etc, knowing that the Lord will be with us, not fail us and not let us down.  We can walk in those things that seem quite overwhelming if we remember that He is with us and for us.  If the Lord is with us, WHO can be against us?

Knowing God - The Lord Speaks When Things Change

Josh 1:1

 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

                              The Lord Speaks When Things Change

Moses had led the people of God out of Egypt, through the wilderness and up to the point of going in and possessing the land.  Generations had come to respect and know Moses’ leadership.  Then he dies.  Joshua worked side by side with Moses and I am sure he was saddened by his death and a bit concerned with how things were going to go now that he was gone.  The Lord spoke to Joshua after the death of Moses.  He gave Joshua time to grieve, time to mourn and time to accept this loss.  Then the Lord began to give direction and plans to Joshua.  When we face such changes, take the time to mourn and accept, but remember that the Lord wants to speak to us about His plans in something that has taken us often by surprise.  It may be shocking to us, but the Lord knew it was going to happen and He has something to say to us about it.  Take the time to listen as the Lord speaks to you after something major rocks your world.

Proverbs - The Lord Tries Our Hearts

Proverbs 17:3

The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold:

 but the Lord trieth the hearts.

There is a tool used in refining precious metals that takes the impurities out of them so that purer gold and silver comes forth.  This fining pot is heated up and from the temperature the elements that are not pure come to the top and are able to be removed by the goldsmith.  Here the Lord, Himself, is likened to the fining pot.  He is the One who can have the same effect on our hearts.  Our hearts can have hidden hurts, bitterness, pride, confusion or pride.  These things are not to be part of the clean heart the Lord desires within us.  When we spend time in His presence and pour out our hearts before Him, His holy fire will begin to search us and that which should be confessed and forsaken often comes to the surface.

There is no fear in love and the fire of His presence is never to be feared.  Anything He wishes to reveal to us is intended for our good and His glory.  As we grow in the knowledge of Him, that which is not pure within us begins to be obvious and we will gladly renounce it and seek Him to cleanse us.  Sometimes we believe that the Lord is dealing with actions when it is the heart behind them He wishes to purify.  

Knowing God - The Lord, Our Deliverer

                                                    Col 1:13        

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

The Lord, Our Deliverer

We didn’t always realize we actually held captive by the power of darkness.  The Lord has delivered us from the power of darkness.  It was His doing and it was His work that did this for us.  The Lord is a deliverer.  We can look to Him to get us out of things that are too much for us.  He can not only deliver us out of them but then put us in the place we need to be.  He has the wisdom, power and resources to do this.  Maybe you are in a place where you feel trapped.  Look to Him – your deliverer and the One who can put you in a better place.