Oh, What Love!

Psalm 59:17 says, “O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”

Oh, what love our Heavenly Father has for His children. Before the foundation of the world and through eternity, He has loved us and will love us faithfully. His love is abundant, true, good, and constant. We can’t find this kind of love anywhere else.

Is It Done Yet?

We have all started projects only to come across some obstacle that changes what we are trying to do or completely stops what we are trying to do. We know the beginning, but we can’t see the end. Our control over the project is limited by human understanding and outside influences.

Isaiah 46:8-10 says, “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.'” Time passes and things change for us. God is outside of time and knows the beginning and the end of times. We have little control over the events in our lives. God has complete control so that His purpose will be absolutely and completely accomplished without any failure. In this truth, we can havee courage and stand firm.

Expectation and Frustration

We have all suffered from unmet expectations. We expect to receive something, but it never comes. We expect events to happen a certain way, but the progress in a totally different way. When our expectations are nor met, we may get frustrated or angry. In reality, we have made these expectations into false gods in whom our self-worth is entrusted. This anger comes because we have tied our self-worth to our expectations and our self-worth is now threatened by unmet expectations.

Jonah 2:8 says, “Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.” Idolatry places our self worth in something that replaces God from first place in our lives because we have turned our backs on His mercy. Idolatry becomes evident when we become angry or frustrated because the false god, and therefore, our self-worth is threatened. We must evaluate the things we get angry and frustrated about to see if we have made something more important than God in our lives by turning our backs on God’s mercy and our self-worth is thereby threatened. We must humbly return to God’s mercy and place God in the forefront of our lives again.

Misguided

I can’t tell you how many times that I have misinterpreted what people have said. I have formed incorrect opinions and assumptions based upon my misinterpretation. I have even done things wrong or not done something that was required based upon these incorrect understandings. We do the same with God. We think that He wants to show Him our good credentials before we can come to Him and be saved. The opposite is true. He wants us to humbly accept what He has done for us, rather than us try to prove we are worthy.

Psalm 50:14-15 says, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble;; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” We don’t come to God with a list of our good deeds to impress Him. Instead, we come with a humble expression of thanksgiving for all that He has done for us. In this humble state, we ask Him to help us when trouble comes. He promises to deliver us, and in this deliverance, He will be glorified.