Consider This

James 1:1-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

So when’s the last time you felt joyful when you faced multiple trials and hardships?  I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that emotion, but rather, I’ve felt panic and fear!  But this verse says to “consider it pure joy.”

When Jesus was about to be crucified, the bible says he was able to endure because of the joy set before him.  He knew he was obeying his Father, he knew he was erasing the sins of the world, and he knew resurrection was coming after his death.

So if you’re in the middle of many trials, ask God to reveal to you the good that’s in the works.  Most of all, listen and obey Him.  Realize that God’s ways are higher than yours and all things work together for good.  And rest and revel in the fact that the same resurrection power is yours, and you will rise again, full of glory and power.

Once you've considered all of this...leap for joy...because God is at work in your life...so that you lack nothing.

Crushed

October 6 - I pursued my enemies and crushed them;I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.

Now, we’re in the thick of battle here, but our feet are not slipping.  In fact, we have turned and started pursuing those who were pursuing us.  And we destroy them. Completely!  They cannot even rise again!

Any time we feel defeated and crushed and overtaken, we can look at our own hearts and see what’s taking place. Are we looking around for strength in other places besides God?  Are we carrying every burden on our shoulders so that our legs have become weak?  And are our hands hanging limp due to despair?

We all fall into a pit sometimes, but it’s usually one we’ve dug for ourselves.  However, there’s always a rope dangling, and all we have to do is grab it.  God never leaves us in the dark.  We can’t hide from him.

The very pits and traps set for us, God will use them to destroy those who set them. 

What an awesome God we serve.

In Training

2 Samuel 22: He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.

We just read how God shields us, give us feet like a deer, and keeps our way secure.  But here we read about trained hands – ready for battle. 

God does all the work, but he expects us to lift our hands in surrender, grab his hand and trust, move our feet in faith and walk, take up our shields of faith, and stand with our eyes set on Him. 

Remember the old show on TV – with Gomer Pyle – the big goof in the army?  He had a ruthless sergeant, but Gomer was one who always talked and never quite listened nor understood what it was he was supposed to do – stay in line with the troops.

God isn’t ruthless, and we’re not goofy.  We’re made in his image, and all we have to do is offer up our hands for training, and our hearts in trust, our feet poised and ready.

It’s then that our ankles get strong so they don’t bend as we’re scaling the heights!

Deer Feet

2 Samuel 22:34  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.

Have you ever wondered why this verse says he makes our feet like the feet of a deer?  Why a deer, and not a fox, a dog, or a lion?

I know that deer are graceful and swift, even in tough spots.  And they can leap, too!  One site says this: …when climbing a mountain, a deer could put it's back (hind) feet in exactly the same spot where it's front feet had just stepped.  Exactly and without error.  With certainty and precision.  With ordered steps. Another verse says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

I don’t know about you, but I want feet like that.  And God has promised to place my steps with precision.  I don’t have to slip and fall.  I don’t have to slide off a cliff.  And I don’t have to lose my footing to shame. 

Thank you Lord, for feet like a deer, and please lead me to the heights you have planned for me, as you order my steps!

No One

2 Samuel 22: 32

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

It’s good for us to ask these two questions to ourselves once in a while.  The answer is always, “No one.”

There is no other one, no other god, no other rock, except our God.

This means that anything else we place our faith in, whatever else we try to stand upon, and wherever else we lean for strength, will fail us, crumble beneath us, and fall.  I know, because I’ve trusted in my own strength, in others and what they think of me, and I’ve leaned hard on my own understand and it never got me anywhere.

So ask yourself these two questions today, and when you answer it – praise God for arming you with strength and keeping your way secure. 

There is no one like our God.

As for God...

2 Samuel 22: As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

Do you know anyone whose words are flawless?  I don’t think there is any human who fits that description.  What about perfection?  Again, no human matches up.

But this verse says God’s ways are perfect and his word is flawless.  This means if we don’t understand his ways, it’s we who are flawed, not his word.

The way that we take refuge in him is by trusting God in his ways and in his word.  And when we do, we are shielded from anyone and anything that tries to harm us.

There will be times when we question the validity and perfection of God’s ways, because what he does and directs doesn’t always fit with our own minds and  plans.  And this is when we have to accept, and actually rejoice in, the fact that God is God and we are not.

The quicker in life that we learn this lesson, the more at peace we will be.  It’s when we fight against him, thinking we know “best,” that trouble seems to overtake us.

Choose to trust your perfect, flawless, Lord who covers you so completely.

Advance!

One of my favorite verses in the Bible, in 2 Samuel:

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

Imagine yourself being pursued by an army.  Your instinct is to run, to hide, to bury yourself in a ditch.  But as we read before, you know that God is your side and he’s your rock, your shield, your deliverer, and your horn (victor). 

When you remember this, all of a sudden this strength rises from the bottom of your legs, and you start running – yes – towards the army that dares to advance towards you.  You start scaling walls with more agility than you’ve ever seen in any superhero movie.  And the army that was pursuing you turns and flees.

Is an army advancing against your family, today?  Maybe your kids are being badgered with fear. Perhaps your husband is being stepped on by coworkers.  Or you might be cowered in a corner yourself, defeated and in the dark.

Rise up in His strength and throw darts of faith at those numbers that dare to show up in your yard, outside your window, or at your front door. 

How dare an army approach your home?  You are the daughter of the most high God!