Not so
Invisible work in His Word 9-14-2020
From time to
time I read through old files of devotionals deciding what to put in another book,
or what to file away. Often while doing so an article will stand out as
something that is relevant to today. Such a time as this I like to publish it
again as a revisit from the past. Enjoy this joint portion of Invisible Work,
and with a little twist for today. Not so invisible… In His Word 9-14-2020
Every
day that we are awake and breathing God is at work in our lives. We do not
always notice it at the moment it is happening, but He has a plan and is
working on us today. Waking up with aches and pains in our older years, as our
bodies complain that we mistreated them in our youth, is a small thing when we
realize the essence of God within us will give us the strength to endure any
hardship or issue that comes before us. The thing is to remember it!
Therefore,
we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the
inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the
things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
We go
through trials, and sometimes we trip ourselves up on details and drama; but
God is here with is even in the drama. And if God is for us… nothing can stand
against us, right? This is all temporary and life is a path we are walking on,
right? We just have to keep a stiff upper lip, as my little Grandmother used to
say, and keep our chins up! For we know that God has our back, we know that He
is going to, and already has sent us a Helper to guide us.
But
how do we know that we are taken care of; how do we know that we are His? We
need but to believe!
“What
do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person
believes.”
The father instantly cried out,
“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24
We
need to believe. That is all that He asks is for us to believe in Him. Then we are saved from the afterlife of
damnation, and then we can live life knowing that if we ask anything it shall
be done.
For assuredly, I say to you,
whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does
not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he
will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything
against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you
your trespasses. Mark 11:23-25
Believe.
That God
will be with us in the fire; like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Daniel chapter
3.
That God will heal you as he did the daughter of
the man in Mark 9.
That He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Hebrews 13.
Believe
that He will save you. Acts 16.
For we
know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die
and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body
made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow
weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new
clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without
bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and
sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe
us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be
swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this,
and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
We are
in this life for a lifetime, then when He sees it is time we will be gone from
those who know us. What can we do but keep pushing forward to win the prize of
salvation?
When
we push forward, we will find that God is for us, and we will find that He has
been with us throughout our lives; even when we did not know Him.
I can
look back through my lifetime; there were many times when in hindsight I can
see that God kept me from going astray, from getting in with the wrong crowd of
friends. Often times I was sad because I felt alone as a child but God brought
me one friend each time we moved that would bring me closer to knowing Him. I
did not see that as a child, I did not even think about it but as I grew and
realized the truth. It was long after I
knew that Christ Jesus is real actually; I had my eyes open to the many times
He kept me from harm. He gave me strength to get out of bad situations so that
I could be safe.
God is
with us, I know this is the truth. He walks with us and guides us through His
spirit, whom we call the Holy Spirit, or the Comforter, or the Holy Ghost.
In
this which we do not see, we can know that He is there because the evidence of
His having been there will be written on our hearts. The thing about the truth
is that you know it is true.
That
may sound rather simple but maybe it really is simpler than we all try to make
it.
Just
because you cannot visibly see something does not mean it does not exist.
If I
stand and talk to you I cannot see your brains, your heart beat, your lungs breathing
life giving oxygen in and out; but I believe they are there because the
evidence is in that you are alive.
“I
tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me
have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have
already passed from death into life. John 5:24
Our
very life itself is proof of the invisible God working in and through our
lives. The fact that we can walk, breath, and think in such depth is proof, but
God gives us even more! He allows us to dig deeper and see the MRI of our
physical bodies and see the details of created children inside their mothers
with Ultrasound pictures and videos. Man cannot accomplish these things along,
the invisible God gives them direction, hope and guidance just as He does us.
…who
purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Christ
is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was
created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created
everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can
see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and
authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:14-16
He
gives us hope for tomorrow to be a better day, joy unspeakable and love
everlasting.
Ask
Him to show you the times when He held you up in a time of trouble when your
faith is weak. Surely Jesus will show you how He helped you through times in
the past so that you could find hope for today. Or, maybe it is someone you
know who could benefit from an old trial you went through? A time when you were
feeling so low, or so alone, that you felt lost, but God brought you through it,
share that with a friend today! Let them know that we do not always know that He
is there, but in retrospect we can see all He has done. Allow Him to use your
hurts, and it will build your faith as well.
Ask
God to use you this season, this month, this day. Allow Him to guide you and
make your steps His steps today and every day.
Dear
Heavenly Father, help us to walk with You even when you are invisible to our
humanness allow us to know that you are near in the Spirit. Help us to trust in
You to pull us through and to love us and others through us, in Jesus name,
amen.
Suggested
Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 2 Corinthians 5:1-21, Colossians 1:1-29 and John
20:1-31