This reset is pretty long but it has such good wisdom from 2006 that I did very little editing! Enjoy!
In His Word!
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word,
to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make
it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk
in wisdom toward those who are outside, (unsaved) redeeming the time. Let your
speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:2-6
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh
reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season
we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let
us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Gal
6:7-10
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1Peter 5:6-11
Wisdom
comes from His word. We cannot find the answers to these questions in
ourselves, but with His Word speaking to our hearts and minds I believe we can
find the answers that we seek.
Lately I have heard from a lot by people who are being blessed, or who want to be blessed. Whether it is a financial, or physical healing, or
whatever it is; all of us want the blessings of God to fall upon us.
Many people seem to think there is a formula to follow in
order to be 'blessed'. The Word tells us
that the rain falls on the just and the unjust, in other words all of us must
suffer in some way. What is my suffering to you may seem like an easy street
and your suffering might seem like something that could be easily remedied to
me.
So why do we suffer? Well I think it is so that we will humble
ourselves in the sight of the Lord, as the Word says, that He may lift us up.
If all was well in your life all the time, or if your life
was full, with no financial worries, no struggles, nothing raining on your
parade; would you be seeking God’s direction today?
I have asked myself
this. I know that God knows what I can handle, and His Word says that
he will not give us more than I can handle without giving me a way out
(1 Corinthians 10:13). He will provide the way for you to avoid the temptation
of giving up. He did this when He gave us Jesus on the cross
When Christ Jesus died for our sins He made temptation something to walk away from fairly easily. He could stand up under such circumstances, I think on the cross; Jesus would have had more of a temptation than the 40 days in the dessert. The temptation for Him, could have been to call on all those angels and have them deal with this stiff-necked people, right/
Instead Jesus chose to humble himself in the sight of the Lord God the Father, knowing that His Abba would take care of Him. He in that took care of us. In that example we find wisdom. Jesus was steadfast in His resolve to free us from our sins.
We need to remain steadfast and strong in our resolve not to give in to the temptations around us. These include the temptation to think God
does not care, or that He is punishing us when it seems like He is not answering our prayers. God wants to bless each of us, and answer
all of our prayers for help! He wants
to but there are a few things He points out to us in His Word that we do not
do.
1. We pray amiss.
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot
obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You
ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your
pleasures. James 4:2-3
2. We need to know what we are praying for.
When we pray we need to focus our prayers properly. We have to remember that it is not about us, our trials our tribulations are about His glory in our lives. So if we struggle and do not humble ourselves and allow Him to show us how to get out of the mud we are in, then He will not get the glory and we will have build up a hard shell on our hearts.
3. We need to be flexible.
Do you know that God calls His people a “stiff necked people” many times in the
Old Testament? He was quite angry because He provided for these people so many
times and yet they kept turning away from Him and trying to do things their own
way. A stiff-necked person does not turn their head very well; they are not
very flexible either. Think about the last time you woke up with a stiff neck.
He wants us pliable, to be able to be changed into the people that He alone
knows we are capable of becoming.
People who will love one another unconditionally, and people
who will forgive one another, unconditionally too. He knows our shortcomings
and in what areas we need work, and often times we go through problems to build
that area up in Him. If we are stubborn, He may give us something to break our
stubborn streak and cause us to call out to Him with all our hearts.
After all that is what our Lord God wants for us, is to seek
Him, to Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And when we do
this, then the blessings will flow, because we will be obedient to His Word.
When you pray for God’s Divine assistance in a matter you
need to pray through. That means you pray specifically what you want, need,
desire, and then find a scripture to reinforce the answer to you. Admitting
that you need help is the first step to change, even the worldly programs tell
you that.
So, admit to God that you can’t do it on your own, whatever
it is that your desire to get out of is. Look up in your concordance a
scripture about the fact that God will supply all your needs according to His
riches in glory He will take care of us, as we need to be. Unfortunately that
does not mean I always get to wear Nike running shoes. Sometimes it means I
have to wear store brand jeans. But this is providing in His way, in His time.
So in order to get the blessings of God on our lives, we
have to resist temptation, be steadfast and strong following Christ’s example
and know that to Him is the glory. It looks like we want to keep our focus off
our problems and on Him. How to live right in Christ, how to live for Him, how
to be obedient to His Word. These seem like the lessons we need to follow up in
His Word daily. The answers all are found in His Word. We need to dig in daily
and get a good chunk of meat from His words to our hearts and minds.
Then we will find the answers to our needs and desires, and
to why we get blessed or not. It is all in there and I would have to cut and
paste the whole Bible to answer all the questions! I am grateful to God that He
holds my answers in His hands. Someday I will get those answers, maybe not how
I expect or when, but I trust my Lord will respond to my prayers, in His time when
I pray according to His Word and humbly give Him the Glory.
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to do your will each day. Help
me to listen for Your Voice in your Word as I start each day, In Jesus name.
Amen
Suggested Readings for
this week;
Monday: Mark 11:20-33
Tuesday: James 4:1-17
Wednesday: Matthew
6:5-21
Thursday: Isaiah 43:
1-28
Friday: 1 Corinthians
9:1-27
Weekend readings1 Peter 3 through 1 Peter
5.all three chapters are full of good nuggets!
***If for any reason you choose ever not to receive this
devotion again please remember that all it takes is replying with a
"Please remove me from this list." I do ask that if there is a
problem with anything I write for you to feel free to write me back and let me
know what the problem was, that we might go over it together and seek the truth
in love.
In His love,
Teresa M. Wilson
www.teresawilson.com
Copyright © 2006
by Teresa M. Wilson.
Romans
8:24-25
For we
were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one
still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we
eagerly wait for it with perseverance.