that questioning the Lord was something that would bring lightning strikes down on my life. But now I understand that it’s ok to question God because questioning Him is simply asking Him for more information on the situation so I can better understand what He’s doing or see it better from His perspective.
God understands our questions but doubting Him is completely another story. When we doubt God we are saying that He isn’t capable of handling the situation. We believe in how we see the situation more than the promises God has given us. And when we begin relying on how we see things, the storms can spin us out of control. James 1:6 says it this way. “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” So this morning I pray that whenever storms arise, we’d take them confidently to the Lord, for that’s how we can still hear the birds singing even in the midst of the storm.
Lord, help us bring our storms to You and have the confidence You will handle them for us. Amen.
24…MATURING IN THE LORD
Good morning! I was looking through the photos on my phone this morning and I came to a realization that made me chuckle. Pictures of my granddaughters and great nieces clearly showed how much and how quickly they were growing. But for the adults in the photos, we look the same. It’s as if we’re not aging at all. I like that thought even though I know it’s not true. lol. Physical growth is only one way we change daily. We grow or age with every passing day and as an adult, growth spurts are no longer as evident as they were when we were young.
This daily aging process is not the same thing as maturing in God’s eyes. No one becomes mature in their faith automatically with age. It takes intentional work on our part. Hebrews 5:12-14 says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
Maturing in the Lord comes in stages just like we see in physical maturing. We have to spend time in God’s word to learn more about Him. As we learn, our obedience and practice of what we’ve learned grows us, matures us, in the Lord. It’s a day-to-day process where we are active participants. Often times, we mature quickest when we’ve gone through some kind of difficulty. During those times, we learn that we are inadequate to handle this life alone and as we reach out to the Lord, He helps us mature in faith. So using the analogy found in Hebrews, where are you in the food spectrum? Praying that we’ve all moved into solid food and we’re yearning for a steak.
God, help us grow spiritually with each passing day, maturing in You. Amen.
25…BLUE ANGELS
Good morning! We had the privilege of having the Blue Angels perform in our area. Our local news had a special on them and one thing I learned about them really has stuck with me. One of the pilots said that during their performances they are only 18 feet apart from the other planes! Wow, there is only one thing that could allow these pilots the confidence to have such tight formations and that thing is...trust.
Trust is one of the corner stones of being a Christian. We trust that the Lord is who He says He is, can do what He says He can do, and that He will never change. When we have faith to trust Him for our salvation, we can surely trust Him for everything else in life but sometimes we forget that. During those times when life’s circumstances throw us off center, we can get our focus back by spending time in God’s word. I have two go-to verses on the issue of trust. Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” And Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Both of those verses include “if-then” statements. “If” we trust and acknowledge Him, “then” He will make our paths straight. And again “if” we trust Him, “then” He will fill us with joy, peace and an overflowing of hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that we’d want to stay in a very tight formation with the Lord...the closer the better. May we experience His overflowing of love, peace, joy and hope in our life by simply trusting in Him.
Lord, help us trust You more with each passing day. Our desire is to stay as close to You as possible. May our trust and confidence in You be such that being more than 18 feet from You seems like long distance. Amen.
26…DEPENDING ON HIM
Good morning! Depending on God is something that we read about throughout scripture but depending on God is a whole lot more than just words. So what does depending on God look like? I was able to answer that question over the weekend while I was in the hospital.
When you depend on God you are saying that you know you can’t do this alone. You are agreeing with the Lord that you neither have the strength or the ability to handle life without Him. Some might see this as a bad thing but it’s actually the best way to live this life...fully depending on Him. When we work with the Lord and accept the role of a follower instead of the leader of your life, we can then wait with great anticipation to see what adventures He will take us on each day. True, sometimes the adventures aren’t what we’d like, like being in the hospital, but in all of them if you look closely, you can see God working.
I am learning to live out Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” I love how this verse tells us we can do ALL things through the Lord, not just a few things or some things but ALL things. When I regained consciousness in the ambulance I began reminding myself that I was not alone and that the Lord would get me through this situation just like He has done every other day of my life. So the next time your life is interrupted by the unexpected, I pray that Philippians 4:13 will remind you that God will give you the strength to get to the other side of what you’re dealing with.
Lord, so many people view depending on others as a sign of weakness, but we know whenever anyone depends on You, they are in the best place possible. Being under Your control is a source of strength that cannot be found anywhere else or in anyone else. Thank you for the strength You give all believers who trust in You. Amen.
27…HEART’S GARDEN
Good morning! One of the things I love about where I’m living now is that I see neighbors daily. I hear them as they come and go from their houses and when they’re out in their yards. I can hear the mail lady when she’s on our street. And likewise I hear all of the trash trucks as they come down the street, as well as, the FedEx and UPS trucks, too. Those reminders of having other people physically present in the area which I live are really, really cool. This morning when I went out to put a bill in my mailbox I noticed I had a box on my front porch. It was a box of homegrown tomatoes and cute little flowers that came from my neighbors. Needless to say there was a BLT in my future.
As I was thinking about how that gesture from their garden blessed me, I started thinking about the garden growing in my heart. Sometimes my heart produces beautiful fruit like the tomatoes that I received. But unfortunately, other times I have forgotten to pull the weeds in my heart. And even on prompting from the Holy Spirit to take care of the weeds, I find a reason why it’s not the right time to deal with them.
God wants good fruit to be produced in our lives so He loves to meet us there in our heart’s garden. What I’m learning more each day is that the Lord is all over helping us pull those weeds so that the fruits of the Spirit can come forth from our heart. Galatians 5:22 lists those fruits that show others that we belong to God. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
