The Key to Life

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

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Showing posts with label mighty God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mighty God. Show all posts

Monday, July 13, 2015

Light in the Darkness

"The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned."
Isaiah 9:2



They could really use a little hope.  Things looked pretty bad for the people of God.  And what was the message God used to encourage His wayward people as they faced exile in a  time of great darkness which was a serious consequence for their unfaithfulness?  "I am sending the Light."  We as 21st Century people who are no less wayward are the beneficiaries of this prophecy.  But do we see His benefit, or would we rather stay in the dark (John 3:19)?

Counselor.  I always need guidance.  There is a constant need for help.  My inferior perspective cannot make out the course I am meant to navigate.  Therefore, I need a counselor.  And in Christ I have one always available.  But I must seek His counsel, it doesn't just come automatically through osmosis (James 1:5-7).  The choice is mine:  Follow my own ways or actively seek His.  When I ask Him for wisdom without holding back, believing He truly holds all the answers to my questions, the solutions to my problems, the only direction in the darkness, then He will generously bestow His insight upon me.

Jesus Christ is my Wonderful Counselor.

Mighty.  There are many gods to choose from.  I could try adhering to a plethora of religious principles, hoping they could save me from the meaninglessness of life, from the hopelessness I feel,  from the destruction of myself.  But none is powerful enough, all are impotent and limited in scope.  Jesus Christ is the only God who solved mankind's core problem:  sin.  Its what broke His creation, twisted everything good into something evil, turned what God meant into something He never intended.  But Jesus, in taking upon Himself that destructive sin that introduced death into His perfect Creation, introduced hope that everything will be set back as it was meant to be.  And this redemptive power is at work today in those who wholly trust their lives to Him.  He turns ashes into beauty, suffering into rejoicing, the bad into the good (Isaiah 61:1-3).  

Jesus Christ is my Mighty God.

Unlimited.  Everything I know, that I'm familiar with, is limited.  Whatever surrounds me has a beginning and a conclusion, is unable to meet all my needs, has boundaries.  Whatever power I turn to in this physical world comes to an end at some point, running out of steam and needing to be replenished.  Not with Jesus.  His strength and ability to care for His people never runs out (Isaiah 40:28).  I can count on Him whose power and dominion knows no boundaries.  In fact, everything I see belongs to Him and since He loves to give good things to His children, I can rely on Him to supply my needs, quench my thirst, fill my void (Psalm 50:10, Matthew 7:11, Matthew 6:32). This is the kind of God upon whom I can place my faith.

Jesus Christ is my Everlasting Father.

Reconciliatory.  He did what no one else could do.  He bridged the void sin left between mankind and God.  He filled the gap that sin created.  His work on the cross built a bridge between me the wretched and God the good.  His ministry of reconciliation delivered peace between God and myself whom my flesh made into His natural enemy (Colossians 1:22, Romans 5:10).  Not only this, but He also made a way for this peace to be available within myself, guarding my heart against fear and my mind against anxiety (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus Christ is my Prince of Peace.


He is the Light of the world, yet many would rather stay in the darkness.  To those who step into His wonderful Light, however, the risk taken in giving all to Him pays off in dividends whose value we cannot fathom.  Jesus is my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.  These are the benefits I receive by faith when I leave behind the darkness and enter into His beautiful Light.


As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to give Jesus my entire life, leaving the darkness of my sins behind.

When do I cling to my sin, unwittingly choosing it over the Light?

How would it change my life to know I can go to Jesus with any problem I encounter?   


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Untamable

"Can you catch Leviathan with a hook
or put a noose around its jaw?
Can you tie it with a rope through the nose
or pierce its jaw with a spike?"
Job 41:1-2 NLT



Legend has it that she hides in the secret parts of a lake whose depth reaches up to 754 feet.  She is elusive, only showing herself to a few people, and rarely sticking around long enough to be photographed.  Like the so-called Big Foot, many believe she's there, but there is little evidence of her existence.  Still, those who have seen her describe a mammoth creature similar to the Leviathan.  

If these large sea creatures are so untamable, how much more powerful and mysterious is their Creator?

Unsearchable.  "No one can measure the depths of his understanding." (Isaiah 40:28b NLT)   "Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!" (Romans 11:33 NLT)  "How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts!"  (Psalm 92:5)  "Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.  None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare." (Psalm 40:5)

David sang about the unknowable depths of God's understanding, especially of his intimate ways and of the plan He has for His children.  He marveled at how God holds it all together, saying "Your [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high about me, I cannot reach it." (Psalm 139 6 AMP)  This man after God's own heart spent a lot of time pondering this unsearchable characteristic of God.  

With such a deep mind that is able to know all things, perceive all things, and take in all of His creation at once, how can I doubt His ability to care for me, comfort me, and meet me right where I am?  Why do I think I must put on a front, be who I think He wants me to be, pretend everything is okay when it is clearly not?  He knows.  He understands.  He gets it.

Since God's understanding of His creation is beyond my comprehension, He is certainly able to take care of me in just the way I need.

Mighty.  I think of a warrior, fighting an impossible battle and despite the irrefutable odds, winning.  Single handedly.  Shattering expectations.  How can one man secure victory against such a foe?  Yet Jesus did.  He conquered Death, the one enemy no one else could defeat.  The inevitable adversary that mankind dreads yet must one day face, and lose.  Christ single-handledly conquered Death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Jesus is Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6).  He is mighty in battle, able to save me from my enemy (Psalm 24:8).  Is there any foe that can overpower Him, that He cannot subdue?  No.  Therefore, I can trust Him to fight my battles.  

When the pit of gloom threatens to suck me in, enveloping me in darkness, I can call on Jesus to set my feet on the solid rock (Psalm 40:2).  When the cares of this world bully me into a helpless heap of anxiety, I can call on Jesus to fill me with peace as I thank Him for all His goodness (Philippians 4:6-8).  When I face the impossible, feeling overwhelmed with the hopelessness of it all, I can call on Jesus to show me that nothing is impossible through Him (Philippians 4:13).

Since Jesus is my mighty warrior, I can call on Him to fight my battles for me.

Limitless.  I tried in vain to get our mama cat to leave her newborn kittens in the laundry room.  Time and time again, I would retrieve the babies from underneath my daughter's bed and carry them into their new home.  Without fail, Middy would pick them up by the scruff of the neck, one at a time, and return them to what she had deemed their rightful place.  I could not make this cat go against her God-given motherly instincts.

In the same way that God's creation cannot be completely tamed and conformed into man's idea of how things should work, God is limitless.  I cannot put Him in the neat little box I have labeled as "God."  He is bigger than I can fathom.  Nothing is impossible for Him and He is not constrained by time, the laws of nature or physics.  "Is the LORD's arm too short?" God asked Moses when he questioned God's ability to provide a months' worth of meat for the entire nation of Israel (Numbers 11:23).

Therefore, I must not limit God, restraining Him by my parameters of understanding and experience.  Simply due to the fact that I can't imagine something occurring, does it mean God can't do it?  Just because I've never seen a thing happen, does it mean God can't surprise me?  

Since God is limitless, I can expect the unexpected from Him.


God is untamable.  His ways are unsearchable, His power is mighty, and His scope is limitless.  Therefore, I can trust Him to do whatever it takes to care for me.  Let today be the first day when I acknowledge the unfathomable nature of the Lord our God.


As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust this God who cannot be understood or restrained.

How do I limit God?

When do I doubt that God can help me?