This blog is designed to create community for believers and provide support for seekers. I encourage all readers to share their faith in an effort to lift and encourage one another.
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
— Francis Chan
Yikes! If that isn’t a quote to cut you to the quick! How often, Lord, do I put earthly success ahead of knowing and loving you? What about the new job or raise, the beautiful home, the new hairdo or clothes? Do I value these spiritually insignificant things more than I value a relationship with my God? It gives me pause. Lord, forgive me when I value other things more than you. Help me to keep my focus and my values on spiritual matters.
Let me add verse 24 b to the beginning of this passage: “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it….
Father, it makes me weep to see the body that you put together bicker and argue among themselves and with others. Forgive us, Lord. Teach us to honor one another and to work together to be the body of Christ and to do your work together.
In a world torn by conflicts and war, people seek peace. They question why war exists; hasn’t God has promised peace? When you listen to the news, it seems peace doesn’t exist. Even in our homes, it can be elusive. Couples bicker and divorce, siblings argue and fight.
The book of Isaiah sheds light on peace: “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river”(48:18a NIV). One prerequisite to peace is obeying God’s commands. But what about peace…like a river? To fully appreciate this concept of peace like a river, imagine a great river running through the land.
The broad river, a constant presence, flows despite obstacles. Sometimes the river runs smoothly; at other times it runs headlong into a snag, separating and diverting its water to other paths. The water flows peacefully on, until downstream it smashes full force against the rocks, shattering spray high in the air. Flowing to the top of a sharp drop-off, the water rushes forward, falling… falling…rushing over the edge, churning and boiling at the bottom. After a time, the waters collect in a still pool, resting, reveling in the quiet.
During my mother’s last years, her mind ravaged by dementia, my river of peace constantly ran against snags of her lost memory. My peace plummeted over the precipice of countless hours watching her mind rapidly losing rational thought and memory. Constantly swirling and eddying, the waters rushed me from work to my parents’ home to assist Dad in caring for her. Emotional whirlpools threatened to spin out of control.
The only thing that kept my sanity during this difficult time was God’s peace. You may ask how I can feel peace when my world was turned upside down. In Galatians 5:22, we learn that peace is a fruit of the Spirit. Only the spirit of God can give us peace in the midst of the snags, rocks, waterfalls, and whirlpools of life.
So how do we receive this peace? We can’t buy it in a store; we can only receive it as a gift from God. Once again, scripture aids us in our search for peace. “You[God]will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV). Our peace comes when we place complete trust in God and obey His commands (Isaiah 48:18).
When our life’s circumstances shatter against the rocks, placing trust in God’s perfect will keeps us at peace despite trying circumstances. Jesus tells us he leaves us peace, but “I do not give you [peace] as the world gives” (John 14:22 NIV). The countries of the world may continue to fight, and we will still experience difficulties and tragedies. But when we obey God’s commands and trust Him, no matter how difficult our circumstances, we experience His peace, flowing like a river deep within our souls.
Thank you, Father, that you provide peace for our souls, even in the most difficult circumstances.
“The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould”
― Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
Show me, Lord, how to live as sincerely and genuinely as the flowers in the field and the stars in the sky. Let me live for your glory.
Wow, this is such a powerful verse. To know even a little of the power of Jesus’ resurrection would be such a privilege. Open my eyes and my spirit Lord, that I might have a better understanding of Your power and might. Let me know you and worship you.
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
― Mother Teresa
If small bees didn’t fly from plant to plant, pollinating them so they could bear fruit, we couldn’t enjoy the bigger things like beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables to eat.
Lord, forgive me for neglecting the small things that draw me closer to you. Guard my heart and help me to be faithful in that little things, for they can make all the difference.
What little things do you do (or neglect to do) that draw you closer to God?
Lord, you know me inside and out. You know I put my trust in you…eventually. First, I often fret and worry and maybe shed some tears. Then, eventually, finally, I turn to you. At last, I put my trust in you, in your wisdom, and your strength. Teach me, Lord, to trust in you first.
How often do you get hungry or thirsty? My guess is you get hungry and thirsty several times a day, every day.
Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matt. 5:6). We long for food and water, but Jesus speaks of hungering and thirsting for righteousness! How do we do that? Isaiah 51:1: helps us understand: Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. When we seek God, we find righteousness too. How do we seek God? We seek Him in church, hearing messages from music and the pulpit. We seek God when we read, study and meditate on scripture. We seek Him in prayer, talking to Him and listening to His still, quiet voice. We seek Him whenever we enjoy the beauty of His creation.
If we need to eat and drink several times a day to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies, wouldn’t the same be true of our spiritual hunger and thirst?
Father God, thank you for giving us physical hunger and thirst so we may understand spiritual hunger and thirst. Teach us to seek You and your righteousness so that you may continually satisfy our spiritual longings.
God is not aloof. He says continually through the centuries, “I’ll help you, I really will. When you’re ready to throw up your hands, throw them up to Me.
― Jim Cymbala
I am so thankful, Lord, that you are always there and willing to reach out your hand. Forgive me for those times I don’t grab your extended hand, but stubbornly try to do things on my own. Keep me reaching out for the source of all my strength and all my hope.
Lord, you know I am easily discouraged. I think that I can never accomplish the task. But then you remind me: I can never accomplish the task. Not my strength, not my talent, not my brain. But in YOUR strength, all things are, indeed, possible. Keep me relying on you, not on me to finish the jobs.
Growing Our Faith Together 