JULY 2

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES:

NAMES USED FOR JESUS IN THE BIBLE:

JEHOVAH NISSI (MY REFUGE & BANNER) Ex 17:11 & 16

JEHOVAH JIREH (MY PROVIDER) Ps 23:1; Gen 22:12-14; 2Peter 1:3

JEHOVAH RAPHA (MY HEALER) Ex 15:26;  Mt 9:35; 1Peter 2:23

JEHOVAH SHALOM (MY PEACE) Judges 6:24; Is 9:6; 2Tim 3:1-5

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This month we will read the book, “Whatever Happens – How to Stand Firm in Your Faith When the World is Falling Apart.”  By a contemporary author of many best-selling Christian books, Robert J. Morgan.  He took care of his wife when she had MS, until she went home to her Savior. In fact, she helped him write many of his books.   “He knows of which he speaks.”  I pray that this book blesses you.

GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS SOMETIMES PERPLEXING, SO WE WALK BY FAITH

We don’t always understand why we feel shut out,  encounter closed doors or have to wait for circumstances to change.  But part of the reason is that the Lord is teaching us to walk by faith.

When I graduated from Wheaton college in 1976, I drove back to roan Mountain to look for a church to pastor and to prepare for my wedding to Katrina that fall.  There were many little churches in the mountains needing a pastor, but none of them wanted to hire me.  For the entire first year of our marriage, every door in front of me remained closed. 

Then, on our first wedding anniversary, a little country church outside Greeneville, Tennessee, sounded  a Macedonian call and said, “Come over here and help us.”  In the years that followed, we were as thankful for the closed doors as we were for the one that opened.

I’ve learned, when perplexed, to trust God.  He knows what He is doing.  He’s in the details.

The German hymn “Now thank We All Our God” has this beautiful stanza:

“O may this bounteous God/ Through all our life be near us/ with ever joyful hearts/ and blessed peace to cheer us;/ and keep us in His grace/ and guide us when perplexed;/ and free us from all ills/ In this world and the next!”

GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS PROGRESSIVE: THAT’S WHY WE KEEP KNOCKING ON DOORS.

Look at  Acts 16:6-10, particularly verse 7:

“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Verse 7 says: “ After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.”

They TRIED.  They tried this way and that.

The Lord knew exactly where He wanted them to go.  He could have told them from the beginning:  “Go straight to Troas where You’ll get a Macedonian call.” But He didn’t  I don’t understand why.  All I know is that’s the way life has worked for me too.

If we’re too passive, we never knock on doors.  We just wait to see if the Lord will open them without putting forth the necessary effort and risk. If we’re too aggressive, we might push the dors open and go where God doesn’t intend for us to go.

I’ve found the best approach is to knock softly or nudge against the door.  If it opens, praise the Lord.  If it doesn’t, praise the Lord, trust His plan and move on.

Whatever happens, know this:  Even when you’re perplexed, God is orchestrating your steps and your future. Just say with the hymn writer:

“Your faithful follower I would be, for by Your hand You lead me.”

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