Day 5
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the city that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the home that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about your family
Thank God for the effect that what you are grateful for has on:
your spiritual life
your physical life
your emotional life
your mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 69
"My eyes fail, looking for my God...May those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me, ...But I pray to You, O Lord, in the time of Your favor; in Your great love, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation...Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide Your face from Your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes...
The Lord hears the needy and does not despise His captive people. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that move in them, for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; the children of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His name will dwell there." ( vs. 3b, 6a, 13, 16, 33-36)
Sometime we are searching, and sometimes we are finding. There are many seasons in our lives. I love the scripture in Ecclesiastes that highlights this.
"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Psalm 69 contrasts two seasons - a season of struggle and a season of rebuilding. Both are written by the same person. I know I have been through both seasons and though I love the rebuilding, I do not regret the seasons of struggle. I would not want to go through some of the valleys I have been through again, but I would never want to take them back. They are why I am where I am at now and God has used them. He has used them to humble me and to show me what life is truly about.
I was very arrogant as a young person and I did not really understand struggle. Many things came easy to me and so I became very prideful and sure of myself. But we can not find God if there is no room for Him in our hearts; if we are too full of ourselves. That was me. I had been trained to be a student, not a person. I was taught to achieve, not love. I was taught that it was all about me. There was no room for God in my life, even though I professed to be a Christian. God had to allow me to face complete and utter moral failure so that I could truly see who I was.
All the things that I used to hide behind were stripped away in college. It was there that I truly began to understand that I was not a "good person". Whatever I had was not of my own doing. I did not make myself intelligent. That was a gift of God. I did not make myself athletically talented. That too was a gift of God. What I had made of myself, however, was a mess. I could finally see how I used people. I could see how I thought so many mean and impure thoughts. I could see how I thought I was better than others because of the gifts that God had given me. I could finally see clearly.
I did not want to bring shame and disgrace on those that hoped in God anymore. I claimed to be a Christian, but in my actions I was denying Him. I was as big of a hypocrite as the people I hated for being hypocritical. In God's great mercy, He had allowed me to see this. He did not show me this to destroy me, however. He showed me this so that I could change. He allowed me to start over. He came to my rescue. I had searched and searched for Him and He was found. At the right time, when I was most open to see the truth, God was there. God is here. I was crushed so that I could rise to a better life.
God saved me from myself and He continues to save me from myself. I can not believe how far I have come and I am so grateful that I can now understand life better and I know what it is to struggle. I know what it is to have to climb that long ladder back up to normal; to be a successfully functioning human being. God does restore and rebuild, even if everything right now lies in chaos around us and we struggle to get through each day. God will not despise us. The poor and needy will see and be glad. Our hearts will live. Our searching for God is not in vain. We will find Him and He will reward us if we are faithful. I praise God every day for this.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We grow weary searching for You. We are looking. We are struggling but You are strong. You are waiting for us to come to You. You are not far from each one of us. Help us to clear all the fog from our vision and throw off the sin that so easily entangles us. Help us to run our race with perseverance and not lose sight of our goal to make it to be with You. Keep our sights eternal. We love You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What season am I in right now? How do I know this? What seasons have I gone through? What have I learned from them?
2. Am I disgracing God and/or my brothers and sisters by the way I am living? What do I need to change to be living a life that pleases God?
3. Am I praying and pleading with God about my needs? How often am I praying? Can I make a schedule that would enable me to have more time to pray? When is the best time for me to pray? Where is most effective?
4. What do I need God to rebuild in my life? In what way am I like the cities of Judah that were torn down? How can God restore me? Do I believe God can and desires to do this?
5. How will I be able to help others better once I am rebuilt by God? What is my vision for what my life could be like and what is my vision for how God could use me?
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