Daily Devotional - 10/4/15

Prayer Focus - Needs



Day 2
Pray for:
One thing that you need to be grateful for but find it difficult to be
One person that you need to apologize to, resolve a conflict with, or forgive



Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your voice today and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 94


"Does He who implanted the ear not hear?  Does He who formed the eye not see?  Does He who disciplines the nations not punish?  Does He who teaches man lack knowledge?  The Lord knows the thoughts of man; He knows that they are futile. 

Blessed is the man You discipline, O Lord, the man You teach from Your law; You grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.  For the Lord will not reject His people; He will never forsake His inheritance.  Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?  Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.  When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' Your love, O Lord, supported me.  When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul."  ( vs. 9 -19 )


God knows.  God knows everything.  He knows every thought that comes into our mind.  He is completely beyond our comprehension.  We are finite and our thinking is finite.  God is infinite.  We are stuck to time and space.  We can only be in one place at a time, and we can only know what is in our minds and hearts; sometimes not even that.  So how is it that we think somehow that we are smarter than God or that we have something figured out that He hasn't yet?  God knows us.  God is not surprised by anything.

To me, this makes it all the more amazing that God pays attention to us at all.  God knows everything about each and every one of us. He knows who will listen to Him and who will not.  He knows all of the things we do in secret and all of the sinful leanings of our heart.  And yet, He still cares.  He still died.  He still forgives.  He invests His time to train us up; to discipline us.  And He has a plan and a dream for us to make a difference in the world.  He wants to see change.  He desires change in each of our hearts and He is calling us.  He asks, "Who will rise up for me against the wicked?  Who will stand? Who will make a difference?  Who will love as I have loved?"  It is an overwhelming task but we have been called.  If we look at the task, we will slip as the psalmist states.  But God will help us.  God will support us in the task if we go and try.  God will calm the anxiety that comes and God will bring us joy as we obey.  We just need to start and go and try.

Here are some of my favorite quotes on these thoughts:

"The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step"
                                                                     Chinese Proverb


"If the Lord calls you, He will equip you for the task He wants you to fulfill."
                                                                     Warren Wierbe

"Have thy tools ready.  God will find the work."
                                                                     Charles Kingsley

"You will invest your life in something or you will throw it away on nothing."
                                                                      Haddin Rosisson

"Employ whatever God has entrusted you with in doing good, all possible good, in every kind and degree."
                                                                       John Wesley

"Start by doing what is necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible."
                                                                       St. Francis of Assissi

"Discipline yourself so no one else has to."
                                                                       John Wooden





Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


You are not deaf or blind or dumb.  You know exactly what is going on here.  You know exactly what is going on in my heart.  You know and still care.  That is amazing to me.  I am so grateful that You have called me and given me a part in Your amazing work.  Help me to rise to the occasion.  Help me to live a life worthy and to cling to You because You will make it all work out.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1.  How do I feel about the difference between God and me?  Do I ever find myself thinking that I know better than God?  How might my actions show this even if I don't think this outright?  What can I change to have a better view of God and myself?

2. Do I allow God to discipline me?  Do I listen to His word and to the people God has put in my life?  Do I take advice?  Why or why not?  Am I teachable?  Am I learning or have I become set in my ways?  What can I do to become a lifelong learner? 

3. Am I taking a stand for God?  Do I stand up for God's word?  If I am standing up for God and His ways, am I doing so in a loving and respectful way or do I just let people "have it"?   What can I do to be more effective in the way I talk to people about God and His ways?

4. Do I feel that God can use me?  Am I allowing myself to be a part of God's plan to change and transform the world? Why or why not?  Do I want to do this?  Do I see the importance of it?  What can I do to change and allow myself to answer God's call.

5. Do I feel anxious or hopeless?  Am I turning to God for help or am I trying to do everything on my own power?  How can I allow God to support and console me?  What role do my friends and fellow believers have in helping me?  Do I allow others into my life so that they can be there for me?  Why or why not?  What should I change so that I can strengthened and receive joy?