2020-08-04
Romans 5:3 KJV
Patience is something that grows with us. Think about any small children you know. Their understanding of the world means that they have very little patience. If they’re expecting something, they want it now. But the older a child grows, the more they understand the reasons for waiting, and the more they build trust and patience with those around them. Our relationship with God is a lot like that. We can often have the patience of a toddler with His plans, but the more we grow in our understanding of Him, read His Word, and talk to Him in prayer, the more faith we develop to say ‘in Your timing’. We can use every waiting period, and every seemingly-unanswered prayer to build our relationship and our trust in Him. In James 1:2-4 we’re told: ‘When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy…when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow’ (NLT). Let’s learn to identify setbacks and delays as chances to step closer to God, and to seek His wisdom and guidance. The endurance that we build could become a key part of fulfilling God’s plans, as we start to recognise God’s hand at work, hearing his prompting more clearly. The Message paraphrases Romans 5:3-4 like this: ‘We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us… keeping us alert for whatever God will do next’ (MSG). Looking for God in the quiet or tough times can be part of what makes us who we’re meant to be.
Deut 8-10; Luke 11:14-28; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 17:1-2
2020-08-03
Matthew 7:7 AMP
Life with God is full of waiting. Delays are part of learning to trust Him and His perfect timing. Because of this, there are so many stories of persistence throughout the Bible. Take a look at the example of Abraham and Sarah who waited right into their old age for a son. Even when God came to confirm the promise, their instruction was to wait for another year. Sarah and Abraham weren’t perfect in their waiting (take a look at Genesis 18 – 21). Sarah laughed at the idea that God would fulfil His promise because she had been waiting so long. But they did eventually come to trust God and wait for Him to move. We can be even worse at waiting than Sarah and Abraham. We skip through adverts, and we only need to ask once to immediately find the answer to any question on our phone. But there’s no skip button when it comes to perseverance. Ephesians 6:18 tells us to pray ‘at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer… keep alert with all perseverance’ (ESV). God asks us to retrain ourselves to ask more than once, and to press on with expectancy and patience for an answer. Later, in Genesis 26:18 – 31, we see the results of this same perseverance in the next generation. Isaac was trying to dig a well, and twice his fresh wells got claimed by the Philistines. Still, he persevered and dug a third time. As Isaac kept digging, he faced no conflict, claimed land that God had promised, and even saw reconciliation with his enemies. If we keep praying, and continue to dig with the faith that our work will eventually be fruitful, then we’ll see God move in unprecedented ways.
Deut 5-7; Luke 11:1-13; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 16:33
2020-08-02
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
The Bible encourages us to pray relentlessly. Nineteenth-century evangelist George Müller had a list of five people who he was desperate to see meet Christ. He prayed for them regularly, and saw one person on the list become a Christian after five years. After ten years, another two became Christians, and a fourth after twenty-five years. Müller prayed for the fifth person for fifty-two years, and shortly after Müller’s funeral, they made a commitment to Christ. He didn’t get to see that person meet Jesus, but he had prayed ‘without ceasing’ and God did answer. We know that God’s promise is simple; in Jeremiah 33:3 He says, ‘Call to me and I will answer you’ (NIV). If we can learn to take God at His word, to believe that He will always answer when we meet with Him, then we too can grow the faith to pray expectantly for fifty-two years without yet seeing that answer. Müller himself said ‘God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.’ Believing that God hears us and is at work takes practice and patience, especially if we don’t see any answers right away. In those times, cling to verses like 1 John 5:14, which tells us that ‘if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us’ (NIV). Sometimes we have the privilege of seeing prayer answered. Sometimes though, we don’t get to see the outcome, or it doesn’t look the way we expect. Still, know that God always moves if we call to Him.
1 Sam 16; 1 Sam 17:32-51; Acts 13:21-22
2020-08-01
1 Samuel 30:8 NKJV
Many of us have a stubborn habit that shouldn’t be part of our life because it takes our focus away from God. It might be something like spending too much time on social media, or comfort eating, or an addiction to alcohol, gambling, or pornography. We can end up feeling trapped by our habits, but Jesus said He came so that ‘captives will be released’ (Luke 4:18 NLT). We can get back what we’ve lost through our bad habits, or even something better, by doing two things David did when the Amalekites destroyed his home and took his family captive: 1) He turned to God for strength. ‘David found strength in the LORD his God’ (1 Samuel 30:6 NLT). If we could solve our problems ourselves, we’d have done it. Acknowledging our powerlessness is the first step to victory. But acknowledging it is not the same as giving in to defeat and despair. It means that we can’t, but God can, and He will when we surrender to Him. 2) He turned to God for a strategy. ‘David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all”‘ (v. 8 NKJV). David didn’t stop until he recovered everything the enemy had stolen from him. When God gives us a strategy, we need to have that attitude too. He wants us to live free from damaging habits, and to recover what they’ve taken from our lives. Knowing that will give us the faith and courage to ‘pursue…overtake…and recover all.’
Deut 3-4; Luke 10:38-42; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 16:32
2020-07-31
1 Samuel 18:1 NLT
How many people would you say are your true friends? Usually we only have a few people in our inner circle. These are the people who we’re close to, who we trust, and who we can be open with. We need to be wise when it comes to who we allow into that circle. It really hurts when we discover that not everyone has our best interests at heart. So we must learn to be discerning, and know on what level to interact with people. A great biblical example of this can be found when we look at the lives of David and Jonathan. They became good friends quickly. The Bible tells us that ‘after David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them.’ When David was out of favour with King Saul, Jonathan kept David’s secrets and protected him, even when faced with displeasing his own family. Jonathan wasn’t seeking to advance himself through his relationship with David. He was a true friend. If someone’s a gossiper, they automatically disqualify themselves as a good person to have in our inner circle of friends. We need to be able to trust that we can speak to people in confidence so that we can express ourselves and get wise advice. True friends really care about us, and don’t bring up our past mistakes to manipulate us. The Bible warns us: ‘One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24 NIV). If we have close friends like this, we need to appreciate them and thank God for them.
Deut 1-2; Luke 10:25-37; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 16:31
2020-07-30
2 Corinthians 3:5 NIV
When we’ve succeeded in something or something goes well, our natural response is to feel proud of ourselves and maybe even to make sure we tell others about it. We might post about it on social media and wait for the likes to roll in. Or we might take on bigger and better things because we feel like nothing can stop us. It’s not bad to enjoy the feeling of success, but we need to avoid boasting to others and developing a prideful heart. Paul wrote: ‘Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.’ We need to be acknowledging that we can only do what we’re doing because of God. We’re only strong because He’s strong. We’re only able to do things because He gives us gifts and equips us. We’re only wise because He offers us perfect wisdom. We need to stop looking to other people to appreciate and validate our success, and instead turn to God and give Him all the glory. When we do something nice for others, or achieve something great, we need to lead other people to glorify God too. We shouldn’t be encouraging people to glorify us, but to glorify the One who leads, loves, and strengthens us. In Matthew, we’re told to ‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16 NIV). It’s not about us receiving the glory. The Bible actually tells us to glorify God in everything we do, even the mundane things. ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV). So let’s glorify Him today.
Acts 27-28; Luke 10:13-24; Ps 78:17-31; Prov 16:26-30
