God is teaching me so much about trust and focus. It seems that when you step out and think you fully understand a concept of the Kingdom, He reveals so much more...showing that you really know very little! Every turn is a new facet of Him to discover. And yet, He is faithful, gentle and loving. He never leaves us and will never put more on us than we can handle. He promises that 'a bruised reed He will not break', so the stretching will not result in our breaking. Somehow that brings great peace to me.
Ex. 33:14 says "My Presence will go with you, and I (in My Presence) will give you rest (peace).
What distinguishes us from the world? Peace...His rest which is that unexplainable calm, quiet, lack of striving in the midst of storms. The disciples experienced this as they found themselves on the Sea of Galilee in a storm with Jesus asleep in the boat. They called out to Him, and He answered "Peace, be still."
Peace in spite of....
Peace in the midst of....
Peace through all....
Psalm 91 gives great insight into the secret of living in peace: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
May you focus your attention on dwelling with the Most High this week, shutting out all distractions and resting in the secret place with Him. There's nothing more important than this.
His peace be with you as you Focus On Him.
Ann
Ann,
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting what trust really means. The Lord has done a couple of things at the church which has shown me personally, what a real Father is all about; almost "Wow" moments because even though I said I trusted Him, I don't really think I did and all of a sudden...there He was. He moved the mountain. And you know what the best thing about the whole situation was? It took the pressure off me! He did what I professed He would do. Can you imagine, God doing what He said He would? He did it for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Mary and Joseph. Why wouldn't He do it for me? As Chene says, "Why not me?"
Another area about trust that I wish everyone would get is that you can't call yourself a child of God and then pick and choose how you will serve Him. I'll pray; I'll volunteer; I'll teach, but I won't let go of my money (tithes) because I may need that if times get tough. Why? Because they don't trust their Father to meet their need.
Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I sure love sharing mine with you...
Judy
Awesome word!
ReplyDeleteOk, so my favorite part is the verse right after that...Exodus 33:15 & 16. I love Moses' response..."If you aren't going with us, please don't make us leave this place. But if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people...." If we go without the presence then we lose the covering and anointing needed to accommplish the task. I know that I'm guilty of sometimes jumping too soon and missing the point of why God had me in a certain situation. There's something to be said for following that cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21).
Thanks for the encouragement. Keep it up! Looking forward to seeing you at the women's retreat.