(Psalms 107:29) “He made the storm be calm, and the waves of the sea were hushed.”
The seas rage and the wind howls but a simple “be still” from the Lord and all is well.
How we need to be reminded of the power that our God brandishes in His hand. Our lives and especially my thoughts at times can power on at a hundred miles an hour. This morning is a day like that. It is the simplicity of God’s Word that must bring my thoughts into captivity and by His Word I need to re-establish godly reason to my understanding. It is the Lord Jesus I must find! What is it that one night’s sleep is sweet, while another is filled with anxiety? The war rages on; “for though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
I do not plan the outcome of my thought patterns, it’s not like I sit with a pen in hand and plot the views and the route they must take, as if I was planning my weekly diary. They just happen! Periodically they are filled with mischievousness and unfruitful thoughts run riot. But thankfully they often are filled with majestic almost uncontainable feelings of my great God; Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These times are sweet and filled with peace. However, how would we ever learn if we were always kept safe and never tested? I have seen parent chiefly with their first child how they protect their toddler, how they watch the kids every move, but before long the youngster is crawling and soon walking and has learnt to manoeuvre around obstacles because they soon learn that by bumping into them it is painful. It must be by the trial of our faith that His wisdom and knowledge is learnt. We need restless nights; we need tryouts that will test what we believe. Not that God needs to know what we will do, as He knows all things, but we need to be tested so that our own hearts may see who we are in Him. We love to claim triumph prior to the victory. We may and must believe God and all His promises, we must embrace our hope with both arms, but we must with soberness consider our walk before the Lord. “Not all who say Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father.” We must be sure we are walking in the spirit and seeking out God’s will for our lives. Examine yourselves daily! Forget yesterday, today I need to fall on my knees and seek strength and direction from my Saviour to walk worthily in His vigour.
The bible makes reference to fearing God and even at times uses the word secret, as if it wields magical powers. It is penned like this; “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” King Solomon’s summation of life was this; (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
So, with all these truths bombarding our minds it is easy to lose focus on that which is important. We will look to another great example that will teach us to put our trust in the Lord Jesus.
(Matthew 8:24-27) “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"
To trust and obey must be our resolve for today, as we know what sort of man this was and still is; He is our Saviour, God who became a man, the One who died in our place, paying the penalty of our sin on a cruel Roman cross. He had the power to destroy all who had passed judgement on Him but instead chose to remember us, by dying for us, entitling all who have repented and believed on Him to the privilege we now share, as we cry “Abba Father.” The privilege of addressing the only true and awesome God as Father is quite phenomenal. When I look at the path of destruction the wake of my life has left in its shadow, I could easily be overshadowed by doubts and fears whereby I cry “save me Lord”. I must cry out “save me Lord” on a daily basis, yet with a slightly different pitch to my voice. My prayer now has a new throw to its tone as assurance in confidence in my Saviours ability rings true once again to my ears. I remember that He has the power to calm the storms; I remember that He was the one who cried, “It is finished” as He hung on the cross. I remember that I can in reverence call God my Father, all because of the great act of Calvary. My mind now begins to find tranquil peace as the Word of God in and through the power of God the Holy Spirit brings every deliberation back into perspective. Last night may have been restless, for whatever reason, another thought for another day, but now an hour and a half later sensible rational is the order of the day. Thank you Father in the mighty name of Jesus for the privilege that in and through the workings of God the Holy Spirit all you children can and will be conformed to a new way of thinking. Help all of us I pray to learn what it means to follow the Apostle Paul’s instruction; (Romans 12:1-2) “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
“Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
Give us understanding so that in understanding we will make wise decisions so that we will not err. If we see with the eyes of our understanding we will not fall into sin. Understanding then will keep us from sin.
Signing off
Tyrone
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