And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee… 2Corinthians 12:9
…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Php 4:11
The Christian life is a paradox to the lost world. The more a Christian loses, the more he gains. This is in reference to the “losing of self” and the “gaining of joy” from the Lord. As Christians, we are not to receive our pleasure from the world, but from the person of Christ. We must remember His promise made to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” We need nothing more than Jesus Christ Himself to live the abundant life. Does this mean that we do not need material possessions to live abundantly? Yes! Millions live daily in abject poverty with the joy of Christ abundantly overflowing from their soul. Does this mean that we do not need good health to live the abundant life? Yes! Some of the most joy-filled individuals are terminally ill. They have not their health but they do have Jesus. Does this mean that we do not have to surrounded by a multitude of friends. Yes! Abundance is experienced when one can truly say, “I have a friend in Jesus.” We must understand, “Our sufficiency is in Christ and Christ alone.” If we place our sufficiency in anything other than Christ then we position ourselves to be disappointed or discontented if that is removed from our lives. What joy, what contentment, and what abundance is the realization that all we need is Jesus and His grace is sufficient to meet any need. The world has nothing to compare.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Wait on the Lord
So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. 8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. 9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless? 10 David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. --------1Samuel 26:7-11
Twice David had the opportunity to destroy his adversary and rid himself of the problem at hand, but twice he restrained himself. Certainly, his flesh was tired of constantly running from Saul, the jealous king, and his spirit was frustrated because he had done nothing wrong to deserve this exile. In addition to his inner feelings, his friends were encouraging him to take advantage of this opportunity to remove his persistent foe from his life. Yet, David resisted his fleshly desires to handle his problem by the way of the world. He was a man of resolve. He was not about to take the matter into his own hand, but leave it in God’s hand. Saul was God’s anointed and if anyone would deal with Saul, then it would have to be God Himself. David waited upon the Lord and was honored for this patient resolve. How many times have we made the mistake of not waiting upon the Lord by taking matters into our own hands? Not only do we miss God’s blessings but also cause even more problems for ourselves. God was keeping a close watch over David, protecting Him in his trials and also testing him to examine how he would respond in the midst of life’s fires. David passed the test and let us do the same. Wait on the Lord!
Twice David had the opportunity to destroy his adversary and rid himself of the problem at hand, but twice he restrained himself. Certainly, his flesh was tired of constantly running from Saul, the jealous king, and his spirit was frustrated because he had done nothing wrong to deserve this exile. In addition to his inner feelings, his friends were encouraging him to take advantage of this opportunity to remove his persistent foe from his life. Yet, David resisted his fleshly desires to handle his problem by the way of the world. He was a man of resolve. He was not about to take the matter into his own hand, but leave it in God’s hand. Saul was God’s anointed and if anyone would deal with Saul, then it would have to be God Himself. David waited upon the Lord and was honored for this patient resolve. How many times have we made the mistake of not waiting upon the Lord by taking matters into our own hands? Not only do we miss God’s blessings but also cause even more problems for ourselves. God was keeping a close watch over David, protecting Him in his trials and also testing him to examine how he would respond in the midst of life’s fires. David passed the test and let us do the same. Wait on the Lord!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Preparing Us for the Journey
Psalm 66:10-12
Our God, you tested us, just as silver is tested. 11 You trapped us in a net and gave us heavy burdens. 12 You sent war chariots to crush our skulls. We traveled through fire and through floods, but you brought us to a land of plenty.
As the teacher prepares his students, as a coach prepares his players, and as a military officer prepares his soldiers, God prepares His people. Preparation includes trial, struggle, frustration, fatigue, but all in a controlled manner. Without proper preparation victory will never come and the goal never met. Without proper preparation the student will become discouraged at the next level of studies, the player will wilt in the heart of a hard fought game, the soldier will give up in the intensity of the battle, and God’s man will surely fail in the struggle of life. But God is in control and He is carefully navigating us through test runs of life. He is the teacher, the coach, the officer and the lover of our souls. He will not test us more than we can bear. He always has our best interest in mind as He desires to lead us into the land of abundance. Yet, before we reach our destination and enjoy the blessings of abundance, we must first prepare for the journey.
Our God, you tested us, just as silver is tested. 11 You trapped us in a net and gave us heavy burdens. 12 You sent war chariots to crush our skulls. We traveled through fire and through floods, but you brought us to a land of plenty.
As the teacher prepares his students, as a coach prepares his players, and as a military officer prepares his soldiers, God prepares His people. Preparation includes trial, struggle, frustration, fatigue, but all in a controlled manner. Without proper preparation victory will never come and the goal never met. Without proper preparation the student will become discouraged at the next level of studies, the player will wilt in the heart of a hard fought game, the soldier will give up in the intensity of the battle, and God’s man will surely fail in the struggle of life. But God is in control and He is carefully navigating us through test runs of life. He is the teacher, the coach, the officer and the lover of our souls. He will not test us more than we can bear. He always has our best interest in mind as He desires to lead us into the land of abundance. Yet, before we reach our destination and enjoy the blessings of abundance, we must first prepare for the journey.
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