Reading: Isaiah 38, 39
My Verse: "Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah saying,
Go, and say to Hezekiah,
Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father;
I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears;
behold, I will add to your life fifteen years" (38:4,5).
This is an amazing story. You, LORD God do attend to our prayers and at times you will even allow us to have what is not best. You are compassionate and throughout Your Word You provide many examples, stories of how You love us so much and want for us to be happy, especially when we plead with You in faith. But, Oh LORD God, how we need to be in tune with You, with what You would have for us that our desires may delight You and not ourselves. Prayer is powerful - I need to be mindful of that.
The saying, "Be careful what you ask for, you just may get it" comes to mind here. How many of us ask for things we have no business asking for? Like Hezekiah in this story. He got what he pleaded for. But then he did some foolish things, like showing off his wealth to visitors, who were actually spies from Babylon! He then had a son, Manassah, who ended up becoming one of the most evil kings Israel ever had!
It is so easy to forget how very limited our view of the future is. You, LORD God, only You know what lies ahead - the possibilities, the dangers, the blessings.
And there is such a freedom when we are able to trust our lives fully in Your care, LORD God.
I ran across this wonderful saying by Martin Luther.
"Blessed is he who submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy.
Men may deal with him as they will . . .;
he is without care;
he knows that 'all things work together for good' (Romans 8:28)."
Psalm 106 retells how the Israelites allowed their selfish desires to rule them.
"But they [Israelites] hastily forgot His works; . . .
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.
And He gave them their request , but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by]disease and death" (Psalm 106:13-15).
A commentator made the interesting point that the Psalms version does not even mention that what the Israelites were desiring was meat - the point being that they, the Israelites, totally disregarded You, LORD God. They allowed their selfish desires to rule their very thought process and behavior.
Oh, LORD God, how often do I do this very thing? How often do I become so focused on my own very limited vision, my own selfish desires and wants that I allow them to rule me, that I tune You out and start demanding and going after things I have no business wanting or worrying about?
Reading this from afar, we can see how very tragic this was and how foolish those Israelites were! Yet how often do we, do I, do this very thing?
Oh, LORD God, to be in that place of peace, that place where I can completely rest in You, allowing You to have full sway in my life, allowing You to carry me along when I am unable to carry myself, allowing and trusting You to provide me all that I could ever need.
How does one get to this place? How does one trust in "all things work together for good?" I like what A.W.Tozer says about success, that success is costly. Success in any given goal requires one to be intentional, persistent, willing to give up anything that would get in the way. And success takes time!
I cannot do this in my own strength. David wrote in Psalm 121:1
"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,
from whence comes my help."
Help me LORD God to always return to that, to lifting my eyes up to You, to quieting myself to hear what it is You have for me.
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
The saying, "Be careful what you ask for, you just may get it" comes to mind here. How many of us ask for things we have no business asking for? Like Hezekiah in this story. He got what he pleaded for. But then he did some foolish things, like showing off his wealth to visitors, who were actually spies from Babylon! He then had a son, Manassah, who ended up becoming one of the most evil kings Israel ever had!
It is so easy to forget how very limited our view of the future is. You, LORD God, only You know what lies ahead - the possibilities, the dangers, the blessings.
And there is such a freedom when we are able to trust our lives fully in Your care, LORD God.
I ran across this wonderful saying by Martin Luther.
"Blessed is he who submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy.
Men may deal with him as they will . . .;
he is without care;
he knows that 'all things work together for good' (Romans 8:28)."
Psalm 106 retells how the Israelites allowed their selfish desires to rule them.
"But they [Israelites] hastily forgot His works; . . .
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.
And He gave them their request , but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by]disease and death" (Psalm 106:13-15).
A commentator made the interesting point that the Psalms version does not even mention that what the Israelites were desiring was meat - the point being that they, the Israelites, totally disregarded You, LORD God. They allowed their selfish desires to rule their very thought process and behavior.
Oh, LORD God, how often do I do this very thing? How often do I become so focused on my own very limited vision, my own selfish desires and wants that I allow them to rule me, that I tune You out and start demanding and going after things I have no business wanting or worrying about?
Reading this from afar, we can see how very tragic this was and how foolish those Israelites were! Yet how often do we, do I, do this very thing?
Oh, LORD God, to be in that place of peace, that place where I can completely rest in You, allowing You to have full sway in my life, allowing You to carry me along when I am unable to carry myself, allowing and trusting You to provide me all that I could ever need.
How does one get to this place? How does one trust in "all things work together for good?" I like what A.W.Tozer says about success, that success is costly. Success in any given goal requires one to be intentional, persistent, willing to give up anything that would get in the way. And success takes time!
I cannot do this in my own strength. David wrote in Psalm 121:1
"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,
from whence comes my help."
Help me LORD God to always return to that, to lifting my eyes up to You, to quieting myself to hear what it is You have for me.
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
No comments:
Post a Comment