I will go before you and make crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron…I am the Lord and there is none else.
God prepares a way when there is no way.
He makes my path straight and gives me light for my feet.
When he makes a promise no one can stop it.
No one can stand against it.
He is God.
Adapted from Isaiah 44 verse 2.
Missed the point again?
Too bad?
Squelch that unhealthy thought.
No child of God is a loser.
How can we be losers when our father is the Most High God?
Sure life is hard. Debt is high and money seems to have wings.
Pray a prayer of faith and believe like Habakkuk did.
In chapter 3, he says even though there is no fruit on the trees, and no meat, no provision to be had yet he says he will rejoice and joy in the God of his salvation.
He knew God will not leave him or his people destitute.
God will always provide.
His name is Jehovah – jireh
The Lord will provide.
Sometimes, you may feel like you seem to fade into the background, where no one can see you.
You think if you just do something great, say something snappy or even witty to get good attention, then people will see you. They will know you, know your name.
But life doesn’t work like that. People either like you, gravate to you, or maybe they just don’t.
Being overlooked is not anything anyone wants to be.
We all want to be seen.
We all want to be heard.
Silence can be deafening.
Silence can be painful and lonely.
If you are a child of God, you are blessed.
You are never alone or overlooked.
All of God’s children have a voice.
A voice that God gave to us so we can use it to call out from that lonely place for help for guidance for companionship.
God hears.
He answers.
He knows you.
He sees you.
He remembers his promise forever concerning you. Psalm 105 verse 8.
God says in the Bible, which is his word.
Behold I have graven you upon the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49 verse 16.
He remembers you.
He remembers his child and looks out for you like the father in the story of the prodigal son. God is prepared for you. Like that father,he can see you at a distance. And will have compassion and run to you with arms wide open.
He is waiting for you.
He cares when others don’t….
The home call of a family friend, someone I have known from childhood, puts life into perspective.
Life is so fleeting with all the ups and downs. Yet, within the shadows of these trials and tribulations, there are moments of joy and blessing where there is singing and laughter. The complexities of living are something to hold fast and to give God thanks for all he has done and all he will do.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loaded us with benefits. Psalm 68 verse 19.
God’s love is greater than my understanding. Why he loves me is unbelievable. Before the world began, he loved me with an eternal, undying love.
Who am I that he should favor me?
Who am I that he sees me and cares for me with unmerited affection?
I am nothing before the Creator before the Lord of life, and yet he could condescending to think of me.
I love him because he first loved me.
Isaiah 43 verse 4
Since you were precious in my sight… I have loved you.
Names are labels to identify individuals. We are given a name before or after birth as a personal tag. As names can point a person out among a crowd, they can also be a symbol of that person’s character; they are an extension of a familial tradition.
With Jehovah or God, this is different. His names speak to his power and his glory. It can prove our faith and strength in various situations.
For example:
We call him, Jehovah Rapha, God our healer.
Going through physical sickness with nowhere to turn or trusting in him, we can say with assurance he will heal me because he says to ask anything in the name of his son, and he will do it.
We have some financial hardship? We can ask him to heal our finances and wait, believing because he is Jehovah Rapha.
In the book of Exodus 15 verse 26
, it says, I am the Lord your God who heals you.
Psalm 103 says he heals all my diseases.
Psalm 30 says he cried to God, and he healed him.
He is a stronghold in the day of trouble.
These are only a few words of comfort and acknowledgment concerning his name as the healer.
Can you say the same as Jehovah Rapha, my healer?
In any relationship, the name of the other person is very important, too.
How we call that person is an indicator of how we feel about that person.
Is there anger or affection. Is there familiarity and intimacy.
When we think of a relationship with God, what do we call him?
God.
Father
Almighty.
Are we close enough to him to call him Abba Father?
Abba is a form of little children addressing their father as Papa or Daddy.
It is not something that most will favor because of His position as Creator.
It shows a closeness that goes deeper nearer than anything ever can.
It is a position of love and security.
I serve God Almighty. The true and living God. Who loved the world with a great love that he sent his only begotten son.
He gave his only son.
Jesus is the son of his love.
He is the greatest gift of all.
The faithfulness of God is a curious thing. We will never understand it. We will never wear it out.
He remains faithful while we fall away; such is his love towards us. We have nothing to fear because there is nothing that can separate us from his love.
If we abide not, yet he remains faithful; he can not deny himself.
2 Timothy 2 verse 13.
My God is merciful and kind.
He has not dealt with us after our sins.
Thank the Lord, or we will be punished as the day is long.
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
He does not treat us like we treat others for their misdeeds. He does not think like us, and I thank him for that.
If he were to think like us, then there would never be mercy for those who misstep.
There would never be kindness for the weak who mess up on a regular basis.
There would never be love for those who need a shoulder to lean on.
My God is not like us. He is not quick to condemn. He shows compassion when no one else would.
This he does for his children, for his people, to those who follow him and love him, for those who make him the Lord or their life.
Praise his name forever.
Adapted from Psalm 103 verses 10 and 11.
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