What are your waking thoughts each morning? When problems arise during the day, who, and where, do your thoughts run to? Every new day that the Lord gives us breath holds opportunities to prove Him and walk with Him.
The world has many mottos that do not belong to a child of God. One such is: Don’t get your hopes up, don’t expect too much, then you won’t be disappointed! God’s word teaches us differently. There is absoloutely nothing negative that comes from our Heavenly Father. His word will be established in our lives as we stand upon it and declare it. Psalm 62:5 reminds us: “My soul, wait only upon God, for my expectation is from Him”.
What is this “expectation”? Firstly, as it is from our Father, it is inherently divine and, therefore, positive. In the Old Testament we can find great encouragement in the words of the Psalms of David. He experienced the human emotions we can identify with on life’s roller coaster. Many of the psalms display his desperation in predicaments, but from his youth he had proved God and when problems arose, he knew what to do. He ran to his Father, his heavenly Father, for strength, sustenance, refuge and deliverance. He embraced a divine hope and trust in his Father, Almighty God, who imparted to David a divine expectation and confidence in who God is.
Confidence. There is nothing negative in this word. Philippians 1:6 encourages: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”.
Isaiah 30:15 “……….In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…….”
Confidence is essential in many areas of life. Without it there is little effect. In the area of sport, a team’s confidence is vital to succeed. As a Believer, confidence is vital in my walk with God. As I get to know Him and His character, I also get to know Him as Father, then that confidence will grow and be established in my life.
All negatives are the devil’s tools to rob us of our walk with the Lord. Our God is not a God of discouragement. When problems arise, we can learn to encourage ourselves in God. His word declares: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”, 2 Corinthians 12:9.
God used the giant, Goliath, to prove how great He is. The power of Almighty God in little David, slew the giant. David had proved God on many occasions as a shepherd boy, relying on his God in the night watches, delivering the sheep from predators. David knew his God and had confidence in Him. God uses the adverse circumstances of our lives as opportunities to prove just how almighty He is. As we trust and prove Him, our confidence in Him matures.
The family is God’s design. It was not just a good idea of His. Incorporated in the family structure is everything we need for growth and instruction. God holds the template for every person. He fashioned us in our mother’s womb. How did each of us enter into the family of God? He chose us. We are the choice of God! We then had the choice of choosing to be chosen when we accepted His offer of salvation, which we entered into at rebirth in the family of God.
Jesus said: “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…..” John 15:16. In that choice of God I find my confidence, to confide in Him, to trust Him, to relate to Him. Without that confidence in Him, and who He is, we will not be effective.
When adversity comes, learn to differentiate: Accusation comes from the devil, condemnation comes from my heart, but conviction comes from the Holy Spirit to lead me to repentance to get me back on track. We often condemn ourselves for our mistakes and failures, but God’s word encourages us, it does not leave us there to wallow in self pity. 1 John 3:20 “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things”. God’s word delivers us from condemnation and disappointment in our flesh, takes us to the place of conviction with His Holy Spirit to lead us to humbly get back on track. In the economy of God, all our failures can be learning curves and stepping stones if we are contrite and willing to be teachable. Humility is always key.
Jesus taught us how to pray. The words “Our Father”, puts God in His rightful place. The Lord created beings, men, to love Him in return, to walk with Him, fellowship with Him, talk to Him. God wants to be wanted…..by His creation, us! As our earthly journey continues, may we learn in joy, or adversity, to Run to the Father. As we share our lives with Him, may the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, be shared among us.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
