Psalm 112: 7-8 describes the person who loves, serves and fears the Lord: ” He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established……” Jesus Christ is the immovable foundational Rock of our salvation that we build our lives upon. This is the foundation that God has embedded in us bringing the necessary stability we need when trials come. In this position we learn to refuse to be swept away with the emotion of the moment. Even when God is silent, that foundation embedded in us bows before an all-knowing, all loving God and trusts. We can declare, “It is well with my soul”, knowing God is in full control and is silently working behind the scenes of life to bring us closer to Him, trusting Him more. In the economy of God there is no waste. He uses all things to draw His children closer to Him. Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”, Mattthew 5:8 Do I run to the Father in my trials, or do I rail at Him? Our trials test our heart purity in trusting God. The prayer that matters most is one of surrendering my will and trusting God to undertake in every way at all of life’s hurdles.
Consider and test this statement: What God takes from me, it is gain to lose!
That may seem quite harsh to believe when any of the following occur: ill health, lack of strength, struggles in finance, work, loss of loved ones etc. ……..You may have your own items to add to the list. When any of these on the list are present, God is still righteous. We may not understand but we have to find the Lord in all these things. As we surrender to His working with us, surrender to His higher thoughts towards us, we can be established and enlarged in His grace, mercy and provision from His all-loving hand. All life is a test! “Prove me now”, says the Lord, (Malachi 3:10)
God is working with us to the end that we may bear His blessings, to His glory. Jesus said to His disciples: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now”, John 16:12. He went on to say that the Holy Spirit would be given to them to guide and teach them all truth. We now know that the Holy Spirit was given them at Pentecost, recorded in Acts. All the fullness of God is available to Believers, but as yet, we are only in measure because we are all learning to bear His blessings, to His glory.
God has purpose in everything that is happening in my life. When I consider God’s ways are beyond my comprehension, it is time to bow and accept His superior wisdom and provision. I can trust His word when He declares: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…..For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”, Isaiah 55: 8-9.
2 Chronicles 32 records the life of King Hezekiah of Judah. God blessed his rule and his subjects, showing the strength of His mighty arm in battle. God lavished His favour upon the king and his people. After God’s supernatural victory in destroying Sennacherib’s army, many brought gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations. God slaughtered the enemy army, but Hezekiah rose up in pride with the honour that people bestowed upon him, and revelled in the glory. He had not learnt the lesson of humility in “bearing God’s blessing to His glory”. God is righteously jealous for His glory and will not permit man to take the credit to himself that belongs to God alone. God struck Hezekiah with sickness. Verse 31 reads: “…….God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart”. In Hezekiah’s pride he was blind to the fact that he was taking the credit for his position in life. Bluntly, he was attempting to rob God in his attitude. On his sickbed he was brought very low, but the Lord revealed he had a disorderly heart. Hezekiah humbled himself before the Lord and repented of the pride of his heart. God forgave and restored him and gave him an abundance of blessings in his last years.
Hezekiah had feet of clay, as we all do. We need to learn dependency on the Holy Spirit to keep us on track. However, the record of his life is a good example of learning to bear the blessings of God, to the glory of God. God holds us all accountable for the things we do and say. When my heart is out of order, like Hezekiah’s, God will take me to a place to reveal all that is in my heart. Scripture says God left him, to try him, to reveal all that was in his heart. We know the Lord has promised never to leave, nor forsake us, but when we go astray we lose the consciousness of God’s presence because our heart becomes hardened. When we humble ourselves and repent we hear the Lord’s welcoming voice: “For a small moment have I forsaken you, but with great mercies will I gather you. In a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer”, Isaiah 55:7-8.
As we consider our ongoing journey with the Lord, at the beginning and end of each day, may our prayer simply be: “Dear Lord, please keep me true to You”. Amen
