Suggested Readings: Psalm 27, Genesis 13:1-7, 14-18, Philippians 3:2-12
In life, we either have or will deal with all kinds of difficulties and fears: the fear of the unknown, the fear of death, the fear of failure, the fear of being rejected, the fear of sickness, the difficulties of loneliness, sick family, and friends… and the list could go on and on. There are times when God has us stay put and battle our enemy head-on with confidence in Him, but there are also times when we feel weak and fearful, we need to realize God has invited us to run to Him for refuge. When we ruminate on our fears, the fruit will be unrest, stress, and ulcers. But when we meditate on God’s promises and character, eventually the fears will be replaced. David’s words in Psalm 27 remind us that even in the challenging times we can persevere because our God has perfect timing and the perfect plan. There is no need to panic and develop our plans to fix the problem. We can have confidence that if we turn to God for strength, knowledge, and wisdom, we will know what our part is in the solution. We can be confident that our Lord will never turn his face from us. The decision to faithfully follow Christ will lead to experiencing the goodness of the Lord.
We make thousands of decisions in a day. At any given time, any one of those choices can make your life wonderful or a war zone. We need to know that God gave us free will so we can make our own choices, these choices will show the passion of our heart. When your heart is aligned with God's heart, when He is enough for you, you only want what He wants to give you. Of course, you pray, seek, and labor for some things that will never happen, but in the end, you are content with whatever God decides for your life. As Christians, we have the ultimate provision from God. We do not necessarily have a piece of land; we have a Person. God gave His Son for us. He died and rose again to secure our place with Him. That is why we can be content. We have Him as our portion and treasure. Resist the need to make other things a priority.
During the Lenten season, I encourage you to focus on your relationship with God. All the stuff that seems so important in this life - your money, your status, your stuff – must be put in its proper priority underneath the greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. Paul had had it all – and he said that once he discovered a true relationship with Jesus Christ – all those things that once seemed so important were no more useful or important to him. Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Keep pressing on!
Cosonya Stephens
Cosonya Stephens
