Reflection of Hope: The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him 2 Chronicles 16:9a. (A brief commentary follows if you are interested - Trust me, the reflection is not as long as it looks. LOL! You have time! ;) God knows what is in your heart. He wants you be fully committed to him. He will give you the strength you need! It is in our weakest moments, that God will show us his grace. On Sunday, my pastor told us about one of the lowest points in his life when he cried out to God. He was metaphorically dangling from the edge of a cliff. Oh my goodness, I know how that feels. It is in those moments that we have two choices. Cry out to Jesus for help or fall. I recently had a similar moment of desperation to that of which my pastor described, and if I had not grabbed a hold of Jesus outstretched hand, I may have been lost forever. I had drifted so far away from him! Do not think for a minute that God does not know your pain! He gave up his Son for us. He watched as his own SON died on a cross for OUR sins. He had to endure watching Jesus struggle and suffer. And, why did God do that? Because God LOVES us. God knows that it has to be our decision to turn to Him. It has to be our choice to walk with Jesus. He watches us struggle just like any other parent has to do. And he agonizes, wishing he could just pick us up and carry us through lifes lessons. As a parent, I know that would be a mistake. I watched as my children learned to roll over, crawl, walk, run... A good parent has to watch; teaches by example; is there to pick their children up when they fall, but children have to get through these milestones in order to become stronger. Being in a relationship with God is no different. He is always there, but he has to wait because we have free will. God wants you to put your full trust in him. He has searched your heart. He has known you from the time your mother conceived you, perhaps even before that. Just as a parent encourages a child as he/she takes her first steps, God wants to be with and encourage you. If you have never taken your first steps towards Jesus or if you have found yourself drifting away from God, it is not too late. God has NOT turned his back on you. He is right there beside you right now. Grab a hold if his outstretched hand, hold on with all your might and never let go! God has a great purpose for you. As Joyce Meyers put it, If God did not have a purpose for you, he would have stolen you right away into heaven when you became saved! (paraphrase) Remember, Your story (your testimony) may be the only chance a person has to experience Gods grace and be saved! ----------------------------------------- I do not generally offer commentaries on the scriptures God chooses for me, but I believe this verse warrants a bit of background. Above, I only reflected on the first half of this verse because God knew it would bring encouragement. Many pieces of the Bible do not seem like they are relevant to our lives. But verses like the one above pop out for me to share with you. I know that God gives them to me to share with you. I am here to tell you that the Bible is relevant to your life. Many of us have favorite quotes, songs that we enjoy hearing over and over. These things bring us encouragement and serve our needs. Scripture is not any different. The Bible is a great resource if only you open your eyes and heart to it. You can learn so much from its teachings. And, every time you pick it up, you are in dialogue with God. The scripture I reflected on is a snip-it taken from a dialogue between King Asa Of Judah and his seer, Hanani. In the Bible, a seer is pretty much a prophet; a person endowed with profound moral and spiritual insight or knowledge; a wise person or sage who possesses intuitive powers (Dictionary). In the second half of this verse, Hanani says, What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war! And, of course that made King Asa very angry and he threw Hanani in jail. King Asa had spent the majority of his time as king putting his full trust in God just as his father Abijah had. By the end of Abijahs lifetime, through God, he had done great things with his kingdom. Because he had fully trusted in God, God blessed him greatly. The end of Abijahs reign was very peaceful following his armys defeat over Israel. The power that God had given to Asa, however, went to his head, and he embraced it as his own. Instead of remaining steadfast to his faith in God, Asa made the fatal mistake of putting his faith in mankind, specifically the king of Aram. This lead to his downfall. Even at deaths door, when inflicted with a serious disease, Asas heart remained hardened. The scripture says, Even when the disease became life threatening, he did not seek the Lords help, but sought help only from his physicians (2 Chron. 16:12b). Unlike his father before him, he died at odds with God... If you would like to have a discussion on the above topic or any of the reflections you have read, never hesitate to PM me. I would be happy to talk with you. If you feel God compelling you to walk more closely with him an you would like some guidance or prayer, I am available. May God bless your day! Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 16:14:57 +0000
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