Tag: all-sufficient Lord

Our Advocate, Our Comforter, Our King

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The buddy bench has shown up in children’s playgrounds at elementary schools. It is a bench placed on the edge of the play area. It serves as a silent summons for help or support. When a child needs a friend, he or she sits on the buddy bench. When a child feels left out or left behind, he or she sits on the buddy bench. When a child longs for a helping hand, a listening ear, an empathetic soul, he or she sits on the buddy bench. This precious playground seat carries no stigma nor shame; it merely issues an unspoken invitation for comfort.

As we approach the new year, how many of us are already in need of comforting support? As we find ourselves burdened by broken relationships, financial challenges or perhaps trouble at work, whom among us would not like to look up in the center of our day’s activities and see a buddy bench where we could go to find the aid that we need.

Fortunately for all of us, the buddy bench has been in place for us throughout our days on this earth. In every challenging time or moment in our lives, we have the infallible mercy seat of Jesus Christ to turn to. Our Savior King is waiting on us to turn to Him for all of our present needs. His seat summons us to come with our burdens. We are graciously invited to the mercy seat where grace reigns. We can go to His throne with boldness. There is no stigma or shame in seeking His aid. In fact, it is quite the opposite. God is glorified when we go to His throne to seek the comfort of the Advocate that is there for us, Jesus Christ.

Let us go boldly to the mercy seat in our times of need. Let us confidently accept the invitation to draw near to the Throne of Grace. Let us rejoice in knowing that our all-sufficient Lord is waiting for us to take a seat of comfort beside Him.

Let us also be mindful of those in the world that do not yet know Our Savior King. Let us be ready to provide a buddy bench for them.

Prayer
Heavenly Father we thank You for the mercy seat that You have provided for all men. We rejoice in knowing that we have a Comforter that waits to hear from us. We bless the name of Jesus who insured that our every need will be met when He died on the Cross for us. We come to you boldly and confidently to receive the merciful pardon of our sins, the grace that we need to purify our souls, as well as, all that is required for our daily needs. We ask all these things in the name of Our Advocate, Our Comforter, Our King, Jesus Christ.

God Does Not Share Our Impatience

John 11:6
So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

In today’s world, everything happens at such a rapid pace. Almost any product can be ordered on line and delivered within one to two days. There are now some on-line delivery services that promise delivery of the new item within two hours. To stand in line for anything drives us up a wall. We simply have lost all patience with anything other than instant gratification.

The problem with instant gratification is that it often fails to deliver on the expectations of the moment. That shiny new toy that we were so excited about seldom fulfills all that we thought it would.

Unfortunately, we carry our need for instant gratification into our prayer life. When we find ourselves or our loved ones afflicted with pain or disease, in financial need or in a very dry place spiritually, we look to Almighty God for instant relief. He does not share our impatience. His timing is completely different from ours.

Our Father in heaven has every intention of meeting the needs of those that accept His Son as their Savior. His plans for us are perfect for us and our needs. He hears our prayers and He answers them. He does not rush to provide the answers instantly, even though He could. When His work of temporal or spiritual deliverance is delayed, it is only on hold for the right time and the maximum good for all. Just as it was for Lazarus and his family, He responds to our prayers with only the best for us and those around us, regardless of how long it takes.

Let us learn to lean on the promises of Almighty God with total faith. Let us know without any doubt that He will hear and answer our prayers. Let us rejoice in knowing that His response to our needs will be perfect for us and for those around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for always giving us what is best for us and not what we ask for and certainly not what we deserve. We exalt You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You extend to us endlessly. We pray, Lord, that You will show us how to wait confidently in faith for all that You have prepared for us and those around us. We rejoice in knowing that Your timing is perfect. We ask all these things in the name of the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ.

When Answers to Our Prayers are Delayed

Matthew 7:9
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Prayer is an appointed means for obtaining what we need. We are commanded in the Holy Word to pray often and to be persistent in praying for our needs. Almighty God promises to hear our prayers in order to fulfill our needs in accordance with His will for our lives. If this were not so, then we would not be instructed to make praying a daily habit.

We may become frustrated when it seems that God is not answering our prayers. On the other hand, we have many examples in our daily lives that illustrate how “no” and “not now” are perfectly proper answers. As parents, one of our most important tasks is to train our children to become highly functioning adults. Thus, when our children reach the driving age and ask to start driving, we should be ready to take on the job of teaching them to drive. If, however, we know they are not mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving, our answer should be “no” or “not now”. While our commitment to them is to train them in new life skills, our more pressing commitment is to insure their protection when they are vulnerable.

While the Lord promises to hear and answer all of our prayers of need, His promises are bound by the higher covenant of preparing us for our eternal life in heaven with Him. So while He always hears our prayers, sometimes His answers will be “no” or “not now.” Each case will be determined by Him based on where we are on the path of sanctification and spiritual growth. He will answer us perfectly, in perfect timing in accordance with His will for our lives. He will apply the same principles in the lives of others when we are praying for what we perceive to be their needs.

Let us rebuke the need for immediate gratification in our lives. Let us learn the value of waiting on the Lord. As we wait, let us praise Him for His perfect answers and His perfect timing in all things.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for hearing and answering all of our prayers. We thank You that You often protect us by not giving us what we ask for when it will take us off the path that You have set aside for our lives. We pray for the strength to endure when Your “no” or Your “not now” seems so painful. We ask, Lord, that You help us to keep seeking You so that our prayers will come into alignment with Your will for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of our mighty and all sufficient provider, Jesus Christ.

Reliant on Almighty God After Suffering a Loss

2 Kings 2:12
And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Elisha had been forewarned that his master, Elijah, was going to be taken from him. Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted from him before he was taken away. Elisha asked for a double portion of the anointing that the Lord had placed on Elijah. Elijah said that this was a huge request, but if Elisha witnessed his master being taken away by the Lord then his request was granted.

Having gone through his final lessons from Elijah, Elisha saw Elijah taken away. Elisha now stood alone. In a show of extreme grief of having lost his master, he tore his clothes in two pieces. He knew that he would no longer have his guide and leader to rely on. But because he had asked for it, he was granted a double portion of the anointing that was held by Elijah. Elisha would now rely on God, not on his master.

As Almighty God prepares us to spend eternity with Him, He may allow the people around us who we have relied upon to be taken from us. It may be through death or through a broken relationship, but they will be removed in some manner. Our Lord may also allow our finances or our possessions that we hold dear to be taken from us. During these times, we must learn to rely on the Lord and not on the world around us. Until we come to the point that we are totally reliant on God, He is likely to continue to allow the removal of people and things from our lives until we totally surrender to His reign in our lives. Through it all, we will learn the comfort, the power and the strength of resting in the hands of the One that created us.

Let us turn to the Lord for the peace and the strength that only He can provide when a person, place or thing has been taken from us. Let us find our new direction under the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we struggle with our change. Let us boldly ask the Lord to replace what we have lost with a double portion of His blessing on our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to rest in the comfort of Your hands as we go through our journey of surrendering completely to You. We praise You for Your loving kindness and Your mercy as You never forsake us as we struggle to find our way. We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we may begin to see all that You have prepared for us. We beseech You, Father, to grant us the fullness of the power and strength that You have set aside for us. We ask all these things in the name of Our Ever Present Lord, Jesus Christ.

New Creatures in Christ

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are the handiwork of the creator of the entire universe, but not merely as creatures, but as new creatures in Christ. We were prepared before hand with the capacity to perform good works for the pleasure, the praise and the honor of Almighty God. We were created not just to perform one good work but to continue to walk in a series of good works. We were created to perform righteous and holy work as visible representatives of Our Savior.

There is nothing that we will face in life that is too big or too small for Jesus to overcome for us. He is waiting to comfort us and guide us and intercede for us in every minute detail and in every seemingly insurmountable circumstance in our lives. Once we receive Jesus as Our Savior, it is His promise that He will insure that we are successful in carrying out His plans for our lives. Why should we try to rely on our own power when we have the power of the creator and sustainer of the universe available to us?

Let us seek Jesus in every element of our lives. Let us submit every breathing moment to Him. Let us rejoice, knowing that He awaits to intercede for us!!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who comforts us, guides us and intercedes for us. We pray that You teach us how to put all of our trust in Him. We ask that You shield us from all the distractions that we bring into our own lives. May we learn to walk in the ways that Jesus reveals to us in our hearts. May the Holy Spirit guide us and strengthen us as we seek to endeavor in the righteous and holy work of Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of Our Righteous and Holy King, Jesus Christ.

Our First Goal Should Be to Seek God First

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

We have been raised in a world where goals, objectives and top line results are everything. We feel measured by the things that we have and the things that we have accomplished and pressured by the things that we are trying to accomplish. We have been trained to be independent and self-reliant. This is absolutely upside down from the kingdom of God. Our all-sufficient Lord promises that He will meet our every need.

Although Our Lord promises us that He will provide all that we need and all the desires of our hearts, we must realize that these promises are conditional. We must first seek His kingdom and the righteousness that living in His kingdom requires. Then all of these things will be given to us. Food, drink, clothing or whatever other worldly sustenance that we need will be given to us freely and liberally. We are able to receive these gifts without having to think about how they will come, without having to concern ourselves about the timeliness of their arrival and, most importantly, without due consideration of our own merit or our own capability.

Let our great goals in life be set based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Let all of our objectives be directed toward putting our relationship with God first. Let us set aside our need to worry over our results. Let us receive the truly abundant life that has been promised to us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the abundant life that awaits us when we seek You first. We bring You all the honor and glory for being Our Provider. We ask Your forgiveness for seeking the things of the world before You. Teach us, Lord, how to prioritize our lives according to the principles of Your kingdom. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us so that we may live in Christ and not in the world. We ask all these things in the name of Our Promised and Abundant Provision, Jesus Christ.

Surrendering to the Yoke of Christ

2 Corinthians 12:10
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When our family relationships are at the breaking point, when the bill collectors are knocking at our door or when serious afflictions are threatening us, we run to Jesus for a supernatural remedy to our maladies. When we are weak and near defeat, perhaps even near death, we run to Jesus for His grace to strengthen us and comfort us as we go through our trials.

He promises to be our strength in every one of our times of weakness or trial. He promises to lighten our burdens as we surrender to His yoke. It is during these times that we feel His presence so clearly. It is during these times of pain that we experience the fullness of His love. It becomes a blessing to have tribulation in our lives.

Unfortunately without trial, we tend to lean away from God. We tend to move out of His presence. We tend to let the joy of life overshadow the true and perfect joy that is available to us through an ongoing, intimate relationship with Our Savior.

Let us turn to Jesus for our strength in the good times and the bad times. Let us be mindful of the presence and power of Jesus Christ as we enjoy the blessings that we have been provided in our lives. Let us experience the peace and power of being yoked to Him in our times of trial. Let us allow Jesus to be our all-sufficient Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness. We thank You for the comfort of knowing that You are always there. We praise You for providing Your Son, Jesus, so that through Him and in Him we can experience the fullness of Your love. Help us, Father, to find contentment in all things as we seek to live in Your shadow and not under the influence of the world. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will inspire us to develop an ongoing, intimate relationship with Your Son that is not affected by our circumstances. We ask all these things in the name of Our Rock and Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

God Offers a Plan of Restoration for All

Daniel 4:14-15
He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field.

King Nebuchadnezzar was at ease in his house and prospering greatly. In his own words, the Most High God had blessed him in every way. But because of Nebuchadnezzar’s unrighteousness and iniquities, it was all taken away from him. The Most High God, who had provided it all to Nebuchadnezzar, allowed it all to be taken away. Ultimately, when Nebuchadnezzar turned his eyes back to the the Lord, all was returned to the King.

In the prophetic words of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar is the tree. God commands that the tree be stripped of all branches, leaves and fruit. But as the God of all mercy stripped everything away from the tree, he left a stump from which the tree could rise again.

Almighty God is not only the God of all provision, He also the God of all loss. In some unusual cases, He may order our losses to occur. In most cases, He is simply allowing a loss to occur as a result of our iniquities or as a result of the attacks of the enemy. Be certain that no loss can occur in our lives without God allowing it. Be even more certain that our merciful Lord, who is filled with lovingkindness, is also the God of restoration. So no matter what we are going through, or have gone through, God has commanded that some good remnant be left in us from which He can raise us up according to His perfect plans for our lives.

Let us gird ourselves with the promises that God has made to us when we are going through the greatest of trials. Let us rejoice in knowing that He is not only prepared to restore us, it is His desire that we be restored. Let us find comfort in knowing that the loving and merciful hand of the Lord never leaves us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for every provision in our lives. We give You all the glory and the praise for Your grace and lovingkindness. Teach us, Lord, how to give you all the glory and praise when we are experiencing loss in our lives. Build up our faith so that we may endure while You raise us up from “what is left” in our lives to the good and perfect place that You have planned for us. We ask all these things in the name of our all-sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Unspeakable Joy of Perfect Praise

Psalm 34:3
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

Throughout the Psalms, we read David’s prayers of praise. He praised God to help overcome his fears and to call on his all-sufficient Lord. David recognized God’s faithfulness in meeting his needs and he also recognized that God was bigger than any problem or fear that he had.

We will spend all eternity praising Our Heavenly Father. Why not practice our imperfect praise here on earth in preparation for the unspeakable joy we will receive from our perfect praise forever?

It is time for us to magnify God in our lives. He is much bigger than we allow Him to be. He promises us in John 16:33 that He has overcome everything that the world throws at us in the way of trials and tribulation. We can gain much by joining Paul in exalting the name of Our Lord.

Let us proclaim the glorious perfection of Our Father in heaven. Let us join together in bringing glory to the Most High God. Let us open the gateways of heaven through our worship of the King. Let us rest in peace as the Lord overcomes the things of this world that challenge us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege of exalting Your name here on earth and in heaven for all eternity. We lift You up above all others. There is not a single name that approaches the majesty and power of who You are. Teach us, Lord, to have the faith of the Virgin Mary who said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,” as she prepared to receive something that she did not believe to be possible. May Your grace cover us, Lord, so that we may live in reverent awe of who You are. We pray that the Holy Spirit will lead us and inspire us to pour out praise to You each day. We ask all these things in the name of the One worthy of all praise, Jesus Christ.

The Certainty of All the Promises of God

John 16:31
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

The apostles spent three years with Jesus. Yet when He was ready to leave them, He had to take a lengthy amount of time explaining to them who He was. When He completed His explanation, He posed a question to them, “Do you now believe?”

Are we not just like the apostles? Even though we have spent years in prayer, years in the reading of the Word, years in worship and years in serving God, we manage to lose our sense of who Almighty God really is and the certainty of all the promises that He has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Sadly, as if Jesus Christ left the earth and left us to our own wiles, we turn toward the world for answers. We somehow find ourselves overlooking that our all-sufficient Lord provided us with a Wonderful Counselor who stands ready to supply our every need.

Let us be reminded that Jesus promised that His Holy Spirit would be with us and would comfort and guide us. To believe otherwise is to have a complete lack of faith. To believe otherwise is to deny what Jesus said He came to earth to do. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Let us take courage as Jesus commands us. Let us believe fully in the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort and guidance that You provide through Your Holy Spirit. We bless the name of Jesus who came to earth so that we may have peace and we may overcome the tribulations of the world. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. May we dig so deep that we never again turn to the world for counsel without having gone to You first. Help us, Lord, to believe for more than we can imagine is possible through our own efforts. Teach us how to wait on You for Your good and perfect timing in all things. We ask these things in the name of the One that is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.