Tag: ever present

When You Feel Like Your Sinking

Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

When Peter first stepped out of the boat, all He saw was Jesus. He saw nothing but the one he desired to be with. His focus was on His Lord and His Lord alone. With His focus only on His Lord, he walked on water. But then Peter let his focus shift to his surroundings and down he went.

It is a bit difficult for us to relate to walking on water, but we can all relate to finding ourselves in a place in life where we feel like we are sinking. In these times, we are weak in faith and our doubts are overwhelming to us. Too often we get to this place because we are seeking a way out through our own strengths. Our focus is on our problems and not on the promises of Our Savior.

Peter was rebuked for his lack of faith. We should know that we share in Peter’s weakness. As disciples of Jesus Christ, there is no valid reason why we should be of doubtful mind. Even on the stormiest of days, He is always with us as our ever present help.

Let us put all of our focus on Jesus. Let us learn to follow the life path that He has prepared for us. Let us walk that path boldly even when the world tries to distract us and the enemy tries to deter us. Let us be confidently yoked by faith to Jesus all the way to our eternal resting place with Almighty God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating each of us with a unique purpose through which we serve You and bring honor and glory to Your Name. We rejoice in knowing that we are destined to fulfill our purposes here on earth as well as in Your eternal kingdom. We exalt the name of Our Savior, Jesus, who walks along side us to insure that we have the strength to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy. May we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus so we are not distracted or hindered by the things which are trying to pull us away from our purposes. May we stand before You one day and hear the words, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” We ask all these things in the name of Our Redeemer, Our King, Our Priest and Our Prophet, Jesus Christ.

Seeking God in Our Daily Lives

Exodus 3:4
When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Moses was going about his normal business of shepherding the flock when he came upon the burning bush. He could not see anyone who might have started the fire. Moses could have run away in fear or he could have simply walked away thinking that this is no concern of mine. Instead, Moses approached the bush to discover more of this mystery unfolding before him. He heard a voice but there was no human there speaking it. But it was unmistakeable to Moses, He was being addressed by someone who knew him and knew His name. When the Lord saw that He had Moses’ attention, He called out to him and Moses responded, “Here I am.”

As noted, the first appearance of God to Moses was while he was tending his sheep. This seems poor employment for someone who was raised as a prince in the Pharaoh’s court. Yet Moses was well satisfied and God was pleased with him. God was pleased with Moses because he was learning the meekness and contentment that he would need in the calling that was awaiting him. He was also pleased with Moses because Moses was seeking God in his life.

Moses is a great model for each of us. He looked for God in his daily life and, more importantly, Moses was ready to hear and act upon whatever the Lord asked him to do. So it should be with us.

Let us look for God at all times. Let us expect to be surprised by Him showing up in the smallest details of our everyday lives. Let us be ready to respond to His calling.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for always being present with us. We exalt Your Name for being our ever present God. We pray that You will open our eyes so that we can see You in every detail of our lives, from the grandest places and moments to the lowliest of places and moments. May Your Holy Spirit prepare us to be alert to see Your presence and to hear Your calling. May we always be eager to be instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We ask all these things in the name of our ever present Lord, Jesus Christ.