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My God is…supporting you 1 Peter 5:10

27 May

1 Peter 5:10 – And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his mother-comforting-sonseternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.

And after you have suffered for a little while

No one likes to suffer. Suffering stinks. It’s not fun, it can be frustrating, and it can even challenge our faith. When believers (and unbelievers too) go through really hard things, you’ll often hear them saying things like, “If there was a God, why would He let this happen to me?”. It’s not a bad question to ask really. Why would He? Maybe to give you pause as to what you’re doing in life. To turn you away from a destructive path you’re on. To point you in a direction you never would have taken without a major life change. Maybe so that you would come to rely on Him fully instead of trusting in your own ways. There are so many things that can change out of tragedy. Sometimes they heal families, sometimes they free us from oppression of our families. Sometimes struggles help us to see God’s hand in things so that we may trust Him more fully. Sometimes it helps us to let go of trying to be in charge of things we cannot actually control. We don’t always understand, but that doesn’t mean that the Lord won’t use it for our good. I also want to remind you that not all suffering comes from God. Some are a result of sin and the devil. The devil wants nothing more than to make you question the Lord and His love for you. That’s the devil’s goal, to separate you from the love of God.

The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ

So the devil’s goal is to separate you from the love of God, but God’s goal is spelled out in this verse. He, the God of all grace, has called you to His eternal glory in Christ. He wants you to spend eternity with Him, and provided His only Son as the way to make that possible. That we might forever give Him the glory. We might always point back to Him in our thoughts and actions. One of the things I love about this verse is that it says “you”. He has called you, not us. You are His focus. Yes, He cares about the rest of us, but if it was only you, He would still feel the same way. You are important to Him. He has called you.

The God of all grace will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you

God isn’t going to abandon you when you’re going through those hard times of suffering. Instead the God of all grace (what a great title) is going to restore you. He’s not going to destroy you, He’s going to build you back up. He’s going to support you. Like a mother on the sidelines of a game, He’s going to be there cheering you on, providing you with snacks and encouragement to keep your spirit and your strength up. He’s going to give you the strength you need to carry on and continue to point to Him in all you do, bringing Him the glory at all turns. Showing a reflection of Jesus to all who you meet. He’s going to establish you. He’s going to set you up. Not to make you rich necessarily, but to make you a man or woman after His own heart. Establishing your place in Heaven for all eternity. He wants only good for you.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. Jeremiah 29:11-12

Who can you count on to support you?

 

 

 
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Posted by on May 27, 2013 in 1 Peter, My God is supporting you

 

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My God is…from the ancient days Isaiah 43:12-14

20 Feb

Isaiah 43:12-14 – I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and god-crossproclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God. Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?

I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.

I, even I – I looked this up in some commentaries, because I was confused why it said it this way. As you probably guessed, it is like saying “I, yes I”, and is used to make the point more emphatically. Because I have a sort of sarcastic, off-beat mind, I sort of hear it being said with a New York accent – “Yeah, I’m God, that’s me.” In this passage God is trying to make something really clear to us. Apart from Him there is no savior. Why, oh why do I keep trusting in other things over the one with true power? Why do I trust my money to get me out of problems, or friends to pave the way for good things to happen? God, only God can provide all I need.

I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you.

Hello, McFly!!! Sometimes I feel like God is knocking on my head saying, “Come on, how many times have I told you. I am the one who has revealed your need for a Savior. I provided the saving grace you need. I have told you the truth. All those other distractions have nothing to offer. All of those other things you’re wasting your time on are pointless without me. Take me with you on your journey. Lean on me, trust me. I am reliable. Your money, friends and family may come and go. But I am always here for you.” How many times, in how many ways has the Lord told me I can only find true salvation and grace through Him. Everything else is futile.

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God. 

There are so many things the Lord has done in my life, and so many He’s done in your life as well. Those things that He has helped us through, along with scripture and the Holy Spirit bear witness to Him in our lives. It is always good to turn to these things when we’re filled with doubt. Remembering the times you could clearly see His hand in your life. If you’ve never seen His work in your life, don’t despair, you can still find the evidence you need in Scripture, and you can pray to have it revealed to you through the Holy Spirit. We are witnesses. Keep your eyes open so you don’t miss the action!

Yes, and from ancient days I am he.

Why does it matter that He has been around forever? Because we know that those who have gone before us, in our families, in scripture and in our churches are also bearing witness to who He is. From days of old He has been the same as He is now. We can see His work in many of our families throughout the years, in some we can see His absence, and that is all the more evidence as to why we need Him in our lives. We see patterns in our families that repeat themselves, and our Father in heaven sees them, but He is the only one we can lean on to help us to change the destructive patterns that appear in almost every family. He has seen the pain, and He offers the solution. He has also seen the blessings, and He knows your family and your struggles from the very beginning. There is no one who knows you better, deeper, stronger than the Lord, and He delights in you. Yes Jill, even you.

When I act, who can reverse it? 

God can fix things completely. Because He knows me better than I know myself, I can trust Him to help make the changes in my life that will allow me to glorify Him more fully. I know that there have been times when I have fought Him on the changes. I pray now that I am able to let Him mold me more fully. I want to be a blessing to those around me, and a reflection of Him to those I know and meet. When God acts, who can reverse it – no one.

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2013 in Isaiah, My God is ever-present, My God is from the ancient days

 

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My God is Sufficient 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

11 Dec

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect inJesushuggingcryinggirl weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

My grace is sufficient for you

Do you ever feel like all the bad stuff happens to you? Do you feel like everything would be perfect if you could just change that one thing? Paul could relate. He had a very close relationship with God, and had gone through a lot of hardship for the Gospel. These are things Paul felt he could justifiably boast about if he wanted to, but the Lord had also given Paul a thorn in his side. Something that reminded him of his humanity. We’re not sure what that thorn was, some say it was a stammer, others have their own ideas. What we do know is that it kept Paul humble. It kept him looking to God as the source of all goodness, and it was the way he was able to reach most people. It was through his weaknesses that the Lord used him.
For my power is made perfect in weakness
Have you ever noticed that the people you grow closest to are the ones with whom you’ve shared your innermost secrets. Those you have share your intimate, deep thoughts are the one’s with whom you bond the most. In our Bible study on Tuesday nights, you sometimes will have someone share something that you can tell is very painful for them. They share it, not because it was a great experience or that they come out sounding important or great, but because they learned about the Lord through their experience. When these kinds of stories, that show our weaknesses, are shared, others can identify. We have all felt weak, helpless and at the Lord’s mercy. Sharing how the Lord worked through those times binds us together as believers.
Boasting about your weakness
Boasting about your weakness is a very unusual thing in our society. Americans are taught to filter out the bad stuff and only tell the good (most of the time). We don’t like to sound weak, and we don’t like others to judge us, so we avoid telling them about our alcoholism, our struggle with obesity, our pain from the loss of our unborn child, the hurt we feel when being abused by those who are supposed to love us. We don’t like people to know that we don’t have it all together. We often see the mom with three beautifully dressed kids and think we want her life. What we don’t know is all the pain she feels because she is in a loveless marriage or the debt they’re incurring because of her overspending. We don’t know about what’s really going on with others, they’re trying to put their best foot forward, just as we are most of the time.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
How can we delight in these things? When we live our lives to bring God the glory, our weaknesses, the insults, hardships and difficulties are all opportunities for the world to see us respond differently than those who do not believe. We’re able to point our lives back to God, resting on His assurance to us that His grace, given to us by Jesus’ death on the cross, is sufficient for us. We can trust that all things will work for the good of them that love God (Romans 8:28), and that we will one day be with Him in heaven. This is our hope and our future. Spending eternity with our Lord who loves us and uses our weaknesses to draw others to Him and to increase the depths of our relationships with others.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We are strong when we are weak, because when we are weak, we submit ourselves to the Lord’s will. We no longer are looking out for ourselves, but turn our eyes towards the Lord for our salvation in the moment and for eternity. And knowing where you’re going to be for eternity strengthens us and gives us hope. We are encouraged, strengthened and can persevere. We grow closer to others and the Lord through all of these humbling, weak moments.
Are you weak or strong?
 
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Posted by on December 11, 2012 in My God is Sufficient

 

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My God is My Guide Psalm 73:24

28 Aug

Psalm 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Why is everyone else better off than me? 

Does it ever seem that way to you? It does to me, and it did the writer of the Psalms too. In Psalm 73, you’ll hear the Psalm writer going off on those who don’t believe in God. Why do they get to have all the good stuff? They don’t know God and yet it looks like they get all the rewards.

Here’s how it reads in Psalm 73:3-12 “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;  loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 
And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.”

They get away with everything

It seems like the rich, the worldly, self-seeking people get what they expect; riches, fame and fortune. And that may be true. They get those things here on earth, but if you don’t put your faith and trust in God, you wont have that for long. “For they have no pangs until death”. 

Until death

They have no pangs until death. But when death comes, those who do not believe in God as their savior will not know about the riches and blessings those of us who do believe will receive. Death is the final say. You know, “you can’t take it with you”!

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

I think this is really interesting. The Psalm writer says it’s hard to understand why the unbeliever, the spiteful towards God get to have it so well here on earth. Where did he go to figure it out? He went to the sanctuary of God. Then it was revealed to him their ultimate end. We too need to go to the sanctuary of God to help us discern the things that are spiritually weighing on us. We need to meet Him in His house and talk with Him. We can talk to our pastors or priests, pray and worship God. In His sanctuary we will have His truths revealed to us so that we too might be reminded of our end – in heaven. We can walk away knowing where we’ll end up when we put our faith and trust in our Lord.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Fortunately when we are still and when we are in His sanctuary, God guides us with His counsel. He tells us through His words and sacraments what we need to know so that we might have a full, rich life in heaven with Him. As we remain in God’s counsel, we can rest assured that we will be received by Him in glory. We may not always have it easy here on earth, but this is not our home – Heaven is our home.

That reminds me of an old Hymn – I am but a stranger here – I especially like the last verse where it says, “Whatever my earthly lot, Heaven is my home;”. 

I’m But a Stranger Here
By: Thomas R. Taylor

I’m but a stranger here, 
Heaven is my home;
Earth is a desert drear, 
Heaven is my home;
Danger and sorrow stand
Round me on every hand;
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven is my home.

What though the tempest rage,
Heaven is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage,
Heaven is my home;
And time’s wintry blast 
Soon shall be over past;
I shall reach home at last,
Heaven is my home.

Therefore I murmur not,
Heaven is my home;
Whatever my earthly lot,
Heaven is my home;
And I shall surely stand 
There at my Lord’s right hand.
Heaven is my fatherland, 
Heaven is my home.

Actually – After reading these lyrics again and singing it to myself, I think I want this played at my funeral. I love it! And I want everyone to sing really loudly and with conviction! Praise God for the promise and hope of a future in heaven!

Where is your home?

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2012 in My God is a Leader, My God is my Guide, Psalm

 

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