Tag Archives: God

Knowing How to Calm Down

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There are times when our striving over a thing reaches its proper limits.  When this happens we need to know how to quietly trust in the Lord.  That unanswered prayer, that stressful situation, that massive uncertainty we have in an area that we feel we ought to understand better – all these may be areas we need to deliberately give over to Him.

David understood this and offers his own example to us in a brief psalm.  He intentionally calmed and quieted his soul, knowing that some things needed to be placed in God’s hands and left there.  There is a beautiful peace and humility involved in this kind of intentional trust.

Psalm 131

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1  Lord, my heart is not haughty,
     Nor my eyes lofty [or “arrogant”].
     Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
     Nor with things too profound [or “difficult”] for me.

2  Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
     Like a weaned child with his mother;
     Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3  O Israel, hope in the Lord
     From this time forth and forever.

Who We Were, Are and Shall Be

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Our transformation gives us much to be thankful for and even more to think about.  Our very nature has been changed.  When we received new life in Christ it was a life that was really, well, new.  Thus, we are no longer those same old people.  Here are two passages that explain what happened and is to happen still:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”  – Ephesians 2:1-3 (NKJV)

So that’s who we used to be.  And now, what?

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  – 1 John 3:1-3 (NKJV)

Complete Dependence

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We normally like to be self-reliant.  Our culture here in the USA certainly teaches it.  We see it as a virtue, a strength, the only real alternative to laziness or a lack of ambition.  There is a point, however, at which the idea of self-reliance becomes self-deception.

Life is fragile.  We can’t hold onto it forever without a great deal of help.  Therefore, it’s an unpleasant blessing to be taught to depend on God.  We may not like it much, but it’s a lesson we need to learn.  The Israelites learned it by means of the manna in the desert.  This humbling experience was designed to test them, and teach them to get their eyes off of their provision (that constant focus of independent, self-reliant men), fix their eyes firmly on the Provider and keep their ears open to His every word.

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (NKJV)

Powerful Prayers

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In this final day of our Week of Prayer and Fasting, let’s remember just how powerful prayer can be.  Take, for example this statement:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NKJV)

As we pray, we’re going to battle, but not in our own strength.  The warfare is spiritual and so are our weapons.  If the enemy has a stronghold it can be pulled down.  God specializes in tearing down the walls and breaking the bonds that imprison His people. 

Let’s go to battle this day, asking the Lord to destroy the strongholds of the devil and set the captives free.