Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (48 page)

Looking back over more than three decades of walking with God, I would have to agree that if I put into words the simplest explanation for the success I have enjoyed, I, too, have learned to pray, hear from God, and then do what God tells me to do to the best of my ability.

Over the years, I have been seeking God about the call on my life and pressing forward in what I feel He has told me to do. The essence of it all is that I tried doing things my way and experienced only defeat and frustration. It took a few years, but I finally learned to pray, and obey. It has not always been popular with everyone else, but I have prayed, I have obeyed—and it has worked. God’s plan is not hard;
we
make it hard.

If you want God’s will for your life, I can tell you the recipe for this in its simplest form:
pray and obey
. God has given you the capacity to do both.

W
hen you take God as your partner in life and you’re not interested in doing anything without Him, then you are a true friend of God. Some people are not getting their needs met because they are insecure about their relationship with God and won’t pray boldly and with confidence.

But when you know that you are God’s friend, it gives you the boldness to approach Him at any time, for anything. This friendship causes you to press in to receive things that you know are yours according to God’s Word. Possessing the knowledge that you are a friend of God causes you to be shamelessly persistent until you feel victory in your spirit. When that happens, you will feel a release that allows you to go ahead and enjoy your life, knowing that God is answering your prayer.

Unfortunately, many people are afraid to expect anything from God. But there is nothing wrong with asking God for big things and being expectant. Friendship with the Lord involves prayer, and prayer is all about moving in faith and getting situations changed. It is intimate
conversation between you and Father God. It is in our prayer lives—those private conversational times alone with Him—that we develop our friendship.

If you try to wait until you are perfect to develop this divine friendship, it will never happen because we will always be growing spiritually; we will never be perfect. All God is asking is that we do our best every day to follow Him. The apostle James said, “You have not because you ask not” (see Jas. 4:2). Start asking!

F
or many years I believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior but did not enjoy close fellowship with God. I felt that I was always reaching for Him and coming short of my goal. One day, as I stood before a mirror combing my hair, I asked Him a simple question:
“God, why do I consistently feel as though I am reaching for You and coming a little bit short of finding You?”

Immediately I heard these words inside my spirit:
“Joyce, you are reaching out, and you need to be reaching in.”
God’s Word says that He lives
in
us, but many people find this truth difficult to understand. I did, too, for a long time.

I recall a day when I was walking around my house with my head hanging down—I was downcast! I was murmuring and complaining, saying,
“God, I’m so tired of all the struggles I have. When are You going to do something? When am I going to get a breakthrough?”

Just then God reminded me that He lived inside me, and that fact alone should keep me joyful.

If you are born again, then Jesus is dwelling in you through the power of the Holy Spirit. But is God comfortable in you, and does He feel at home there within you? It took me a long time to understand that God lives in me along with all the other stuff that’s going on in my inner life. Because many Christians are not willing to submit to the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit, they are not full of peace. Their inner lives are constantly in turmoil. If we want to be a comfortable home for the Lord, let’s learn to dwell in peace and joy, trusting Him to take care of us.

T
he apostle Peter said love covers a multitude of sins. Love doesn’t just cover one mistake, it covers a multitude. God’s love for us not only covered our sins, it actually paid the price to completely remove them. Love is a powerful cleansing agent. I want you to notice that Peter said we should love “above all things.”

When Peter asked Jesus how many times he would be expected to forgive a brother for the same offense, Jesus told him to keep on doing it as many times as it took (see Matt. 18:21–22). Peter suggested seven times, and I have often wondered if he was already at six and thought he had only one more effort in him.

We must understand that a lot of forgiveness is required of us. In fact, it will probably be part of our daily experience. Some of the things we need to forgive may be minor and fairly easy, but occasionally that big thing comes along and we start wondering if we can ever get over it. Just remember, God never tells us to do anything unless He gives us the ability to do it. We can forgive anyone for anything if we let God’s love flow through us.

The Bible tells the story of a man named Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. When Joseph’s brothers discovered years later that he was alive and in charge of the food supply they desperately relied on, they were afraid. They remembered how badly they had treated Joseph, and so did he, but he chose not to reveal it to anyone else. He spoke with them privately and simply told them he was not God—and vengeance belonged to God, not to him. He freely forgave them, urged them not to be afraid, and proceeded to provide for them and their families. No wonder Joseph was a powerful leader who found favor everywhere he went. He knew the power of love and the importance of total forgiveness!

L
ike a deer that has been running through fields all day, or a dog in the hot summer sun, or a man in the desert, we also thirst. What we thirst for is more of God, but if we don’t know He is what we are craving, we can be easily misled.

We might think food is what we crave, or people’s approval, or material things. But those things won’t satisfy us. If we set our minds on seeking God—if we give Him first place in our desires, thoughts, conversation, and choices—our thirst will truly be quenched and we will not be led astray.

David expressed his longing for the Lord in Psalm 42. Verse 2 says, “My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” We have needs, but God says,
“Here I am. I have everything you need.”
We are to search after God like a thirsty man in the desert. What does a thirsty man think about? Nothing but water! He isn’t concerned about anything else but finding what it takes to quench his thirst. Likewise, we should seek God above all else in order to quench our thirst.

If we are looking for only material things or improved circumstances instead of looking for God, Satan can set up a mirage (false image) to put us on the wrong track. But if we are seeking God, the devil can’t mislead us, because God has promised that those who seek Him with their whole hearts will find Him. God essentially says, “My people shall no longer be led by a mirage, but they will know to seek Me, the Living Water. Those who come to Me will never thirst again” (see John 4:10, 14).

Until our desire for God is greater than all other things, Satan has an advantage over our lives. But we can turn that advantage into disadvantage by resetting our priorities. Seek first God’s Kingdom, and all other things will be added (see Matt. 6:33).

T
his passage gripped my heart one day, and I broke into tears. I thought,
Oh, God, if only I can stand before You on the Last Day, look You in the eye, and not have to be ashamed, but be able to say, “Lord, I did it. With Your help I came through to the finish. I completed what You gave me to do.”

I realized that real joy comes from being a vessel for God to use for His glory: letting Him choose where He’s going to take me, what He’s going to do with me, when He’s going to do it—and always submitting to Him. It is one thing to be willing to do some things for the Lord, but it’s another thing entirely to be willing to do
anything
for the glory of God.

We may mistakenly think that some things would just be too difficult, but God will give us the strength through Christ to do all things He asks. When you sense that God is leading you to do something that frightens or overwhelms you, just take that first step in faith and you will find the power of God available when you take the next one.

I often feel incapable, but I have learned to trust God more than I trust my feelings. If He asks us to do something, He will definitely give us the grace to do it one day at a time. Don’t stop short of finishing the work God has given you to do; glorify Him by pressing through to the end.

M
uch of the world is in a hurry, always rushing; yet very few people even know where they are going in life. People rush to get to yet another event that has no real meaning for them, or that they really don’t even want to attend. We hurry so much we finally come to the place where we cannot slow down.

I can remember the days when I worked so hard and hurried so much that even if I took a vacation, it was almost over by the time I geared down enough to actually rest. Constantly hurrying definitely inhibited me from having peace in my life, and it still can if I do not stay alert to its pressure. Life is too precious to rush through it.

I find at times that a day has gone by in a blur; at the conclusion of it, I know I was very busy all day yet cannot really remember enjoying much, if any, of it. I have committed to learn to do things in God’s rhythm, not the world’s pace.

Jesus was never in a hurry when He was here on earth, and God is absolutely not in a hurry now. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven…” We should let each thing in our lives have its season, and realize we can enjoy that season without rushing into the next one.

Our pace of living affects the quality of our lives. When we eat too fast, we don’t properly digest our food; when we rush through life, we don’t properly digest it, either. God has given life to us as a gift, and what a pitiful shame to do nothing but rush through each day and never, as they say,
“stop and smell the roses.”
Each thing we do in life has a sweet fragrance, and we should learn to take it in and enjoy the aroma.

P
eople of God should be peaceful, joyful, thankful, and content. In Philippians 4:11, Paul said he “learned how to be content.” Well, I don’t know about you, but I spent many years, even as a believer, before I
learned
contentment, and I believe there are many others who struggle as I did trying to find it. You may be one of them.