TODAY IN HIS WORD COMES FROM
Heb
3:12-15 (NASB)
THOUGHT TO PONDER:
When God calls us, and we don't turn away from what He doesn't want us doing, and to what He would have us do instead, He will pursue us. But if we persist in going the other way, we will lose our peace, and then there will be no rest for us. My friend, has God called you? Is He working in you for His plans and purposes? Are you turning TO HIM or AWAY from Him? Are you perhaps struggling against Him? My friend, don't let your heart become hardened, and lose your peace of heart and your rest.
TODAY'S INSIGHT INTO HIS WORD:
Did you know that God can (and oftentimes will) place burdens on our hearts? Several years ago, God placed a burden on my heart. I know what He showed me, and the longing in my heart… and I wanted to so much, but I just couldn't see how it would be possible. I kept having other people (not just non-Christians) throw doubts in my way. And I finally went against the longing in my heart, and where God was leading me-- to the other way. You see, in my heart, I felt a call to ministry, but because of circumstances, I just couldn't believe it was for me, no matter how much I wanted it to be. So I went the other way. And let me tell you, for two years I had no peace. It wasn't that there were no blessings or that good things didn't happen during that time frame; there were. It's just that during those two years, I worked elsewhere and was miserable. It didn't matter how hard I tried to settle in; God wasn't going to let me. And on the inside of me, in a way I cannot explain (because I didn't understand what it was at the time), I was grieved. Something inside of me was grieved, and I just had no peace.
What is so amazing about God is that when we falter in faith, He will bring us right back to the same place! Two years later, in the exact same time frame, I was right back where I had been, and I kept hearing God say, "Do you want to try it again?" In fact, the radio station I listened to kept repeating a song about this. Every time I got in my car, it was always on. I had to call a friend of mine, who worked at the radio station, to ask her if that was the only song they were playing. One of the verses said, "Back on your knees again, right where I want you again..." and it just spoke so loudly to my heart.
So on my knees, I asked God, "What do you want?" And the longing in my heart intensified until I began to understand. God had called me to do something, and He meant it. My friend, God always looks for a willing heart. And mine was so willing, I just couldn't see how it was possible. God had to show me where to start, so I did, and here I am now. Have there been struggles? Yes. Have I had to make sacrifices? Yes. Have there been costs? Most definitely YES. But has it been worth it? Yes, you see, God has given me peace in my heart, and I have come into a "rest."
Are there still battles and hardships? YES. The difference, though, is that I know there is still work to be done; my mission isn't finished, and the project God has given me isn't completed yet. So no matter how hard the enemy comes at me, no matter how hard the waves hammer me, I know that somehow, somehow, God will sustain me. It reminds me of Act 27: the Lord told Paul he was to stand before Caesar, so no matter how hard the storm tore at their ship, Paul believed it would be just as God had said. You see, his work (something the Lord told him to do) wasn't finished. So he knew that somehow, somehow, he would not perish. He believed in God and had peace even though his boat was shipwrecked.
A well-known story is Jonah. He ran from God and from what God had called him to do. And God did NOT let up on him. Jonah had no peace, and God would not let him rest. There was a message on Jonah's heart that, for some reason, could only be given by him. So God did not let Jonah go. God looks for the servant who is willing, and when we are not, he will often find someone else. But if it has to be us, because of what we have been through-- the testimony only we can give, or something in us that someone else needs, that no one else can replace; God will not let up. He will pursue us, and if we try to do something different, there will be no peace and no rest inside of us.
My friend, let me ask you something: when God speaks to you, do you listen, or do you let it go in one ear and right out the other? God's Word is the seed He gives us, and that which is planted in our hearts. When we do not believe Him, or when we will not hold to it, it becomes like the parable of the seeds in Mark 4. "Similarly these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away" (verses 16-17NASB).
He speaks to us and gives us His Word, but if we are not careful, distractions, unbelief, doubts, even other people... will cause us to lose it, and when this happens, our hearts become hardened. We lose what has been planted in us because it is not firmly rooted. And after a while, we will find ourselves in a place we were not meant to be, and God calls us to turn around.
What has God called you to? What has He told you, what Word has He given you? My friend, how is your faith? Are you standing firmly rooted, or has your heart been hardened to what He has shown you? Are you standing in belief and taking higher ground? Or have you given up on a dream God has given you? Are you losing ground? My friend, today if you hear His voice, listen. Stop for a moment and let His Word be firmly planted. Today, if He speaks to you, take the time to stop and let Him show you what He has for you.
PRAYING IN FAITH:
Father God, we come before You today in praise and thanks-giving, because You are a God of second chances. Lord, thank You that when we falter, You pick us up, set us back on solid ground, and steady our feet so we can walk with You again.
Lord, I lift this reader up to You and pray that You will open their ears to hear You. Lord, I pray that Your Word will be firmly planted in them so that it will grow. Lord, I pray that their hearts will not be stubborn and that they will not struggle against You. Lord, I pray that Your will be done in them and for them.
In Christ Jesus' Name, Amen.
My friend, have a blessed day.
Kassie
>> Print out this devotional: A Heart of Peace
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