Friday, June 20, 2008

God's word in the early morning

For some reason the time is always wrong when I post and it will say that I am on the computer at crazy hours which is usually not true. I love my sleep and would not willfully give it up to blog. Today is a different story, it is 2:24 am. I have been awake for a while trying to fall back to sleep when all that I can hear is David breathing and God calling me to His word. I gave into God and let Him lead me to His word. I prayed that He would reveal Himself to me and ofcourse He did. I have struggled recently with contentment. Here are some verses He revealed to me tonight. Phillipians 4:12-13 I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy in any time in everything that happens, when I have enough to eat and when I go hungry, when I have more than I need and when I do not have enough. 13 I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength.

Inspiration from Max Lucado
There are times when the one thing that you want is the one thing that you never get. You're not being picky or demanding , you're only obeying His command to "ask God for everything you need"(Phillipians 4:6). All you want is an open door or and extra day or an answered prayer, for which you will be thankful. And so you pray and wait. No answer. You pray and wait. No answer. You pray and wait. May I ask a very important question? What if God says no? What if the request is delayed or even denied? When God says no to you, how will you respond? If God says, "I've given you my grace, and that is enough", will you be content? Content. Thats the word. A state of heart at which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than he already has. Test yourself with this question: What if Gods only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? You beg him to save the life of your child. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. You impore him to remove the cancer from your body. What if his answer is , "my grace is enough"? Would you be content? You see, from heaven's perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain? If, God saved our souls and then left us to spend our lives leprosy-struck on a deserted island, would he be unjust? Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we bemoan earthly poverty?

Let me quick to add, God has not left you with "just salvation." The vast majority of us have been saved and then blessed even more! But there are those times when God, having given us his grace, hears our appeals and says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Is he being unfair?

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never forget you."

Just a little more from Max

Are you hoping that a change in circumstances will bring a change in your attitude? If so, you are in prison, and you need to learn a secret of traveling light. What you have in your Shepherd is greater than what you don't have in life. May I meddle for a moment? What is the one thing separating you from joy? How do you fill this blank? "I will be happy when_______"? When I am healed. When I am promoted. When I am married. When I am single. When I am rich. How would you finish that statement? Now with your answer firmly in mind, answer this. If your ship never comes in, if your dream never comes true, if the situation never changes, could you be happy? You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need. Nothing in this world can take that from you. Try saying it slowly. "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." again "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." Again "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." SHHHHH. Did you hear something? I think I did, I'm not sure but I think I heard the opening of a jail door.

Wow! I don't know about you but I definitely say I will be happy when _____. This was just what I needed. I hope you were able to get something from it also. I have been up for over an hour now. The good thing is that Noah still takes a morning nap so I can catch some extra sleep then. I am so glad that I listened to God calling me to His word this very early morning.

3 comments:

Jenny said...

WOW! Little sister! I am impressed. Your blog served as our morning devotion at work. Thanks! I am so proud of you!

King Family said...

Danielle, that was amazing. I was waiting to see who the author was. I know I needed that too.
Thanks for sharing.

AG said...

Reminds me of Samuel saying "Speak your servant is listening" Glad you listen!