He Will Give Us Peace

God Cannot Lie!

And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

How the Holy Spirit whispered these verses several times to me this morning! Twice came the sweet words to my heart seemingly from nowhere.

Reams could be written on them, but for now I just have a few thoughts.

 

As I look closely at them, it is as if the crown jewel of all the ways the Lord will marry his people is that, he will betroth us in…faithfulness. 

Why is this so important? While there are myriads of reasons, right now I am only thinking of one.

God’s promise of faithfulness to us is absolutely necessary; for we must be convinced he can be counted on to carry us through this life and the billows that will eventually come. We must believe he will fulfill every single promise to us and will not let go of our hand.

                             

For, if he failed us in even just one promise, we could never be able to believe him in anything. We would never be able to trust him again.

We must be convinced during really unsettling times that, even if we lose our grip on God, he will never lose his grip on us. He will bring us safely to our heavenly home.  

God is true to his promises. He has proven himself faithful to me over many years. And, because God has proven himself faithful to me, well might I advise with the author, Charles Spurgeon, if my dear reader is carrying a heavy load,

Go, sorrowing son (or daughter) of affliction, tell thy secrets to the Friend who sticketh closer than a brother. Trust all thy concerns with him who never can be taken from thee, who will never leave thee… even Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.

So, yes, dearest Jesus, we ask you to help us believe in your faithfulness! For many have failed us and it can be hard for us to believe.…Help us rest today and tonight upon your mighty faithfulness. And, if need be, let us we pour out our souls upon your sweet heart, for you have promised us, 

I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness

You never turn away a soul in need who cries out to you!

 

Hosea 2: 19-20; 2: 20

Beautiful Meekness ~

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Jesus of Nazareth

It can take a long time before we bow our hearts to the sorrows and fears God allows in our lives. At the heart of our submission must be our “yes” to the ultimate purpose of God for us; that he is conforming us to the image of Christ for he whispers, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

But what is meekness? While humility and gentleness are enclosed within its meaning, it primarily expresses our reaction towards God dealings with us. It is described as a characteristic “not in a man’s outward behavior only, nor in his relations to his fellow man or his mere natural disposition. Rather, it is an inwrought grace of the soul, and the expressions of it are primarily toward God. It is that attitude of spirit where we accept God’s dealings with us as good and do not dispute or resist.”

It is here that we can either bend the knee to God; allowing him to reveal what might need changing in our lives, or resist him. Our hearts either eventually soften or harden to him. We either submit in obedience to the areas that need changing, or allow his grace to go in vain.

Our sufferings can either propel us to an unshakeable glory in God or cause us to resist him. Will we humble ourselves and bend our knees when he allows them? Will we allow him to point out where we need changing or will our pride keep us from breaking?

We would be wise to yield to the ways of God, if we would inherit the earth.

And, oh, what peace of heart awaits the one that yields!

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the ear

Do you possess this wondrous characteristic of Jesus that he calls for?

Matthew 5: 5; Romans 8: 28-29; Matthew 11: 28-29; “The Complete Word Study, New Testament”, Zodhiates

Just a Bunch of Weeds?

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

They were only weeds until a few weeks ago. Abundant they reign on my property during April and May in the fair land I live. My field seems to turn from emerald green to hues of gold within a matter of weeks.  I have to have it mowed or weed-whacked every end of May for fire prevention. I could just cut them down around the required 30 feet perimeter, but my property is so lovely with them mowed and looks so much tidier.

I have already cut down a few and, several weeks ago, I discovered something to put these weeds to use for; I scattered them over the unsightly brown spots that hover around my kitchen windows’ view.  How much nicer it looked after they were down! “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” I wondered.

But then this morning they took me by surprise with a further use. For there in the middle of the golden mound of weeds that I had put down, sprouted several Morning Glories singing praises to God! The weeds had provided cover and moisture for them as I had watered them down.

And then I thought how special of God that is.

For it reminds me that he takes things and people that are seemingly discarded, as my weeds, and puts them for use.

I have felt like those weeds many times, but God has such a lovely creative nature. For he reminds me that he can take what seems useless; the weeds, so to speak, in my life, and yet bring forth His loving purpose through them to bring forth his glory and my maturity.

If I only offer them up to him for my good and his glory…

 

Isaiah 61: 3