October 21 I Monday

Isaiah 62-64

1 Timothy 1

“All Your words are true; all Your righteous laws are eternal.”  —Psalm 119:160

 

I realized many years ago that the Bible never tells us to pray for guidance, so I stopped praying for guidance. Since then, I have never been more relaxed about where I am going in life. Guidance is part of what God is committed to, however, the problem for many people is that they want to know where God’s guidance is going to take them or they want to prescribe how God will guide them.

We will pray for this and plead for that, and may even try to twist God’s arm by bargaining with Him. “If you’ll only give me this job, I promise I’ll be a better person,” or “If we are able to get that dream house, I’ll attend church every week and double what I put in the collection plate.” But God does not bargain or negotiate, and we cannot twist His arm. Many have a sort of half-hearted trust in God, but they are willing to doubt Him as well, so they want God to prove Himself by giving them that job or getting them that house.

To this kind of thinking, Jesus responds, “Unless you people see signs and wonders…you will never believe” (John 4:48). If I may paraphrase, “I am not going to give you that, because if you base your belief in Me on miraculous signs, you will expect that everything God does will be dramatic and sensational. When nothing dramatic is happening, you may think nothing is happening, and that is not true of Me. What I am going to give you is one thing––My Word, nothing more. You either believe Me or you don’t.”

What is the basis of our certainty in Christ? Is it the Word of God or our experiences of God? We do not have a physical Jesus to turn to, but He lives within us and we have His Word. Proverbs 30:5 tells us, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” A resting faith is taking God at His word.

We know we have taken Jesus at His Word when we begin to relax and feel the pressure is off as the issue is settled and we have peace of mind. A resting faith is going through our days as though our problems are already solved, because we know God has undertaken to guide our lives. Are we letting go of wanting to control our lives and taking refuge in every Word of God? May we trust God at His Word with a resting faith.

 

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your marvelous Word that I can rest my faith on. You are my refuge and my strength. Thank You, Lord.


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