His Eye is on the Sparrow

Earlier this evening, as I was worrying obsessively about something I couldn't control, God was gracious enough to speak to my anxious heart. I looked outside the clear glass storm door to the entrance of our humble abode, and saw a tiny bird hopping around on our concrete step. Then it struck me: God had His eye on that little bird! No matter how small or insignificant it's life may seem, God cared about that bird, and was glorified as it fulfilled its purpose. How much more, then, does He lovingly guide the lives of His children as they seek to please and follow Him?

Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me so very much. Thank You for caring about every area of my life, and for promising to guide me as I choose to trust and obey You.

Trials that Transform

I thank You for the bitter things
They've been a friend to grace,
They've driven me from the paths of ease
To storm the secret place.
~Florence White Willett

Father, I'm so delighted that You are both loving and sovereign, and that You cause all things to work together for good to those who love You, to those who are called according to Your purpose. So I thank You for each disturbing or humbling situation in my life, for each breaking or cleansing process You are allowing, for each problem or hindrance, for each thing that triggers in me anxiety or anger or pain. And I thank You in advance for each disappointment, each demanding duty, each pressure, each interruption that may arise in the coming hours and days.

In spite of what I think or feel when I get my eyes off You, I choose not to resist my trials as intruders, but to welcome them as friends.

Thank You that each difficulty is an opportunity to see You work...that in Your time You will bring me out to a place of abundance. I rejoice that You plan to enrich and beautify me through each problem, each conflict, each struggle...that through them You expose my weaknesses and needs, my hidden sins, my self-centeredness (and especially my self-reliance and pride). Thank You that You use trials to humble me and perfect my faith and produce in me the quality of endurance...that they prepare the soil of my heart for the fresh new growth in godliness that You and I both long to see in me...and that my momentary troubles are producing for me an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, as I keep my eyes focused on You. I'm grateful that You look beyond my superficial desire for a trouble-free life; instead, You fulfill my deep-down desire to glorify You, enjoy Your warm fellowship, and become more like Your Son.

~Taken from 31 Days of Praise, by Ruth Myers

Great and Precious Promises

"He has given us His very great and precious promises." ~ 2 Peter 1:4

When a shipbuilder erects a boat, does he do so only to keep it on the scaffolding? No, he builds it to sail the seas and to weather the storms. In fact, if he does not think of strong winds and hurricanes as he builds it, he is a poor shipbuilder.

In the same way, when God made you a believer, He meant to test you. And when He gave you promises and asked you to trust them, He made His promises suitable for times of storms and high seas. Do you believe that some of His promises are counterfeit, similar to a life vest that looks good in the store but is of no use in the sea?

We have all seen swords that are beautiful but are useless in war, or shoes made for decoration but not for walking. Yet God's shoes are made of iron and brass, and we can walk all the way to heaven in them, without ever wearing them out. And we could swim the Atlantic a thousand times in His life vest, with no fear of ever sinking. His Word of promise is meant to be tried and tested.

There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to publicly profess Him and then not use Him. He loves for us to make use of Him, for His covenant blessings are not simply meant to be looked at but should be appropriated. Our Lord Jesus has been given to us for our present use. Are you making use of Him as you should?

O beloved, I plead with you not to treat God's promises as something to be displayed in a museum but to use them as everyday sources of comfort. And whenever you have a time of need, trust the Lord. Charles H. Spurgeon

Go to the depths of God's promise,
And claim whatsoever you will;
The blessing of God will not fail you,
His Word He will surely fulfill.

How can God say no to something He has promised?

taken from Streams in the Desert