Exodus 3:1-6 – “Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. ² The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked, and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! ³ So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” ⁵ God said, “Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ He added, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush challenged me.  Exodus 3 overflows with revelation, encouragement, and instruction.  In verse 6, God revealed His Name, “I AM.” That He is, “The” not “A” God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In verse 7, we discover that God sees what is happening.  He hears our cries.  He knows our struggles.  In verse 8, we find that He also responds in Action.  We realize that if God sends us to do something, He goes with us to enable us to do it.  He never calls us anywhere. He will not go and does not provide all we need.

In Exodus 4:2, we receive the revelation that God uses what we have, not what we hope to have.  He is not waiting until something comes.  He uses us where we are with what we have.

God is the God of the Impossible.  Delays that involve waiting for something in the future are not trust.  

• Trust gives God access to what we have and who we are and depends on Him to turn the rod into a miracle. 
• Trust refuses to look at the present lack but instead looks at Him. 
• Trust is not based on a wishful dream but on God’s person, presence, and power.

Only as we totally surrender and trust can we see 2 Timothy 4:7-8 a reality in our lives.  The fight fought in the faith results in the finish God desires. A serious danger is that we fall prey to the spirit of 2 Timothy 4:3, following teachers and voices that say what we want to hear (good or bad). Deception grows out of fantasy.  God’s call will have God’s provision when pursued for God’s purpose. Moses resisted, but God insisted.

What is in your hand?  Not what will be in your hand when or if.  Who is God?  Let Him be God and give Him what you have, then watch what happens. Do we truly trust God, or are we trusting what we want God to do?

Genesis 45:5-8 – “Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life! ^{6 For these past two years, there has been famine in the land, and for five more years, the}re will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to preserve you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, something caught my eye in the story of Joseph.   I saw a New Testament principle lived out in real time. It was encouraging.   

We know the story, but what gripped me was God’s example of Romans 8:28 demonstrated in Joseph.  Remember his battles, victories, setbacks, victories, and the repeating of the process over and over. Then, in Genesis 45, as he reveals his identity to his terrified brothers, he says something that theologians argue over.

Genesis 45:5-8. Joseph told them, “Don’t be too hard on yourself for your sin against me. God had a plan.”  Remember that from Romans 8:28?  “All things work TOGETHER for good to those who love God and are called to do His purposes.”   He didn’t absolve them of their guilt or ignore what he had endured, but recognized the eternal principle that God is focused on the finished product more than the process.  The individual parts are tools and steps to the completion.

• We focus on the parts; God focuses on the finish. 
• We focus on the now; God focuses on the then.
• We focus on the present pain. God focuses on the eternal joy that comes.
  
  We need a shift in focus to be victorious!

1 Timothy 6:6-9 gives us a key.  Man seeks what he deems success and never discovers true wealth. He lacks contentment. Joseph learned contentment because he trusted God completely. Paul learned contentment because he trusted God completely. We either trust God completely and learn contentment, or we strive, struggle, and fantasize, making riches the key to our service.

1 Timothy 4:12 offers qualities to seek and develop that will keep us on track and help us learn contentment.  We focus on our hearts, guarding what we say, how we live, love, and faith, and become examples of true believers.

We are rich in Jesus! Let’s learn to see the puzzle as a whole rather than each piece.   There is peace in rest!

1 Corinthians 10:23 – “Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is expedient; everything is lawful for me, but everything does not edify.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, the Spirit drew me to 1 Corinthians 10 and the Book of Job, which spoke to me in an interesting way.

The Book of Job reminded me of the brevity of human life on earth and the uncertainties that accompany our earthly sojourn.  It also caused me to contemplate personal commitment and God’s integrity.

1 Corinthians 10:23 intrigued me. “Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is expedient; everything is lawful for me, but everything does not edify.”  What I heard in my spirit and heart was, “Just because you can does not mean you should.”

In modern Christianity, this is sometimes pushed out of bounds.  It is not always excess that is problematic, but indulgence.  Let me offer a thought as to why, although we have liberty, we may need to refrain from some things at times or maybe even all the time.

1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore you eat or drink, or WHATEVER YOU DO, do all to the glory of God.”   Think about that and ask, “Why do I do what I do, and does it bring glory to God?”   Do you indulge for His glory or your own pleasure?  Do you indulge as a witness for Christ or because you can and for yourself?  Why do you do what you do?  I ask myself that daily!

We are to live always conscious of how what we say or do affects others and our testimony, and how it reflects on God.  If we live with the life view that Everything we say and do is for God’s glory, we will discover that just because we can does not mean we should.  If our indulgence hinders another, it hurts God’s heart.  The spiritually strong are obligated to strengthen the weak; it is part of being the Body of Christ.

If we say, “But why should I be deprived?”  We are developing an attitude of selfishness and self-centeredness.  If I refrain from something because I love God and to avoid offending a weaker brother out of love, I lose nothing! Nothing is as valuable as the souls. That includes ours or someone else’s.  Jesus said that our love for Him is revealed in our love for each other.

The words “Just because you can does not mean you should” echo in my heart today.  You can indulge in things that may or may not be sinful, but are they beneficial?  Why do you do them?  Do they glorify God?  My heart is to do all that I do for His glory!

May today find you seeking to bring honor and glory to God in all you do.  All You Do!

Psalm 121:1-2 – “I look up toward the hills.  From where does my help come?  ² My help comes from the Lord,  the Creator of heaven and earth.”

I pray that God will inspire you to move forward in Him, and just as the apostle Paul, learn to be content in the state we find ourselves in, exhibiting Learned Trust.

As I prayed, pondered, and read the Word of God today, I was impressed to consider the matter of faith.  Even more directly, mountain-moving, miracle-working faith.  We see it occasionally but infrequently. What we often see is faith in faith rather than faith that yields results.

I have been in situations and known others who experienced similar sentiments where I was so exhausted and exasperated that I finally cried, “God, I am at my wits’ end. I am just going to crawl up into our arms until this is over. I’m done! I am devoid of faith to get the job done.”   In each of those few times, God has come through, ignored my condition, and granted me the miracle.

Finally, the Holy Spirit got through my thick skull and helped me see that I was quoting scripture, giving myself ‘self-talk’, trying to manifest faith.  I was not believing, I was trying to believe!  When I came to the end of myself and lost all confidence in my ability to make it happen by faith, It Happened!

It would behoove us to realize that if we are in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, we cannot fix it!  If we are in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, we may not understand it.  If we are in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, we may become fearful and even angry.  But In the Valley He Restores Our Souls!

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” NASB

Are you in the Valley?  Look up because true help is coming from the mountains of God (Psalm 121:1-2).  In the Valley, we often feel deserted, forsaken, unloved, and that God no longer cares for us.  But it is “in” the Valley that He restores our souls!

Look up, redemption is drawing near! Look up, our King is coming!  Look up, victory rides on the wings of the wind! Look up, you are a child of the King! Look up, be like Stephen when they were stoning him.  He said, “I see Jesus!”  If we see Him, the Valley becomes a Super-Highway to Victory!

LORD, help us to see Jesus!

Colossians 1:9-14 – “For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill^[ you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. ¹³ He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, the incredibleness and detail of God filled my thoughts.    

In Genesis 7:1 (NASB), God told Noah, “In you alone, I have seen to be righteous in this time.”   It was not “at” but “in” or during this time (age).  In contrast to the corruption and hybridization of humanity, Noah was pure. He was God’s vehicle to preserve the Messianic line.

Genesis 8:1, “But God remembered Noah…” Remembered here does not refer to something that had been forgotten, but to something held in the forefront of the mind for the purpose of action.

God’s promise (covenant) to Abram (Genesis 12) was sevenfold.  Be a great nation, have a great name, be a blessing, bless those who bless Abram, curse those who curse Abram, and “in” him all the families of the Earth will be blessed.

Now take those promises and step into Paul’s revelation in Colossians, and we see God’s incredibleness and attention to detail.   Nothing is missing in the work of the Cross.  Colossians 1:9-14 informs us that we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual understanding and wisdom, So That.   The “so that” is critical.  It expresses the reason and the need to be fully invested in Jesus and saturated with His Spirit and Word.

It is our enablement to live a life that is worthy of the name Christian. It enables us to bear fruit and increase in our knowledge of Him.  We draw strength from and live with the power of God manifest in us. Colossians 2 is indispensable for the believer.  The Cross is our assurance!

Colossians 3 gives us the pathway to peace and total victory.  “If” we have been raised up (born again), “then” in order to thrive, we must make God the top pursuit of our lives. Our actions (verse 2) – we set, focus, and fix our minds on Jesus.  We consider (KJV – mortify) our earthly bodies dead to… immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. Failure invokes God’s wrath. Our action (verse 8 – put aside – anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive (hurtful & vulgar) speech.   In verse 10, we are directed to put on (embrace and practice) being New, renewed in true knowledge.

In verses 14-17, we find the fruit of God’s incredibleness and attention to detail.  We are to put on Love like a garment.  We are to let (allow or cooperate) with the Peace of Christ and the Word of God to dwell in us richly.

If we are focused on God, saturated with His Word, and overflowing with His Spirit, we will not only survive but thrive.  We will not only overcome but set captives free. We will become witnesses for Jesus with our lives.

God has provided for us to enjoy His fullness, but we must participate in His process.  If we continue living as the world does, motivated by the same passions, we will not thrive.  We are to be rooted in Him as we become built up and established in our faith.

We can’t live like we did before our conversion and have His peace and favor. If we are changed on the inside, the external will evidence it.