Psalm 39:7  – “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”

Most things in life are temporary and changing.  Even love, among humans, can be fleeting and fickle.  When the true source of love lives in us, love is continuous and unshakable.   As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, being totally consumed by God became God’s visible objective for all believers.

In Psalm 39:7, the psalmist asked and answered a probing question.  The trouble of life was engulfing him.  He asked, “And now, Lord, what do I hope in?”   Sometimes, life becomes so convoluted and chaotic that we lose hope.  He looked at his plight and said, “Now what?”  He could have and may have asked “Why?”

Then, the Pslamist, without hesitation, revealed a solid grounding in faith and vision, said, “My expectation is IN You.”   He asked about Hope and said Expectation.  I find that curious and revelatory.

Hope can be a natural longing that is more a wish than a confidence.  His answer revealed something that transcended wishful thinking and longing.  “My Expectation is IN You.” You are the source of my expectation.  You are the confidence of my confession.  You are the supply of my longings and needs.  You are my all.

That’s the heart of Isaiah in Psalm 46.   Although nothing is dependable and everything is shaking in my life, “God is my refuge (place of safety) and strength” (source of provision and power).  A very PRESENT HELP in trouble.”   Out of that confidence, he saw the pathway to peace and victory – “Cease striving (trying to figure it out and do it in your strength) and know that God is God.”

If God IS, then why fret?  I think about Stephen’s recounting of Moses on the mountain.  Moses SAW the pattern of the Ark.  Saw it?  Yes, on the natural mountain, he saw it?  He spent forty days without food or water.   What does that suggest?  On that mountain, Moses encountered a portal that allowed him to step into the heavenly realm, and in God’s presence, He saw and was anchored.  Out of that experience, he lived with God as his expectation!

Stephen, in Acts 7, saw the heavens standing open and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.  He SAW, and out of that experience, he saw the completion of his expectation in Jesus!  Stephen was so filled with Jesus and the Holy Spirit that his countenance was transformed.  His transformation began in His heart, filled his mind, and showed in his face!  His expectation was IN God!

Life is sweetest when lived in the peace of knowing GOD IS!  No matter what, God IS!  No matter where God IS!  So, cease striving; God IS!  Live in expectation!  The God who never fails is our God.

Lord, help us to become consumed with You and focused on Your Purposes!

Psalm 27:1 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was impressed with the reality of God and the purpose proposed by Jesus for the church.   In Psalm 27:1, as I read those words, what echoed in my heart was, “Have no fear; God is near!”   That began my journey today.  God’s presence brings God’s peace and power.

In Psalm 30:5, I realized that God’s discipline is momentary and is designed to bring a lifetime of fellowship and favor.   In Psalm 32:3-7, I recognized the physical consequences of concealing sin.  I saw the victory of repentance.

Then, in Acts 1:6-8, I was impressed with the urgency Jesus placed on receiving the power of the Holy Spirit.  They were focused on the restoration of Israel as a nation and as God’s earthly kingdom.  Jesus made it clear that He had a larger purpose: the salvation of the world.

The Holy Spirit drew me to the first message preached in the new church, as recorded in Acts 2:37-38.   Repentance was a central theme for John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples.   It all begins with repentance and surrender to God.  We die to ourselves so we can live to Him.

The command of Jesus was TARRY (wait) in Jerusalem UNTIL they received THE PROMISE of the Father, which would enable them to fulfill the mission – Be witnesses!  It meant preaching, teaching, and manifesting the very heart and nature of Jesus.

Signs and wonders opened the door to the message.  Jesus would say about His miracles, The Kingdom of God has come near you.

Like the disciples, we can focus on important things and miss the essentials.   A journey begins somewhere.  We desire the restoration of all things (Acts 3:19-21).  However, to reach that destination, we must start with the directive of Acts 2:37-40: repent, receive the cleansing of our sins, enter the family, be filled, and then begin the process of becoming.  We don’t start at maturity.  We become mature.

My heart is drawn to Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”

If we are IN Jesus and His Word (which is Him), we can ask and manifest Him.  He told us to pray for His Kingdom to come.  There is no kingdom without the king.  The message and answer is Jesus!

The song echoing in my heart is – “I Surrender All.”   If He fills our all, we become all He purposed and manifest Him to the world.

Remember, God did not give us a Spirit of Fear, but One of Boldness, Courage, and Sanity!

Psalms 16:7-9  – “I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.  ⁸ I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.

I sense something in the air.  I believe that something is in the works, like the early buds of springtime.   What we focus on defines our destiny and destination.  The love of God lifts us into the presence of God and releases His power.

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was reminded of the reality that God is the ultimate communicator.

Psalm 16:7-9 informs us that God instructs our minds in the night.  We do not focus on that truth and discount dreams and impressions in the night.  We often miss instructions because we don’t recognize them as such.  What better time for God to download information than when we are not busy thinking about the thoughts of the day?

Psalm 17:3 reveals that God tests our hearts and visits us in the night.  The night is not just for sleeping but for being transformed by revelation and truth.  Psalm 25:4, the cry of the Psalmist was, “Cause me to know, perceive, and understand the ways (Who God is) and paths (what God desires).

John 16:1, Jesus revealed that His Word(s) keeps us from stumbling.  In vv.  7-8, 13 He explained the importance of the Holy Spirit’s ministry after the ascension.  He would reveal the additional truth Jesus desired to convey.

The message of Jesus extends beyond just what He personally taught.  His whole message is seen in the writings inspired by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

In John 17:3, we see a significant purpose of Jesus: Eternal Life.  It is embodied in knowing Jesus and the relationship with the Father.  The door to everything is the new birth.  Then, as Paul taught, we move on from the elementary or beginning things to the depths of God.

Remember that God is the ultimate communicator.   Therefore, we can and should ask God to help you recognize the downloads in the night and build on them.  The night is not just for sleep but also for profound revelation and transformation.

Psalm 18:28-29 – “For You (God) light my lamp; Yahweh my God illuminates my darkness.  For by You, I can run through a troop, and by You, I can leap over a wall.”   Illumination gives power to prevail.   God is talking; are we listening?  Do we realize it is Him speaking, and do we pay attention to what is being said?

May the Great Communicator communicate His purposes to you today!

John 14:15-17  –  “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.  ¹⁶ Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him.  But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, several things gripped my heart.  One was having an incomplete provision from God.  What am I talking about?   Many things, actually.   But one in particular ties them all together.

Would you think it is normal or desirable to attend a banquet where the host serves some guests with meat but provides others with silverware and some with none?   Would you consider it normal for a trucking company to fill some trucks with gas but not others, and yet expect all the drivers to reach their destinations?

Would you consider it normal for a parent to give their children an assignment but only provide some of them with the necessary tools to complete the task?   Say it was a garden, and some were given hoes, and some were given hoe handles, but no hoes or handles?

John 14:16-17, Jesus said that one of the results of His ascension was the coming of the Holy Spirit in fullness to equip, teach, empower, and guide.  In verse 17, He makes an interesting statement, “He (Holy Spirit) abides WITH you and will be IN you.”

There is a dimension of the Holy Spirit received at salvation.  We are born of the Spirit.   However, there is more, as revealed in the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament.   Several significant events occurred when Jesus ascended to the Father.   It testified that the sacrifice was accepted and sin atoned for.   It opened the door for man to become sons of God.   Also, it released the Holy Spirit to come and fulfill THE PROMISE of the Father.

The outpouring in Acts 2 revealed that the sacrifice had been accepted and divine justice had been satisfied.   The Father sent the Holy Spirit to be IN them and, as Peter then preached to all who would come later.

The Holy Spirit, in His fullness and ministry, enables us to transcend the limitations of the natural and talk to God in the language of heaven.  That enables us to receive divine downloads not possible via natural ability.  He has direct and unlimited access to the throne room of heaven, and we can enter through Him in the language of heaven.  Also, tongues expand our capacity to receive from God.

If we have God’s infilling but not complete, shouldn’t we ask why?  Does that serve God’s purpose?  Is it God withholding or us resisting in some way?

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  In John 13:34-35, Jesus said He was giving a new commandment to love.  New?  Love was not new, but to love just as He loved was.  We need the fullness of the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s purposes on earth.  Don’t be satisfied with a banquet without silverware, a truck with no gas, or a hoe handle without a hoe.

God wants us to be saturated with Him!   Abide in Him!   One with Him!  Who knows the mind of the Father better than the Holy Spirit?  God, give us All of You!  All your provisions!  Search me, prune me, equip me.  I want to be totally one with you!  I surrender all.

May your day be full of the provisions of God!

Job 32:20 – “Let me speak that I may get relief.”

As I read, prayed, and considered the Word of God today, two words resonated deeply within me.  Surrender and Self.   Surrender can never be fully known as long as the self reigns in the heart.  A sign of the reign of self is self-righteousness.

When Elihu, the fourth man in Job’s ordeal, reveals his true heart, we see this.  Job 32:20 – “Let me speak that I may get relief.”   Sometimes, our words of judgment, criticism of others, and trying to be corrective are more about us than truth or restoration.   Self is being elevated – “I am right!”

In Job 33:3, he further reveals this: “My words are from the uprightness of my heart, and my lips speak knowledge sincerely.” Surrender seeks to cover (not hide or justify sin) and restore, not condemn, and judge.  The woman in John 8 is a prime example.

Adultery is wrong!   Self-righteousness set up the scene.  The woman, not the man, was brought to Jesus.  She did not commit adultery by herself.   The desire to elevate self-produced this scene.  

Jesus exposed the motives by saying, “He who is without sin, throw the first stone.” Some translators suggest that His words conveyed the thought (without the same sin).   Since adultery is both an act and a thought, according to Jesus, that could be the meaning.  Self-justification never seeks surrender and restoration.  It seeks to elevate self – “Look at me, see how right I am!”

In John 8:31-36, Jesus provides the answer to the self.   Surrender to Him. Abiding in Him is the key.  Abiding is not hiding.  Abiding is becoming one with Him.  Abiding opens the floodgate of revelation.  Abiding unblocks the river that is within.  Abiding crucifies the flesh and relegates self to the bottom.   If we want His fullness, we have to experience our emptiness.

Lord, help us to surrender our entire selves to You!