Lifted Up

I searched ‘lift you up’ this morning and was shown more than 60 verses where God promises to lift us up & strengthen us in this journey. Thank you Lord for reminding us of your everlasting love that strengthens & love that never gives up.

“But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭CSB‬‬ http://bible.com/1713/psa.3.3.csb

Waiting on God

“... but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:31‬ ‭CSB‬‬

http://bible.com/1713/isa.40.31.csb

There’s the hymn trust and obey.* “When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.”

1. • Waiting means not taking things into my own hands. acting out alone puts distance and strains my relationship. Waiting shows faith in God to handle my situation. Acting out alone puts distance and strains my relationship, while waiting increases my fellowship (intimacy, faith and trust). Exercising  impatience I get to see what I can do, when exercising patience I get to see what Christ can do. 
   • Refrain:
     “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
     To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
   • * Trust and Obey by John Sammis

Hope

We can be assured that the Lord will fulfill His promises to us and all who put our trust in Him. He sees what we’re going through & will do what is best and in His perfect will for His children. We can be assured He cares because of His sacrifice on the cross and what He has done to bring us to this point in life. Thank You Lord for your great love.

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:22-23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

http://bible.com/1713/heb.10.22-23.csb

Some thoughts on 2 Corinthians 7

We must deal with hard things in order to bring Godly thought into our human condition. When God does a work in the heart, we are brought to change our attitude. This Godly sorrow that brings true repentance is needed in every believers life (especially mine). Without this process sanctification and Christlikeness do not thrive. It does turn to joy as we invest in others and take a chance on trusting God in these areas. This should only be done after much prayer and His confirmation that He has placed you there to do just that. The tie breaker there is that it will be something you do not want to do, but something you can only do with God’ divine guidance. 

Pride

King Uzziah became king at 16. He was helped by many to become strong & successful. He was given great knowledge to secure & establish the kingdom. He loved the Lord & was very faithful. His intelligence got the best of him & pride sat in. It was the stumbling block that blinded his judgement. “Moreover, Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and sling stones. In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God." But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him.”
2 Chronicles 26:14-20 NASB

Many times pride will cause us to rationalize what the Lord has done in our life. It will cause us to doubt and be ashamed to give God the rightful credit or not be satisfied with our current relationship or place of service (our assignment). It's the hardest fault to detect because it begins without notice & is not one of the "big ones." Prayer reveals these when we honestly ask the Lord. He has won the victory over pride & every other act we can commit.

The Battle

We should give the Lord the big things & the small. He is always at work around us. When King Jehoshaphat was invaded by a huge army he turned to the Lord. The Lord answered; “and he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you." Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 20:15-18 NASB
When we give Him the big and small things, the pressures of life become a walk in the park. My Dad would say; "Is this anything the Lord can't handle?" Begin with that question & you will discover the Lord wants to take it from you & handle it. The Lord had the enemy turn on each other & King Jehoshaphat did not have to lift s sword.

Effective Prayer

The Lord promises to hear our prayers when we come humbly to Him with our concerns, petitions, praise & adoration. He loves to guide our hearts, thoughts & activities. After King Solomon's prayer of dedication God accepted his offering, sent fire from heaven to consume it & filled the house with His presence. He gave us the keys to an effective relationship; “Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.” II Chronicles 7:12-15 NKJV