In Quietness and Trust

Trust in the Lord with all of your  heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

 One of the men I work with has advancing Alzheimer's disease. Within certain parameters he does pretty well. On of the hardest times of the day for him is bedtime. He gets back to the bedroom pretty well, although sometimes it feels like a marathon race. It takes a lot of coaching to get him sitting on the bed. It seems to make sense to me but when I think about it is actually a complicated process. Then comes the most difficult part of the process. Laying down. Even with the head of the bed raised as far as it will go, it is a terrifying process to let go and trust that the bed is going to be there. One night I was encouraging him to lean over and lay down, but he wasn't having any of it. He had a death grip on his walker with one hand and the mattress with the other. I reached for the walker to put it away and he grabbed it back. I told him he needed to let me put the walker up since he was through with it for the day. His reply - "Oh, I don't think so!" Amid hollering and cussing, but stopping short of weeping and gnashing of teeth, he got laid down.

It is a frightening prospect to trust. Jesus asks us to let go and rest in Him and we tend to say, "Oh I don't think so. We have a death grip on our own security devices. There are as many security devices as there are people, because the enemy will tailor our temptations to our personalities and weaknesses. One of these is relying on our self and our own wisdom and good works.  This can take different forms, including having a religious spirit and becoming  workaholics. It looks like a good idea because then we have control over our salvation. (Or not!) The consequences of   this choice is that we become fearful and  anxious, never sure if we are good enough and never knowing if we are prepared for what is ahead.

There is a beautiful story in  The Hiding Place, the book by Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. As a young girl Corrie came face to face with death and became very fearful. When her father came home she clung to him and begged him not to die because she needed him. He gently asked her "When we take the train to Amsterdam, when do I give you your ticket?" "Just before we board", she answers. He explains that if he gave it to her too early she wouldn't need it yet and might lose it. He tells her that God often gives us the strength we need to face a situation just in time, but not before we need it.

The children of Israel were relying on their own strength and understanding. It was not going well.In Isaiah 30:15, god tells them
            For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
            “In repentance and rest you will be saved,
            In quietness and trust is your strength.”
            But you were not willing,
In verse 18 he shows them what waits for them if they will trust him.
            Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
            And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
            For the LORD is a God of justice;
            How blessed are all those who long for Him.

In Proverbs, he tells us this.
Trust in the Lord with all of your  heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways and He will make your path straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

We often quote Psalms 46:10, which is a good verse, but today I want us to look at the whole psalm.
It gives us an even better picture of what God can do for us when we trust.

1God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.^c

4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

6Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8Come and see what the Lord has done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields^d with fire.

10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

11The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress

Day by day this week, let's try to live in quietness and trust. Your salvation and your security depends on God and not on you.

Power Failure

If you are living Unseen, you may have felt powerless and ineffective. If you have, read onto see what God showed me.

Power Failure

Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel,whose power is in the heavens.
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people Psalms 68:34-35


Hurricanes. Floods. Earthquakes. Volcanos. Besides the fact that they are all natural disasters and that we have seen them all in the last few weeks, hat do they have in common? They all cause power failures. Power failures make everything much worse. There are the obvious problems, such as no power to prepare or store food or to get relief from the heat. There is the problem of not being able to work and the problem of not being able to communicate.  No jumping on facebook to reassure family and friends or using your cell phone to console a hurting friend. There are also difficulties that I had not considered. For example, I learned that without power there is no way to pump water for drinking. Transportation systems rely on electricity and are in chaos. People are having to use physical labor to do work that they could do easily with power tools.These things are all bearable for a while, but then people start to get irritable and resentful, than anxious and depressed and finally despair can set in if the problems are not dealt with.



The disasters have taken over the news, but there is an unreported problem that is just as serious. This is the problems Christians face when they try to live without the power God has made available. We can do the work he asks us to on our own power but it is much more difficult. Have you tried to love your spouse, your toddler, your teenager or your aging parent on love that you produce yourself? It works for a while but quickly leads to exhaustion and resentment. How about communication with God and our faith family? Are you feeling disconnected?

What are the power tools we have at outr disposal?
These are the ones that come to mind.



Miracles
Miracles are God's way of showing us both his power and his nature. Not done just to "show off", they are either done to show dominion over a false God (such as the gods of the Egyptian in Exodus) , to show power over a need such as the feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14) or over nature, such as walking on the water (Matthew 14) or raising the dead (Mark 5:22)  They were not an end in themselves, but called people to God.

Salvation
Sin separated us from God and we were hopeless. We could not reconcile to him, but He sacrificed Jesus and paid the price for our sins. Every other religion leaves the burden on the believer, but God came "demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:8) This is so amazing that it leaves us in awe, saying as Paul did, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God  for salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile." (Romans 1:16)

Holy Spirit


Many believers have not been taught about the Holy Spirit. We are not able to use the many things he offers us because we don't know that they are available.  This includes sealing us at our baptism (Ephesians 4:30), comforting us (Romans 15:13) teaching us (Luke 12:12), interceding for us (or being our go-between with God), gifting us ( 1 Corinthians 12)  and many more. Take time to learn more about this third member of the Godhead and the power he provides.




Scripture
 We are told in Hebrews 4:12. that "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword and able to separate bone and marrow and soul and spirit." Never underestimate the power we have in the "Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6)


Prayer
We are told to pray without ceasing(Romans 1:10), "to come boldly before the throne of God" (Hebrews 4:16), and that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:12)




God is willing to give you his power. Are you willing to receive it and use it?