I think I'm getting the hang of this guest post idea! If you have something you would like to contribute - please let me know!!! No parameters other than it has to be meaningful to growing in faith. But other than that - it could be anything, poem, song, a prayer - any original work you want to share! Please email me at amysvogel@hotmail.com if you are interested!
This morning's comes from my personal devotional plan - called Lifetime Daily Devotions. It's a year long series and while I get it off my Bible App on my iPhone, you can also find it on the web here.
I had to share this with you because after Sophia's last scans still had a remnant and I had prayed, for the first time in a long time, so boldly for it to be gone - I had a very hard time reconciling what it meant. It took me a few days to wrap my head around how I felt and this devotional confirms where I ended up: that what still shows up was a reminder from The Lord of His deliverance and healing - It remains to keep me dependent on Him.
A sweet friend, who prayed so boldly with me, was as disappointed as I was. So, this one is for her too. And, as always, it's for you, with my prayer that it will help you expand your perspective of The Lord and help you to love Him even more.
Enjoy!
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In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. (Hebrews 5:7)
I've seen pictures and drawn the scene in myo wn mind of Jesus offering up those prayers (Matthew 26:38-44) - intense, fervent, emotional, desperate, tearful prayers. And we've just read that He was heard. But even though His prayers were heard, apparently they were not answered as He had petitioned.
That seems incredible to me. If anyone should have His prayers answered immediately and to the most minute detail, it would be Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.
You know, that happens to me too. A crisis comes. Difficult circumstances. I pray and when the answer doesn't come as I expected, all sorts of thoughts invade my mind. What do I do? Have I done something wrong? Is my prayer not right? The difficult circumstances that Jesus was facing were not changed despite His prayers. What did He do? What did He have to stand on?
Well, He must have known that He was in God's plan. How can I say that? Because the plans were not altered, even though His prayers were heard when He suggested Plan B. Have you ever suggested to God that there might be a better plan, only to have Him apparently reject your suggestion? Have I? Yes, many times. Doesn't that mean that He has said, "No, My plan is better; we'll go with Mine'? Jesus stood on that and so can we.
He was assured of His ability to meet the circumstances because the circumstances were not changed. God is faithful. He will not give you more than you can endure (1 Cor 10:13). If He were not totally confident in my ability to endure, He would remove the circumstance. I can believe that and walk in it, and so can you.
And how about this: He was not comforted by the knowledge of God's presence with Him. In fact, He cried out, "Why are You not with Me? Why have You forsaken Me?" At the most crucial time, the most difficult time in His Life, God left Him on His own. He abandoned Him.
Have you ever cried out, "God, where are You when I need You so desperately?" Does He ever leave you or forsake you? No. We never have to experience what Jesus did....because of what Jesus did!
Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, He remains faithful to us and will help us, for He cannot disown us who are a part of Himself, and He will always carry out His promises to us. (2 Tim 2:13, TLB)
That is ours! We can stand on that!
He then proceeded on what He know to be Truth and what He had come to know of God in days past, not on what He was experiencing at the moment. Isn't that walking by faith? Oh the circumstances may be intense and they may not change, but I know God. I've walked with Him through the years. So I proceed in what I have come to believe.
That door of faith was open to Jesus, and it is open to us.
His prayer was heard "because of His piety" (meaning godly reverence), not because of who He was, not because of His outstanding miracles, but because of His "godly reverence." Do you understand? This piety, this godly reverence that brought about answered prayer, can be ours just as it was His.
This one act of sacrifice was the final proof of His worthiness.
It was after he had proved himself perfect in this experience that Jesus became the Giver of eternal salvation to all those who obey him. (Hebrews 5:9 TLB)
He had fulfilled the plan. From the very beginning He set His face like flint toward Calvary (Isaiah 50:7). He refused to be deterred.
For who knows but that this is the very reason that you came to earth? For just such a time as this, for this very hour? (Esther 4:14, my paraphrase)
Like Queen Esther, like Jesus, maybe God's plan for us involves "such a time as this." Quite a high calling. Can I accept that high calling? Yes, I can, by His grace and strength. So can you. Like Jesus and so many saints over the centuries, we can stand on these truths....
God's will - God's plan - is supreme. I will rest in God's will. God will not allow something to come into my like that I cannot bear. It may seem like He is far away, but He has promosed that He will never leave me. I know the Lord. He loves me. I will walk by faith in that truth. He hears my prayers because of my love for Him. This maybe the one experience in my life for what I was created. I certainly don't want to blow it!!
I watched You, Lord, when You were facing circumstances of a magnitude that I have not experienced. I listened to Your prayers. I walked by Your side. I learned. Thank You, dear Jesus, for showing me the way through this maze of hurt, confusion and unrest.
This morning's comes from my personal devotional plan - called Lifetime Daily Devotions. It's a year long series and while I get it off my Bible App on my iPhone, you can also find it on the web here.
I had to share this with you because after Sophia's last scans still had a remnant and I had prayed, for the first time in a long time, so boldly for it to be gone - I had a very hard time reconciling what it meant. It took me a few days to wrap my head around how I felt and this devotional confirms where I ended up: that what still shows up was a reminder from The Lord of His deliverance and healing - It remains to keep me dependent on Him.
A sweet friend, who prayed so boldly with me, was as disappointed as I was. So, this one is for her too. And, as always, it's for you, with my prayer that it will help you expand your perspective of The Lord and help you to love Him even more.
Enjoy!
*****************************************
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. (Hebrews 5:7)
I've seen pictures and drawn the scene in myo wn mind of Jesus offering up those prayers (Matthew 26:38-44) - intense, fervent, emotional, desperate, tearful prayers. And we've just read that He was heard. But even though His prayers were heard, apparently they were not answered as He had petitioned.
That seems incredible to me. If anyone should have His prayers answered immediately and to the most minute detail, it would be Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.
You know, that happens to me too. A crisis comes. Difficult circumstances. I pray and when the answer doesn't come as I expected, all sorts of thoughts invade my mind. What do I do? Have I done something wrong? Is my prayer not right? The difficult circumstances that Jesus was facing were not changed despite His prayers. What did He do? What did He have to stand on?
Well, He must have known that He was in God's plan. How can I say that? Because the plans were not altered, even though His prayers were heard when He suggested Plan B. Have you ever suggested to God that there might be a better plan, only to have Him apparently reject your suggestion? Have I? Yes, many times. Doesn't that mean that He has said, "No, My plan is better; we'll go with Mine'? Jesus stood on that and so can we.
He was assured of His ability to meet the circumstances because the circumstances were not changed. God is faithful. He will not give you more than you can endure (1 Cor 10:13). If He were not totally confident in my ability to endure, He would remove the circumstance. I can believe that and walk in it, and so can you.
And how about this: He was not comforted by the knowledge of God's presence with Him. In fact, He cried out, "Why are You not with Me? Why have You forsaken Me?" At the most crucial time, the most difficult time in His Life, God left Him on His own. He abandoned Him.
Have you ever cried out, "God, where are You when I need You so desperately?" Does He ever leave you or forsake you? No. We never have to experience what Jesus did....because of what Jesus did!
Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, He remains faithful to us and will help us, for He cannot disown us who are a part of Himself, and He will always carry out His promises to us. (2 Tim 2:13, TLB)
That is ours! We can stand on that!
He then proceeded on what He know to be Truth and what He had come to know of God in days past, not on what He was experiencing at the moment. Isn't that walking by faith? Oh the circumstances may be intense and they may not change, but I know God. I've walked with Him through the years. So I proceed in what I have come to believe.
That door of faith was open to Jesus, and it is open to us.
His prayer was heard "because of His piety" (meaning godly reverence), not because of who He was, not because of His outstanding miracles, but because of His "godly reverence." Do you understand? This piety, this godly reverence that brought about answered prayer, can be ours just as it was His.
This one act of sacrifice was the final proof of His worthiness.
It was after he had proved himself perfect in this experience that Jesus became the Giver of eternal salvation to all those who obey him. (Hebrews 5:9 TLB)
He had fulfilled the plan. From the very beginning He set His face like flint toward Calvary (Isaiah 50:7). He refused to be deterred.
For who knows but that this is the very reason that you came to earth? For just such a time as this, for this very hour? (Esther 4:14, my paraphrase)
Like Queen Esther, like Jesus, maybe God's plan for us involves "such a time as this." Quite a high calling. Can I accept that high calling? Yes, I can, by His grace and strength. So can you. Like Jesus and so many saints over the centuries, we can stand on these truths....
God's will - God's plan - is supreme. I will rest in God's will. God will not allow something to come into my like that I cannot bear. It may seem like He is far away, but He has promosed that He will never leave me. I know the Lord. He loves me. I will walk by faith in that truth. He hears my prayers because of my love for Him. This maybe the one experience in my life for what I was created. I certainly don't want to blow it!!
I watched You, Lord, when You were facing circumstances of a magnitude that I have not experienced. I listened to Your prayers. I walked by Your side. I learned. Thank You, dear Jesus, for showing me the way through this maze of hurt, confusion and unrest.
1 comment:
A reminder we needed, thank you.
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