Continuing the #write31day challenge . . . you can find the entire series here.
Today's Reading:
Today's Offering:
You may have noticed a recurring theme in many of David's psalms. They often begin with a lament over God's abandonment and cries of suffering, yet they almost always end with praise and rejoicing over all God has done.
This is no dichotomy, beloved. Rather it is a beautiful picture of a life lived by faith. The apostle Paul begged God to remove his affliction but God said no. "My grace is sufficient for you..."
Christ Himself asked God to remove "this cup" and was denied.
So you see, when we are denied our prayers we are in the best of company. I pray this will comfort you a little but perhaps this will comfort you even more:
When we feel abandoned and denied by God we need to remember that, in truth, He has done neither. [click to tweet]
Our feelings often lie to us. Never more so than when they tell us God has abandoned us. That is one of the enemy's favorite lies!
The truth is that God has promised that He will never forsake us or abandon us. (Heb 13:5)
And what about those prayers we feel have been denied? That one is a little more tricky to reconcile in our hearts. But today's readings help move us toward understanding if we read prayerfully and with an open mind.
Psalm 73 brings clarity to our confusion when evil seems to prosper.
I set my mind to understand this but I found it too hard for me, until I went into God's sanctuary, where I saw clearly what their destiny would be. (vs 16-17)
Psalm 103 reminds us again and again about God's compassion, righteousness, and justice.
He has not treated us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our misdeeds. (vs 10)
Beloved, when we begin to see that God's "no" is not about us and our lack (Christ lacked nothing) but more about Him and His righteousness it changes everything. We can know the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7), we can, like Paul, be content in all circumstances (Phil 4:11). We can, like the great cloud of witnesses before us, walk by faith. (Heb 11-12)
We can, like the psalmist, sing, Bless the Lord, oh my soul!
Shalom,
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If you read something here that inspired you, I’d love to hear about it. Please know I appreciate every comment! Thanks so much for stopping by! Blessings, June