Trust in the Lord

God's call to many of us at the moment, and to all of us at some point, is to take rest in Him, to cease from our efforts and not turn to our understandings, but to let His eternal life flow through our hearts and minds until He bids us rise and go about His business. Glad work follows when we go in the joy of His fellowship. Tired work is never effective, but the strength of the Lord is always available, especially to the tired mind and body.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

He is your physician and healer. Look to those quiet times of communion with God for rest, peace, and healing. After soaking in the timeless eternity of His presence, we can rise, refreshed in spirit and go out to work, knowing that our strength is able to meet any problem because it is reinforced by God's limitless resources.

Let God use the struggles we encounter. Not only does His power flow through us to do His work in the lives of others as we speak a word of encouragement or share the touch of His love, but He can use our struggles to strengthen our faith. When trials come to us, God helps us not to focus on the anger or the pain or frustration of the circumstance but to look beyond the physical and the present to focus on His love and strength that not only help us endure, but also to grow in our faith.

James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Not all people experience these types of trials. Some are content with a bit of God. He loves all His children, but He looks for those whose hearts are hungry for more, and will not be satisfied this side of heaven with less than what He has promised. Hungry hearts and seeking spirits are accepted by God and used in His work. Those who will serve Him will be used by Him to serve others. From outside, it may look like God places these people as leaders, but from within the kingdom, they are the servants of all.

Nehemiah 11:1,2 The leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem ... The people commended all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

To live in Jerusalem would seem an honor, a special gift, a blessing. But Jerusalem was the focal point of all the enemy's attacks, and it was not a place of rest, or beauty, or ease. To live there was to work long hard hours, to be exhausted and hungry and dirty, to never let down your guard against the next attack, to be listening for the trumpet telling where a brother was under attack so you could run and rally with him against the onslaught. Not everyone could stand that for long, not everyone wanted that kind of existence. But for those whose hearts and minds had caught the vision and passion of God for the rebuilding of His city, there would be no rest if they were anywhere else, doing anything else. The hardship didn't matter. What mattered was that they were seeing a miracle come pass before their eyes. The people of God were being freed from captivity and were coming together to bring God's presence back to His temple.

Psalm 34
v.15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry:
v.16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,...
v.17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.
v.18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
v.19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;
v.21 Evil will slay the wicked;...
v.22 The Lord redeems His servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.

Lord God, the struggle is ours, but the victory is Yours. You know the final outcome from the very start, and You have shared that with us. Thank You for the oil which keeps Your flame burning in our hearts in spite of the flood the enemy brings against it; many waters cannot quench Your love. Lord, we choose to live in the midst of the fire, in the heat of the battle, in the center of the conflict. Not because it is enjoyable, but because we can not stay in safety and quiet when we hear the voices of others crying to You for help. We hide ourselves in You, Lord, knowing the joy of Your redemption and learning the fellowship of Your suffering. Equip us, lead us, sustain us -- we are Yours.

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