![]() Isaiah 43:1-2 But now, this is what the Lord says- He Who created you, O Jacob, He Who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Read Isaiah 43. A love letter to His people. It seems recently, that there is an increasing attack on God’s people. The enemy of our souls is trying to separate us from the Savior of our souls. God, however, has promised that nothing can separate us from His love. We can trust that He will stand by His word. He cannot lie. We can rest assured that what He has promised, He will fulfill. When we walk through the flood waters of trials and struggle against the river of constant stress, we can rest on the fact that He, the God Who loves us, has our back. While we may sometimes wonder why things happen and can’t always see our way ahead, we know that our Lord and Savior has already set our path straight. He has a plan in place for us. That plan is set on an eternal time frame and not our time frame. We see things from a human point of view. It is rarely easy to see where we are going, and very difficult to develop the patience to wait on the Lord. We can trust that the Lord is with us in the refining fires. While He is making us as pure gold, and while He is allowing the dross to be burned away, He stands beside us. He is with us when He allows the pruning in our lives. He desires us to bear a higher quality fruit and we can only do that if we allow Him to trim away the excess limbs and the dead branches in our lives. There is nothing easy about living the life of service to the Redeemer and Lover of our souls. Jesus walked a lonely and difficult path in obedience to His Father. He did not have it easy but He felt we were worth the price He had to pay. Isaiah 43:4 tells us that we are precious and honored in His sight and that He loves us. He, God, paid a high price for us so that He could give us an eternity of beauty and joy. While serving the Lord is never easy, His love and wisdom and guidance can make it easier. Remembering that we are His people and that He calls us by name shows how much He loves us. He knows the number of hairs on our head and the thoughts and dreams in our hearts. He is ours and we are His. He loves us.
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![]() Psalm 19:1-4a The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Whether you prefer the brilliance of the sunrise or the glorious colors of the sunset, there is no doubt that God has blessed us with His gift of beauty. The sun rises above the horizon and shoots beams of light across the sky. The shadows of night are chased away by the brightness of dawn. When our nights bring on fears of the unknown, God has given us the greater light to calm those fears. The night skies display the vastness of our universe. The stars slowly reveal themselves to us and display the diversity of God’s creation. In the depths of winter, the stars appear like crystal shards, glittering in the darkness. In the Artic, the northern lights show forth waves of refracted light. Their undulating colors amaze the observers. I have watched a tornado form and touch down. I have seen the explosion of light and sound in the midst of a storm. I have seen the soft, white clouds drift across a warm summer sky. I have watched the skies threaten with black clouds, only to see them disperse and once more reveal blue skies. God’s creation will always amaze and humble me. Whether He sends a soft rain to water the earth or a hard, driving rain to cleanse and wash clean the pavement, His handiwork is awe inspiring. I don’t need to understand how it all works. I only know that none of the perfection that is displayed could have been an accident or a random event. The Lord, our God, formed it all by speaking it into being. He could have given us a bland and boring world but He chose to bless us with such a wide range of colors and textures. Whatever language we speak, we cannot deny the beauty and expanse of the heavens. The heavens declare the glory of God. We need to declare to Him how much we appreciate His gift of beauty to us. ![]() Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 12:19-20a Isaiah 42:2-3a He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out,…. Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. Jesus is gentle. He calls us with a soft voice. He neither shouts nor does He demand. He shows us the door to eternal life and waits for us to open it. Elijah, after a great victory over the Baal worshippers, was exhausted and feared for his life. God showed Himself in a gentle whisper. We, the children of the Most High God, must learn to listen less with our ears, and more with our hearts. We answered the call on our hearts to follow Jesus. Now, we must take His yoke upon our shoulders and learn from Him. Farmers in the ‘good ole days’ would take a young oxen and yoke it beside a quiet, more mature oxen to train the younger one. They would place the double yoke on the necks of both and go about the work. When the younger, immature one would fight against the yoke, the older one would quietly go about his job, keeping the younger under control. When the younger would follow the lead of the other oxen, life was easier and their goal was accomplished. Jesus is in the yoke of life with us. He goes gently about His work of serving His Father. He can train us in the way we should go if we will give up our insistence on going our own way and willingly follow His lead. His yoke is easy and His burden is light when shared with Him. He takes the heaviest burden and gives us the lighter burden. He leads us in the paths of righteousness with His unfailing love. He gently calls us to serve with Him. He freely gave salvation. He freely leads us. His love is not a restriction on our freedom. It is setting us free from the weariness of trying to go it alone. His love is setting us free to soar above the world’s burdens and setting us free to share His joy of serving the Father. ![]() Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One Who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 2:18 Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. Jesus walked the same paths that we walk. He climbed the mountains of temptation and trudged through the valleys of weariness and frustration and loneliness. He was constantly surrounded by people who wanted something from Him but had little or nothing to give Him to relieve the pressures from every side. He dealt with adversaries on a daily basis. The ones that should have recognized Him and welcomed Him were instead, the ones that plotted against Him. He knew their plans for Him yet continued to offer them the opportunity to accept His gift of salvation. He taught His disciples from His heart. He gave them everything they would need to change their world, yet they were slow to learn and busy trying to be the greatest. He fled to His Father frequently to replenish His supply of spiritual and emotional strength. He withdrew to be alone with His Father. He knew He would be welcomed in His Father’s presence. He knew He was loved by the Father just as we are loved by the Father and His Son and the Holy Spirit. He knew he could come boldly to His father and be received with joy. We, too, can come boldly into our Father’s presence because we have a High Priest who stands interceding for us. Jesus understands how we feel. He understands what it feels like to be at the end of our rope. He knows what it feels like to be betrayed by friends. He understands the confusion when our family fails us or doesn’t support us in our times of need. He has dealt with all the emotions we feel. He was furious with the religious leaders. He wept when His friend died. He sweat blood when He faced His final trial. He grew frustrated with the disciples when they just couldn’t get it. He rejoiced when Peter recognized Him as the true Son of God. We need not fear bringing our prayers and petitions before the throne. Hebrews 3:13 tells us that nothing is hidden from God’s sight. He already knows what we have done or not done. He is already aware of all our joys and trials and dreams. Come boldly, therefore, to the throne of grace. He is waiting with arms open wide. Boundless mercy and unending grace await us there. |
AuthorPlease join us as we grow in Christ through our weekly devotions, written by Catherine Donaldson Archives
June 2021
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