Beyond Our Expectations
The Lord expects a lot from those who claim to trust Him. The rigors and risk of faith must be daunting, or else it isn’t really faith.
Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
The Lord expects a lot from those who claim to trust Him. The rigors and risk of faith must be daunting, or else it isn’t really faith.
Don’t presume to tell the Lord what to do, and don’t waste your time guessing how He might accomplish doing it. Simply trust Him. Accept whatever He chooses to provide, regardless of how unlikely or unusual.
You need to know that while you feel all alone, you are not alone. God sees you. He hears your weeping. He will care for you and turn your sorrow into dancing. The nights are long, but God will sustain you and restore you.
All of this points to a difficult yet helpful truth: Though every act of sin is forgivable, the effects of some sins are not erasable.
I’ve learned this in my lifetime: the last one we forgive on this earth is ourselves. God forgives you, so why don’t you?
Nothing occurs outside God’s plan, and everything happens exactly at the time He planned it to happen. That’s what theologians mean when they apply the term sovereignty to God. He has a plan, and He has the power and the will to carry it out.
Everybody I know is waiting for something. Waiting for relief. Waiting for an answer to prayer. Waiting for a dream to be fulfilled. The people who have grown deep in their relationship with God have learned to wait with anticipation instead of worry.
Are there certain patterns or habits you tend to fall back on when you’re facing a difficult situation? What could help you remember your new God-given nature?
Immorality is poisonous. You can never become immune to its deadly potency. It’s like sewage spewing from a cesspool; it contaminates everything close by.
We need to continually seek Him to ensure that our petitions and our motives are in line with His will. Then, whether He says yes, no, or wait, our prayers will draw us ever closer to Him.