May He Do What Is Good in His Sight…

 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 11 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in battle array against the people of Ammon. 12 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”—1 Chronicles 19:10-13

Some mornings I wake up and life just feels heavier and harder...like I am walking through a thick, unrelenting cloud that makes any movement at all difficult. Like Joab, the battle line is against me.  The enemy (me, myself and I) is both before me and behind me. I want to be strong for my family and others that God has sovereignly placed in my life, but all in that moment appears formidable and just too much to bear. The weight of all those things that “aren’t right” in my life seems to be resting on my shoulders. At times the word of God can even magnify my grief because truth is sometimes hard to swallow.   It reminds me over and over that I am not in control of anything.  My life and the lives of those I love are in His hands.  Most of the time, I KNOW this is such a good thing, but on mornings like this, the eyes of my heart can get lost in the weeds and forget.  I look at the earthly and not the eternal. I am as Warren Wiersbe aptly puts it…crucified on a cross between two thieves: Yesterday’s regret and tomorrow’s worries.”

God used the words of 1 Chronicles 19 to speak encouragement and truth to me this morning.  My Spirit lifted and my heart rejoiced as I read them. 

Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”

AMEN! and I will write those words again…

And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”

Such a perfect prayer!  

Beloved…It doesn’t matter that, at times, my world (and probably yours also), seem to be careening out of control.  We can trust that our God is not surprised by any of it and that all is under His sovereign control. His will for us comes from His heart of love.  Our job is to be obedient and do the next right thing...the results are ALWAYS up to Him. He is the God who performs all things for us and also makes perfect that which concerns us. May He do what is good in His sight. ❤️

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD I n the land of the living.  Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart.  Wait, I say, on the LORD!   

Ending with Ephesians 6:10-19 from the Amplified Bible. 

In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. 11 Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. 13 Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. 14 So stand firm and hold your ground, HAVING TIGHTENED THE WIDE BAND OF TRUTH (personal integrity, moral courage) AROUND YOUR WAIST and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (an upright heart), 15 and having strapped on YOUR FEET THE GOSPEL OF PEACE IN PREPARATION [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. 16 Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God's people.—Ephesians 6 10-18

The Glory of the Lord is Risen Upon You…

Beloved… these past two years of worldly unrest and turmoil have made one thing abundantly clear to me. Deceit is rampant. Truth, as it says in Isaiah 59 has fallen in the streets.  Judgement has been turned backward, justice stands afar off and he that departs from iniquity makes himself a prey.  

What is the answer?  What are we to do in the midst of it all?  How do we not fall for the lies?  2 Peter has the answer.  

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.—2 Peter 3:18

Abide!  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Set your mind on things above and not on the things of the earth. Pursue spiritually maturity by sinking your roots deep into His word. Our faith is built on the truth of God’s word...quoting John MacArthur here...”on the objective, historical, revealed, rational truth from God and is intended to be understood and believed.” The deeper the knowledge, the more grace and peace are multiplied in the believer’s heart. 

Spurgeon says this about 2 Peter 3:18:

There cannot be any grace except as we know Christ. And there can be no growth in grace except as we grow in our knowledge of Christ.

This world needs Jesus. It needs what you have. Go to the One who has the words of eternal life. 

I waited patiently for the LORD;

And He inclined to me,

And heard my cry.

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock,

And established my steps.

He has put a new song in my mouth—

Praise to our God;

Many will see it and fear,

And will trust in the LORD.—Psalm 40:1-3

Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the LORD will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.—Isaiah 60:1-2

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.—2 Corinthians 4:6

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.—Philippians 2:14-16

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.—1 Corinthians 13:4-8