The Lord is With You, You Mighty Man of Valor…

 

And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”—Judges 6:12

“The LORD is with you!”  These words brought comfort to my heart this morning.  What a perfect greeting.  Such a beautiful reminder of who our God is.   He is Immanuel, God with us.  Gideon, like most of us, did not think the LORD was with him.  Like me...and probably like you, He needed the reminder.  

Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”  So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”—Judges 6:13-16

God’s Presence goes with us!  We are never alone!  We may forsake Him, but He will never forsake us.  We are inscribed on the palms of His hands.  Gideon’s God would be Gideon’s strength in weakness.  He would undertake for him...and for Israel.  The Great I AM would guide him, strengthen him, animate him, support him and assure him of success.  Like Gideon, the Becoming One is with us and He becomes for us whatever our need may be.  

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.—2 Corinthians 12:9

The Way-Maker…

 

Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.' Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people."

And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth."

So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name."

And he said, "Please, show me Your glory."

Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.—Exodus 33:12-23

There are certain days in the year that are always difficult for me to get through. I don’t actively think about them or even know that I am aware that they are coming.  My heart, however, always does. It always remembers.  Weeks before the actual dates arrive my heart begins to remember and grieve. The grief is ongoing because what causes it is still very much ongoing. For the most part, God has enabled me by His grace to thank Him daily for it because He has used it in my life to make me cling to Him in love and gratitude. Because of my trials, I know Him infinitely better than I would have otherwise known him. Because of my trials, I understand these words of Paul better than I otherwise would have.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.—Philippians 3:7-11

I agree and commiserate with Moses when he says this in the precious passage above:

"If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 

As believers, Jesus, the Way-Maker, goes before us and makes for us a way through the wilderness of this life. He is our Immanuel…our God who is with us.  John 14 tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one, John says, comes to the Father, except through Him. It is Jesus that hedges us behind and before. It is His hand that is always upon us and His Spirit that dwells in us as we make our “way” through this world.  God’s covenant love, His lovingkindness, is ours forever because as His children, He has pledged to never leave us nor forsake us.  In Christ, we stand permanently in His favor or grace.  Like Moses in the above passage, we have also found grace in His sight. He knows us by name and has made His home within our hearts. The very glory of God dwells within us. Because our Immanuel is with us His “way” is with us as well.  

Beloved…It is Jesus that gets me through and will get me through the difficult days and seasons of my life. Make your way through this world with the Way-Maker.  Keep His word. Surrender to the great love with which He loves you and make His footsteps your pathway. As Alan Redpath has said:

“A throne is God’s purpose for you; a cross is God’s path for you; faith is God’s plan for you. The arrow of God on the target may leave a scar on your heart. In the years to come you may look back upon this time and your eyes fill with tears as you remember the moment when the arrow went beyond. But the Savior is alongside: He is reminding you that the blood which He shed for you, which takes you within the veil—to the place of constant access to His presence—is the blood that takes you outside the camp to the place of consecrated availability for His plan.”

For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,

And I have walked in Your truth.—Psalm 26:3

Show me Your ways, O LORD;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.—Psalm 25:4-5

Prescription for Smoothing “Wrinkled” Thinking…

 

 

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Selah

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah—Psalm 46

Be Still and Know That I Am God…

When my daughter, Rebecca, was a little girl and feeling out of sorts she would come up to me and say, “ Mom, my mind feels full of wrinkles.  It needs straightening. I am gonna go read my Bible for a little while. There are no words to express the joy that rose up in this Momma’s heart whenever I heard those words.  What a gift for me to know that God was becoming her “go-to” in times of trouble.  

As I read Psalm 46 this morning, the Lord brought Rebecca’s sweet words of long ago to mind.  She would often read Psalm 91 (and still does) for comfort, but for me it is Psalm 46 that smooths out the “wrinkles” in my thinking. 

Beloved…keep these precious words of David nearby.  Read them after you read the news. Read them whenever your thinking begins to go awry during the day. Turn away your eyes from looking at useless things and focus them on the truth of the word of God. One prayerful read through and you will begin to feel the Spirit renewing your mind, quelling your anxious thoughts, strengthening your inner man and making the crooked places straight.  Keep reading and keep resetting. The world and its problems, your world and your problems will, as the song says, grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. 

You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

Trust in the LORD forever,

For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.—Isaiah 26:3-4

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:11

Here is Psalm 91 in its entirety…

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust."

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation."

The Heart Knows Its Own Bitterness And A Stranger Does Not Share Its Joy…

 

The heart knows its own bitterness,

And a stranger does not share its joy.—Proverbs 14:10

At first glance this verse seems like a very sad commentary on life in this fallen world.  No one on this earth can’t really share my joy nor feel my sorrow.  Both my suffering and my rejoicing at their very deepest level is personal and private.  They are both mine to bear.  

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?—1 Corinthians 2:11a

(That is not to say that we shouldn’t rejoice with the those who rejoice and weep with those who weep as Romans 12 exhorts us. In fact, Galatians 6 reminds us that we are to bear one another’s burdens and in so doing fulfill the law of Christ.)

I say all of this not to bring my reader to despair but to make my point.  Whether people understand our sorrow or our joy is of no real consequence because our God does!  He not only understands...He considers them and bears them!!  Jesus brought His greatest earthly sorrow to His Father in Heaven and surrendered it into His care at Gethsemane.  Yes, He asked that the disciples remain awake and pray with Him, but despite their regard for Jesus, they could not stay awake with Him even for an hour. Solomon also alludes to this in His prayer of dedication when the Ark was brought into the temple.  

whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), (1 Kings 8:38-39 ESV)

Psalm 139 tells us that our God knows everything about us, and Colossians 2 reminds us that we are complete in Him.  Beloved, the Lord is our Shepherd, in Him, we have everything we need.  He is our refuge and our strength.  A very present help in trouble. 

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us. Selah—Psalm 62:8

Isaiah Perks…by Anna

 

Isaiah 51:12-16 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasten, that he may be loosed, that he should not die in the pit, and that his bread should not fail. But I am the Lord your God, who divided the sea whose waves roared—the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

Wow.

Just…wow.

Let me go over that again. (Wow.) No, that wasn’t what I wanted to go over... “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?”

That was it!

When I read this, I was in my nightgown and comfortably ensconced within my covers, just about ready to call it a night and flop down on the pillow.

Guess what? The pillow stayed unflopped. Even in my nightgown, with no slippers, in a very old, very creaky, occasionally drafty house, I still wanted to commence with that impromptu jig I mentioned in an earlier devotional, and shout at the top of my (very off-key) voice for the world to hear that I didn’t have to be afraid. Ever again. EVER AGAIN.

Let me repeat that. (I’ve never been one for redundancy, but the Bible deserves to get a little awestruck repetition once in a while.)

EVER.

AGAIN.

(And of course, as before, whether or not I actually did that nightgown-clad jig is none of your business.)

That’s one of the biggest perks in this Christianity deal. We’re His children. We’re His sons and daughters. We belong to Him. (No “unclaimed” people here!) We are the children of the God and Creator of Heaven and Earth. We have unlimited access to His protection, His grace, His love, and His comfort. WE ARE HIS.

(I know I’m going a little overboard with the caps, but cut me some slack. I can’t exactly yell for joy via cyberspace, now can I? Don’t answer that.)

And what God is saying here—for about the fifty billionth time, just as patiently as He did the second and fifteenth times—is that we, as His children, as His beloved, don’t have to be afraid. He comforts us. He watches out for us. He never slumbers or sleeps. He is the shade at our right hand.

He’s also going in for a bit of wry teasing here, too. Note the contrast.

“I, EVEN I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?”

“Hello…oh, beloved children, please pay attention…I’m here for you…I died for you...c’mon, you’re afraid of that puny guy who I made and whose father I made and whose grandfather I made and whose great-great-great grandfather I made? I know it might seem like he’s all-powerful down there, it might seem to your mortal eyes that he holds your life in his hands…BUT HE DOESN’T. I do. And I love you, I always have and always will, and I am in complete control of your situation.”

C’mon. God and Creator and Savior of Heaven and Earth vs. tiny little guy over there in the corner that He knows inside and out, backwards and forwards, who He created in the first place.

Which one are you betting on? I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna go for the obvious. At least while I still have my senses. (In a few minutes after I step away from this keyboard, I’ll be back to my thickheaded ways again…sigh. Keep reminding me, God!)

Written by my daughter Anna a long time ago…

Complete In Him…

 

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.  Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.—Colossians 2:6-10

In Christ, I am complete.   It IS that simple.  No worries, though!  I can complicate it!

What is not “according” to Christ in my life?  What leads me away from the fullness I have in Him?  The answer is obvious.  It is me...I cheat myself out of the fullness of Christ when I walk according to the dictates of my own heart and not according to His Spirit.  It is my “me, myself, and I” philosophy that draws me away. I take myself captive...I lead myself down wrong paths...um, no surprise there.  

1 Peter 4 comes to mind here because I really do want to live the rest of my time on this earth for the will of God...to please the One who suffered for me in the flesh. Oh, that it would be no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me!  

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.—1 Peter 4:1-3

If then, I want to be armed with the mind of Christ, I need to disarm and despoil me of me.  “I” need to die so Christ can live through me.  How do I do this?  

Scripture tells me...

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

Unless the law had been my delight, I should have perished in my affliction.--Psalm 119:92

Beloved, don't let anyone or anything lead you away from Christ and the truth of the Gospel.  You are complete in Him.  He is all you need because in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  Fill your heart...the very center and seat of not only your physical life but your spiritual one as well...with His word. 

Out of your heart springs the issues of life.  Out of the abundance of your heart your mouth speaks.  As a man thinks in his heart so is he.   Let His word be your delight.  Abide in it.  Meditate on it. Obey it.  It is His truth that will enable you to walk in liberty.  It is His truth that will break the bars of iron and make the crooked places straight in your life.  

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.--Isaiah 32:17

A Hymn of Faith…

 

Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.--Habakkuk 3:17-19

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla, 

Such a beautiful hymn of faith!  Such a profession of unwavering confidence in our God.  Verse 16 says that the prophet trembled when he heard of the judgment coming from the Babylonian invaders. But his solution was to rest in Him and wait on Him.  Habakkuk's fears took Him to God and it was in Him where he found rest.  It is in Him, girls, that we also find rest from the fears and sufferings of this world. Habakkuk's strength melted at the thought of what was to come.  God's strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul said this in 2nd Corinthians 12:9.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Habakkuk decided or purposed in his  heart to delight in God.  All that was predictable and normal in his world was collapsing. All that He knew might be gone but the Lord would remain. His God would not leave him nor forsake him.  Here is the point.  Habakkuk's desire was not for the things of this world or his own comfort and peace.  Habakkuk's desire was for God himself.  This was what made all the difference in his outlook.  Paul had spoken of this very thing in Philippians.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.--Philippians 4:11-13

The Lord was Paul's desire.  It was God in whom he rejoiced.  Trials show you where your heart is...there is no joy in a heart that does not know Jesus when they are abased and in need. There is nothing left here on earth for them and nothing to look forward to eternally. A person who has the living God in his heart can praise God for their salvation and rejoice and even sing like the apostle Paul during times of deep distress because he understands that this world is not his home. Our hope and our security are not here in this world but are in the person of Jesus Christ. It was and would be Habakkuk's faith in God that would sustain him and enable him to endure.  

Here is what Matthew Henry said about these verses:

"Thus the prophet, who began his prayer with fear and trembling, ends it with joy and triumph. And thus faith in Christ prepares for every event. The name of Jesus, when we can speak of Him as ours, is balm for every wound, a cordial for every care. It is as ointment poured forth, shedding fragrance through the whole soul. In the hope of a heavenly crown, let us sit loose to earthly possessions and comforts, and cheerfully bear up under crosses. Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry; and where he is, we shall be also."

 

Love

Mom

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.—Colossians 3:1-4