The same God that formed us in our mothers’ wombs desires a personal relationship with us. While we are in human corruptible flesh we are only able to have access to Him through an incorruptible, sinless representative. Jesus is the one and only High Priest who fits that description.
They had no guarantee that they would survive the storm, BUT they could be absolutely sure that God controlled the storm and controlled their lives. They could be absolutely sure that as fierce as the storm raged, God’s love for them raged even more fiercely. No storm could ever blow them out of God’s mighty hand.
Sometimes God chooses to let us walk through the storm so that we can learn that He will never leave us or let a situation be more than we can handle with His help. And sometimes He just plain steps in and fixes everything better than we could possibly have dreamed. Sometimes it happens in a moment, sometimes after years of patient waiting. We’ll never see it if we don’t let Him work, if we don’t step back in faith and let God be God.
The heart must be the principal point to which we attend in all the relations between God and our souls.
If the people of Capernaum refused to believe Jesus when He identified Himself as the Messiah, do you think they would have believed it if the devils declared it?? Certainly not, it would just have been a bigger spectacle. Likewise, anyone who refuses to accept Jesus as Saviour now, will reject Him even if demons jumped up and declared him to be the Son of God.
…in spite of our utter hopelessness to be as good as God intended us to be, His strength and grace and love overshadow every distraction and weakness with a light that will nourish and guide us all of our days if we dare to walk in it. Even when the Enemy has us so shortsighted that we stumble at every step, God’s arms are still there: still holding us up…
When Jesus calls you/me into ministry (any kind of ministry; Romans 12:4-8), what will be our response?
Will we immediately make the step of faith? Or will we hold back (making the usual excuses)?
When Jesus makes the call, do we have our minds set for service?
…the Believer who is completing his course of suffering for Christ’s sake is completing the process of ceasing from sin. In other words, suffering for Christ’s sake transforms the Believer from sin-FULL to sin-LESS; suffering for Christ’s sake perfects Believers.
It is our faithful obedience to God, in the face of monotony and/or adversity, that reveals the true condition of our character.
If we determine to honor God with our lives, regardless of the obstacles and setbacks we face, then… the testimony of our lives will be more than enough: “They shall eat, and shall leave thereof”.
