God...

"Many years later the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cries for relief from their hard labor ascended to God:

God listened to their groanings.

God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

God saw what was going on with Israel.

God understood" Exodus 2: 23-25 The Message


Imagine how tough a life of slavery would be - physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Being in bondage and seeing no way out would be enough to completely break a person. I wonder how many of the Israelites were tempted to give up on their prayers for deliverance? Quite a few, I suppose.

I am reminded about how often we find ourselves in discouraging, fearful and, seemingly, hopeless situations in our lives. But, there is good news! Just as God cared for the children of Israel in their bondage to Egypt, God cares for you and I in the trials and tests of our lives.

Look at what the Bible says about God...

1. God listened - Just as God heard the cries of his people in bondage, he hears our cries and our prayers today. We can be assured that God has his attention directed toward each one of us at all times.
2. God remembered - God remembered his covenant with Abraham and did not abandon his people. Neither has Christ abandoned us or his covenant with us - a covenant written with his own blood. Although there are times in our lives when we feel alone, we can stand convinced that Christ will never leave us or abandon us, at any time.
3. God saw - God was fully aware of his people's situation and, at the proper time, he acted upon what he saw. Isn't it awesome to know that God is looking at us, right now? He knows our needs, our feelings and our desires. He sees us!
4. God understood - Beyond listening, remembering and seeing, God understands what we are going through no matter how great or how small the circumstance. That's incredible! God is infinitely able to understand, empathize and show compassion to his people. Additionally, when his son, Jesus Christ, became flesh, he also became acquainted with everything we go through on this earth.

We serve a God like that! A real, personal, loving and caring God who is so intimately aware of us, that he longs for a close relationship with us everyday!

I don't know about you, but I think this is stuff to shout about! God is AWESOME!

The Greatestt "I"

"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." Rev 3:12-13 NIV (emphasis mine)

I've written extensively about "I". Usually, it's in a negative connotation - referring to selfishness, being self-centered and ego centrism. However, today, I'm writing to convey something that I'm learning more about everyday. For years I have struggled with feelings of inferiority. I would allow those feelings to dominate my life. I would lay awake at night and think, "If I only could do that." Or, "If I only had that."

In addition, I would tell myself that I wasn't good enough. Because I was calculating my worth based on what I could or could not do. "I can't be a speaker, I have a social phobia." I can't be a marriage counselor, I come from a long history of dysfunction" And, the big one, "I can't be a pastor, I fail everyday."

Everything I believed, everything I thought I knew was wrong. Actually, what I thought was inferiority, was pride. I really thought that I had the ability to change my heart, my habits and my life. Ugh- the arrogance!

This year one of my resolutions was to stop trying so hard. Why? Because I can't make the changes or make the progress I want to make on my own. That is something that God alone has to do. I really feel that the greatest growth occurs in my life when I simply get out of the way.

God says in his Word I will make you into pillars. We simply have to let him. After all he is the great "I" AM!