Remember when God told Saul to go and kill all the Amalakites - ALL things - man, woman, child, all the animals - because they had attacked Israel when they left Egypt. But what did Saul do? I could understand one, but why the other? What? Saul slaughtered all - except for King Agag. And they took all the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, etc. Why? God went to Samuel and said He regretted making Saul king. God knew all along with Saul would do, but His heart was grieved because Saul had disobeyed. Samuel, too, was grieved, and he met up with Saul and one could say he 'finished the job' by cutting King Agag into pieces. The animals were sacrificed. It all stemmed from Saul's disobedience that he lost the kingdom God had given him to rule. He chose to put his will above God's.
Isn't that what we do many times? We choose our will over God's. We know what He wants us to do. We know what is the right thing to do. And what do we do? We choose what we want to do. Oh that we will confess our sin of putting other things, other idols, before Jesus and accept His freedom of forgiveness that He freely gives!
John 3:16 "For God so loves the world that He gave His one and only Son, whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Hallelujah! Because of Jesus, we have our life before us, the grave behind us. A life filled with the goodness of God.
Yesterday was a great day. I had Needles of Hope in the morning and had a great conversation with our leader and I got a lot of questions I had answered about our church and life in general. I so wish I could go to the Bible study she teaches! She told me what they were going to study and where they were going to start with it. She did mention the book she had researched to do part of her study....and yes, I ordered it last night. I am so hungry to learn more about Jesus, and about intimacy and the authority we have in Him. I must carve out time to learn more.
My lunch went well - my friend and I chatted for nearly two hours! You may laugh - I found someone who eats faster than I do! Either that or I talked way too much! I think we both talked, but all of a sudden, I looked at her plate - and I was still waiting to take my first bite - and her plate was nearly empty! There is a possibility that I could have talked too much.... maybe. I did manage to eat half my sandwich and some of the fries, but brought the rest home - and heated up in the air fryer for Tom for dinner last night. And I still wasn't hungry.
After I got home, I just chilled. Got to read some in the afternoon, and then the Notre Dame came on and hubby offered to wear his headset so I could continue reading, but I let him watch without them and I crochet'd instead of reading. After the game, we watched a movie before heading to bed. It was one of my favorites. "Finding Normal" and yes, we have watched it a few times already. But it's a favorite.
When you feel like giving up, where do you turn? Do you find 'things' to fill your life? Have you ever tried Jesus? Have you ever fallen on your knees and cried out on behalf of your spouse? Your children? Your situation? Have you ever cried out to God and asked for His intervention? Do you believe that He hears every prayer that you sincerely speak to Him? He does! He even hears your unspoken prayers. Did you know that? Those thoughts that come into your mind - what do you do with them?
Matthew 11:29: "Take my yoke upon you and you will learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
I love the prophet Elijah. I love Elisha too, who got a double portion of the Spirit of God when Elijah was whisked away to heaven (you did know that he didn't die, right?) But at one point in his life, Elijah was depressed. I can relate to that sometimes. He was so depressed, he prayed to die. God has a plan for tomorrow to defeat the enemy you are facing today. So God had him take a nap, and the angel came and gave him a snack (my kind of God).
Are you ready to find that rest that you can only find in Him. On this side of heaven we may never find the reasons why we go through the things we do. But we have to live by promises and not by explanations. Believe on Him. Trust Him. Give Him your ugly prayers, God understands the language of your words, of your tears. Give it all to Him. You will never regret it.
Blessings!
