“Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.” Psalm 106:3

Lord Jesus, you love righteousness and justice. You who are pure and perfect, you call us to your high and holy standards, promising us blessing when we keep them.

But sadly, we do not do this consistently, for we are so self-centered, so self-willed, so self-serving. Just like the Israelites, “We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly…they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea” (Ps 106:6,7).

In our crises, large and small, we, like the Israelites, forget your goodness, forget all the ways you have helped us in the past. Instead we get impatient and wallow in disappointment and self-pity. We look only at our own plans and lack of self-fulfillment, forgetting all that you have done in our lives: the protection, the provision, the prayers answered, the many positives.

But, Lord God, even when we don’t repent, you are patient and good to us, fulfilling your purpose for us, as you did with the children of Israel: “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known” (Ps. 106:8).

You have higher plans, greater purposes, deeper reasons for acting than just dealing with our sins—you save us in spite of what we are and give us a significant part in your plans. You have mercy because of your great heart of love for all, because of your great and mighty plans for the future.

Help us to be able to see things from your perspective and walk with you in what you are doing!

Dealing  with difficulties

In Jeremiah 1:19 God calls to us, “‘They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD.” All He wants is our admission of our own inadequacy, weakness and need. With that, we can step back to prayer and let the Almighty One do the work in and around us, obeying Him in the part He has for us, rather than carrying the burden of the whole matter.

However, we tend to fight, push, work and strive against forces we neither understand nor can possibly defeat. All the while our Lord patiently calls to us, “Come, take refuge in me, let me fight this battle for you.” Our reply should be, “…the LORD has become my fortress, (like in this picture) and my God, the rock in whom I take refuge” (Psa. 94:2).

Our part is to pray, praise and trust while we attend to the daily duties that really do belong to us. At the right time and in God’s way these desired things will come to pass–as He deems best. In the meantime, our Lord is more interested in the development of what we are than in what we get done. As my wife is fond of saying, “Waiting on the Lord is the greatest economy of time.”

Prayer: “Lord, help me to bring my problems, frustrations, failures and dreams to you, to leave them with you and to be faithful in obeying you in the mundane duties I know are your will for me to do. May you fight for me, may you bring to pass all that you desire. I praise you now for what you will work out. May you be glorified in it all. Amen.”

More on the peace Jesus gives us.

Now because of Jesus death and resurrection, we can have peace on three levels.

First with you, Heavenly Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, by confessing our sins, receiving forgiveness and surrendering to you as our Lord.

Then we can have peace within when we forgive ourselves as you have forgiven us.

And third, we can have peace with others by forgiving them as you have forgiven us, and by asking for forgiveness when we commit an offence against them.

The outcome is the release of grace from above, bringing peace within and the flow of peace without, to those around us.

This peace is can then be carried on into our day as we trust in you, lifting up the shield of faith by praise. This is the demonstration of our trust in your; we can be totally transparent before you for, “You are good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy to all those who call upon you” (Ps. 86:5, KJV).

As we trust in you, your peace continues to fill us, and opens the way for joy and hope: “May the God of hope fill You with all joy and peace as You trust in Him so that Your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13 – emphasis mine). Without our trusting, none of this will come to pass.

You are wise, O God, you are worthy of praise, you are wonderful in insight, you are an amazement to all who know you.

My favorite flowers are pink bubble gum petunias. They are beautiful, prolific and hardy, blooming from early Spring up until the first frost, as you can see in this picture on the right.

But this year was different. About the middle of August, the blossoms began to diminish and then disappeared altogether as you can see in the  middle  picture! Lots of green, no color.

So, I went to the place where I’d gotten the plants and asked about this. “Well,” the clerk said, “We’ve had so  much rain this year that all the fertilizer has been washed away.  Just give them this fertilizer and the blossoms will come back shortly.” So I did that and in the picture on the left you can see what happened. The reappearance of the blossoms was almost like magic!

This made me think about “spiritual fertilizer,” the importance of having a regular quiet time. I have found that many Christians (including full time workers) do not have a regular quiet time, or it is very brief. They are lacking their “spiritual fertilizer” and the result is a lack of “spiritual flowers.”

Proverbs 8:34 came to mind, where Wisdom says, “Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.” Note the word “daily.” And where can we get wisdom but from the Word? Then in  the next verse is this encouragement: “For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD.”

So let’s listen at the door of wisdom everyday, get our spiritual fertilizer and blossom for the Lord!

More thoughts on  the earthquake in Haiti

Yes, you are there, Lord, with those suffering people. You are working powerfully for good, to open eyes, to show that the only stability in this world is in you, to bring people to yourself. You use such tragedy to get peoples’ attention and bring them to repentence and yourself.

As it says in Rev. 9:20,21, “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts”. God allows tragedy in order to wake people up to their need of a Savior. Unfortunately many still refuse the forgiveness and love He offers.

You also are working to chasten believers to develop their spiritual maturity, and to give your children opportunity to carry your grace to those in need. You are also exposing the sin of men–shoddy building practices, corruption and lack of maintenance have made the disaster much worse.

Praise you for your greatness, O God, that in the overview of all, you know what you are doing, as well as in the details. You are the only One worth trusting, worth following, worth obeying. You are the One who brings meaning in chaos, purpose in suffering, wisdom in disaster.

Epilogue: Several months later I read a report by a number of Christian agencies working together in Haiti, telling of tens of thousands that have come to Christ in the aftermath of the earthquake, and of many believers who have rededicated their lives to living for Him. God is faithful and good! He uses all that He allows to come to us for our good and His glory.