But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
--Isaiah 40:31
Today’s verse is a promise from God that I’ve put my trust in for many, many years. Because so often when we’re in a “wait” mode in life, it’s tempting to push Providence. Let me explain what I mean.
The word Providence isn’t a word we use much today, but you can think of it like “pro-video”…that God can see the future and what will happen in our lives. But not only can He see what’s going to happen, He’s leading us and working all things together for His glory and our good!
Perhaps today…
…You feel like you’ve been treated unfairly.
…That business deal you just knew would go through disappeared.
…That promotion you were expecting didn’t happen.
…Someone made a promise to you in marriage and didn’t keep that promise.
…You’ve prayed for your health or the health or someone you love and you’ve been given nothing but sickness.
…All the doors you desire to be open seem to have been shut!
And maybe you wonder, Where God is in the midst of my trials? How am I to respond?
If God has you in some “wait” training today, remember that He puts a premium on patience and perseverance. And know that adversity can produce possibilities that you could never imagine in your life! Wait on God and trust in Him today.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
Adversity can produce possibilities in your life that you could never imagine!
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:25–27
In his sermon “The Secret of Loving God,” Charles Spurgeon highlighted the importance of taking a public stand for God and declaring our love for Him to the world with the story of his baptism. “I always look back, with deep gratitude, to the day when I was baptized. Up to that time, I was timid and fearful, and afraid to confess Christ; but after I went into the river, and was publicly baptized into His death, I lost all fear of man, and I think I can honestly say that I have never been ashamed to acknowledge my Lord from that day to this. The world has had many a cruel word for me from that day to this, and there is no love lost between us; I am done with the world as the world is done with me; I am crucified to the world, and the world to me.”
The command for us to love God above all else begins with the internal—our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength—but it certainly does not end there. The proper love of God in our hearts will inevitably be displayed in our actions. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The proper affection for God as the supreme love of our lives guides everything else that we do. It determines how we use our time, what we allow and avoid, and how we treat those around us. There is nothing that can take the place of loving God above all else.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Our love for God should be so great that it is visible to everyone who knows or meets us.
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