Oh Give praise to the one that created all things; the one who allows us another day. This message today is to open our minds and spirits to the things of God. I have shared this message over the years in one form or another and today just feels right for it again. Let it bless you.
Today’s Prayer
(adapted from Isaiah 12:2-6)
Behold, You God are our salvation, we will trust and not be afraid; ‘for YAH, the Lord, is our strength and son; He also has become our salvation.’ Therefore with joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation. And we will praise You Lord, and call upon Your name; we declare Your deeds among the people, and make mention that Your name is exalted. We sing to You Lord, for You have done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. We cry out and shout, great is the Holy One of Israel in our midst!”. Hallelujah and Amen.
Let’s eat.
Tests of the Heart
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. – Deuteronomy 8:2
Has God performed a heart test on you lately? There are times in our lives when God leads us into the desert in order to let us find out what is in our heart. These times can be very difficult and humbling. They can test our mettle like no other time. Desert times often mean we are living without those things we are normally accustomed to: water, food, limited supplies-and with few comforts. In modern terms, it may mean a different and uncomfortable environment. GOD is performing a very important work during these times. He wants to know if we can be obedient to Him in these times; or will we be obedient only when times are good? I have just recently come out of my desert place and I believe that I was proved by the Father.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you (Deuteronomy 8:3-5).
These desert times may mean experiencing new ways of provision from the Lord. Like manna from Heaven, it may mean seeing miracles we’ve never seen before. Like clothing that never wears out, it may mean seeing your normal capabilities expanded. Like walking hundreds of miles without pain, desert experiences provide new lessons and new experiences that only these times can teach us.
What desert experience has He brought into your life lately? Perhaps, like me, it is a lean time in your finances and health. Perhaps it is a new and uncomfortable environment. Whatever it is, when God decides to bring new disciplines into our lives by bringing us into the desert, do not fear the heat that is sure to come. He is walking beside you in order to test you and find out what is really in your heart. Ask for His grace to pass the test. He wants to bring all of His children into the Promised Land.
Quote of the Day
Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. ~John Owen~