“And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’” Exodus 3: 14

“And He said to me, ‘It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” Revelation 21:6

Don’t you just love how God settles everything?

With these few words, He gets to the root of the matter. As I came across the Exodus verse in my Bible reading today, I had to stop and think about it. I realized that because God is who He is, then I can be who He made me to  be and can do what he made me to do.  Everything I am and do rests on me cooperating with Him and following His plan for my life.

That is the very thing that can be a stumbling block for many people. They don’t want to give up control of their lives, thinking that if they do, they’ll be stuck in a drab, dreary life of boredom, or worse yet, doing something they don’t want to do.

The verse in Revelation should settle those fears. Jesus says that He will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. I was curious about the word life, so I looked up the connotation of the word life in Blue Letter Bible.

The Greek word for life is zoe, and I love it’s meaning. Here are a few of its definitions: a full life; possessed of vitality; absolute fullness of life; active and vigorous; devoted to God, blessed.

This doesn’t sound like a dry, unexciting life to me! On the contrary, a life lived out surrendered to God is a life of passion, fullness, and vitality. Yes, we will also experience tribulations as Jesus did, but it’s a life that is full and rich of meaning and purpose and will reap a harvest for God’s kingdom.

I can trust God to be my I AM in this adventure, especially when I am not …

•    the bold speaker He has asked me to be
•    the attentive wife He has called me to be
•    the brave witness He has asked me to be
•    the leader he has asked me to be, and so on

Because He is I Am, I am too.

Pray on!

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

Psalm 91:15

This verse stood out to me today in my reading, because it is so encouraging. Initially, it may not seem so. I can’t think of anyone I know, myself included, who thinks Oh yea! Another problem to deal with! I’d rather my life sail along without any obstacles to get in the way of my plans. But I’ve lived long enough to know that problems and tragedies are a part of life, as Jesus tells us in John 16:33.

As I meditated on this verse, the truth of it rang clear in my life, because I’ve also lived long enough to find out that God does walk through problems and tragedies with me. Two words in this verse captured my attention, and I wanted to explore them further: deliver and honor. I think you’ll be encouraged by the nuances of these two words and the meaning that they give to our sufferings.

First of all, the word deliver is chalats in Hebrew. It has some interesting meanings including “to be equipped,” “to be armed,” “to make strong,” “brace up,” and “to invigorate.” This gave me pause. How many times have I thought as I was walking through a trial that I didn’t know if I had enough strength to get through this? Most recently, I remember thinking that when my son was burned in an accident two years ago. As I went through the debriding process with him, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to handle the horror of that procedure. But did you see what God promises us? God equips me, arms me, makes me strong, braces me up, and even invigorates (!) me so that I can withstand the troubles I am in. And He did. It was not easy, but God was true to His word. God will not let our troubles defeat us if we trust Him!

The word honor also has an interesting meaning. It is transliterated kabad, and it means “to be glorious,” “be honored,” and “gain glory.” I’ve never thought of my trials as being a means of honor and glory, but it would seem that in the process of our suffering, God gives us a spiritual honor and glory.

I know it is excruciatingly difficult to walk through times of trials, but I hope that this encourages you today to hold on to God. Don’t let go. He will walk with you, equipping you, strengthening you, and bracing you up for whatever lies ahead. If you feel like you’ve reached the end of your strength, then be even more encouraged, because that’s when the Holy Spirit takes over, if you let Him. He’ll give you a supernatural strength, or He will give you a time of rest to recharge.

Pray on!

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”’ Ezekiel 11:16

I stumbled across this verse as I was reading this morning and was really struck by the phrase “yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” The Hebrew word for sanctuary also means “sacred place” or “holy place.” God was judging Israel for its sin and had scattered His people among foreigners, yet God still was a sanctuary for them right in the midst of where they were.

Jesus is still doing that very same thing for us today. No matter where we are, through our faith in Jesus, God has planted in us His Holy Spirit who resides in each one of us. Are you a missionary living in a foreign land? God will be your holy place. Are you traveling for work this week? God will be your sanctuary of refreshment. Are you trying to survive in a hostile work environment? God is your familiar refuge. Are you living out your calling in your busy home with little children on your hip or teens coming and going? God is your oasis of peace. Perhaps you’re in your golden years. God is your inspiration for serving others.

No matter where your corner of the world is, remember that God is your sanctuary, your holy place, your home. Nestle your heart in Him and draw from His well of love and security as you serve others today in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pray on!

Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“For He was wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities and by His stripes we’re healed.” Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice. Join us for our Good Friday Devotion, Following Jesus to the Cross by clicking on the link.

Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bad habits, bad relationships, bad thought patterns; God calls us to leave them behind so we can walk more closely with Him. Please join us for day 39 of our Lenten devotional,  The Withered Tree by clicking on the link.

Image: Boaz Yiftach / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Welcome to Day 34 of our Lenten Devotional. We’ve made a lot of progress so far! I trust that you are ready to tackle this week’s study. As we are about two weeks away from Easter, we are going to zero in this week on spiritual spring cleaning. Let’s finish off the hard work this week of getting clean hands and a pure heart so that next week we are ready to follow Jesus on the path to the cross.

Thanks for joining us! Just click below to ready today’s devotional.

Lent Day 34, Clean Hands

May the Lord bless your study this week!

https://commons.wikimedia.org