Quote from Forum Archives on July 20, 2004, 9:55 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 20 Jul 2004: Dependent on God's Presence
Dear friends,

Completely depending on God is really an integral part of our
intimate relationship with Him. We ought to begin each day
thinking of our Lord, we ought to read His Word every day in the
Bible, then think about it often during the day. As we rest,
thinking about our Lord ought to be the last thing we remember
doing as we drift off to sleep.

The verse in today's message says that those who wait on the
Lord shall walk and not faint. That means that people who not
only believe in a god, but believe and trust in the One True
God, purify themselves in doing so.

Once again, Oswald Chambers challenges us with some direct
observations, based on God's Word to us. I encourage each of
you to read them and take them to heart.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

____________________________________________________________

July 20

Dependent on God's Presence

Those who wait on the Lord... shall walk and not faint -Isaiah
40:31

There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all
of our steady and enduring qualities. To "walk and not faint" is
the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word
walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person
-- "... John ... looking at Jesus as He walked... said, 'Behold
the Lamb of God!' " ( John 1:35-36 ). There is nothing abstract
or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does
not say, "Be spiritual," but He says, "Walk before Me ..."
(Genesis 17:1).

When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or
emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical
life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the
Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to
the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if
we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up "with wings
like eagles" ( Isaiah 40:31 ), it will result in the destruction
of our spirituality.

Having the reality of God's presence is not dependent on our
being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only
dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us
continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our
trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the
psalmist speaks of -- "We will not fear, even though ..." (Psalm
46:2 ) -- will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the
reality of God's presence, not just a simple awareness of it,
but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will
exclaim, "He has been here all the time!" At critical moments in
our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should
be unnecessary to be constantly saying, "Oh, Lord, direct me in
this, and in that." Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing
it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His
will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our
spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His
presence.

2003 RBC Ministries-Grand Rapids MI, 49555-0001

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail