The
lessons have been piling up lately. Actually I should say lesson, because it is all part of one larger picture. It started
with comments in a couple different sermons from Sam Allberry. In one he
referred to John 6:35 (ESV): “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the Bread of Life;
whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never
thirst,’” and he reminded me that Jesus is the only one who truly fulfills all
our needs. In the New Testament context bread was a staple of life, not an
incidental item. Jesus is not just some side dish, but He is the main course.
Everything else is secondary. Later I read this: “‘The Lord is my portion,’
says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him’” (Lamentations 3:24). How often
have I looked to something else to satisfy me rather than waiting on God to do
what only He can do, when I’ve thought that some need or desire was more urgent
than it really was?
In
another sermon on Luke 22:39-46 he said,
“‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ It highlights for us the importance of prayer. [The disciples] need to pray so that they will not enter into temptation, so that they will not fall, so that they will be faithful to their master. And that is no less true for us. We will face trials. In His executive summary of what we’re to pray for, Jesus tells us to pray about temptation, that we would be delivered from the evil one [Matthew 6:9-13]. We need to be people of prayer so that when the temptation comes, we will not fall into it. A verse that has been really challenging and haunting me, actually, recently on prayer is James 4:2, ‘You do not have because you do not ask God.’ You do not stand because you do not pray.”
I
wonder how often I have missed out on God’s provision, protection, and
deliverance because I have not asked Him. How often have I fallen because I
didn’t pray or because I was praying for something less than God’s best?
As
I’m reading through Isaiah again this verse caught my attention. “Therefore the
Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy
to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for
Him” (30:18). And He not only waits to be gracious, but He also says, “I will
rejoice in doing them good…” (Jeremiah 32:41). I wonder how long God has been
waiting to show me grace and mercy and do good for me while my attention has
been focused somewhere else.
It’s
interesting that by showing mercy God exalts Himself. Through encountering His
mercy and grace we see God for who He really is and we’re reminded of who we
are both with Him and apart from Him. On our own we are weak, sinful, hungry, and
needy. But in Christ we have strength, forgiveness, satisfaction, and
fulfillment. It’s easy to forget that Christ is sufficient for all our needs. I
need frequent reminders of His sufficiency, but those reminders usually come in
the form of tripping and falling flat on my face. That’s always a good time and
place to pray.
“If you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for
you” (John 15:7).
“And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
©
2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from
pixabay.com.
