First Response

 Jesus was impressed that a Roman soldier felt unworthy to be in His presence or ask Him to go to his servant to heal him. Instead, by faith believed Jesus could heal his servant just by speaking the words. Jesus said He had not seen such great faith in all of Israel (Matthew 8:10). When His disciples were afraid in the face of a life-threatening situation, Jesus asked: “. . .Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). They lacked faith in the Miracle Worker’s ability to help them when a sudden storm erupted in their lives. Jesus’ penetrating words must have stung the disciples, being firsthand witnesses of miracles He performed.

Sometimes the unexpected happens—minor situations and major ones. What you do when faced with life’s uncertainties signifies what you believe about God. Do you seek Him first for answers, help, safety, guidance? God will not make you trust Him. You develop this trust from the repetition of turning to God in times of need, loving Him, and depending on Him for everything in life. You’ve experienced His miracle-working power in your life; you can learn to trust God through every life storm that comes your way.

So Many Whys

Amid our world in crisis, our homeland in chaos—each putting Christians’ (and unbelievers') lives and freedoms at risk—questions surface. If God is in control, then why? Why does He allow wars and unrest, health issues, deaths of loved ones, repeated weather catastrophes, financial dilemmas? Creator God has authority over all He made, but He didn’t create the crisis and chaotic happenings; that’s on humanity.

Some of the calamities and turmoil we face are demonic distractions with the intent of keeping people in states of busyness, confusion, panic, fear, or all four. And since God created us with free will, selfishness and corruption often tempt world leaders to make wrong, self-serving decisions disastrous for their people—we sometimes make poor choices regarding our health and personal or family needs. Such actions lead to costly consequences. Other times, our Maker sees us as worthy instruments to carry out His plans and purposes through challenging circumstances. It’s okay to ask God questions but not challenge Him; He always has His best in mind for His children.

As believers, we know how the story of this world ends, and a better, perfect one awaits. But until that day, we are victorious overcomers over life’s challenges: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Praise God that Jesus’ death and resurrection gave us victory over sin, Satan, death, the grave, and hell. Along with the whys, be steadfast and faithful in God’s work.

Remind Me

The Israelites’ sins were apparent—but God asked the people to remind Him of their transgressions and offered them the opportunity to prove He had unjustly judged them. “Put Me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified” (Isaiah 43:26)—God needed no reminding, naming their sins before they uttered a word. The prominent rulers, religious leaders, to the least of the people, all guilty.

Life situations (and our sins) can muddle our thinking, even shake us to the core of our being. Those are opportune moments for us to put God in remembrance of His written Word—not that He ever forgets anything He says. But as we audibly or silently remind Him of promises we lean on and cling to, sometimes praying them back to Him, we are reaffirmed of the truths as we speak. God is always faithful, impartial, and deals rightly with all people. We are sometimes boggled by what He allows, but God knows what He's doing even when we don’t understand His strategy.

God's Providence

After their husbands’ deaths, despite Naomi’s plea for her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab, their homeland, Ruth left everything familiar to follow Naomi back to her hometown, Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16). Destitute, Ruth humbly worked in the field of Boaz gleaning after the harvesters; their survival depended on what she gathered. Boaz took notice of Ruth’s diligence: “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” (Ruth 2:12). God honored her efforts. She came to know, love, and serve Naomi’s God—Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David and one of the few women named in the genealogy of Jesus.

How diligent are we to glean from God’s Word, even tiny morsels, for the nourishment of our daily walk as Christians? Our spiritual well-being depends on what we gather. The only bending needed is to bend our will, a willingness to humble ourselves before God as needy to hear from Him. His truths are not few and scattered but lay in abundance before us in the Bible, ready for gathering and sustaining our hungry souls.

It Was You!

Oh, how you wanted to raise your pointing finger; your mouth wanted to blurt accusatory words, but you refrained. Yet, later, you felt ashamed for letting the all-too-familiar impulses arise. Then God’s sweet Spirit reminded you that not too long ago, you would have charged ahead in the heat of the moment, speaking hurtful words that you could not retract had you not implored Him with a request like David’s to guard your mouth: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips” Psalm 141:3.

You’ve learned through past mistakes. This time, by God’s grace, you didn’t fall into the lure; you passed the test. God promises to make a way of escape from life’s temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13), but we must follow His leading to avoid the consequences of succumbing to the will of our old nature.

Tight-lipped

God has secrets, secrets that belong to Him: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). But because our God is gracious, He kept nothing secret for us to know Him and how to live, revelations belonging to our children and us. For His forever promise to be ours, we must listen when He speaks and receive the message, taking possession of what God says belongs to us. It is vital we read His Word, receive its truths, apply those truths to our lives, live them out, and teach them to our children.

We’ve all had secrets. Some you share with a trustworthy person, others you hold for yourself alone. But you don’t keep special events secret (unless they are intended surprises), planning and spreading the word, inviting others to be participants. So why is life’s most important message sometimes well kept, not sharing it with family, friends, and others? Lack of knowledge, know-how, or confidence? Fear of rejection? No event in history compares to Jesus dying on the cross in our place; His death and resurrection make it possible for us to know and belong to God, to live with Him forever. God’s resources—boldness, wisdom—are available to share the Good News of Jesus; begin with how He changed your life. If you can plan and carry out short-term events, you can share the best-kept secret that governs where one spends eternity. Let the secret out: Jesus saves (John 3:16)! 

Sleep Well

Dreams sometimes disrupt our rest. King Solomon tells us they come from the busyness of a day and the cares of life that concern us: “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words” (Ecclesiastes 5:3). There is a remedy. Free your heart and mind of lingering thoughts before falling asleep—talk with the Father and deal with those issues that have cluttered your thoughts.

Solomon said people are foolish thinking their many words impress God and others. Our approach to God in prayer and worship should be in humility and with reverence. Our words should be few and well-chosen, not for the correctness or pleasant sounding, but ones you’ll stand by. Think before making promises; He expects you to keep your pledge.

God is not impressed with flowery language or many words, even though we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). God cares about one’s attitude towards prayer, that prayers come from a sincere heart, words directed by the Holy Spirit. We need not fear dreams or fools’ words, but one should reverently fear God. Worship Him with awe-filled respect because of who He is—Almighty, Holy God.