Two days ago the Lord whispered to my heart, 'Because I was forsaken at the cross, you will never be forsaken in this life'.
He showed me that even before He went to the cross, He had already promised that He would send another Comforter that would never leave us nor forsake us. That's because He was about to pay the ultimate price for us on the cross.
There on the cross, He was left and abandoned by His Father. He took the place of sinful man -- you and I. He cried out, "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" He did that so that you and I would never have to be abandoned or forsaken by God again.
Then He showed me Psalms 23, that when I walk through the the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to fear any evil befalling me, because I have not been forsaken, He is with me. Have you ever been hurt by a shadow? But the enemy many times will cause symptoms and situations to arise in our lives that cause us to fear that evil will befall us. We may even feel that God has abandoned us. But be assured of this: that God is right there with you and you can say along with the psalmist, 'Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. . .'When the Lord is there, the enemy's attacks or any form of death will not harm you, they will be like shadows which have no ability to touch you.
On the other hand, God's provisions and blessings will touch your life.’ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.’ Not only will you see abundant provision, it will be a public supply of provision in the presence of your enemies. You will be vindicated. You will be honored.
Let's rest in the light and substance of His wonderful person, because the Good Shepherd will never abandon us or forsake us.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
If God Loves Me, Why Did He Allow This to Happen?
Recently the Lord has revolutionized my understanding concerning bad things we go through in life. Many of us have come to that place where we ask, 'If God loves me, why did He allow this to happen?'.
You could very well ask the same of the woman with the issue of blood, with the death of Lazarus in the tomb, with the Gadarene demoniac, or with all the people Jesus healed, set free, and raised from the dead. Were their maladies and conditions God's will? The answer is no. Jesus is God's will in action, and what He accomplished on the cross is God's will for us.
Think about it. If Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood, then the sickness was not God's will! Likewise for Lazarus and the Gadarene demoniac. So that would mean that just because something happens in this life, it does not mean that it is God's will. God's will is found in Jesus.
When Jesus died on the cross, He did not go there as a martyr. He went as our perfect, sacrificial offering. He took our sin, our sickness, our pains, and our poverty. He in turn gave us His righteousness, His healing and His prosperity. They are all found in the person of Jesus. So when we accept the free gift of the Son of God in our lives, all the things Jesus purchased for us become ours. The question then is why aren't we experiencing them? The answer is because we have not been taking them.
Take a look at this incredible verse of scripture:
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thess 5:18 KJV
First it says IN everything give thanks. It does not say FOR everything. God does not give us poverty or sickness. Don't thank Him for that. So what are we to thank Him for? Look at the second part of the verse. It says, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you". The will of God, because WE ARE IN CHRIST, is to thank Him for everything Jesus HAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST!
So if you're going through a challenge with sickness, don't thank God FOR the sickness -- He didn't give it to you -- thank Him for the healing that Jesus bought for you and RECEIVE IT.
That's where many of us trip up. I think at this point if you just did that -- began to receive what Jesus has done for you -- your mind will immediately say to you that you have sin in your life. This is something God spoke to me about. We need to realize that the verse is saying that 'this is the will of God IN CHRIST JESUS'. It is based on what Jesus has done for us on the cross -- it is based on the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that Jesus gave to us through His sacrifice on the cross! Your sin does not matter. Your shortcomings don't matter. Take what you need based on His righteousness and thank Him for it.
That is the will of God concerning you today.
You could very well ask the same of the woman with the issue of blood, with the death of Lazarus in the tomb, with the Gadarene demoniac, or with all the people Jesus healed, set free, and raised from the dead. Were their maladies and conditions God's will? The answer is no. Jesus is God's will in action, and what He accomplished on the cross is God's will for us.
Think about it. If Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood, then the sickness was not God's will! Likewise for Lazarus and the Gadarene demoniac. So that would mean that just because something happens in this life, it does not mean that it is God's will. God's will is found in Jesus.
When Jesus died on the cross, He did not go there as a martyr. He went as our perfect, sacrificial offering. He took our sin, our sickness, our pains, and our poverty. He in turn gave us His righteousness, His healing and His prosperity. They are all found in the person of Jesus. So when we accept the free gift of the Son of God in our lives, all the things Jesus purchased for us become ours. The question then is why aren't we experiencing them? The answer is because we have not been taking them.
Take a look at this incredible verse of scripture:
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thess 5:18 KJV
First it says IN everything give thanks. It does not say FOR everything. God does not give us poverty or sickness. Don't thank Him for that. So what are we to thank Him for? Look at the second part of the verse. It says, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you". The will of God, because WE ARE IN CHRIST, is to thank Him for everything Jesus HAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST!
So if you're going through a challenge with sickness, don't thank God FOR the sickness -- He didn't give it to you -- thank Him for the healing that Jesus bought for you and RECEIVE IT.
That's where many of us trip up. I think at this point if you just did that -- began to receive what Jesus has done for you -- your mind will immediately say to you that you have sin in your life. This is something God spoke to me about. We need to realize that the verse is saying that 'this is the will of God IN CHRIST JESUS'. It is based on what Jesus has done for us on the cross -- it is based on the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that Jesus gave to us through His sacrifice on the cross! Your sin does not matter. Your shortcomings don't matter. Take what you need based on His righteousness and thank Him for it.
That is the will of God concerning you today.
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