Psalm 102:25-27 NKJV
Malachi 3:6 NKJV
Isaiah 30:18-21 NLT
Numbers 23:19 NCV
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV
From the Beginning
God is enduring.
God IS everything.
I’ve come to believe that what God wants from me is to be so mindful of Him and His presence that we can have a conversation.
In other words, what God wants more than anything from His children is to be in relationship with them. While that sounds easy, I’ve found it takes practice. One of the biggest distractions I have is my day to day tasks that draw me away from God,
I have to make breakfast.
I have to take out the trash.
I have to get the mail. Then I have to pay bills or respond to an inquiry.
You know the drill.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t do those things. I’m saying that after we do those things we need to set aside time for God as well. I’ve said before that was more difficult when my children were small but when I set aside time to spend even 5 minutes with God, I came away stronger for it.
That’s why I did take time to spend time with God when I had a few moments. That precious time gave me the strength I needed to get everything done. Years ago at the end of every day when all of the children were tucked in bed, I tried to take time to spend with God. In those days I was often so tired that I would ask God to replenish my strength. Most of the time I was too tired to listen to what God had to say. I would fall asleep when I tried to pray.
I once asked my Spiritual Director how I could make myself stay awake. He basically said when I’m that when I’m tired I need to sleep and God knows that.
But God also knows just ‘sitting in His presence’ will give me strength as well.
Realizing who God is, gives me strength.
In Psalm 102:25-27, the Psalmist wrote, “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.”
Realizing that God laid the foundation of the earth means God was, is, and will be. God will endure. God’s endurance gives me endurance. God is and will always be the same.
That’s strength.
That’s strength I can rely on. I can lean into God’s unchangeable enduring power and might.
We read in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
Let that sink in…the sons of Jacob will not be consumed. God does not change and He is their strength. God is the driving force them and He is the driving force for all the universes.
God is endless.
God will endure.
I came to a point in my life (now years ago) when I realized that when I gave God more minutes of my time, God gave me more of what I needed. In other words, the more I relied on God the more I realized I could rely on God.
I stopped trying to spin my wheels.
I started listening for the still small voice.
Isaiah tells Israel in Isaiah 30:18-21:
“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,”whether to the right or to the left.”
When I waited for His help, God became my teacher. He responded to my cry for help and He gave me strength. God whispered.
Years later, God gives me everything I need.
God is enduring.
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a human being, and he will not lie. He is not a human, and he does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does. What he promises, he makes come true.”
God IS an enigma. We cannot understand God in human terms because God isn’t human. We can only understand by faith. By believing what we cannot understand, and accepting that God is enduring, has all strength, is changeless but ever changing, and AND by believing that He loves me, I am able to turn to God and say, “I love you, God. You are my everything.”
In that moment, I surrender my weakness to God and God gives me His strength.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 the Apostle Paul asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh and God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I don’t have to endure. God is enduring.
By surrendering my weakness to God, He gives me His strength.
All we need to do is open our hands to receive what God gives.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Open your hands
Tell God you love Him and receive what God has for you today.
In God, Deborah
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