Learning to Pray Instead of Say

I haven't posted on this site in a while... but my Wordpress site is down again and I need to write...

“And I will strengthen them in the Lord,

And in His name they will walk,” declares the Lord.

(Zechariah 10:12)

Today if you have called upon the name of Jesus remember that He is your strength (Philippians 4:13) and do not be deceived by the voices of this world but remember that it is in His name and in His Light that you walk (Ephesians 5:8-16). We may pass through times of trial and distress, but we are not without a shepherd and we have a Shepherd (John 10:14, 27-29) that will never lead us astray or allow us to be snatched away.

This was the mini-devo that I posted after reading through Zechariah 10 this morning. As I continued to ponder the Scripture verses in this chapter and in the verses that the Lord led me to as I typed out the mini-devo I could not let go of how grateful I am for the sovereignty of my God.

I read and ponder these verses and I think on the hopeful family's that have suffered yet another miscarriage... 

         

I think on the families that have had the opportunity to hold their precious newborn in their arms only hours before that new life breathes her last in their arms... 

     

I think on the friends who are single mothers of children under twelve who have just found out that the chemo made the cancer spread and grow instead of rendering it impotent... 

  

I think on the parents who tried all they knew to do to raise their children in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord, yet the children choose to live in the pleasures of sin and ignore the Lord and all that they have been taught... 

I think of the families who have children who have never been able to say they love them or tell them their tummy hurts because autism has stolen their voice...

I think of those I see that can't seem to let go of bitterness and past hurts and they can't seem to step out in faith and trust that forgiveness always comes with healing and forgiveness doesn't mean what happened is okay it just means that you trust that God will repay and He will use what happened for good, somehow, someway...

I think of or world... our nation... our government... our churches... and I ponder.

How thankful I am for the sovereignty of God. If not for the reality of His sovereignty I think I would crumble. My husband and I were talking one night about how far our God had brought us in our marriage. We talked about the changes that growing in His grace and choosing to walk in and by faith had made in our hearts, our minds, our souls, our spirit... and as we talked and thanked God by giving Him all the glory for this work, knowing it was not us in or of ourselves, my husband said...

"You just never know what it's like to live in someone else's body" 

And that is where we rest in His sovereignty and put grace into action. No, we don't know. All we know is how we think we would react or behave if we were them... but the fact is we are not. We do not know what it is like to live in their in their home, much less in their body..

but we have a God who does. 

We have a God who see their heart... 

for God sees not as man sees, 

for man looks at the outward appearance, 

but the Lord looks at the heart. 

1 Samuel 16:7

We have a God who formed their spirit within them... 

Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, 

lays the foundation of the earth, 

and forms the spirit of man within him 

Zechariah 12:1

So many times we are quick to judge. So many times we think we have all the answers. So many times we think if they would just do this... 

I have found myself there as well. I have said my piece and made my assumptions and had my thoughts and concerns, but by the grace of God I am learning to pray instead of say.

The fact is all I can do is pull one moment of someone's life out of context and try to interpret it according to my minuscule knowledge with only my own life experiences to compare and contrast against... 

So I am thankful for the sovereignty of God and for the hope that knowing He is sovereign gives... the fact that I know His Word is true and that He is who He says He is HUGE!  

It is by faith that we accept His sovereignty. It is by grace and through faith that we begin to gain understanding of His sovereignty. The more we understand His sovereignty the better we are able to administer His grace... to others and to ourselves.