My Father...Strengthens

"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait on The Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." 

Isaiah 40:29-31

This is such a popular set of verses. It is inscribed on plagues and hung on walls. It's framed in offices and graces many desks. They are such an encouraging set of verses. I love to listen to and recite these verses especially when I am feeling down or worn out. We cling to these verses because they give us hope of renewal and strength. My father does strengthen!! If we look at verse 28 as well, it is just as important and encouraging as the verses that follow it. "Have you not known him? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable." We do not have a God that grows tired or weary, He does not need rest. He has strength in abundance. 

Although, Christ does knows weariness and exhaustion. He knows that our busy lives from day to day wear us out. He understands that we become worn out with day to day activities with family, work, school and ministry etc. We easily become physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. Our fuel tank empties quickly. But we have a Father that will renew us, He will give us strength and renew us. If we wait on Him and ask Him to, he will share His strength with us. I love how Paul writes it in Colossians 1:29 "For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works with in me." Paul is talking about his ministry here, but the same holds true for us. Wether we are serving God through raising a family, doing missions or serving in the occupation that God has called us to, we can do it with the strength and energy that He provides. 

I also really like the word picture that Isaiah uses here regarding eagles. Eagles are beautiful and majestic creatures, they are featured prominently on flags and within governments as a symbol of strength and power. These large beautiful bird s know a thing or two about utilizing other sources of power. It takes a lot of energy for them to flap their wings so instead of relying on their own strength to fly and soar they utilize the wind currents to carry them to their destination. I wonder how much easier our lives would be if we really apply this principle to our lives. If we really utilize the power, energy and strength that The Lord offers us, instead of flapping our wings desperately to get around and running out of power, we would be much better off. 

Father, Help me to remember to come to you for my strength, when my own strength fails me. Help me to remember that you provide the strength and energy I need each day to serve you and honor you. Renew me on a daily basis and help me to soar with wings like eagles.Amen 

My Father...Forgives!

“For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you” – Psalm 86:5

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:12

Do you know how far the east is from the west? Take a globe, one of those big round ones like the ones that were in your geography class in school, and put your finger on the any spot and spin the globe to the east. You know what happens, you will always be going east! You can spin the globe a million times, but east and west never connect. However if you go north, eventually you will begin to go south. But thankfully that’s not what scripture says. Isn’t it amazing to think that our Savior has gone so far as to completely separate us from our sin?

There is so much more to forgiveness than just being separated from past sin. It is being forgiven of present sin, future sin. It is freedom from sin! The penalty for sin is death. Jesus paid that penalty in full when He died on the cross. Paul in Colossians puts it so beautifully, Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with it’s legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Imagine a list of your sins, your past sins and future sins nailed to the cross, stamped with “Paid in Full” and covered by the blood of Christ. It’s a beautiful picture! We are forgiven, and we are free. We are no longer held to the penalty of sin because Jesus took that from us, and forgave us! He sets us free from sin, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36. We don’t have to struggle to be free from sin, if we’ve trusted in Christ we are set free indeed.

What does this mean for us? We need to be humble before the Lord, we are forgiven, but we still need to go before the Lord daily and ask for forgiveness. It is a continual process, Christ’s death on the cross was once and done, but His forgiveness is ongoing. It also means that we should forgive others. Ouch! That hurts a little bit, doesn’t it, forgiving others is not an easy task. But that is what we are called to do. Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” And Colossians 3:13 “…forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”  Because the Lord forgave us, we can do nothing more than forgive others. No matter what it was, no matter when it was, no matter how hard it is. We are called to forgive. It isn’t easy because we don’t have the perfect love that the Lord does, but it is possible through His love.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your forgiveness; I’m continually humbled by your willingness and ability to forgive me of all my mistakes and failures. I am so grateful that I am free from sin and that my debt is paid in full. I ask that you help me to do the same for other and forgive them like you have forgiven me. Allow me to show forgiveness and kindness to others. Amen!

My Father...is Joy!

"Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy and I will praise you with lyre, o God, my God." - Psalm 43:4

"You make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." -Psalm 16:11

What is joy? The dictionary defines joy as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. It is a happy, glad feeling. However there is a fine line between happiness and joy. Happiness is defined as an emotion experienced when in a state of wellbeing. We are happy for many things in our life, when work is going well, when get to see friends and family, when we finally get something we wanted, when our favorite team wins the big game, etc. The problem is that this happiness is fleeting. It’s a feeling that can easily be swept away when circumstances don’t go our way. Notice in the definition is says “in a state of wellbeing”. Happiness dies when bad things happen, when we lose our job, are hurt by family or friends, receive that devastating diagnosis, or are just simply having a bad day.

But, true joy exists in a relationship with the Lord. In Him joy is not easily lost because He is joy. The Psalmist writes “…to God my exceeding joy…” God is our exceeding joy. Exceeding is defined as far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree. Therefore our Father IS joy, far beyond what can be fathomed or explained. It is joy that can only be felt or experienced. Joy that gets us through the ups and downs in life, it is a joy that enables us to endure the trials of life. It is difficult to have joy in difficult circumstances, our instincts are to blame God or blame someone for our hardship, but we are commanded to have joy. James 1:2 says “Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds.” Why do we need to count it all joy? We need to because the end result is the strengthening of our faith. We can have joy because we have the Lord and He is our joy.

Not only that but the fullness of joy is in Him. In His presence there is fullness of joy. When we come into his presence we can be filled with joy. We can fill up on the joy that he offers. I am one of those that don’t fill my gas tank until it is empty, and then I fill it up and drive another few hundred miles and repeat the process. Filling up on joy is like filling your gas tank, except we need to make a continual effort of it. Imagine that you stopped at every gas station you passed to top off your tank. You would never run out of gas and it might even be overflowing. We need to continually top off our tank of joy from the Lord because he has an abundant supply of it.

Heavenly Father,

I pray that you will help me to realize that You are my joy. In You there is exceeding fullness of joy and I need to top off my tank continuously so that I can be filled and overflowing with it. Give me joy to endure the hardships in life, and may I have joy through trials so I come out strengthened in my faith. Amen!

My Father...Holds my Hand!

"For I, The Lord your god, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you 'fear  not, I am the one who helps you'" - Isaiah 41:13

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you, you hold my right hand" - Psalm 73:23

Think back to you childhood, whether it was only a short time ago, or more years than you care to remember. Do you remember the peace and security your parents gave you? I remember many times that my parents made me hold their hand. If you were like me, you didn't always want to , you didn't always like it, but regardless of that there was still a sense of peace and security when your hand was intertwined with theirs. Whether you were crossing the street, walking through a crowded area, or just walking down the side walk. Their hand guided you and protected you. Now imagine our Heavenly Father doing the same thing.

He holds our hand in His. He reaches down and grabs hold of our hand at the moment we are saved and He doesn't let go. He walks with us and holds our hand through all circumstances in life. Through the good times and the bad. It's easy to miss it when we are going through difficult circumstances, sometimes it can feel like we are stumbling along in the darkness and are searching for a way out. Instinctively we want to blame God and ask where He went.  But I assure you that He never leaves us, "...and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20b. Jesus himself promises to be with us through the end of days.  He is always there, in times of joy and in times of despair.

The more I grow in my walk with The Lord, the more I am confident that He truly does not leave my side. And if He feels distant, I am the one that walked away. I have grown to understand that He allows the good and the bad, but He is always in control.  And He holds tightly to my hand. His hold is secure; you don't have to worry that He will let go. Remember that He is holding your hand in all circumstances, keep in mind that the hands that formed the universe, that set the stars in motions, that scooped out the seas and formed the mountains, healed the sick and lame, that touched lepers, and that were ultimately nailed to the cross; reach down from heaven and grip your hand tightly, interlacing His fingers with yours, holding you up, holding you steady and giving you the peace and security you need to make it through each and every day. Reach out and take hold of His hand and be confidently assured of His great love for you.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for holding my hand, for walking with me in my day-to-day life and holding me up. Thank you for the peace and security I can feel when I remember that you walk with me and cling tightly to my hand. My hand is holding onto yours and I know that you will never let go. Amen!