For Us Or Against Us?

Saturday, 12 Jul 2003

If I never did another thing in my life, but worship God each day, that would be enough for Him.
If I never wrote another word, volunteered another minute, donated another dollar, but worship God each day, that would be enough for Him.
If I start with each of these things, working and tithing and all the other things this life entails, but didn't worship God, that would never be enough for Him.

All Lebanon's forests do not contain sufficient fuel
to consume a sacrifice large enough to honor him.
All Lebanon's sacrificial animals would not make an
offering worthy of our God.
Isaiah 40:16
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Nothing we can do or say is worthy of our God, except to love Him with our whole heart, our whole soul, and with all our strength. Everything else God can do--the only thing God won't do, is force us to love Him. That, is most precious to Him...our love.

Because God loves us, He does not want us to be afraid of Him or of life. To have a reverential fear of God is entirely different than being afraid of Him. I fear God in the way that I know He is totally in control, I know He has all the power and might to conquer any army, to move any mountain, to give us each breath. I don't fear God in a cowering, He's going to hurt me, I can't trust Him sort of way. God says over and over, "Do not be afraid."

"-do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, 'Your God is coming!'" (Is. 40:9)
"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God." (Is. 41:10)
"-do not be afraid, O Israel, my chosen one, do not fear." (Is. 44:2)
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And these are just three of many, many passages of Scripture where God is asking us not to fear! Not to be afraid! He is coming, He is our God, He will rescue us!

Cower? I think not!!
Look ahead to a grand and glorious future? I believe so!

Is God for us or against us?
You make the call!

There is no other God: there never has been and never will be.
I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior.
First I predicated your deliverance; I declared what I would do,
and then I did it - I saved you.
Isaiah 43:11-12
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Troubles in the world? You bet! It's guaranteed, but so is our rescue! So is our deliverance and a perfect plan of redemption! That is what we are to hold on to! Not the troubles! Not the trials! They are passing on by, they will never last, but God will outlast it all!

"But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I am
going to do. For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See
I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway
through the wilderness for my people to come home."
Isaiah 43:18-19
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When we're lost, where do we want to be?
Home!
Safe and sound! Secure and loved! Warmed and comforted!

What does God say?

"Others died that you might live.
I traded their lives for yours because
you are precious to me. You are honored,
and I love you.
Isaiah 43:4
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God loves us! He is for us! He wants the very best for us! And yet we miss it! Why?

"You see and understand what is right but refuse to act on it.
You hear, but you don't really listen."
Isaiah 42:20
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We understand with our heads, but close our hearts to what we know!
We listen with our ears, but roll our eyes when God speaks!

We don't believe that God is for us! Because if He is, then why would He allow this to be happening to us? Where is He when we are hurt or confused? We just don't get it, we don't understand, and we think that God must have turned His back on us and left us to fend for ourselves!

Wrong!

"When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord,
will answer them. I the God of Israel, will never forsake them.
I will open up rivers...I will give them fountains of water...they will find
pools of water...Rivers fed by springs will flow...I will plant trees..."
Isaiah 41:17-19
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But we can be so blind to it!!

"Who in all the world is as blind as my own people, my servant?"
Isaiah 42:19
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The Pharisees who were standing there heard him and asked,
"Are you saying we are blind?"
"If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty." Jesus replied.
"But you remain guilty because you claim you can see."
John 9:40
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We Christians, who know the truth, who claim that we have been set free by it, and who still live in a prison of worry, doubt, unbelief and focus on this world, are "guilty." It's not a guilt that will keep us out of heaven, but it is a guilt that will keep us from knowing that God is for us--that God truly loves us, and that we are free to enjoy every bit of this life He has given us to live. We are not under the same rules and regulations of the un-saved world. We can be joyful in the heartaches, we can be peaceful in the trials, and we can trust in Someone we have never seen with our eyes, to the point of looking like a complete idiot...if you will.

Then:
In a world where answers are needed for every question, we can go without.
In a world where stress is the status quo for the day, we can escape it.
In a world where love cannot be trusted, we can trust in His love blindly...because we can see!! Not as the world sees, but as God calls us to see.

When Jesus healed the blind man in the Book of John, there was a lot of commotion going on amongst the people. Was he healed? Is this the same man? Go and get his parents - we'll ask them! Who is this Jesus?? On and on! No one knew what was happening or how this was possible!

The blind man knew one thing...he could now see. He did not have all the answers, he didn't even know Jesus until Jesus introduced himself to him:

"Do you believe in the Son of Man (God)?"
The man answered, "Who is he, sir, because I would like to."
"You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!"
"Yes, Lord," the man said, "I believe!" And he worshiped Jesus.
John 9:35-38
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He was blind, but now he could see, and he believed!!
That is what we should all be doing who were once blind, but who now claim to "see"!

Believe that God is for us and not against us! Believe that He wants the very best for us and that we can trust Him when everything in this world tells us we have been abandoned. Believe with all our hearts, no matter what!!

That is the fine line that the devil never wants us to step across. He wants to keep us on his side of that line. Oh, we can get close, we can even wander up to it and peer over it from time to time, as long as we don't dare cross over it. The devil knows that once we do, we are lost to him. He can still shoot his arrows over the line, take aim at us, and sometimes he will even inflict pain and difficulty from a distance, but he can never walk closely with us again--because when we are focused on Jesus--we are walking too closely by His side to be deeply troubled, in the midst of trouble. We know that whatever harm comes to us, it will be taken care of in due time, and we can rest in the fact that we are on the journey home.

We know that:

He will be gentle - he will not shout or raise his voice in public.
He will not crush those who are weak or quench the smallest hope.
He will bring full justice to all who have been wronged.
He will not stop until truth and righteousness prevail throughout
the earth.
Isaiah 42:2-4
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We can rest...God is in control, and the battle belongs to Him. The fiery arrows that fly are nothing but a vain attempt of the enemy to steal our joy and our hope. They cannot really harm us because there is no power in them. They will burn out upon delivery because the Lord's Living Water will cover them.

When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43:2-3
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We sometimes wonder, when will justice prevail? When will the "enemy" get his due, when will life seem fair and when will this all make sense?

Not here, not now, but soon!

He will shout his thundering battle cry,
and he will crush all his enemies.
He will say, "I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself.
But now I will give full vent to my fury;"
Isaiah 42:13-14
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The day will come when:

I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them
along an unfamiliar way. I will make the darkness bright
before them and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these tings; I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:16
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What's our job now? To persevere in the darkness, to keep our eyes on the light, to live one day at a time totally focused on the promises to come when it seems there is nothing to cling to today.

Our job is to cross over that fine line of deception drawn by the enemy and rest on the side of the Lord. That is what Jesus is calling us to. That is the voice that we hear that draws us onward. That is the greatest threat to the enemy, the place he never wants us to end up after all he has done to destroy our lives--because once we do, what was once complex will seem simple. What once confused us each day, will seem laughable. What once held us in bondage, we will now be free to rejoice in because of all that God has planned for us.

"Can your idols make such claims as these? Let them come and show
what they can do!" says the Lord, the King of Israel. "Let them try to tell
us what happened long ago or what the future holds."
Isaiah 41:21-22
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Many Christians walk through their whole life missing out on the very best God has for them because they get stuck, right there next to that fine line. It seems like a good place to be, the devil tells them it makes perfect sense there. It is a place where there can be an agreement with the wisdom of this world, and an agreement with God at the same time. The only problem is, that without stepping over the line and fully abandoning ourselves to God's love, we will spend our lives peering over the line into what we know could be--and then back at the world to what "seems to make sense." We will live in the land of confusion, wondering why we seem to be missing out on what God has for us, but not fully wanting it either. Back and forth, back and forth, exhausting ourselves in the meantime.

We also get scared, because what if God asks us to do something we are not equipped to do? What if He asks us to go to Africa, or talk to our neighbor about Him, or speak in front of a crowd? What if He simply asks us to give Him our whole lives without reservation? We might want to keep a small part of it...and this is the land of confusion. Right where the enemy wants us to stay.

Let's drop those defenses, let's abandon ourselves to God, and trust Him when He says:

"Do not be afraid. I am here to help you."
Isaiah 41:13
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Because He really is!
And He really will!
Whatever He asks us to do, He will equip us to do it! He will never leave us alone, because on our own, we'd mess it all up. That's not what He wants! He wants us to empty ourselves out, and let Him fill us up! He wants us to understand that we have the resurrection power in us, at all times, and all we have to do is tap into it! We can do all things through Him, and nothing on our own, and as long as we try to do it on our own, we will be too scared! We will think it depends on us, and we will shrink back from all that He is calling us to do, and we will miss out on all the BLESSINGS that He has waiting for us on the other side of that "line."

We will  NEVER know what God has waiting for us if we will not abandon ourselves to Him. If we will not take that step of faith, we will never find true joy. If we do not trust God fully, then we will never find the Rest that He is offering to us. It is our choice.

"Listen in silence before me, you land beyond the sea.
Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and
speak. The court is ready for your case."
Isaiah 41:1
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Is God for us or against us?
God is ready for us any day, any night, to bring our case before Him.
If we will seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him, and this world will no longer be a confusing place to live. It will only be a place that we are passing through, on our way to a grand and glorious future for all of eternity.

Living in His peace and joy,
Diane