Verse of the Day 11/21

 

James 1:6   But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  New Living Translation (NLT)

 

Outside of the Christian community "faith" is often looked upon as something nebulous, something that may build like the clouds but also fade away in the heat.   This is not so for the Christian, in Hebrews 11, that great chapter on faith, it is spoken of as being "the assurance of things hoped for"  and the "conviction" and evidence of things to come.  It is substance.

 

There can be times in our lives, the trials mentioned in James 1:2, where our faith may be tested, our world is rocked.  Our emotions may sway, we may toss and turn without sleep with worry with anxiety of things beyond our control.  It may be an upcoming exam, the health of a loved one, or a strained relationship.  It is in times like these that we need to have faith, we need to call on God, knowing and believing that He is there with us.

 

John MacArthur writes that "prayer must be offered with confident trust in a sovereign God.  The person who doubts God's ability or willingness to provide this wisdom is like the billowing, restless sea, moving back and forth with its endless tides, never able to settle."  The key for the Christian is that final line "never able to settle", we may be tossed but we are able to settle when God's says "peace, be still" to the billowing , restless seas in our lives.  It comes from a deep and quiet, relentless trust.

 

A few lines from the Steve Green song "A Chasing of the Wind" come to mind"

  Only God can be our reason
  For deep and quiet trust
  He will guard us from the dangers
  That gladly make men fools
  Apart from Him and all His meaning
  All things fail as they begin

 

If you are feeling like you are being tossed around, pray to the Father, in faith, "He loves to help"  (The Message)

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

James 1:6

The Message (MSG)

^5-8 If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.