Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love.”
– Psalm 33:18

God’s particular love and attention is always on those who live with humble love, honor, respect, awe, and submission toward Him. That’s what it means to fear the Lord. In truth, every created being should love his or her Creator in this way. Many, however, don’t, even amongst those who believe. Nonetheless, if you live in the proper fear of the Lord, know that God is always near at hand and completely aware of everything going on in your life, gazing upon you with love and concern.

That doesn’t mean that God won’t permit those He’s watching over to be tested. God absolutely permits us to be tested. It’s only by testing that we prove to ourselves our confidence in God. Our testing reveals our faith to ourselves, those around us, and to the Lord. Testing prepares us to endure greater testing down the road.

It also doesn’t mean that God won’t permit suffering for those He’s watching over. God absolutely permits us to go through hard times that refine and strengthen our faith. Just as metals are refined and purified through fire, our faith is refined and purified through suffering and hardship. It’s through hard times that we discover the true value and meaning of our relationship with God and more richly experience His steadfast love.

It also doesn’t mean that God won’t permit seasons in which it feels like He isn’t watching at all. God absolutely permits us to go through seasons in the spiritual desert, when it feels to us that He isn’t present, isn’t listening, isn’t watching, and doesn’t care. These times, painful as they are, transform our faith from a shallow emotion-driven experience to a profound source of strength and power rooted in the sure promises and knowledge of God’s Word. Such faith will then sustain us through any and every challenge this mortal life may present.

Despite permitting all these things, know that God’s eye is ALWAYS gazing upon you in steadfast love, care, and concern if you live in fear of the Lord!

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Matthew 13:44

Not everyone knows they’re looking for God’s Kingdom. However, in God’s kindness, we sometimes meet Jesus and recognize God’s invitation to enter His Kingdom by grace through faith in Jesus. When we come face-to-face with the Kingdom, recognizing God’s grace, we need to respond!

We should respond with joy. With urgency. With complete willingness to get rid of everything we ever thought was important to fully embrace the infinitely precious treasure of God’s Kingdom. Fellowship with God, forgiveness of sins, adoption by God, union with Christ, and eternal life in God’s presence, that’s the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s the most incredible treasure imaginable!

We should be willing to give up everything to enjoy that treasure. The beautiful thing about the Kingdom is that we never have to buy it (and couldn’t) – it’s been bought for us by the blood of Christ. Nonetheless, as citizens of the Kingdom, we’re called to leave behind everything that slows us down or holds us back from living the free, full, holy, abundant Kingdom life Christ died to give us. Are you willing to sell everything for the greatest treasure of all?

“Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!”
– Psalm 31:19

God’s goodness is indeed abundant and overflowing for those who love, honor, and respect the Lord. While His goodness is infinite, take time to periodically meditate on a few key elements of His goodness, such as…

God’s redemption. In ourselves, we are naturally and inevitably doomed to death. We are enslaved by the insidious power of sin that drives us to do that which we shouldn’t, whether we want to or not. In our very proclamations of absolute freedom to do whatever we want, we reveal our absolute enslavement to sin and death. However, God gave His Son Jesus as a sacrifice to set us free from the lasting power of both sin and death. Through His sacrificial death on a cross and His resurrection, Jesus redeemed us – He bought our freedom at the price of His own blood.

God’s fellowship. After redemption, is there anything more precious than the privilege of being able to go to God at any time, day or night, in love, prayer, and friendship? As Christians, we are adopted children of God. God our Father warmly welcomes us every time we come to Him. He loves us and invites us to spend not mere moments, but hours, enjoying that fellowship and love.

God’s transformation. Once we accept God’s grace through faith in Christ, God calls each of us to change. But He doesn’t leave us struggling to do it on our own. He gives His own Spirit to work that transformation in our life. God loves us as we are and empowers us to change and become more and more like Jesus. This is glorious to see and experience!

“And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” – Exodus 19:6

When God graciously chose Israel to be His people, it was for a great and wonderful purpose! They weren’t just the fortunate beneficiaries of great blessing. They were to be holy, set apart among all nations and fully devoted to the Lord. This was so they could be priests for a world separated from its Creator. They were to represent God to all the nations of the earth and represent all the nations to God. Israel was chosen to be part of God’s eternal plan to bring blessing and redemption to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Now that glorious purpose and responsibility lies upon everyone who believes in Jesus (1 Peter 2:9). If you’re a Christian, then you’ve been blessed and redeemed so that you may live a holy life, devoted to God’s great purpose. You are a priest with the responsibility of representing God to those you encounter in your daily life and to introduce them to Him by sharing your hope in Christ.

As Christians, we have such a beautiful responsibility: making disciples of all nations, ethnicities, and languages. This task belongs to every Christian: school children, college students, office workers, factory workers, gig workers, stay at home parents, tradesmen, travelers, retirees, seniors…

In light of this call, are you living as a holy citizen of a holy people? Are you serving as God’s priest everywhere you go?

“And the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’” – Exodus 16:3

Is there anything more quintessentially human than to grumble, complain, and doubt God’s goodness as He leads us on the uncomfortable journey from a problematic past to glorious future? Israel had been living in brutal, oppressive, and bloody slavery in Egypt. God had worked astonishing miracles before their very eyes to lead them to freedom from the mightiest nation on earth.

However, between slavery and the promised land was a time of deep uncertainty. The desert. Where would they find food and water? Was it even safe to be there? In between slavery and the promised land was the uncomfortable desert of utter dependence on God. They couldn’t provide for themselves. They didn’t understand how God would provide for them. Rather than trusting God, they trusted their reason and doubted God’s goodness, dreaming of going backward to the familiar.

In the desert between slavery and the promised land, the people forgot the horrors of the past and remembered only the good parts. We often do the same today. Sure, their children were killed and they had to work as slaves making bricks. But they knew where their next meal was coming from!

Any time God’s people are being led from a problematic past to an exciting future, there will be a desert of doubt, a place of discomfort and absolute dependence on God. Like the Israelites, we often hate being in that place! We, too, struggle to trust God’s sovereign, wise, and good leadership. We, too, forget the bad parts of the past and dream of turning back the clock. However, that isn’t the way forward into God’s glorious future!

The people of God have no choice but to be dependent on Him! We must trust Him. We must believe in His wisdom and His goodness. We must resist the temptations to glorify a flawed past while dreaming about returning to it. We must walk forward toward the future God has in store, confident of how everything will ultimately turn out in God’s timing!