What Abiding is Doing For Me

From today’s devotional short snippets:

Beaten Up

If you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. — Deuteronomy 28:1

We all have those days when we feel like the stuffing has been beaten out of us. Without even realizing we’d entered a boxing ring, we’ve been punched in the gut and our nose has been bloodied. How can so many things be going sideways all at once when we have been diligently trying to obey God and follow His commandments? Rather than trying to formulate an answer, we remember that He who committed no sin had it even worse: He was betrayed, flogged, mocked, and crucified.

When we are feeling bruised and beaten, we need to remind ourselves that the Lord has been in the boxing ring with us.

He knows the blows we’ve taken, some because of our obedience to His commands. He has taken His own blows, as His hands and side attest. Yet even now He — who defeated sin and death — is lifting us up and will set us high above all nations.

Lord, when I’m feeling bruised and beaten, help me to remember that You are in the boxing ring with me, which gives me peace. Amen.

Targeted

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. — Matthew 5:10 NIV

When we are doing something good — when we are choosing wisely, doing the job that no one else will do, helping someone at a substantial personal cost of time, energy, or finances — why do we suffer? It doesn’t seem fair that the people who treat others as they themselves would like to be treated are the ones with a target on their backs. But

persecution doesn’t care about fair.

Jesus taught that His followers who are persecuted for His sake and because they are living according to His ways are blessed. Yet when we experience persecution because of our faith, we feel anything but blessed. When we’re lied about, framed, betrayed, or mistreated, we can still find peace in God’s presence with us and peace as we look to the future. After all, His promise is that those who suffer for Christ’s sake possess the riches of God’s kingdom.

So take comfort, for the result of this battle is sure: God wins. And when He does — when Jesus returns as King of kings — the Lord will bless you greatly and give you an abundance of peace.

I hardly feel blessed or at peace, but I cling to the Matthew 5:10 promise: Your Kingdom is mine because I’ve suffered for Your sake. Amen.

I think these are 2 key devotionals to help us with our day.  We get beaten up and persecuted, but we need to remember to keep our eyes fixed on Him.  Just reading these 2 little devotionals, I felt a sense of peace come over me and any worry I had just fell away.  I am learning to trust in him, abide in him.  When I think of the word ‘abide’, I get a picture of me cuddling up with Jesus, His arm around me, and listening to all that he has for me.  I feel His peace and feel contentment, safety, security.  When I take the time to sit, be still, and listen for His still small voice, I abide a little more.  It is becoming something that I look forward to every day….simply abiding with Him in a quiet, peaceful environment.  It helps me to abide with Him all day, even during busy times and hectic times and times when I don’t feel like it.  Abiding helps me remember Him at all times, putting Him first and foremost in my mind and I love that.  I never feel alone because He is always near me, even when I fail.

I had the privilege the other day, to be prayed over by our church interns.  Before I went, I said a prayer to God, asking Him to confirm to me that I was on the right path, that I had chosen what he wants me to be doing for such a time as this.  5 young people laying hands on me, prayed things over me that they could not have naturally know as some of it was from before I moved to this area.  My words to them were "you guys nailed it" and I sent the recording to my good friend, who knows my spiritual walk for the last 15 years.  She even commented that they nailed it big time.  What better way to get confirmation from my Daddy that I am doing the right thing, than have a group, hungry for God, pray over me in such a tangible way that builds, not only my faith, but theirs too.  I never get bored of moments like that.  It just makes me hungry for more.  Why settle for less, when you can have so much more, just by doing something simple like....abiding.