It's October of 2020 - fall here in Kansas. The time of year when the leaves fall (or are blown!) from the tree limbs and we can see before our eyes God's plan for seasons of letting go.
Perhaps, in your own life, it should also be a season to let go of some things. Things life negative self-talk, guilt & shame, attempts to control situations & outcomes & relationships...
Let go where the Lord is leading you to let go. And let every leaf you see this fall remind you that letting go seasons were...
It's October of 2020 - fall here in Kansas. The time of year when the leaves fall (or are blown!) from the tree limbs and we can see before our eyes God's plan for seasons of letting go.
Perhaps, in your own life, it should also be a season to let go of some things. Things life negative self-talk, guilt & shame, attempts to control situations & outcomes & relationships...
Let go where the Lord is leading you to let go. And let every leaf you see this fall remind you that letting go seasons were created by God.
Psalm 18:30 (New Living Translation) - God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.
verse 31 - For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock?
verse 32a - God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect.
verse 35 - You have given me Your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; Your help has made me great.
verse 36 - You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.
How much promise do you need today? Whatever amount you stand in need of, Psalm 18 has enough & plenty to spare!
God's way is perfect. When you are following Him to the best of your ability, trusting in Him and walking in obedience to His call on your life, when you haven't stepped off the path He set you upon - you are in a good place. Even when "Job's friends" come along and assume you did something wrong, that you've stepped off God's path, due to some messy circumstances in your life, you can continue to trust the Lord and His plan on this path (sometimes life gets messy, even when we haven't done anything "wrong" & others can assume it means we're mired in deep, dark sin...but if you know you haven't stepped out of His will for your life, keep moving forward and pray for those who misunderstand you.) When the path is not at level as you'd prefer, when the incline is a bit steeper than you'd like, remember that God's way is perfect. That's in the present tense - as in right now. His way IS perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true. (isn't that pretty much the entire premise of this podcast?!?) If we could get a glimpse of what's taking place around us in the spiritual realm, we might be shocked at how well things are actually coming along. God's promises for your life are proving true right now. They really are!
He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection. God fulfills His role as my shield with absolute perfection. He is shielding you, He is protecting you, and He won't stop doing either of those things, ever.
For who is God except the Lord? This is, of course, a rhetorical question. There is only one real God and that's exactly who we are trusting in, believing, looking forward to spending eternity with. Our God is the only God - He is literally THE God. That's very comforting! Who is God except the Lord? No one, that's who.
Who but our God is a solid rock?
What are you standing on? What is the whole of your life built upon as a disciple of Jesus? You are standing on the Rock - there is no reason to fear & no room for fear in your life. Build well (because you are building on solid rock!) - Live securely (because your life is totally secure on the Rock of Jesus!) - Invite others in God's kingdom so they can leave behind their shaky ground & all feelings of instability.
God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect. Do you need to know the "perfect" way to proceed? I need this every single day! He'll lead you, my friend. And He'll also arm you with strength! You can depend on God for both those things.
You have given me Your shield of victory. The author of this psalm, David, was a warrior. He understood all too well what he was implying & what he was saying about God by saying the Lord had given him His shield of victory. These are BIG words! Do you use big words when you talk about who your God is? How big are your words when you pray, when you talk with the Lord about all-the-things? What do your words & your thoughts reveal about who you actually believe God is?
He has given you, and me, His shield of victory. With God's shield of victory, why do we so often go into battle wondering if we will really be protected, if things will turn out alright...basically, we wonder if we are just gonna lose!
Lord, thank You that You have given Your children Your shield of victory & we are not destined to defeat, to failure, to misery, to losing ground & never gaining ground. You have given us Your shield of victory for a reason - it is intentional, it is specific, and it will not fail us. Amen.
Your right hand supports me.
Well, it doesn't get much better than that! If one of your children had, say, an outpatient surgery and you help them get from the hospital into the car and from the car into the house, and they were leaning on you for support and for help, would you drop them like a hot potato? As if they were just an annoyance? Would you somehow forget that they were leaning on you, absentmindedly forget the very weight of them leaning upon you? God's a good Father. All His ways are perfect. And if His right hand supports - and by golly it sure does! - well, then, we won't ever be unsupported. You can lean on Him. (You do not have to keep trying to hold it all together. Let the Lord support you - He really wants to!)
Your help has made me great. No greatness worth having comes apart from the Lord. Often we believe for small things, for itty bitty kinds of things. I'm not sure we really know what it means to dream of greatness! God wants His children to be great in the things that matter most. And all greatness comes from the Lord. (This goes far beyond a good paying job, excellent health insurance, a fat savings account and a new RV in the driveway.) Real greatness is something God has for you. Ask Him what great things He would like to bring to pass in your life and then see what He does!
You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. A wide path gives us room to walk with certainty. A narrow path keeps us looking down at our feet, trying to avoid rocks and branches and uneven places, and so we end up looking down and only glancing up. When we walk with certainty, we glance down and look ahead. We move forward with long, strong strides. God has made a wide path for our feet for an exact reason - to keep our feet from slipping.
Christians can live as if they are somehow on the edge, teetering too close to doom & gloom, feeling responsible to keep themselves perfectly "in line" (whatever that even means... it's got a different definition for every person on this planet!). We are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit indwelling us to guide us, to strengthen us, to comfort us. Your feet do not slip so long as you are on the wide path He has provided for your feet to trod. And if you are willing to ask Him for His guidance, His leading, His will for your life, then you will be safely on that path.
Psalm 18 is such a wonderful passage.
As you roll on into the next week or so, as October gives way to November and then to December, take this paslm to heart. Believe it, my friend. It is God's promise to you for the right here & the right now.
Lord bless you & I will see you next time!
Also, feel free to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com if you'd like to be a BETA tester for my upcoming eBook of 40 devotions about the promises of God!
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