Posts

Never Choose Barabbas

By Steve T. on February 10, 2010

In the message “To Whom We Sacrifice” we saw how our daily actions reflect our priorities and values, and become, in a very real sense, the sacrifices we place on the altar. Everyday we make many decisions which either draw us closer to God or lead us further away – few decisions are truly neutral.

The Jewish leaders had passed judgement on Jesus; “He is worthy of death!” (Matthew 26:66). But Roman law required a sentence of death to be approved by the Roman Court. Therefore, Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate, the governor of the region around Jerusalem.

Pilate was in a tough situation. He had talked with Jesus and could find nothing deserving death; “I have examined Him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against Him” (Luke 23:14). But Pilate was also under great pressure to keep peace in the region, so he allowed the people of Jerusalem to make the final decision.

Matthew 27:17
“Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

Barabbas was a convicted murderer, Jesus was the Son of God. The people loved Jesus when He was feeding them or healing their sick; but when required to make a decision, the people chose Barabbas: “‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify Him!'” (Matthew 27:21-22).

We take the first crucial step in our Christian walk when we believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. But as important and significant as this first step is, the purpose of this step is to then begin a lifetime journey of abiding in His presence and living a life which is “holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). The presence of God is never found through specific prayers or religious activity; rather, the peace of His presence is found only through our moment-by-moment choice to allow Jesus to be Lord of our life and to follow wherever He leads. We must learn to choose each daily step based on what is pleasing to a loving and holy God.

Are we part of the crowd who is easily swayed, or are we willing to stand firm in our faith? Has God become a God of convenience, used only in emergencies, or is He truly LORD of our life? We all face the same decision (many times each day) as the people in front of Pilate: Jesus or Barabbas; the ways of God or the ways of the world; life or death? If we desire a life of closeness with God – a life given as a living sacrifice to bring Him glory and honor – then we must begin to choose wisely. We must boldly face the multitude of daily decisions and be determined to never choose Barabbas.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | 1 Response

To Whom We Sacrifice

By Steve T. on February 9, 2010

By the time Jeremiah became a prophet, the people of Israel had occupied the land of Canaan for about 800 years. Those years were generally characterized by a continuing rejection of God. Time and again the people turned from God and embraced the gods of the world.

Through Jeremiah God called His people to return and worship Him as the One True God: “Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way” (Jeremiah 26:2-3). His words reflect the heart of a Father longing to be reunited with His children. We can almost feel God’s heart breaking as He tells Jeremiah how far His children have fallen.

Jeremiah 19:4-5
“For they have forsaken Me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter My mind.”

When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, He warned them about following the practices of the local people; “You must not do as they do in the land of Canaan” (Leviticus 18:3). The Canaanite values were evil and in conflict with the way God was calling His children to live. In fact, anytime we seek to follow the path of God, we soon discover the values of the world are always in conflict with the values God calls us to hold.

God’s chosen people not only turned their backs, but they even became involved in a local form of “worship” that included sacrificing their own children. It’s almost as if God was shaking His head in sad disbelief: “How could they have drifted so far away?” Of course, we must wonder if God is still shaking His head today.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have become children of God and can enjoy the blessings of a restored relationship with our Heavenly Father. We have also been given the ability to be blessed through relationships in our family and among our friends. And yet, how often do we sacrifice these blessings to the gods of this world? How often do we follow the practices of the world – with its “rules” for value and importance – and watch as our children are sacrificed in the fire of materialism? How often do we sacrifice loving relationships on the altar of selfish pride or lustful pleasure?

Our Heavenly Father calls us to sacrifice. But His call is to a complete sacrifice of worship to Him; “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). This sacrifice involves the continual releasing of our will until we are “poured out as a drink offering” (2 Timothy 4:6). Let’s bring Him our very best and worship Him with a pure and complete devotion. Let’s evaluate our actions today and carefully consider what, and to whom, we sacrifice.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Pay More Careful Attention

By Steve T. on February 8, 2010

In the message “A Divided Kingdom” we saw how Solomon’s divided heart – his lack of complete devotion to God – eventually led to the division of the kingdom of Israel. We were then encouraged to continually draw closer to our Heavenly Father and prevent the kingdom of God within us from becoming divided in the sense of rebellion and lack of pure worship.

When we consider our closeness to God, we tend to look at our priorities and schedules. Closeness to our Heavenly Father requires a certain amount of dedicated time. We cannot expect to hear His direction if we don’t spend time learning to recognize His voice and make the effort to turn off the competing inputs so we can truly listen. And once we have set aside those times to hear God through prayer, preaching, or reading of His Word we are encouraged in the very strongest of terms to pay close attention to what we hear.

Hebrews 2:1
“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

It will do no good to make adjustments to our schedule – to give God more priority – if we don’t become disciplined students of His Word. We can fill our time with good preaching and quality books, but if we don’t do as the Bereans who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11), we will be easily swayed and subject to spiritual drift. As disciplined students we must maintain an excitement for the things God has done as well as for the promises He has made for our future through every letter of His Word.

God has given us a wonderful gift – a gift without which we could never know Him. Through inspiration of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of many different writers, God has dictated a love letter which calls us into fellowship through Jesus Christ…we call His letter the Bible. In His absolutely authoritative and essential letter, God has revealed the fullness of His character and established a set of unchanging truths. A deep belief and understanding of these truths will push aside fears, erase lingering doubts, and instill a new sense of hope.

We need not allow our kingdom to be divided; we need not drift away. The Spirit has made our hearts receptive and hungry for God’s Word. We must now submit to His leading and become as the workman who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Let’s give Him the total devotion of our heart as we pray, read, and listen to His Word. And as we hear, let’s maintain a great excitement and always pay more careful attention.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

A Divided Kingdom

By Steve T. on February 4, 2010

Solomon was the third king of Israel, the son of David and Bathsheba. And although not the eldest son, he was chosen by David to be his successor. As David was about to die, he gave Solomon some final counsel for ruling the kingdom.

1 Kings 2:2-3
“Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.”

David knew that Solomon would influence an entire nation – influence it either toward the good…or the bad. This was an awesome responsibility which would require a deep commitment to God.

Solomon initially established a God-centered kingdom; “Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statutes of his father David” (1 Kings 3:3). He ruled with great wisdom and spent seven years building a magnificent temple in which God would be worshipped. Yet Solomon failed to demonstrate total commitment to the One True God.

Solomon married many women from the surrounding nations and allowed these wives to turn his heart toward other gods; “His heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God” (1 Kings 11:4). God was greatly angered at Solomon’s lack of commitment and rose up enemies who would eventually divide the kingdom and create civil war.

In a sense, every believer in Jesus has been given a kingdom. Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This kingdom is established when we believe, in faith, that Jesus died for our sins; it is therefore a kingdom of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

The kingdom we’ve been given is more precious than ANY other. But, as with Solomon, it’s also a kingdom which must be “ruled” with an absolute, undivided love for the Lord; with a commitment to walking in the ways He establishes for our life and worshiping Him with the pure focus of our heart.

If we desire God’s kingdom to remain firmly established and at peace in our life, then we must keep our heart completely devoted to Him and guard against the influences which seek to pull us away. Let’s not become distracted by the other “gods” of this world. Let’s make the necessary adjustments to our priorities and schedules which will allow us the time to continually draw closer to the one true God and prevent a divided kingdom.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Clean From Within

By Steve T. on February 3, 2010

In the message “Rend Our Heart” we saw how God commands us to recognize our sin and tear our heart in sorrowful repentance as we cry out for His gracious and abundant forgiveness. The instant we first place our complete trust in Jesus we are born of the Spirit and released from the bondage of our sinful nature. Sin may still war within us and sometimes cause us to stumble, but it no longer has dominion and control over our lives – we have been set free!

Jesus often taught of this radical transformation in terms of our need for a clean heart.

Mark 7:20-23
“What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.'”

Our heart pumps life into all the other parts of our body. If our heart is made clean through the forgiveness of Jesus, the rest of our life will also become clean as His life flows through us; “First clean the inside…and then the outside also will be clean” (Matthew 23:26). But if our heart remains soiled by an unrepentant sinful nature, no amount of outside scrubbing and polishing will ever make us clean.

In the above passage, Jesus presented a list of “evils” for our self evaluation, as an outward test of inward cleanliness. Our lives may be free from the obvious stealing, murder, and adultery; but the rest of the list requires us to look a little deeper. Folly is the lack of good sense. Arrogance is an overbearing confidence. Slander is making false statements against someone. Envy is discontent due to another’s good fortune. Lewdness is indecent language or action. Deceit means to conceal the truth. Malice means to cruelly tease, and greed is excessive desire.

A transformed believer in Jesus Christ, one who is “circumcised of the heart” (Romans 2:29), should never be characterize by this type of behavior. As the Spirit of Jesus makes us into a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and begins to flow through our life, these old sins ought to slow to a trickle and eventually pass away. Though sin will never completely disappear, it no longer should define who we are.

Is the cleansing power of Jesus flowing into all areas of our life? Or are there still areas we claim as our own? If we desire to offer our lives as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1), then we must allow our sacrifice to be completely cleansed – we must place our heart more fully in His hands. Let’s come before our Heavenly Father, confess our sins, and allow the transforming forgiveness of Jesus to make us clean from within.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Rend Our Heart

By Steve T. on February 2, 2010

Every prophet in the Bible proclaimed a message which called the people to repentance. From Moses to John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostles the message was consistent; “Repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is essential to a restored relationship with our Heavenly Father – essential to Salvation. Repentance is a condition of our heart whereby we recognize our sin and, in desperation and sorrow, turn and cry out in faith to God for help…the help of forgiveness which only comes through Jesus Christ.

Joel 2:12-13
“‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.'”

In the Old Testament times it was common for someone to tear (or rend) their clothes when they were expressing great sorrow. For example, when Jacob thought that Joseph had been killed by wild animals, he “tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days” (Genesis 37:34). When the Israelites were beaten when attacking the city of Ai, Joshua “tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord” (Joshua 7:6).

Tearing your clothes was an outward expression of sorrow. But all through Scripture, God makes it abundantly clear that He looks deep into our heart; “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13). Jesus referenced this exact passage when He confronted the hypocritical worship of the Pharisees (Matthew 15:7-9).

We must never even hint that repentance involves “right” outward behavior. We have no ability to do right in the eyes of God without receiving, by faith, His gift of Salvation and allowing His Spirit to transform us into a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Only through His power can we be set on a path of being “conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29) – only in His strength can we ever do “right.”

God has more grace to forgive than we can possibly imagine; but our loving Father expects – even demands – true repentance. He’s fully aware of the many ways we sin and fall short of His glory; but until we understand how far we have fallen and genuinely desire to change, we will never appreciate His grace in making us clean – never experience His “times of refreshing.” Let’s seek His forgiveness and walk in closer harmony with our Heavenly Father. Let’s confess our sins and, with repentant sorrow, stand before Him today and rend our heart.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Out of Our Poverty

By Steve T. on February 1, 2010

In the message “From A Pure Heart” we saw that God has blessed each of us with gifts, talents, and abilities; and we are to be good stewards by faithfully giving our blessings back to God with a pure heart. But what determines a pure heart?

When Jesus saw the widow offer her two small coins, He said she had given “out of her poverty” (Mark 12:44). It required great humility to offer those coins, a true lack of self importance. She knew her coins had no real value, but with a deep devotion for God and a strong desire to obediently serve she gave what she had. The widow offered her gift with a pure heart!

We are all called to this type of pure giving – a giving motivated by love and “valued” by obedience. Our gifts to God may appear big or small in our eyes and in the eyes of the world, but when lovingly given in response to His leading, every gift is received as a sweet and fragrant offering.

As we give back to the Lord by ministering to the needs of others, we often find actual “results” fall far below expectations. To keep from being discouraged, we must always remember that our true offering is in our obedience and love. Our offering must never be judged by the outward appearance of results.

This truth is even more crucial when the results of ministry begin to exceed our expectations. The great danger of “success” in any ministry effort is the tendency to shift our focus to what WE have accomplished and given with OUR abilities. But again, our offering must NEVER be judged by the outward appearance of results!

1 Corinthians 4:7
“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

God deserves the glory for ALL the results. He gave us our ability as well as the opportunity to minister and give. We fall into sinful pride anytime we forget the One who has provided all; “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). We must always maintain a sense of poverty as we give back and minister to the Lord. We can give nothing of real value – indeed, we are very poor! Yet, we continue to give our all and love Him with all our heart.

Let’s give praise and glory to the Potter who continues to shape and mold us into a vessel of great beauty. Let’s guard against every attempt to place a value, large or small, on what we offer our Heavenly Father. And, with a spirit of humility, let’s continue to abundantly give out of our poverty.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

From A Pure Heart

By Steve T. on January 28, 2010

As Jesus watched people place their offering into the temple treasury, He noticed a poor widow who put in two coins valued at less than a penny.

Mark 12:43-44
“Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.'”

This passage gives us a wonderful example of faith and how God must be the Lord of our finances – but the real message actually goes much deeper.

We have all been blessed in so many ways; and we are called to be good stewards, or managers, of all our blessings. As a good steward, we must present all we possess back to our Heavenly Father as an offering of love. Yes, this relates to our financial resources, but it also means we are to offer our gifts, abilities, talents, and time back to God through service and ministry to others. God created us (the complete package of who we are) for a purpose. We will need to spend good quality time with God to fully understand our purpose, but we can be absolutely sure that God has NOT blessed us so we can advance our own selfish agenda!

Every one of our blessings, no matter how small, are given so we can bless God in return. We often hold back from ministry opportunities because we feel our “offering” is insignificant. We feel inadequate to serve or unworthy to make a true contribution to the work of God’s Kingdom; but God is never concerned with the magnitude of a gift. He is, and always has been, concerned and blessed by the condition of our heart: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). How we give is much more important than what we give.

God does not need our money, time, ability, or anything we accomplish or produce. But He loves us dearly and desires to receive the complete love and devotion which is given with our offering. Jesus was blessed by a widow who gave from her heart, even though the actual gift carried very little earthly value.

If we want our service or ministry to have significance in the eyes of God, we must focus on the One to whom we are giving rather than on the value of the gift in the eyes of man. With our eyes focused, we must then give with all the love in our heart. If our heart is pure in the giving, God will receive our offering as a true blessing. There are no worthless or insignificant gifts when the gift is given from a pure heart.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Surrender And Live

By Steve T. on January 28, 2010

Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem for many years that they must repent or be destroyed. He often warned with direct words from God: “I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways” (Jeremiah 18:11). It’s hard to imagine a more direct warning.

But the people of Jerusalem ignored God’s warning and failed to repent. And once the attacks on Jerusalem began, the promised destruction would not be stopped; “I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword” (Jeremiah 20:4).

The righteousness of God requires that sinful hearts be punished. But the mercy of God always provides a path for those who place their trust in Him. This path may contain some painful consequences; but as we continue to trust, it will always lead us closer to His side. Jerusalem would be destroyed, but God provided one final opportunity for His chosen people to live.

Jeremiah 21:8-9
“I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life.”

The people of Jerusalem felt secure in their city. They had weapons, strong walls, and a location which was hard to attack. Their worldly nature told them to remain in the safety of their “created” security, but God said the only way to survive was to trust Him and surrender.

Jesus used similar words when teaching the disciples; “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it” (Matthew 16:25).

Though we are trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus for our eternal forgiveness, are we living in complete surrender for our daily walk? Have we lost our life, in the sense of our control, agenda, and even dreams, for the sake of our faith? Our flesh wants to place trust in what we can touch and feel – in what we can create and control – but Jesus says the only way to truly live is to surrender ALL into His hands. His promise is that if we release all we think we hold, we will find a life more abundant and fulfilling than any we could imagine!

We may not understand how all this works, but the truth remains and the truth will set us free! (John 8:32). God has a wonderful plan for our life – a plan which will bring fulfillment and peace – but it’s a plan which requires surrender; and often this surrender will require us to trust Him in an area filled with great uncertainty and fear. Let’s begin today to place EVERYTHING in the loving control of His hands. Let’s begin a new life as we completely surrender and live!

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

As Jesus Loved

By Steve T. on January 27, 2010

In the message “Debt of Love” we saw that God loved us long before we ever knew Him, and loved us far more than we deserved; “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to die for the forgiveness of our sins “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And He sent His Spirit to comfort, guide, and strengthen us all the rest of our days.

God’s love has created a debt we can never fully repay, but it’s a debt of love we now honor by loving others; “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8). As we reach out to those around us, we are actually reaching up and loving our Heavenly Father; “He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people” (Hebrews 6:10). We know we should love one another, but what is the proper expression of our love?

Jesus had gathered with His disciples for what would be their last meal together. While they were eating in the upper room, Jesus “showed them the full extent of His love” (John 13:1).

John 13:4-5
“He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.”

In this, His clear demonstration of love, the Creator of the Universe lowered Himself to the position of a common house servant and washed the feet of His disciples. His example of love was completely void of pride or selfish motives. There was no agenda in His actions other than to pour out pure love. Only moments later Jesus told His disciples; “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

Jesus was able to love with true humility and self-sacrifice because He was absolutely secure in His Heavenly relationship; “Jesus knew He had come from God and was returning to God” (John 13:3). Jesus knew who He was and where He was going; His self-esteem was independent of feedback from the world – independent of any appreciation He may have received in return. Jesus was sent to love, so He loved!

We are now sent to love with this same servant’s heart – a heart that simply considers the needs of others and then reaches out to “take care of My sheep” (John 21:16). Let’s secure our Heavenly relationship through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus and then live each day with a humble heart that only His security allows. Let’s love our Heavenly Father as we reach out to the world and love as Jesus loved.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Debt of Love

By Steve T. on January 25, 2010

Much of Paul’s letter to the Romans is a love story between a righteous God and sinful man. Even though our sinful state sentenced us to an eternal death (Romans 6:23), God looked upon us with love: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Our Heavenly Father loved us long before we knew Him – He loved us when there was nothing in us that deserved His love – and He gave His Son as a sacrifice for sin so that, through faith, we might experience His deep and wonderful love for all eternity. This is a love I don’t think we fully appreciate or even understand. And yet, this love which was demonstrated through the life of Jesus has become the standard for how we are to love others; “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

When Jesus came to earth He revealed the true love of God. John wrote of the awesome power of Jesus; “Through Him all things were made” (John 1:3). But we also know that the Creator of the Universe “made Himself nothing…being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7). Jesus Christ came to earth in human form; He “humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). His entire life was an act of divine love which revealed the love of God.. And this is the same love He commands us to have for one another; the love which Paul says we must continually repay.

Romans 13:8
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”

Paul knew the fullness of Jesus’ love and he knew we were commanded to love one another in a like manner. He also knew we could never truly fulfill Jesus’ command of love because His love was simply too great. And though the love involved in our Salvation is beyond comprehension, His love continues even more with the gift of His Spirit for daily guidance and strength. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each loving one another, together pour out their love on us with a blessed abundance. We definitely have a large love-debt!

But notice that our debt of love to God has become a debt of love to others – a “continuing debt” which will be with us for the rest of our life. Though we can never fully repay, we can honor Jesus’ command by welcoming our debt and joyfully loving those who are placed in our path; “We love {others} because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Honoring the command of Jesus doesn’t mean we love just the loveable or those who love us in return – it means we love…and then we love some more! Let’s accept our debt and love one another as we make regular (daily) payments toward our continuing debt of love.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response

Open Our Eyes

By Steve T. on January 22, 2010

The king of Aram was at war with Israel; but every time he moved his army, the prophet Elisha would inform the Israelites. The king concluded the only way to win the war was to first eliminate Elisha: “‘Go, find out where he is,’ the king ordered, ‘so I can send men and capture him'” (2 Kings 6:13).

When the king found where Elisha was staying, he sent his army to surround the city. When Elisha’s servant woke and saw the army, he became very frightened; “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). But Elisha comforted his servant by helping him see the real battle.

2 Kings 6:16-17
“‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Our false perception is the biggest cause of fear and frustration; in fact, I might boldly say it’s the only cause! If we live without faith, our perception is restricted to what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. With this limited input, it’s no wonder so many live in fear – it’s no wonder so many become frustrated and discouraged with their day to day life. But as our faith and understanding of God increase, we are able to trust in what we cannot physically see or hear. We can live in peace, knowing that “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Battles occur in and around us every day, battles which cause us to become heavily burdened. We desire to walk down God’s path, but the pulls and attacks of the world seem relentless. We need to remember that His plan and provision is always perfect – always working toward the good. Somehow we must understand that the battle we see with our physical eyes and analyze with our mind is never the real battle; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12).

Our spouse, parents, children or co-workers are not the enemy – neither is our church, the government, the economy or our health. These temporal things are not the true cause of our pain nor should they ever become the source of our joy. The real battles are always spiritual…and we’re NEVER alone!

Let’s draw ever nearer to God until we gain a true understanding of how much He loves us – and how much He is fighting for us; “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Jesus Christ has already won the ultimate battle! We must now trust Him and give Him more of our heart.

Heavenly Father, we desire to see You clearly and joyfully walk without fear. We pray that You draw us into Your presence…and open our eyes!

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Posted in Devotional | Leave a response