It all starts at Calvary’s Cross…
What a wonder it is to know that this infinite God, that we serve, is intimately aware of every individual on the planet; and in the midst of over six billion persons on the earth, He even knows each and every one perfectly.
And as the Bible says, “And the very hairs on your head are all numbered” (Matt 10:30).
So we know from Scripture that whereas God is the Creator of all, under the New Covenant, He is only a Father to those who are born-again, through the propitious sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His shed blood on Calvary’s Cross — of all those who have entered into covenant relationship with Him.
So when we allow God to be the Captain of our ship and by faith make Him Lord over our life (by giving Him the keys to our life & signing the deed of our life over to Him), then there are some very strong benefits that accrue to us, for our being in Covenant relationship with Him.
And so when I think of the above two topics of God’s providence and synchronicity, one of the first Scriptures I go to is:
Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know EVERYTHING about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
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Sometimes we don’t let people get to know us completely because we are afraid they will discover something about us that they won’t like.
But God already knows everything about us, even the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30), and still He accepts and loves us.
His total awareness of us, therefore, should comfort us because He stays with us through every situation and in every trial, protecting, loving, and guiding us, and knowing and loving us completely.
God is omnipresent, meaning He is present everywhere.
Because of this, you can never escape from His Spirit.
This is good news to those who know and love God, because no matter what we do or where we go, we can never be far from God’s guiding and comforting presence (see Romans 8:35-39).
David would be shocked at how easily the unborn are discarded and destroyed today, and how millions of abortions are occurring every year; and how the politically and socially accepted norms of today have numbed even some Believers to this ongoing atrocity.
In verses 13-16, David shows God’s love for the unborn and their mothers and fathers.
While every life is precious to God, unborn children warrant special care because they are “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40)—the most vulnerable, who do not yet have a voice and cannot defend or take care of themselves.
God’s character goes into the creation of every person.
When you feel worthless or even begin to hate yourself, remember that God’s Spirit is ready and willing to work within you.
Because of Jesus Christ we are new persons, so we should have as much respect and regard for ourselves as our Maker has for us.
In verses 21-24, we learn how David’s hatred for his enemies came from his zeal for God.
David regarded God’s enemies as his enemies, so his hatred was a desire for God’s righteous justice and not for personal vengeance.
David asked God to search his heart and mind and point out any wrong motives that may have been behind his strong words.
But while we seek justice against evil, we must also pray that God’s enemies will turn to Him before He judges them (see Matthew 5:44).
David also asked God to search for sin in his own life and point it out, even to the level of testing his thoughts and anxieties.
This is exploratory surgery for sin.
How are we to recognize sin unless God points it out?
Then, when God shows it to us, we can repent and be forgiven.
Let verses 23-24 be each of our prayers as well.
If you ask the Lord to search your heart and your thoughts and to reveal your sin, you will be continuing “along the path of everlasting life.”
God cares even about our anxious thoughts, both little cares and devastating obsessions.
Anxiety robs lives of joy.
All of us, from teenagers to retirees, face crippling performance expectations, fear of the future, and the scary daily news of this dangerous present world.
Our emotions lie to us, saying, “God doesn’t care” or “He isn’t involved.”
Movies and television lie to us, portraying the world as though all hope is lost.
Bringing our anxieties to God cools our overheated minds and connects us to Him, the Great Comforter (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Practice this prayer:
“Lord, be near to me and soothe both my heart and mind.”
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Mon, March 21
God Calling
by Two Listeners
ALL IS WELL
“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
— 1 Peter 1:8
Remember My Words to My disciples,
“This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
“Can you tread the way I trod? Can you drink of My cup?”
“All is well.” Say always, “All is well.”
Long though the way may seem, there is not one inch too much.
I, your Lord, am not only with you on the journey – I planned, and am planning, the journey.
There are Joys unspeakable in the way you go. Courage – courage – courage.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
— Jude 1:24-25
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SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 