Another Sunday, and amazingly it is the start of the 8th week of 2017, and I am thankful for my life, and for the love and care of God.
1 Corinthians 10: 13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Temptation comes to every person who has ever lived. Tailor-made by the ‘evil one’ to fit our personal situation and past experiences and weaknesses; therefore it is not wise to criticize another for their wrong doing. It is sure we will have done wrong/sin, and maybe in a different area than the other person. Of course because God is faithful and will not allow things to come to us, that we cannot bear, we can in His strength come through these situations, and gradually become more able to withstand, as our habit patterns, become less established. Praise God for that, for one of the consequences of habitual sinning, is to be miserable and hardened toward others.
Sometimes sicknesses, disability, hard times etc. come upon us, even though the person may have done nothing that would cause these situations. Again God has been my answer and for numerous other people I know about; and through the reading of His sacred word, and prayer answers granting mental strength, we have been able to live a happy life, in the midst of these situations. Sometimes this certainly was not the case at the beginning for me and it took much prayer and claiming of the promises of God, for a mental adjustment toward a more positive outlook, to occur. Such an example comes from Paul, 2 Corinthians 12: 8, 9” Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” To my eternal gratitude, there have been times when the answer to a prayer of need, was immediate, and the improved health and/or peace and acceptance beyond human expectation was God’s answer to me.
A wonderful Psalm for the giving of praise to God and His instruction and hope, is Psalm 121, which gives recognition of God’s deeds and character. Psalm 121: 1, 2 “I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” I understand that these promises were made about literal Israel, but that I can trust that my help will come from the Lord, because I have asked for it, and am part of God’s ‘Spiritual Israel’ V3, 4 “ He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” We certainly need divine help that never sleeps on the job of caring for us; for the ‘evil one’ does not need to sleep either, and can even give us weird dreams and wrong thoughts as we sleep, let alone what happens when we are awake, especially when we are not concentrating, tired and past our ‘best game’. V7, 8 “The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and forevermore.”
I remember God, how Your Son, Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Today I unite with Jesus, in praying just the last verse, Matthew 6: 13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen I am glad to give you my praise and grateful thanks, as we enter a new week.