KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2018
Chapters: Psalms 65-67, 69-70
Message: Blessed Through The Fire
Hello My Friend,
Over the years as a Christian I have come to realize something, God does not care about what others are doing, He cares about what I am doing, He does not care what others think, He cares what I think. What God has planned for my life is not what He has planned for yours, some things He allows you to have, but does not want me to have, some things He allows you to do, but does not allow me to do. Just like there are no two thumbprints alike, there are no two people alike, therefore, God does not treat two people alike. Yes, there is only one way to salvation, and yes, grace will always stand, but God deals with every one of us on a one of us individually. Why? Because He knows how much we can handle, and only gives us what we can bear. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – I Chronicles 10:13.
Sometimes we look at our lives and wonder how we got where we are, and yet, sometimes we look at God and wonder why we cannot have some of the things we see others blessed with. And while we are not really envious about what others have, sometimes we shake our heads in disgust as we watch their living in sin and seem to get the things they desire while we seem to get nothing for trying to be the way God wants us to be. Then something happens as we contemplate these things, we discover we have the most important thing we will ever have or need, God. Through David, we are reminded of why we obey God, and it is not for our salvation.
“Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.” – Psalm 65:3-7.
“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,” God chooses you, if you have put you faith and trust in His Son as your Saviour, then He chooses you. And because He chooses you you can expect that He wants to set you apart from the rest. In fact, the closer you get to Him the more He wants to purge you from the world to make you more like His Son, and this is why He does not allow us to have or do certain things. Sometimes it does not seem fair that we have to work so hard and deal with so much in our faith, but once we get through the trial we will find that we will get much more than we ever wanted, and He gets the glory for it, in which we both win.
“O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.” – Psalm 66:8-12,16-17.
“and suffereth not our feet to be moved.” Do you see that? This is why I believe that while we are all capable of sin, and do quite a bit of it, God will only let us go so far into sin because of these restrictions He has placed upon us. Never confuse God not allowing us to have or do something as a punishment, He knows what would happen to us if we got everything we wanted, and who is to say that we will never be able to have it, but He will not let our feet be moved. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” – Hebrews 12:11-13.
If you ever wondered why Christians face persecution so much, it is this, God proves and tries us. Why? To polish us up, make us shine, and turn us into a reflection of His Son. No, God does not try us to see if we truly have received His Son as our Saviour, He knows that the second we believe, and no, He does not make us work for our salvation, but He does place affliction in our lives to keep us on our toes so we stay out of trouble. I swear I feel like I fight with God every day, I find myself arguing with Him over and over again on the same matters, which He has already has told me to trust Him with. Which is why I need to praise Him every day.
“To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.” – Psalm 69:1-3,30-34.
“and despiseth not his prisoners.” Prisoner; A captive; one taken by an enemy in war. We are at war, not with God, but with evil, and I am talking about Satan evil, and as Christians we will suffer, may times even under false persecution. It is a great comfort to us to humble ourselves before God and offer Him praises through our affliction, humility is much more pleasing to God than any sacrifice. The humble shall look to Him, and be glad, and those that seek him through Christ shall live freely and be comforted as they wait for Him to bring everything to pass. “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” – Psalm 70:4.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” – Psalm 69:21.
Today’s Prayer: God, I will admit that I am not always thankful to You for all that You have brought me through, and spend a lot of time fighting with You, even though I know exactly what is going on. You do not care what others are doing, You care what I am doing, and will not allow me to take on what I cannot handle. Sometimes what You do allow me to handle seems unbearable, but I know that You are my strength. Thank You for loving and caring for me, I see Your hand, You taking care of me, providing for me, protecting me, and while I know I fight with You, You know my heart, and You do know what I can handle, and all I can do is wait on You, and praise You while I do. Lord, You put me through the fire, and I know will come forth as gold. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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