Give God Time

You are not wrong to enumerate your troubles as you pray, and you are not inaccurate in your analysis; but you have left the Lord out of the equation. You have learned that you must not walk forward in blind faith if it can be avoided, not because your faith will not be rewarded, but because blind faith sometimes plucks a fruit before it is ripened. Allow God time to work in your mind, heart and circumstances, and you will see the fruit of promise ripen. You have gathered green fruit, Dear One, but by God's promise the fruit will ripen and you will be blessed. The harvest cannot always be timed perfectly but God's promises will without fail develop into fruit that you can eat and by which you can be nourished. You will find the future sweet. You are at the threshold of that time of sweetness now; there will be a season of fulfillment.

He is Able to Keep Us From Falling

This morning the Lord has been teaching me from the book of Jude. “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11).

Cain was jealous and committed murder out of that feeling of inadequacy. His fury over the fact that his brother’s offering was accepted and his own was not became murderous.

The warning for me here is not to “get even” when someone makes me feel inadequate, but to take these emotions to the Lord. And a secondary warning is to bring appropriate sacrifices to the Lord in the first place, and not sacrifices of my own choosing.

Balaam was a prophet for hire. This warning has to do with the avoidance of becoming preoccupied with the medium or “the art” of writing about Truth rather than being wholly occupied with The Truth Himself.

Korah rebelled against the authority of Moses and Aaron and was destroyed.

“And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day” (Jude 1:6)

Here is the Lord’s guidance to me regarding Jude 1:6:

In your own home the Lord has granted you authority. This authority is connected to the humility of longsuffering. Should you become prideful and decide to place yourself above those whom God has entrusted to you; should you decide to abandon these heart responsibilities by distancing yourself either physically or emotionally, disaster will result. Pride is a danger as you receive recognition for the ministry with which God has entrusted you. Pray to be kept from pride. Be cleansed of anger as well; do not blame human beings for the circumstances God has allowed. Human beings can’t stand under your accusations but the Lord accepts into the vast calm of the limitless sea of His love the agony of your heart’s cries.

All your fresh springs are in the Lord. He is not your pacifier, He is the Lord; He is your God and your strength. At times you beg Him to heal your wounds, but instead, He strengthens you to stand up and to walk despite your injuries. Either way, He is the Lord of your life. Trust Him. Give Him the honor and praise due His Name.

“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 1:25).