November 21, 2024

The Big Picture

June 18, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

“For I know the plans I have for you” 
— this is the Lord’s declaration —
“plans for your welfare, not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 HCSB

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H. O. P. E. =  Holding On Praying Expectantly

So many times we’re in captivity or we’re having great problems; we think, “Oh, God has forgotten me.  He is not thinking of me anymore.”  Oh, that’s not so. God is thinking of you.

“But God is always looking down at the end of the road.  Our common mistake is that we are always looking for immediate advantage, immediate fulfillment.”

– Chuck Smith (click here to read entire commentary)

I cannot begin to count the number of times I have jumped into something considering only the immediate results instead of thinking about the long-term consequences.  I wanted the problem fixed NOW and knew just what to do.  How many blessings have I circumvented?  How many additional problems have I caused simply because I didn’t see the big picture? How much different might things have turned out if I had just held on to hope and continued to pray expectantly?

And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
you will look around and take your rest in security.
Job 11:18 ESV

Hope gives us security.  There is no need to rush ahead, to solve the problem, or to  resolve the issue, without waiting for God’s instructions.  Because we have hope we can rest, secure in the knowledge that God has the perfect plan for us.  He sees the big picture and knows exactly what needs to happen and when.  His time frame, not ours.

When the Lord is our hope,

  • He becomes our Help and our Shield (Psalm 33:20)
  • He shows us mercy and love us steadfastly (Psalm 33:18)
  • He faithfully answers our prayers (Psalm 65:5) [just not always in the ways we think they should be answered]
  • He is our trust and confidence (Psalm 71:5)
  • We are blessed (Jeremiah 17:7)

The Lord is our hope.  We can have confidence that our future is secure in His hands.  God is always thinking of us.  He has great blessings in store for us when we wait patiently and follow His lead.  He sees the big picture and has our future all mapped out accordingly, as long as we don’t rush ahead.  So my prayer today is:

Let all that I am wait quietly upon only God.
May I silently submit to Him,
for He is my hope.
Psalm 62:5

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Just Hanging Out

March 26, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

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Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine,
so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
I AM the Vine, you are the branches;
he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:4 and 5 NASB

I wonder if you are like me…. When I read a passage like this one, I start to fret.

  • What if I am not producing enough fruit?
  • What if I need to be doing something else?
  • What if I am not producing ANY fruit? How do I start?
  • What if it’s not the right kind of fruit?  How do I know?

What if, what if, what if!!!

I was reading commentaries on this passage and I learned so many amazing things!  But a commentary written by Chuck Smith included this passage that seemed to answer all my ‘what ifs?’.

“The only lasting fruit is that which is produced as the result of the relationship with Jesus Christ.  And here again, the idea of fruit indicates to us the method of God. The fruit that comes forth from our lives is a very natural thing; it’s not forced.  That apple hanging on the tree is not out there struggling and striving and pushing and doing its best to get ripe.  All it has to do is just hang in there and it’s going to ripen.  And it’s going to come to maturity.  And I just need to hang in there, just to abide in Christ, and the natural result of abiding in Christ is my life is going to bring forth fruit.  One of the problems…today is this endeavor of forced fruit.…you’re being pushed into all kinds of activities, not really directed by the Spirit.  And this can become worthless expenditures of energy, unless God is behind it and God is guiding it and God is directing it. Unless you’re abiding in Him, you cannot bear fruit of yourself.  You cannot sit down and say, “Now, this is what I’m going to do for God this year. And these are the projects that I’m going to endeavor. And this is my plan by which I intend to fulfill this goal.”  That bearing fruit that God desires is the most natural thing that can happen to you as you abide in Christ.  It’s just a natural function.”

– Chuck Smith
click here to read the entire article

I have one purpose—to produce fruit.  If we are hanging out with Jesus, the fruit will come naturally!  Whewwww!  That’s a big relief. I don’t need to do more or be more.  I just need to hang out with Jesus more (“abide in Me…”) and let the Holy Spirit direct me.  Anything I try to do on my own is going to be a useless struggle and is destined to fail.  It would be “forced fruit.”  I am powerless on my own.

Philippians 4:13 AMP (one of my favorite verses) tells us:

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me
[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him
Who infuses inner strength into me;
I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

Christ empowers me!  And when I abide in Him, I have full access to all His power.  The fruit will be a natural result.  I like the way David Guzik * puts it: “Fruit bearing is impossible without abiding; but it is inevitable with abiding.”  Philippians 1:11 HCSB tells us when we hang out with Jesus we are “…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” John 8:31 AMP reminds us “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.”

We have two choices then: either hang out with Jesus or go it on our own.  If we hang out with Jesus, fruit comes naturally.  If we go it on our own, we will continue to struggle and begin to wither.  Not much of a choice really, is it?

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Lord, I want to spend more time with You so that bearing fruit comes naturally.  I don’t want to offer You forced fruits from my own labors. When I begin to fret, remind me relax and hang out with You.  May Your plans be my plans.  Help me hear Your voice and follow Your lead. In Jesus’ name – Amen, It Is So!

* here is a link to David Guzik’s article on John chapter 15.

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Active Not Passive

April 20, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous—
with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation,
regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace,
for they shall be called the sons of God!
Matthew 5:9 AMP

Peace is so much more than a passive state.  It is not just the absence of fighting or the maintaining of the status quo.  Peace requires viewing the situation in light of the Gospel and actively setting out to promote and make peace.

According to Hebrews 12:14 we are to:
Work at living in peace with everyone,
and work at living a holy life,
for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

In Classical Greek, a peacemaker was one who strove to bring about peace: an ambassador that pursued peace, putting faith to work doing good for all.  That is what we are called to be.  However, there is one stipulation:

“Before one can be a peacemaker, one must be entirely delivered from self, from self-interest, and self-concern.  The peacemaker does not look at things in terms of how they may affect self.”

– Chuck Smith

A peacemaker seeks the glory of God above all else, placing the well-being of others above his own.  It is the “less of me, more of Him” mentality in action.

God took the initiative to make peace with us by sending His Son to die in our place.  Jesus is the One True Peacemaker.  Shouldn’t our mission be to share the Gospel of peace with others?  The inward peace only God can give?  When we choose to actively pursue peace, God rewards us with the very same peace.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind
[both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You,
because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
Isaiah 26:3

And we will be known as His children.

The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit,
[assuring us] that we are children of God.
Romans 8:16

Peace is the evidence that we are His.  We reflect our Father’s characteristics in acknowledgment of our adoption into His family.  The family resemblance can be seen in us.

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Father God, thank You for the many blessing You bestow upon us.  We are honored to be called a child of God.  Help us deny our own interests to promote Your peace so that others may benefit.  Guide our steps as we yearn to become more like You.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen, so be it!

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