God Is …

Three sample days from "God is":
January 13

Genesis 40-42 Provider

When God provides, it may take years before we know of His provision:
• …Joseph waited for two years before the cupbearer’s confession accomplished his assured freedom;
• …Jacob’s fears kept the family from immediately experiencing Egypt’s provisions;
• …Pharaoh had to wait the full 14 years to see that God’s provision administered by Joseph would adequately feed Egypt.
God is not in a hurry to provide, and when He does, the provision is over-abundant: Joseph was exalted, Egypt fed the world, and Jacob would eventually live with the beloved son he thought was dead.
His provision in some cases is also astoundingly unique.

Father, even in hardship, disappointment and disaster You provide. However when I’m stressed-out, my complaints and worries prove I don’t really believe that You’ll provide the best for everyone. Forgive me for not trusting You to provide in Your own time and in Your own ways, and for being impatient when You are temporarily using my distress to set the stage for a larger provision for many.

Thank you for using me to provide for others, even though it may temporarily hurt me. You will hold me up…I can count on it.

What are You calling me to patiently endure so that You can provide for others through me?

May 3

Psalms 67-69 The One of Sinai

What are some images of Sinai (68:8)? Exodus 19 showed it as a fearsome place: clouds, smoke, lightening, earthquakes - all reminders of the scope of God’s power over the elements of the earth. Sinai represents God’s unapproachable holiness, because there He laid out the pathway to total right-living, His Law.
After He gave the Law, people unquestionably knew who God counted as His enemies (the disobedient, the rebellious), and who He included in His own family (those who cry out to Him, who magnify Him with thanksgiving, who love and obey Him).
How can any of us live up to the standards given by the One of Sinai? How can all of us as rebels in the “I’ll do it my way” generation ever cry out to the One who would destroy us for it? Read Psalm 69 as coming from the mouth of Christ on the cross. He hears us in our neediness under the Law, for our failure to keep it holds us painfully captive to guilt. But God’s indignation is finished, already poured out on Him. Christ Himself has fulfilled that Law in our place, saving us from the One of Sinai, and giving us Himself to thank and love.

Fearsome God, I will meet You as the One of Sinai when I die, but I will be able to step behind Jesus and His sacrifice to escape Your destruction.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for fulfilling all of the requirements of Sinai for me: You have lived out both its righteousness and its punishment…for me and all who turn to You.

How can I live to honor You for it today? Empower my praise, direct my thoughts and deeds.

November 6

John 7-10 The Good Shepherd and Gate

The ancient Jewish sheepfold was an enclosure made by rocks piled into walls, and the shepherd sat in the one breach, guarding his sheep safely inside. In essence, the shepherd was the gate!
There are so many things to love and praise about our Good Shepherd, Jesus:
• He, the great God of the universe knows us intimately enough to call each of us by name (10:3); He is that personal.
• He can be counted upon daily for guidance, direction and protection (10:4-5).
• He protected us from the consequences of our sin by giving His own life (10:15), and then by taking it back again in His resurrection (10:18). In doing so He assured us that all who follow Him will also follow in His resurrection back to life.

Lord Jesus, my Shepherd, my most reasonable response is to follow You closely and confidently without worry, wherever You may lead me! I have nothing to fear when You are in the lead. You will care for me well.

May I learn to follow You by consistently laying down more of my own life - …my willfulness, …my desire to be right all of the time, …my selfish desires, …my sloth and love for rest. Use me as a small “good shepherd” today so those around me will benefit from Your lead.

Where will I follow You trustingly, even though it is strange and I may be uncomfortable?