Almighty God, You made the heavens and the earth by the power of Your spoken words and Your outstretched hand. Nothing is too hard for You to do. You show love to those who are obedient and rain down judgement on those who sin and disobey. Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts and Your ways are far higher than mine. You have performed many miracles to show men the reality of who You are and the awesomeness of Your might. You freely give gifts to those who commit themselves to You and strive to do Your will. When I obey You and follow Your instructions, I free You to bless me with good things and cover me with Your protection. To those who cling to their earthly gods … prestige, power, wealth … You allow them to reap the fruit of what they sow. When men do evil in Your sight and provoke You to anger, they unleash Your wrath and are shown that their “false gods” cannot save them.
Through my faith in You, I demonstrate my trust that You will do what You have promised. Trust does not come easy. It is not always easy to believe You will do the “seemingly impossible” things You have promised … but my relationship with You requires that I do. You worked in the lives of others throughout the Bible and, since You are not a respecter of persons, I believe that You want to work in my life … if I let You. Sometimes I wonder if what I am about to do is truly what You want me to do. In such times, I must seek to remove my doubts through prayer. When I see You as my righteous Judge and the Redeemer of all things lost, I’m able to get my footing back and move forward with confidence. My faith reinforces Your love for me and reminds me that You are aware of everything going on in my life. Whenever I doubt the wisdom of Your ways, I must reflect on all that You have taught me.
You accomplish Your purposes through obedient and subjected believers. You do not give me the power to become what I want to be, but You give me the power to become what You want me to be. I must learn that trusting You means aligning my purposes and desires with Yours. A vital part of a relationship with You requires my having a “singleness of focus” that puts You as number one. It requires my loving You above everything else … even me. I must come to understand that crying out to You to meet my needs is not enough. If I truly want a response, I must make my pleas focus on Your ultimate plan for my life. Circumstances that come into my life do not change Your purpose for it. That purpose is the most important thing to You and I must remain faithful to allow You the time required to attain it. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”