so i’m reading through this devotional (i use the word ‘reading’ lightly…as i am very sporatic…) but these two days really spoke to me deep inside my heart, especially in preparation for this big adventure. sooo i thought, i shouldn’t keep these to myself, but i should share them with all of you. yay!
first one:
Scripture tells us that Abraham, “without weaking in his faith, …faced the fact that his body was as good as dead” (vs 10). He was not discouraged, because he was not looking at himself but at almighty God. “He did not waver…regarding the promise” but stood straight, not bending beneath the staggering load of God’s blessing. Indead of growing weak, his faith grew stronger, exhibiting more power, even as more difficulties became apparent. Abraham glorified God for His complete suffiency and was “fully presuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.’
The literal translation of this passage from the Greek expresses the thought in this way: God is not merely able, but abundantly able, bountifully and generously able, with an infinite surplus of resources, and eternally able “to do what he had promised.”
He is the God of limitless resources–the only limit comes from us. Our requests, our thoughts, and our prayers are too small, and our expectations are too low. God is trying to raise our vision to a higher level, call us to have greater expectations, and thereby bring us to greater appropriation. Shall we continue living in a way that mocks His will and denies His word?
There is no limit to what we may ask and expect of our glorious El Shaddai–our almighty God. And there is no way for us to measure His blessing, for He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20). [A.B. Simpson, Streams in the Desert]
second one:
Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. Distrust, however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the answer never arrives. There are some letters on my desk that I wrote weeks ago, but I have yet to mail them because of my uncertainty over the address or the contents. Those letters have not done any good for me or anyone else at this point. And they never will accomplish anything until I let go of them, trusting them to the postal service.
It is the same with genuine faith. It hand its circumstance over to God, allowing Him to work. Psalm 37:5 is a great confirmation of this: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this.” He will never work until we commit. Faith is receiving–or even more, actually appropriating–the gifts God offers us. We may believe in Him, come to Him, commit to Him, rest in Him, but we will never fully realize all our blessings until we begin to receive from Him and come to Him having the spirit of abiding and appropriating. [from Days of Heaven upon Earth–Streams in the Desert]
I looked up the definition of appropriating because it was in both of these readings and it means to take and use for oneself (often without permission).
So Lord! I just praise you! I thank you! I thank you for this big adventure that you have set before me and my friends that are going with me…and I just declare that you are good! That you are exceedling, abundantly and gloriously able to do everything that you say you are going to do! Praise you Jesus! I hand over to you all my anxieties about leaving (and about coming back), I give you permission Lord to send funding flowing to me, as well as to my team members. Lord have your way! Have your way inside and outside me! Jesus! I am going to take what you have for me! I am going to receive your blessings for me! I am going to receive as your daughther, trusting you Jesus, trusting you as my Father to only have good things for me. Only good intentions. Praise you Jesus! Praise you! You never let me go, you never let me fall! YOU LOVE ME! praise you Jesus! I pray for peace and joy to resonate inside each one of the the members of this team, Lord and for my family and my friends that I am leaving…and ha! for myself too! Peace and Joy Lord! Praise you Jesus! Make these revelations become more and more, stronger and stronger and become more than knowledge, but something that is deep inside of us! You are God! YOU are God! creator and sustainer of the universe! HA! You’re great! haha! Praise you Jesus! increase our knowledge and awe of you Lord!
i love you! praise you! amen.
be blessed!
samara.
