Got Questions?

Hello All ~

     I have more questions today than I have answers.  I’m positive you know what I’m talking about.  There are those days or weeks or even years when we just don’t know…  It’s important to decipher which questions are of God and which are of the Enemy.  They both ask them.  Just take a look at the very first story in scripture in Genesis 3 and you can see that.  But today is not about the questions…

     While I don’t have all the answers I’m thankful for the parts I do know.  For the last 3 months God has delivered the same message to me in various ways.  He keeps telling me, “Be strong.  Be very courageous.  Do it.  Be strong.”  I wish I had the space to share with you all the passages He has lead me to in the last several weeks that communicate these words.  I didn’t go looking for them!  They have come in my regular Bible reading or messages I’ve heard preached on the radio or at church.  It’s been wild.  Who knew those words appeared so many different places in scripture!

     I’m grateful for each encouragement, but I realize this verbiage is more than some happy little cheerleader type of positiveness. (I know that’s not really a word) These words are a command.  So I’ve dug my heels in and I’m trying… but I haven’t done so well.  In fact, I’ve been more stressed out and crazed than ever…hence some of the question… but once again today is not about the questions.  “So what is it about?” you ask. (See more questions!)  Follow me here…

     Recently, during a much-needed Sabbath rest, God showed me something amazing.  I’ve always loved and often quoted the verse, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him…” from II Chronicles 16.  But until this week I never knew the verse’s context OR that the verse doesn’t end there. 

     This verse landed in the middle of a conversation a prophet had with a king who had loved God with all his heart and called upon him for help when he found his nation in trouble… until now.  King Asa enjoyed years of peace and quiet until the end of his reign when an enemy decided to attack.  So what did Asa do? (Stop with the questions)  He called on the King of Syria to help… Seemed logical enough, but logical and God don’t always jive. The prophet reminded Asa of the times when huge nations were headed for Judah’s jugular and God miraculously saved the day.  And how God’s eyes roam to and fro to show Himself strong…  In other words, He loves to step in and rescue when we cast ourselves on Him!

     The verse ends with, “but you have done foolishly…” Interpreted…You didn’t allow God to be strong on your behalf.  You tried to figure out how to be strong on your own…Click!  Light bulb! That is sounding a little familiar.

     Oh!  After all these years of watching God step in for me, of witnessing miraculous provision, of enjoying the freedom and relief of complete abandonment on Him, how could I have forgotten to ask Him for help? (May be the best question I’ve asked all day) And yet I had.  I realized during that Sabbath rest, that God, while commanding me to be strong, never intended for me to be strong on my own.  He desired to be my strength.  He delights in showing HIMSELF strong on my behalf if my heart will only be perfect toward Him.  So instead of trying to figure it out on my own I plan on seeking Him to be my strength from now on.

     …Well, I don’t have all the answers, but I think I have the answer I need most today. I believe I'll take God up on His offer :)

Hope & Glory to You my friend ~

Rebecca