meditations for an everyday relationship with Jesus

Stop your fighting

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (KJV)

One perception that still prevails is this: God is a being who is both benevolent and yet cannot wait to exercise His wrath. While this is very traditional, is only half true. Our God is merciful and loving to a fault … He exists to deliver us, and we are made to love Him. That is all.

We are to be still and respectful of our Lord, to stop our fighting, knowing that while He could exercise His wrath at any time, He does not. He waits patiently. He has decided to let us choose when to fight and when to sit down, when to be active and when to stop.

Wrath is defined as right judgment, not unbridled anger. Our God is not full of wrath; He set it free so long ago on the cross.

God said

Genesis 1:3-5 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light "day," and He called the darkness "night." Evening came, and then morning: the first day.

And God saw that it was good. This was such a pristine beginning, so pared down, so simple and so fool-proof!

Our God had everything under control and still does; but He left one option open. He purposely left a loose-end we have termed “freewill.”

Why would God leave an option so glaring open to a fragile population of creatures seemingly bent on their own destruction?

God believed that some of us would want to know Him and develop a relationship with Him. He was willing to forfeit everything for a relationship with His creation. He seeks the few, not the many.

We should be heartened by God’s unfailing love, and faithfulness, especially because it is often travelling in only one direction: outward toward us ...