Obtaining Mercy

 

"It is by no means enough to set out cheerfully with your God on any venture of faith. 

"Tear into smallest pieces any ininerary for the journey which your imagination may have drawn up. 

"Nothing will fall out as you expect. 

"Your guide will keep to no beaten path. 

"He will lead you by a way such as you never dreamed your eyes would look upon. 

"He knows no fear, and He expects you to fear nothing while He is with you." ~Streams in the Desert

 

Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."

 

Our journey may not be as radical as the one that Abraham took; but if it is a journey of faith, it must go through places of which we have no knowledge.

Each journey begins with a single step…each voyage begins as our vessel leaves the shore.

It is a life of the Unknown, led by the All Knowing One.

We can trust Him. 

The Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life to be our Saviour. 

I suppose He can be trusted with our lives as well!

 

Matthew 8:23 "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him."

Climb into the ship with Christ, push away from the shore…and experience the thrill of the life of faith!

 

Psalm 138:3 "In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul."

 

Do you wish to see God move?  Are you anxious for Him to work on your behalf?

Then perhaps your situation has not yet reached the point of its greatest difficulty.

 

Psalm 138:7 "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me."

Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Psalm 81:7a "Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee…"

Psalm 91:15 "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him."

 

God seems to show up right when we are in the middle of our troubles, when we are weak and helpless and crying out to Him.

 

"When in the hopeless place, the continued hopeless place, is the very time when He will stretch forth His hand against the wrath of our enemies and perfect that which concerneth us, the very time when He will make the attack to cease and fail and come to an end.  What occasion is there then for fainting?" ~Aphra White

 

When our situation seems at its worst, it is then that we should be filled with great anticipation and hope!

The Father Who spared not the life of His only Son for our salvation will surely come to our aid. 

Our victory is guaranteed when the God of Heaven intervenes!

 

There are times when the emotion of the day threatens to overwhelm our reason.

It's not that there have been great catastrophes. 

There have just been many small irritating events that have filled our waking hours.

On these days we feel overwhelmed.

I'm grateful that the writer of the Psalms penned his thoughts on his overwhelming days.

Psalm 143:3-4 "For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate."

Did you catch that?  David said that his "enemy" had caused his spirit to feel overwhelmed.

It is Satan himself who is behind many of the infuriating, aggravating circumstances that threaten to ruin our day.

All of those little pesky darts that keep hitting, pinching, nipping, piercing our daily armor…they are from the Wicked.

So we need our shield of faith to stop them!!!

Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

But what if our shield is weak?  What if our faith is lacking?

The first mention of faithfulness is in Numbers where God talks about Moses. He says the following:

Numbers 12:7-8 "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold…"

God equated Moses' faithfulness with speaking face to face with Him and with beholding His "similitude" or likeness.

For us to maintain our shield of faith, we must spend time with the Lord face to face.  We must behold His likeness in His Word.

For days that are overwhelming, we have to run to the Rock so that He can build up our faith!

Psalm 61:1-3 "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy."

Run to the Lord by running to His Word. 

Let Him shelter you there.  Let Him encourage your faith so that your shield is strong, so that you can thwart the enemy's darts that are hurled against you.

We must remember on days when emotions run high, God's strength runs deep.

We can handle this day.

 

 

My husband is an excellent waiter.

Well, not a "waiter"…as in the person who serves you food at a restaurant;

But rather, a "wait-er".

He has no problem sitting perfectly still, waiting to make his next move.  His patience is really quite impressive.

Me on the other hand?  I am so NOT a good wait-er.

I literally hate to wait.  For anything.  For anyone. 

• I despise waiting.

Even if I'm standing still, and you can detect no movement, I assure you – in my mind, I am not waiting. 

I am calculating how much longer I have to stand here.  I am anticipating my next move.  I am preparing to move.  I am judging the distance I will need to move to accomplish my next task.

I do not wait well.

• There are times, however, when we must wait well. 

God wants us to be physically, mentally and emotionally still to hear from Him.  Until we are perfectly still and at peace, He will remain silent.

For some personalities that is an easy task.  For others of us, it comes only through enforced practice.

In Scripture the first three times we see the phrase "stand still", it is a direct command to the people of God to settle themselves before the Lord and wait for Him to give them their next move.

 

Exodus 13:14 "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

Numbers 9:8 "And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you."

Joshua 3:8 "And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan."

C.H. Spurgeon said, " 'Stand still'…ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing Voice…Faith listens neither to presumption, nor to despair, nor to cowardice, nor to precipitancy, but it hears God say, 'Stand still,' and immovable as a rock it stands."

 

• Although I am still not a good wait-er, I am learning.

Often I learn most through times of forced rest and stillness, through pain-filled days when sitting still is the only possible choice for me.

I have found, though, that when I wait properly, I am filled with such peace.  I can hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit speak from His Word so clearly as the other voices fade away.

• I encourage you to cultivate the skills of a good wait-er. 

Practice stilling your heart as you read the Bible.  Focus your heart, mind and body on the Words there, and listen patiently to see what God the Father will speak to your heart.

Do you need to hear from God? 

Stand still…and be a good wait-er.