Jesus Calling: August 30th
There is no place so desolate that you cannot find Me there. When Hagar fled from her mistress, Sarah, into the wilderness, she thought she was utterly alone and forsaken. But Hagar encountered Me in that desolate place. There she addressed Me as the Living One who sees me. Through that encounter with My Presence, she gained courage to return to her mistress.No act of circumstances could ever isolate you from My loving Presence. Not only do I see you always; I see you as a redeemed saint, gloriously radiant in My righteousness. That is why I take great delight in you and rejoice over you with singing!
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 16:7-14 (NLT)
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. 12 This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” 14 So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
Psalm 139:7-10 (NLT)
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)
17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
Additional insight regarding Zephaniah 3:17: Zephaniah points out that gladness results when we allow God to be with us. We do that by faithfully following him and obeying his commands. Then God rejoices over us with singing. If you want to be happy, draw close to the source of happiness by obeying God.
PREVIOUS DAY'S JESUS CALLING: August 29th
NEXT DAY'S JESUS CALLING: August 31st
Good morning EASTSIDE & #FAITHSTRONG family. Happy Monday to you all for I hope you all had a great weekend. I’m on the right path of life now and I’m so grateful I can share my morning with you all. In today’s Jesus Calling, I had to read it a couple times to allow the Holy Spirit to wake my mind up, still early this Monday morning, lol.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, the first thing that stood out in my mind was “but hagar encountered Me in the desolate place.” I’m reminded of my mentor, Don, telling me, ‘Ryan, you need to get to a quiet place each morning to allow God to speak to you.” Some of you know that I went to Nevada to get right with God. Gosh, I’m so thankful for Don for being that light in my life by planting that seed in my harvest which has grown to what you are reading now I guess. Back in March 2021 while I was in Nevada, Don explained how many people in the Bible took time away to be with God; Moses spent 40 years in the desert tending flock. In 1 Kings it tells the story of Elijah when he follows God’s command to withdraw into isolation to keep himself safe.
“No set of circumstances could ever isolate you from My loving Presence.” Is my second takeaway from today’s reading. For me, I now know, God is more into our glory and not our sin. He knows all of my circumstances I have had in the past and knows what struggles or Goliaths stand ahead in my path with Him if that makes sense (I’m reminded of an amazing book I read a while back, “Goliath Must Fall” Louie Giglio). I wrote down, Isolation is a path that we choose of loneliness, but through all of our circumstances, God is, not only, WITH us, but more importantly, IN us in all of our circumstances. Will you pray with me?
God, I know the promises of humans may fail me, but I’m grateful Your Word never will. On challenging days, I ask You to constantly remind me of Your good & perfect promises. Thank You for being the one I can always trust with my heart, my thoughts and my worries. JUST FOR TODAY, God, please keep me on this path you have planned for me. I love waking up to isolate myself with Your Word. JUST FOR TODAY, please continue to open doors and allow me to know it’s Your door and not the enemies. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
Thank you for this word from God. He is speaking to me. I miss my quiet space due to me moving and waiting for my apartment. I try to get alone but it's hard. I am often reminded to allow patience have its way in my life. Haga went back and submitted to Sarai the one who caused her grief. By door ng so Ismael her son was bless with nations. Ismael was God's permissive will while Issac was his promise.
ReplyDeleteThank you God for being on Ryan's path. With him, in him, guiding , and encouraging him, My sons name is Ryan and I pray daily these things for him. Amen!
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