Heavenly Father, I praise You today for the changing seasons and how they continue to move life forward and keep life from boring. I praise You for the cold today and how it reminds me of all the times of cutting wood for my family and widows. I praise You for the years I was able to split wood, stack it, make brush piles for rabbits to hide in, and feel the warmth from wood fires all winter. I praise You for supplying me with the strength and time to do this simple act for many of the widows in our church.
Holy Spirit I have learned in life that we all reach times when there is nothing left for us to do but hand over the whole situation to You. King Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was threatened by three neighboring armies. He had his country fast, prepared his armies, and knew that without God he would lose his country. He gathered his people together and prayed: O Lord God of our fathers, are You, not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there, not power and might so that no one can withstand You? Are you, not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.” And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. [2Chronicles 20:6-12] Help me to learn to be like this king and learn to fast, pray, and when there is nothing left for me that I can do to prevent whatever it may be, put my eyes on God and rest in the realization He is in control and will do what is needed even if it is not what we think is needed. God hears us, and he looks upon a humble heart. But as Isaiah reminded us His thoughts and ways are above ours. I have seen God work in miraculous ways many times in my life and know that only because of Him could a situation be changed and He did change it. I don’t always understand why God steps in sometimes and sometimes He lets things play out, but often years later I learn that it was a blessing I would never have received had I not just left it in God’s hands and put my trust in Him.
Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Help me to believe and trust in the impossible and see You through all things in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen. [Matthew 11:28&29; Matthew 19:26]