My wonder, awe and gratitude keep growing as I venture onto holy ground.
In Satan’s vain attempt to tempt Jesus, he said He would give Him (MAT.4:8) all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow in worship to him. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps Satan got this idea from the Bible (Numbers 4:12) where Moses had a great offer. God said that He would destroy sinful Israel and make of Moses a nation greater than Israel. What an opportunity for Moses to receive prominence, riches and power. But in the test, Moses turned down the offer because (Numbers 14:15-16) he was not interested in great things for himself or personal glory, but he was committed to God’s glory.
Why did God listen to Moses (Deuteronomy 10:10) and do what he said? Because the Lord saw His own loving heart reflected in Moses. Moses had stood the test God gave him and God had a man He could trust. Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom upon him when he said (Deuteronomy 34:9-12) “There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses whom the Lord knew face to face. None equal to him in all the signs and deeds which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and all his servants and to all his land, and in all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses did in the sight of all Israel.”
The Lord tested Joseph by allowing him to be falsely accused and unjustly put in prison. Why would God permit this suffering and hardship to happen to Joseph? Joseph continued to be faithful and obey God in every circumstance so God had what he needed. A righteous servant and through the miracles of interpretation of dreams, God made Joseph an advisor to the king of Egypt, second in all rule and authority (Genesis 41:40) only to the king. God’s man came from the prison to the palace to be the governor of all Egypt. Sometimes suffering can be our best teacher.
God tested Daniel with the threat of being cast into the den of lions. Daniel continued (6-10) to obey the Lord and to pray regularly as always. So Daniel was (6-16) thrown in among the hungry savage lions. Daniel obeyed God no matter what and left all the consequences to Him. That seems to me to be an excellent lifestyle.
Whether it was the interpretation of dreams or of the fearful writing (Daniel 5:26-28) on the wall, or the miracle in the lions’ den, God had a man He could trust, a righteous servant who would declare and make known the Most High and Holy True God to the kings Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:34), Belshazzar (Daniel 5:17-18), Darius (Daniel 6:26-28) and Cyrus. Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and Cyrus.
Three other young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:18,21 rather than worship false gods, even though by royal command. They told King Nebuchadnezzar right to his face that they would never bow to his golden image. What happened to them? They actually saw the Son of God walking with them in the flames and (Daniel 3:25, Daniel 3:30) the king promoted them to higher positions in the kingdom of Babylon.
We have more than enough evidence to see that obedience to God is the most important thing in our lives. As the Holy Spirit deepens and enlarges our knowledge of God, our desire to obey Him is increased. We obey Him because of Who He is and because He is altogether worthy of unconditional obedience and we have no desire ever to disobey Him. The name Nimrod (Micah 5:6) means “we will rebel.” It is a very foolhardy and dangerous choice to join his team. We who are born-again Christians were not redeemed to be Nimrods but to be (1 Peter 1:16) holy unto the Lord. Even in the tiniest detail we must obey the Lord. Nothing is unimportant and everything matters to God and therefore should matter greatly to us. Failure can be a great teacher IF we learn from it and (Philippians HLP.3:14) press on toward the goal. I am so glad that God never blesses me according to my deserving but always according to His delight in mercy.
Is Satan tempting you? Remain steadfastly faithful to Jesus and you can (Ephesians 6:16-17) deflect the flaming arrows with the shield of faith and expose the treacherous lies by the Word of God.
Is God testing you? Stand true to Jesus and He will bless and reward and nourish you with heavenly manna which the Holy Spirit will use to increase our discernment and sound judgment. I know that full comprehension is not possible but I’ve been asking the Lord for deepening richer intimacy with the three Almighty Persons of the Holy Trinity, God the Father loved so much (John 3:16) that He gave His only Son to redeem us. Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:4) is our Life. The Holy Spirit (Romans 8:2) is the Spirit of the Life in Christ Jesus and He has freed us from the law of sin and death. There is nothing in the entire universe with which God, the Holy Trinity, can be compared. There is none remotely, ever so slightly having a shadow of a tiny trace of likeness to Him. And yet - - we were created in His image and can be redeemed to be conformed (Romans 8:28-29) to the image of the Son of God and have intimate relationship with the Sovereign God of the universe and beyond. Among the numerous false gods in the world, who has a god like unto our GOD (Malachi 3:16) Who listens to us?
We need to continually seek heart oneness with the transcendent yet imminent Persons of the Holy Triune Godhead Who is One God. My wonder, awe and gratitude keep growing as I venture onto holy ground.
Not just the marvels of Creation but the loving thoughts and supreme kindness in the far-reaching protection, provision, benefits and blessings of God’s plan. I no longer look at my physical difficulties as handicaps, but I see them as gateways to rich blessings - - as the patient Holy Spirit continues to give me priceless jewels from the deep recesses of the Living Word of the Eternal God. So I live where glory dwells on Emmanuel’s land.