Knowing the Future; July 28, 2023

Posted on July 29, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 18:34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

Sometimes it’s better that we don’t know what’s going on. Jesus needed to tell His disciples about the immediate future so that after it happened they could remember what he had said and be better able to understand events, and I think He also needed to be able to vent it for His own sake, because having that sort of thing looming would be enormously high stress. However, had the disciples grasped what He was saying, they would quickly have hatched all sorts of plans to prevent it, and that would have been disastrous. There’s a reason the Bible talks so much about faith! We need to trust that A, God is real, B, He has a plan for everything, C, that plan is good, (Jeremiah 29:11) and D, He isn’t going to drop us in the middle of it all. Often He says things to us that don’t really register until later, just as happened with the disciples here. That doesn’t mean we’re deficient, it just means we don’t need to understand those things yet. That in itself is a blow to our pride, but such pride just gets in the way anyway, so blows to it are to be welcomed! Many, many people have wanted to know when the Lord is going to return, starting with the first disciples. (Acts 1:6-7) As Jesus said then, that’s not for us to know ahead of time. We just need to be spiritually prepared so that when it does happen, it will be wonderful and not disaster for us. That’s actually how we need to be about everything, up to and including our own death. It’s as we grow spiritually that we are able to release everything to God and serve Him unhindered and with joy.

This is extremely timely for me. Yesterday was my last day of teaching in the Speech Therapy Department of Nagasaki Rehabilitation College, and as I left the building the staff and 2nd year students lined the hall and presented me with a huge bouquet of flowers. I was certainly touched, but it’s going to be a bit weird going back next week to give exams! I’ve ended jobs before but never retired, and the feelings are complex. It’s all the more complicated because I’ll be teaching in the nursing school from September and teaching the 1st year Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy students from October, but all of those will wind up within the calendar year. It’s not fun feeling old! I’m realizing what a blessing it was to my father that the Lord took him home at 64, and he never had to retire. I’m also realizing that it can be a curse to have no responsibility, but at the same time I know that I always have the responsibility to listen obediently to my Lord, whatever He is telling me to do. It’s been several years now since He told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. I need to remember and apply that now, and delight in His grace and love.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. I don’t like feeling unimportant, but my importance to You hasn’t changed in the least. Help me recognize each task You have for me at the appropriate time, not being anxious about it ahead of time, and do it with my whole heart for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Persistence; July 27, 2023

Posted on July 28, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

This is an extremely important counterpoint to Jesus’ repeated teaching on faith. His various remarks about “faith as small as a mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20. Luke 17:6) and the like can easily give us complexes about the worthlessness of our own faith. The parable that follows this verse is more explicit than most, because Jesus explains it immediately, without having to be asked to do so. In recent years Americans have become more familiar with “unjust judges” than we would like to be, but in some countries that’s par for the course. Regardless, Jesus’ point is persistence. We need to keep trusting God regardless of what our senses and intellect are telling us. We tend to “figure things out” and predict in our mind how things are going to be, and Jesus is saying not to do that. Rather, we are to keep trusting God, letting go of our scheduling demands. The better we know God and His character, the less anxious we will be.  After all, as Paul said, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) We are back to Jesus’ famous words about priorities: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) We won’t see the fulfillment of God’s kingdom on this earth while we are in this life, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be manifested at all, and it certainly doesn’t mean we aren’t to keep praying for it.

As I have written before, my parents went to their reward without seeing the massive revival in Japan for which they prayed and labored, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t coming, or that their prayers and labors had no effect. I am in that same specific struggle, and I too am not to give up. Sometimes I wish I knew God’s timetable, but at other times I realize it’s good that I don’t. I’m to keep ministering as though the next person I talk to were going to be the trigger that brings revival, because they might be. I am to recognize without shame that I cannot bring it about in my own strength and wisdom, but at the same time remember that absolutely nothing is impossible for God. His strength and wisdom are literally in a much higher dimension than mine! I am to focus on daily faithfulness, trusting God to do what is best on His schedule, not trying to dictate to Him but asking, seeking, and knocking without giving up, so that I may somehow be useful to Him in accomplishing His will for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’m very aware of schedules at the moment, since today I have my last Speech Therapy classes before my retirement at the end of this school year. You know my emotional involvement with that, and You also know what impact I have had on my students over the years, far better than I do. I pray that their memories of me would draw them to You, causing them to become Your disciples indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Duty; July 26, 2023

Posted on July 27, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 17:10 “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'”

This section, from verse seven, runs directly counter to current American culture. Americans are all about entitlement! That someone would come in from a long day of outside work and then be expected to wait on their employer before they got any refreshment themselves would be seen as cruel and unusual, but it was the order of the day back then. Everyone today wants to be patted on the head and told what a good job they’ve done, and then get at least a participation trophy. Jesus was having none of that. This verse is a stern re­minder to every believer, since we are all supposed to be serving God. We don’t like the idea of “duty,” the idea of something that it is our place to do whether we like it or not. That was big in Victorian England, and Gilbert and Sullivan made fun of it in several of their comedy operettas. However, it’s actually no laughing matter. How many people can actually say they’ve done everything God told them to do, much less gone above and beyond? God is incredibly gracious, and will indeed reward everything we do for Him, (Ephesians 6:8) but if our focus is on the reward rather than obedience, we have misplaced priorities. We need to serve God because He is more than worthy of everything we could do for or give to Him, since He is the One who enables it all in the first place. It is only when we grasp that that we can understand His grace, which is poured out so freely.

I have meditated on this verse multiple times in the past, and I always come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no room to complain about anything. I certainly can’t claim to have done everything God has told me to do! I’ve had people seem very impressed with me because I’m a “real live missionary,” but what’s unusual about living and serving in the land where I was born? I have sought to be obedient, but I know I’ve missed various cues along the way, not to mention getting lazy and/or giving up multiple times. My highest goal is to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25:21) but I hardly think I’ve earned it, since I haven’t even done everything I was told. I am sharply aware of my own inadequacies, but I am even more aware of God’s grace and love. He has told me to rest, relax, and rejoice, and failing to do so would be disobedience!

Father, thank You for all You’ve enabled me to do in recent days, and that today’s schedule is open. Help me not waste this day but spend it as You desire of me, whether that be in activity or rest, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wealth; July 25, 2023

Posted on July 26, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

This is a justly famous verse, but it is actively ignored by far too many people, for the same reason given for the Pharisees disliking it: people love money! The irony is that even secular psychologists say that after a certain level wealth has no positive effect on happiness, and often has a negative effect. Happy wealthy people are all focused on things other than their wealth, as witness Elon Musk. Wealth, however it’s counted, is one of the oldest idols. From the dawn of history there have been countless people who have sacrificed everything else to gain it, but as Jesus said elsewhere, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:25) It is in serving God that we discover the reason for our existence, and only then do we gain true peace, satisfaction, and joy. Playing with rivals to God, like wealth, never benefits us.

I’m thankful that wealth has never loomed very big in my awareness. It’s not just that I’ve never been wealthy, money has just never been that big an issue with me. I’ve certainly had times when I wanted more, but from the point when Cathy and I made the firm decision to tithe first, before any other expenses, at a time when we really didn’t have money, God has supplied every one of our needs, often in surprising and sometimes in miraculous ways. Neither Cathy nor I grew up in what would be called affluent circumstances, but neither of us grew up feeling poor. I certainly credit our parents in that. Cathy’s parents in particular had some really hard times financially, but they didn’t telegraph that to their children, and all four went to college, when that was far from universal where they lived. In my case, in post-war Japanese society you could have said we lived an affluent lifestyle, driving an American car and living in a large house with a large yard (that didn’t belong to us but to the mission board), but on missionary salaries my parents had to be very careful with expenditures, and we were taught frugality by example. All of that is not to say that I’ve never let anything get ahead of God in my priorities. I have, however, learned that serving Him meets every one of my genuine needs, because He is a loving, generous Master.

Father, thank You for the privilege of serving You, and for the true wealth that You pour out on me. I do pay attention to my bank account here, but I know on the deepest level that my account with You is far more important and valuable. May that account draw the interest that You intend, so that Your purposes may be accomplished in and through me for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Treasure; July 24, 2023

Posted on July 25, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Every one of us has things we consider treasure, whether we think in those terms or not. Finances are of course common, as are houses and stocks and cars and assorted expensive things. Objectively, it’s easy to see that fixating on those things makes us emotionally and spiritually poorer. Then there are the less financially-connected things, like mementos and photographs and the like. Some of those might rise to the category of heirlooms, but we still cling even to those that don’t. Moving even further from finances, there are people, and even pets. We have great difficulty accepting emotionally that all these things are given to us for a time, but aren’t permanent. That doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable and aren’t to be treated as such, but it does mean that we are to hold all things loosely. It is only when our ultimate value, our greatest treasure, is God and His kingdom that we have lasting security, because they will never end. It is when we treasure our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ above and beyond anything and everything else that we have real stability. There are extreme examples of this in the world even today. Within the past couple of days video was released of an incident that happened a little earlier this year in India, where men of a Hindu tribal group stripped three women of a Christian tribal group naked, paraded them down the street, and then at least the youngest was led into a field and gang raped. That 20-year-old woman could be essentially destroyed, but if her heart is indeed fixed on Christ and His kingdom, she will be healed. When times are easy we don’t think about where our treasure is, and it’s very easy to let all sorts of things take the place in our heart that belongs only to God. That’s why hard times can actually be the best times, because they force us to look at what is really valuable, and reorient our priorities.

I’ve had assorted things that I’ve valued over the years, but I’m thankful that my parents weren’t materialistic and so I didn’t have a bad example here. I would say that my wife is my greatest visible treasure, but I’m very aware that physically speaking we are both quite temporary. After all, she’s already died and been sent back once! I desire that God be my highest and first priority, and indeed my morning devotion times are extremely important to me, but I still have to admit that other things impinge on that at times. I want to do God’s will, but sometimes I wish He’d lay out an easier course for me! Yesterday I got tied in knots over things I considered criticisms or even attacks, and as a result made mistakes that further inconvenienced me. That shows that I still treasure my pride, and that’s something I thought was dealt with years ago! I still have plenty of room to let go of everything and cling only to my Lord, knowing that He has firm hold of me, (Philippians 3:12) letting Him be my true treasure.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that You keep teaching me and growing me in various ways. Thank You that I’ll be guiding an American short-term missions team around Nagasaki City today. I ask for physical and emotional endurance, that I would be a blessing to them and help them focus on why they are here, so that as they go on to another area tomorrow they may be in step with what You have for them, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Perseverance; July 23, 2023

Posted on July 24, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

One word in this very familiar story jumps out at me right now: persevering. That’s actually an essential life skill, but it’s certainly not popular. We like everything to be instant, from fast food to cell phone communication. The level of convenience that has come with technological advances has spoiled us, and we are the poorer for it. On the eternal scale our time on earth is certainly brief, but it can seem very long when we are slogging through it. God has a purpose in everything, and He knows that we need time to mature. He doesn’t want a heaven full of spoiled brats! I find myself repeatedly saying that God doesn’t pick on us, because as true as it is, from our perspective it doesn’t always seem that way. We have a lot of lessons to learn to become the mature children that God desires, and sometimes we can be slow to learn! Persevering is essential if we are to receive that ultimate accolade, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

Perseverance is perhaps one of my few good points. We’ve been in Omura for almost 42 years, and we haven’t given up. As I tell people, I don’t know if I’m faithful, stubborn, or just too lazy to pack up and start over somewhere else. Japan is notorious for being a difficult field of evangelism. Patches of good soil, to go with this parable, seem few and far between. However, that’s no excuse, when God has expressly sent me here to the land of my birth. God has given me an enormous store of seed, having been steeped in the Bible from my birth, and I’m to be faithful to keep scattering it however, whenever, and wherever the Lord gives opportunity, praying and trusting Him for the harvest in His right time, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for those who are indeed producing a good crop, however few they might seem. Thank You for the fruit You have given me. Thank You for pointing out to me this morning that some of it is in ways I hadn’t been thinking about. I pray that I would be fruitful indeed, for as long as You keep me here, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forgiveness of Sin; July 22, 2023

Posted on July 24, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 7:50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Jesus was famous for telling people their faith had brought them physical healing, but here He expressly says that faith has brought forgiveness. In the case of the paralytic lowered to Him through a hole in the roof, He said that the man’s friends’ faith had brought him forgiveness. I’m preaching tomorrow on The Results of Faith, but the greatest result has got to be eternal salvation. We tend to focus on the temporal, on miracles of healing or provision or the like, when all of those things are only temporary. We even tend to define “being saved” that way: saved from this, that, or the other temporal disaster. We forget that our sins have destined us for eternal disaster, and the only salvation from that is repentance and faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This particular story of Jesus invites the misinterpretation that Paul dealt with in Romans. Since the devil can’t deny the truth of what Jesus said about much forgiveness producing much love, he tells us that we should sin much so that we can be forgiven much and so love much. As Paul said, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2) The secret to salvation isn’t sinning so we can be forgiven, it’s realizing we’ve already sinned, and thus need to be forgiven. The secret to loving God intensely and personally lies in honestly recognizing the countless ways we have sinned against God, and believing that “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) The magnificence of God’s forgiveness isn’t something we can earn, but is rather to be received in overwhelming gratitude, as this woman experienced.

If I were to try to make a list of all the things for which I’ve been forgiven, not only would I be here all day and longer, there’s no way I could remember them all. One of the many glorious things about God’s forgiveness is that when something is forgiven, it’s gone, period. It’s possible we will have to live with some of the consequences for a while, but the sin itself is gone. Over 20 years ago when I was dealing with a particular “besetting sin” I was liberated by something Peter said. “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” (2 Peter 1:8-9) The Lord showed me that if I dwell on past sins, that makes me all the more likely to commit them again. I’ve got to remember that when I’m forgiven, my slate is as clean as if I’d never sinned in the first place. I’m never to make excuses for sin, but rather be quick to recognize it, ask for and receive God’s forgiveness, and love Him all the more for it.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Tomorrow’s message on the results of faith seems impossibly huge. Help me speak only what people are ready to hear and receive, and not dull their hearts with an overflow of words. May we all be sensitive to Your Spirit and allow You to touch, cleanse, and heal us as we need, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Faith for All; July 21, 2023

Posted on July 22, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

When Matthew recorded this incident in chapter 8 he was simply relying on his own recollections. Luke, on the other hand, had not been present at the time and was a very conscientious, diligent researcher, and he probably interviewed multiple people to get his account. Luke, as a Gentile himself, was impressed with the centurion’s humility in sending others to speak to Jesus rather than going himself. That makes Jesus’ statement here all the more striking, because Jesus praised the faith of the Gentile centurion, specifically in contrast to the faith He had encountered among the Jews. It is perhaps natural that Luke would note this, but it’s also important that Jesus was clearly fulfilling what the Lord had said through Isaiah: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) That’s the passage Paul and Barnabas quoted when resisting the Jews who were jealous of their preaching to Gentiles in Antioch. (Acts 13:46-48) Saving faith is not limited to those with a genetic connection to Abraham! At the same time, we must remember that it is certainly not excluded from physical descendants of Abraham. After all, Jesus, His 12 disciples, and indeed the whole earliest Church were as Jewish as could be. Ephesians 2:8-9 applies to absolutely everyone, with no favoritism.

I realized even as a young child that some people seemed to make distinctions on the basis of race or nationality, and I found it strange. Of course I don’t remember it directly, but around the time I was born a speaker came to Fukuoka from America, and my father had the job of interpreting for him. It turned out the man was horribly racist, putting Japan down in countless ways that my father wanted no part of. God gave him wisdom and he interpreted accurately, but ended every statement with “so he says,” making it very clear he didn’t agree. The Japanese congregation understood what was going on and loved my father all the more for it. Of course, I too am a Gentile, but I have always taken pride in having been born the same year as the current nation of Israel, and for reasons known only to God, we were adopted into the Messianic fellowship in seminary, associating with Jews who had discovered Jesus. Right now I am a Gentile ministering to other Gentiles in Japan, with a profound awareness that every human being is equally loved by God, and they need to repent of having ignored or rejected Him and believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead to give them a living hope. As someone who has received that grace myself, how can I do less?

Father thank You for this reminder. Help me be increasingly effective in communicating the good news of Your grace and love to all who will receive it, whatever their designations or descriptions, so that Your house may be full, (Luke 14:23) for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blessings of Faith; July 20, 2023

Posted on July 21, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Being so familiar with this passage, the Lord indicated which verse I would be writing on before I ever read it! This is a beautiful counterpoint to yesterday’s passage, where Zechariah had to endure the consequences of his failure to believe what Gabriel had told him. Mary, in contrast, believed fully that what Gabriel had told her would happen even as he had said. The Japanese translation here makes Elizabeth’s words as emphatic as possible, with terms like “believed completely” and “positively fulfilled.” Mary’s faith was indeed remarkable, and she was rewarded for it. She certainly had great heartache, as Simeon later warned her, (Luke 2:35) seeing her oldest child scourged and crucified, but in balance, she had the greatest privilege ever granted a woman, of carrying and bearing the Son of God. She was also in the group in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out, (Acts 1:14, 2:1) so she didn’t miss out on that, either. All in all, she was rewarded handsomely for her faith. Today, Catholic veneration of Mary sometimes crosses over into idolatry I think, which certainly doesn’t please her to whatever degree she is aware of it, but Elizabeth’s words to her at this juncture were accurate indeed.

This is brought to life in my awareness at this point because one of my spiritual children and his wife had their first child just a week ago, and I talked with them both last night by phone. Birth always includes a touch of the miraculous. That said, the point in this verse is the reward for faith. This can get complicated to talk about, because faith itself is a gift, (Ephesians 2:8-9) but we still have to choose to accept it and exercise it. Mary made that choice definitively in Luke 1:38, and she and all mankind have been immeasurably blessed in consequence. I too have been given faith, but I too must choose to let it indwell me fully and put it to work. I have daily, sometimes almost constant, challenges to my faith. I’m not to rebel at or resent those challenges, but rather rejoice that God’s grace is sufficient for me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I am to remember that life in this body will always have challenges, (John 16:33) but rejoice that I can get through them all because of Christ in me. (Philippians 4:13)

Father, thank You for yesterday and all it held. Thank You for the blessed time of fellowship with one of the members here, getting to know him better and building up the Body of Christ. The week ahead has fairly major things every day on my schedule. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in You through it all, doing Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Consequences of Unbelief; July 19, 2023

Posted on July 20, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 1:20 “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

The power of habit and expectation is remarkable. It always feels strange to read part of “the Christmas Story” other than at the end of the year, even though Jesus was probably not born in December and all these things took months to transpire ahead of His birth anyway. The interesting thing about that is that this particular passage is about that very issue. What Gabriel told Zechariah was so far out of his usual categories that he couldn’t accept it. That’s very similar to being unable to hear what the Lord is saying through “the Christmas Story” in July, simply because it’s July. As this verse says, there are consequences to that sort of thing. In this particular instance, God used Zechariah’s muteness as a powerful testimony to him, his wife Elizabeth, and all around them, particularly at the time of John’s birth. God wasn’t being mean to him, but He wanted him to learn to accept what he was being told. In this case, the consequences of unbelief were nine months of silence, but they can run a wide gamut. We can miss various blessings by failing to believe, but the extreme example is those who miss eternal salvation by failing to believe. Jesus said very clearly, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18) Eternal, unending destruction is the ultimate consequence of unbelief. We love John 3:16, but few people want to read on through verse 21. There are many who claim God is being “unfair” in this, but as Paul pointed out, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20) There is no excuse not to believe in a Creator at the very least. If we have that firmly in place, then the Gospel is good news indeed, and is easy to receive with joy. It is those who don’t want to acknowledge their Creator because of the accountability that entails who have the most trouble hearing and believing the Word of Christ.

I have had the part about God the Father and His Son Jesus “under my belt” for a long time, but it wasn’t until later that I understood and believed about Holy Spirit. I have no issues with those “biggest ticket” items at this point, but I still have trouble with assorted little things. I’ll still be growing in faith until (to quote It Is Well With My Soul) my faith becomes sight. I look forward to that day and have no fear of it, but until then I’m to keep growing! I don’t want to miss any of the countless blessings God has planned for me by failing to believe Him and obey. That last line is important, because as James pointed out, real faith works. (James 2:17) I want to live out my faith in every detail, for the glory of the One in whom I believe.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Little things like physical issues can and do test our faith. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You have told me to do, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment