SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/19/2021 12:01 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “The Panic”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
8:25-26a
Message of the verses: “25 And they came
to Him and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are
perishing!" 26 He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of
little faith?’”
We
continue looking at the remaining items from this section of Scripture as it is
my desire to finish this today. Let me
say that we looked at John MacArthur’s introduction to this total section from
his sermon and we focused in on the power of God and so we can say that the
believer who is aware of God’s power and love has no reason to be afraid of
anything. Why can we make that
statement? Well because God both can and
will take care of His children so that there is no hardship or danger through
which He cannot or will not take them as God’s power and love will see us
through any storm, and that is the essence of what we need to know and to
consider when we are in trouble. So what
would be, speaking in human terms, the worst thing that could happen to a
believer in great trouble? I suppose one
could say dying, but dying takes believers right into the presence of the Lord
so that is the best thing.
MacArthur
writes “Yet every believer realizes from his own experience that knowing about
God’s power and love and trusting in them do not always go together. Our weaknesses and frailties are so much a
part of us that, even after we have witnessed God doing marvelous things, we
still fall into doubt and fear. In fact,
like Elijah after the great miracle on Mt. Carmel and the disciples after the
great miracles in Capernaum, we sometimes are most afraid just after we have
been overwhelmed with God’s greatness.
We marvel at His greatness, but as soon as trouble comes we forget His
greatness and see only the trouble.
“Faith
needs constant strengthening, as the disciples eventually came to realize. ‘Increase our faith!’ they pleaded of Jesus
(Luke 17:5). Even believers are subject
to disbelief, and the more we believe, the more we also want to cry out with
the father of the boy with the unclean spirit, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief’
(Matt 9:24). We know God can provide,
but we also know how easily we can forget His love. We know He gives peace that passes
understanding, but we also know how easily we can fall into worry and
despair. When it is coupled with ‘little
faith,’ even much knowledge about God leaves us ‘timid’ and afraid when trouble
comes.”
I
totally can understand what MacArthur is talking about here as I can relate to
this. I can say that I believe that one
of the things that will help believers through troubled times is being
constantly filled with God’s Holy Spirit in order to strengthen us especially
when trouble comes, and trouble seems to always find believers in one way or in
another.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to say with the disciples to the Lord “Lord
increase my faith.”
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue to learn about revival and to be
able to pass that onto those in our Wednesday evening prayer group. 4/19/2021 12:19 PM
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