Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Monday, July 15, 2019

Audio Link: http://bit.ly/ThoughtsinWorship

Today’s Scripture Focus: Numbers 23:19-20

We are focusing on sin recovery principle number three of 12: “We have decided to submit our wills and lives wholeheartedly to God.”

Trust is a precious commodity that is hard to come by. And some of us have an especially difficult time trusting people because someone or many persons disappointed us during our formative years. Perhaps your father said he was going out to the store and never came back because he was leaving your mom. Maybe your mom promised he would come for a visit during the holidays, but he actually moved in with another woman and her children, and you found out. Maybe your friends said they cared about you, but when you all were in mixed company, they acted like they didn’t know you because you were not popular enough to their clique. Maybe you told your close neighbor an embarrassing family secret, and that neighbor blabbed it all over the neighborhood. Perhaps you were groomed and molested by a close friend of the family.

There are so many ways people betray each other where we say one thing and do the exact opposite. Consequently, we often inadvertently charge God with the crimes of flawed human beings. Sometimes we feel like if people have left us high and dry, perhaps God is also that way. And if God is that way, many have decided not to trust Him either.

The story of Balaam and Balak is a clear indicator of the difference between God and us. Balak wanted Balaam to curse God’s people so they would not be so powerful. Through many rounds of discussion, Balaam finally said that whom God blesses, no person and curse. This is an ironclad promise. The irony of the situation is that God knew His people would eventually falter, yet, as long as they submitted their will to Him, He would continue to protect and bless them (Numbers 23:21). He is nothing like us. God cannot lie. He cannot break a promise. He cannot fail. When He blesses a person, that person will remain so until or unless that person chooses to separate from God’s will (Deuteronomy 28).

So if you want to live a blessed life, surrender your will to God. Do not make any decisions that will jeopardize your relationship with Him. As long as you accept His power to keep your promise of submission to God, He will continually overtake you with blessings even when trials inevitably come. Then one day the ultimate benefit will come as a reward for submitting to God. Those who remain faithful will see God’s face one day and live in His banner of blessings forever.—L. David Harris (http://bit.ly/BQuotable)

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