"Give Thanks He Is Willing To Carry Me"
July 29, 2011
(The LORD said) "... I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. To whom will you compare Me or count Me equal? ..." Isaiah 46:4b-5a
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Just last month I took a minor risk and set up a small business.
Unlike any other thing I have ever attempted, I was confident I could make this work. I knew it because my product was in an area I knew and understood. Even more, when I started, I was fully confident I had the right number of clientele to make this endeavor successful. I had the necessary contacts and I was guaranteed success in this just because I was the one doing it!
Have you noticed the frequency of "I" in all that? I certainly didn't.
At least not until the very first week of work when things I was depending on failed to pan out and people I was counting on disappointed me.
To say I was anxious is to put it mildly. I was on the verge of depression. I had been so sure of immediate success that I felt like God had failed me. The prayer I addressed to Him was not a pleasant one. That's when I realized: not once in my frantic rush to get going had I considered bringing the matter before God. I hadn't paused to reflect in prayer. Indeed, I barely had time for my regular times with God.
Once I realized I had only come to God to accuse and to complain, I had to sit down and re-evaluate my approach to life's challenges.
Is God only the God of my troubles? Can He not also take credit for my successes and play a role in my plans and ambitions?
Can I not trust God to make things right even before they go wrong? Indeed, do I do us both a disservice by depending on me when the Triune God desires to be my rock and my shelter, the provider of all my needs? After all, we only need to look at His Son in Bethlehem's manger, on Calvary's cross and at the empty tomb to see His willingness to do what is necessary for us.
By His grace, my elementary business endeavor has been a time of insight and spiritual development much beyond anything I could have hoped to gain from this experience.
God does not only rescue me in times of trouble, but He also sustains every day. He is willing to carry me, with all my burdens, trials, tribulation, joys and successes. To whom, then, can I compare Him?
He will carry you as well.
July 29, 2011
(The LORD said) "... I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. To whom will you compare Me or count Me equal? ..." Isaiah 46:4b-5aDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Just last month I took a minor risk and set up a small business.
Unlike any other thing I have ever attempted, I was confident I could make this work. I knew it because my product was in an area I knew and understood. Even more, when I started, I was fully confident I had the right number of clientele to make this endeavor successful. I had the necessary contacts and I was guaranteed success in this just because I was the one doing it!
Have you noticed the frequency of "I" in all that? I certainly didn't.
At least not until the very first week of work when things I was depending on failed to pan out and people I was counting on disappointed me.
To say I was anxious is to put it mildly. I was on the verge of depression. I had been so sure of immediate success that I felt like God had failed me. The prayer I addressed to Him was not a pleasant one. That's when I realized: not once in my frantic rush to get going had I considered bringing the matter before God. I hadn't paused to reflect in prayer. Indeed, I barely had time for my regular times with God.
Once I realized I had only come to God to accuse and to complain, I had to sit down and re-evaluate my approach to life's challenges.
Is God only the God of my troubles? Can He not also take credit for my successes and play a role in my plans and ambitions?
Can I not trust God to make things right even before they go wrong? Indeed, do I do us both a disservice by depending on me when the Triune God desires to be my rock and my shelter, the provider of all my needs? After all, we only need to look at His Son in Bethlehem's manger, on Calvary's cross and at the empty tomb to see His willingness to do what is necessary for us.
By His grace, my elementary business endeavor has been a time of insight and spiritual development much beyond anything I could have hoped to gain from this experience.
God does not only rescue me in times of trouble, but He also sustains every day. He is willing to carry me, with all my burdens, trials, tribulation, joys and successes. To whom, then, can I compare Him?
He will carry you as well.
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