“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man”.
As I read those words in my morning Bible reading recently, my mind went back many years ago to the time when we HAD put confidence in what people had told us and were badly let down. We were contemplating buying a commercial building with two tenants leasing it. The tenant downstairs seemed reliable enough, but then we had some doubts about the ones upstairs. We asked them how long they were likely to need the lease for, and they said as long as they didn’t expand, there was no likelihood of them moving. So with that assurance, we bought the building.
For a few months, everything went well, and then the tenants upstairs gave notice that they were moving but would continue paying their rent until the end of their lease in six month’s time. This was a blow that we had hoped we wouldn’t have to face. Once the lease ran out, we were left with only half the income we had reckoned on, and as time went by we were unable to lease out the top floor. It was either too big, or there wasn’t enough parking. It was certainly never classed as being too small by any prospective tenant!
Things were not easy and we began to wonder if we had made a mistake in “putting our confidence in man “. We had prayed about the proposition before buying it and done our homework as thoroughly as we could, but now the only conclusion we could come to was that we must have made a mistake in buying the place.
During this time, my morning Bible reading was about the time when the Lord told His disciples to row across the lake, all the time knowing what was going to happen. He knew the storm was going to come and toss them about. Yet He still told them to go. They hadn’t made a mistake in setting off across the lake….they went at His bidding. He didn’t divert the storm, He allowed things to work out their course. He knew He would meet them in their hour of desperate need and calm the storm.
After reading this story, my mind settled down somewhat. We hadn’t made a mistake after all, the Lord just wanted to teach us that He was in control and would release us from the situation in His good time. It didn’t happen overnight but the building eventually sold and we were released from the situation we were in. How relieved we were and overjoyed at not having to go through this hard time any more!!
I now know that whatever comes our way, God is always in control. If things are easy, we must give Him thanks, and when things come tough, we are to tighten our belts (figuratively) and still give Him thanks that things are no worse than they are! Above all, we are not to put our confidence in what people tell us, but to always trust in God and what He says.
Tag Archives: Praying
The Story of Queen Esther (Part Six)
Esther’s Preparation.
Esther 4: 1-17
Mordecai had heard the news of the Jews’ danger. He was very upset and grieved, and wore rags of mourning as he marched past the palace. Esther tried to give him decent clothes to put on but he refused, so she made a point of finding out what was wrong….
The lesson for us in this is that if we deliberately do wrong and sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit and we are told to not do this (Ephesians 4:30). We cannot cover sin up, we have to get to the bottom of the matter and put it right with confession and repentance if the fault has been ours.
Mordecai told her that she had to go to the king and tell him what Haman’s wicked plan was. If she didn’t, her own life was in danger along with the rest of her people. Esther knew what the ramifications were…. if she went to the king before he wanted to see her, she could lose her life even sooner!
It wasn’t enough for Esther to find out what was wrong…. she had to DO something about it, and it was Mordecai who told her what to do. In the same way, the Holy Spirit prompts us to do what is right to fix problems (Psalm 51:3-12).
Esther went into a three day fast and prayer session with her maidens before going to the king, and we too must spend much time in prayer before attempting to fix any problem.
Esther’s cousin was very sad, She wondered why the news was bad, But when she heard she then did care, And took it to the Lord in prayer.
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God Knows.
“As for God, His way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:31)….this thought has been running around in my head ever since hearing that a young friend had an inoperable brain tumour. A godly young man, newly married, with the promise of a life to serve God all his days, to be struck down like this! We do not understand the ways of God. We are told that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
We know that we are told to pray earnestly and in company of others seeking the same thing, but we have to remember that God is Sovereign…each one of us belong to Him and He has control over us….we cannot demand things of Him, even when our wishes seem to line up with Scripture. Our times are in His hands…everything we have has come from Him, and we are to hold them lightly, not grasping them and saying, “They are mine!” We have to be thankful for the good things we have and have had in the past, and be ready to yield them up to the One who gave them to us.
It is so hard to know what to say to the family concerned that will be a comfort to them. They know all the Scriptures, they have faith that God can and does heal at times, but there are many godly people who have had to watch their loved ones slip away leaving them bereft… they have only God to turn to then and He can be more precious to them than ever.
What more can be said? We can only say in our prayers the words of our Lord Jesus….”Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as You will!” (Matthew 26:39)
Love Your Enemies!
“Oh, this is too hard!” Sarah exclaimed throwing the book she was reading down.
“What’s that?” Uncle Jeff exclaimed as he walked into the room, “What do you mean it’s too hard? Is that your Bible Study book you are reading again?”
“Yes, it is,” Sarah replied, “and just listen to what it is saying now….’Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you!’ How can we do that Uncle Jeff? All I want to do is to sock them one and pay them back!”
“Well, I can understand that”, said Uncle Jeff, “But what chance would we have if God had done that to us? The Bible says that He gives the sun and the rain to ALL people, both the good and the bad!”
“Yes, and then it goes on to say if someone borrows something from you and doesn’t give it back we aren’t to ask for it back, and if someone picks on you, you are to be nice to them. All I want to do is the do the same to them!”
“Well,” Uncle Jeff said slowly, “I know what you mean, but I can tell you this, that if you pray for someone who has been mean to you instead of paying them back, it mightn’t change them, but it WILL change you and how you feel towards them! I’ll tell you a story about this sort of thing….”
“This is a true story and happened about a hundred years ago to my mother’s aunt and uncle. Aunt and Uncle were good church going people and never missed going to Sunday services. Next door changed hands and the new people didn’t like Christians at all, and were really nasty to them, calling them names as Aunt and Uncle drove past in their buggy to church, and throwing rubbish over the fence into their garden.
It really got to Aunt, and one day she said to Uncle, ‘What are we going to do about these horrid neighbours?’
‘Well,’ he said, ‘There’s only one thing we can do and that is to pray for them!’
“I don’t feel a bit like it’, Aunt said.
So they made a point of praying for them every morning at the breakfast table. But the neighbours still went on being horrid and nasty. Then Aunt discovered she was having a new baby, and so was the other lady next door. When the babies were born, Aunt found she had a lot of milk to feed her baby on, but the neighbour lady couldn’t seem to make milk. You must remember this was in the days before you could go to the shop and buy baby foods. Aunt’s baby was growing and happy, but the other one was getting thinner and thinner and was always crying and fretful.
In the end, the husband came across to Uncle looking a bit shamefaced, and said, ‘Is there some way you can help us? Our baby is not growing at all and I’m afraid it might get sick and die.’
Aunt and Uncle talked it over, and then Uncle went next door and said, ’We’ve decided that since Mum has plenty of milk for our little one, she will feed your baby for you on one condition.’
‘What’s that?’ the neighbour said.
‘You must come and live with us and have your meals with us and listen while we read the Bible after we’ve eaten dinner at night, and breakfast in the morning, and Mum will feed your little one for you.’
The neighbour man didn’t like this idea much, but they were desperate about the condition of their baby, so they agreed, and then moved in.”
“Wow!” said Sarah, “That wouldn’t have been easy!”
“No, it wasn’t, Uncle and Aunt were still praying for these neighbours, and this helped them to be kind and put up with the grumpiness of the husband.”
“So what happened?” Sarah asked.
“The neighbours’ baby soon stopped being cross and it started to grow and become a happy little thing. Aunt got quite fond of it as she fed it every meal time. The babies grew together and soon began to talk baby talk to each other. After a couple of months of Aunt and Uncle being kind and helpful to these people, the neighbours began to ask questions about the Bible stories that Uncle was reading to them. Over the next few months, the ladies became fond of each other too, and one day both the neighbours became Christians and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves. Wasn’t that wonderful? And all because Aunt and Uncle did what Jesus was talking about in this passage that you said was too hard to do!”
“What happened in the end?” Sarah asked.
“Well, the babies were both able to start eating mashed vegetables, and didn’t need mother’s milk the same way, so the neighbours moved back to their own house. Now, instead of being mean and nasty to Aunt and Uncle, they became the best of friends and all went off to church together each Sunday. So you see Sarah, it DOES pay to pray for your enemies and you will find it easier to do kind things for them,” said Uncle Jeff.
“Did you ever know this Uncle and Aunt, Uncle Jeff?” Sarah asked.
“No, I didn’t meet them, it was before my time,” Uncle Jeff said, “But my mother often talked about them and reminded us to be nice to those who are nasty to us, because you never know what God will do for them!”
Why Bother to Pray?
Why bother to pray? God already knows what we need or want.
But have you ever thought that God wants to give us what we ask Him for? Unless we ask, we won’t get it, and unless we get it, we won’t say thank-you!
Our prayers won’t change God’s mind, but they will certainly change ours!
When someone wrongs us, we say we will never forgive them, but if we pray for them we will find that we feel differently about the whole matter. Maybe not straight away. Maybe they don’t deserve to have good things prayed for them. But remember, the benefit is not for them; in the long run the benefit is for YOU!
Perhaps you are thinking that God is too busy, and why should He take any notice of little old you! Ah, but God has told us to pray; and not only that, but to pray continually.
He says, “Ask in your time of trouble and I will deliver you, and then you will praise and thank Me!”
God is looking for those who will give Him thanks