Hope Unswervingly

Read Daniel 10 to get the full story, but today we will focus on just the first few verses. As you read, take note of how Daniel prepared himself to hear from God, and also notice the important messages given to him when the information was revealed. The book of Daniel is packed full of wonderful accounts of God’s power manifest in Daniel’s life – the fiery furnace, the lion’s den, the handwriting on the wall. There’s plenty there to study and learn. This time I want to focus on a lesser known account in chapter 10, which gives us a glimpse into the spiritual realm. The first thing I noticed is how committed Daniel is to his prayer. In verses 2 and 3 we read about his sacrificial approach and focus on seeking God.   He describes himself as “mourning.” The definition of the original word here indicates lamenting, or walking with head downcast.  When we find ourselves in this condition, we need to follow Daniel’s example and go directly to seeking God. And his isn’t a...

Read John 11:11-43 Let’s visit the sisters at Bethany one more time. Mary and Martha have set an example for us by believing in Jesus as the Messiah, even though He did not act in the way they expected or hoped. When Martha questions why Jesus didn’t come to save Lazarus’ life, she immediately follows it with a statement of faith. “Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” (John 11:22) When Jesus tells her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live,” she affirms her belief again. There is no doubt that the sisters did not allow their questions to shake their faith. We don’t always understand why God does what He does, or why He waits to act, but we can still remain solid in our belief that God is God and He loves and cares for us. That never changes. We can depend on it. Jesus twice points out that the reason he waited was “so that you may believe.” (John 11:15, 42) This is a wonderful reminder ...

Read John 11:5-6 Here we continue the story of Lazarus that we began last time.   We read two sentences that do not seem to go together. “Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he [Lazarus] was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” Wait. What? Shouldn’t that read, “He loved them, so He immediately got up and ran to Bethany to save the day?”

Read John 11:1-4 (We'll go farther in the story next time) Jesus’ friend Lazarus was sick. Very sick. His sisters sent for Jesus, the compassionate miracle-worker. When Jesus didn’t come right away, Martha and Mary suffered. They expected Jesus, the Healer who loved them, to come and save Lazarus. When Lazarus died instead, they were left with their own thoughts and questions. I can imagine that they wavered in their faith, sometimes thinking, “Jesus has so many people to help, of course He couldn’t just come when we asked,” and sometimes “But He’s our friend. Aren’t we important enough to Him that He would come and help?” They maybe even wondered why Jesus didn’t say the word from afar and save Lazarus’ life. He’d done it for others. Why not for them?

Read 1 Kings 18 My last two devotions have given us a glimpse into Elijah’s life, and we continue there today. My favorite part of this account is the last part of chapter 18, when we see Elijah’s faith in God as he continues to wait. We see the first glimpse of this in verse 41. After the demonstration of God’s power and the elimination of the prophets of Baal, Elijah confidently says to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.” Let me point out, there were still no clouds in the sky (we’ll hear about this in a minute). It was not really thundering or lightning. But Elijah’s faith in God’s promise was unwavering. He knew what God had said, and he had enough life experience with God to know that He was trustworthy.   It is not faith in the outcome that we need, but faith in the God who holds the outcome in His hands. Because of this faith, Elijah could hear the rainstorm before it was there. At this point, he assumes that posture of worship we h...

Read 1 Kings 18 Chapter 18 tells the detailed story of the dramatic demonstration Elijah used to remind the people who is the One True God. There is much rich content in this story, but instead of looking at too many details here, I want to focus on the end result and on one simple act Elijah did when it was over. In the contest between Baal and God, Elijah’s ultimate goal was to turn the people’s hearts back to worshiping God (verse 37). When the people saw the fire on the very wet wood, stones, dust, and even in the trench around the altar, “They fell face down and said, ‘Yahweh, He is God!’” This is the turning point in the story because God had promised the rain would come when the people’s hearts changed. We see this attitude of worship in Elijah too, as he is still waiting for that promised rain. “Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel.” And what did he do there? “He bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees.” Elijah assumed this humble posture of wo...

Read 1 Kings 17 God instructs Elijah to go to Zarephath where he will find a widow who will provide for him. Elijah again obeys, but when he arrives and asks for provisions, he finds out she has nothing to give. One jar of flour, nearly empty. Just a drop of oil in the jug. Her plan? To bake one last loaf and prepare to die of starvation.  One with less faith than Elijah may have rolled his eyes and moved on, questioning God all the while. This is your provision? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to send me to someone rich who had plenty of extra? But that is not Elijah’s response. Trusting in God’s plan, he offered reassurance and comfort to the widow. He instructed her to go ahead and be hospitable and generous, and that this selfless action would provide for her and her son as well. (17:13-14) Both were obedient to God’s plan. Both helped each other. In their actions, both stopped focusing on their own needs and focused on the other. In the process, both had needs...