Do They See It?

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." - Psalm 40:1-3


Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior?  Has Christ put a new song in your heart and mouth?  Does your life show forth praise unto Christ?  Finally, the most important question is: do other people see it?  The Psalmist says that God will bring us up out of our pits, He will bring us up from the miry clay of this wicked world, He will plant our feet on a rock (Jesus Christ), He will establish our path, and He will put a new song of praise in our mouths.

Have you recently experienced a setback in your life?  Have you been in one of those horrible pits or bogged down in the miry clay?  If you are going through a valley in your physical or spiritual life, look for what the Lord is trying to teach you.  Don't murmur or complain against the Lord concerning the state that you are presently in.  You must view your valley, your trial, your pit, as an opportunity to be drawn closer to Christ and an opportunity to show others the new song that has been put in us.  The Psalmist tells us in this passage that when we do these things that many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.  Do you realize that the world is watching you when you go through the fire to see how you will respond.  The world is watching to see if Jesus Christ is as real to us as we say He is.  The world is watching to see if you really believe what you tell them you believe.  If you will allow the pits, valleys, and trials in your life to show forth the praise of Christ it will cause people to not only see it but it will cause them to trust in Him.

I want to challenge you to view your failures and disappointments in life as an opportunity to be drawn closer to Christ and then an opportunity to let others see the praise of Christ in our lives.  Life is difficult and the journey can cause us to grow weary, even jaded.

Will you view your failures, disappointments, and setbacks as an opportunity to let others see Jesus Christ in your life?  Is Christ as real to you as you say He is?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me this day to let others see your praise in my life.  When I suffer setbacks, when I have failures and disappointments, may I see it as an opportunity to be drawn closer to You and to let others see You in my life.  I pray that you will help me to see what You are trying to teach me through the tough times in my life.  I desire You to be so real to me that others will see it, and fear, and trust in Christ.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Be Courageous

"Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." - Deuteronomy 31:6


Does life at times seem to be difficult and discouraging?  I'm sure that Joshua was feeling that very way here in Deuteronomy chapter 31.  Moses, their leader, is about to die and it is now time for Joshua to step up to the plate and lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land.  This would require courage and faith on Joshua's part because now he was the one leading instead of just following.

As Christians, we are able to live "courageously" because the ultimate battle was fought and already won at Calvary.  Just like in the Old Testament when the children sent spies into the land to check it out, they did not need to fear, because God had already promised them that He would go before them and give them the victory.  However, most of us in our walk with Christ fall prey to fear just like ten of the twelve spies did.  The answer to our fears is to trust God and His Word.  If He has promised us something, then we have no reason to doubt or fear, we can be bold and courageous.

Before I finish, I would like to mention that the month of January at Fairystone Baptist Church will be "Courageous Month."  We will be having special messages in our Sunday evening services during the month of January.  Then on Saturday January 21 we will be showing the movie Courageous at the church.  I pray that, just like Joshua, the Lord will give us the strength to be courageous.

Prayer For Today:

Lord, may I turn to you for courage and strength as Joshua did.  I know that You are always with me and will never forsake me.  Lord, help me to face the challenges of this day by completely trusting in and depending on You.  In Jesus name, Amen!