Matthew 28:20b. …and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Oh friends, what a beautiful Tuesday morning it is in my area! The sun’s shining brightly in a clear blue sky, the birds are singing, the insects chirping, and everything seems right with the world! (smile) But we know that’s not true. In fact, it’s the opposite, not a whole lot is right with our world. When you consider the overwhelming natural disasters happening all over our world; the wildfires, the hurricanes and tornadoes, the flooding, the drought, famine, economic deprivation and sickness, plus the serious strife caused by man’s greed and inhumanity to his fellow man, how can anything be right eh?
But that’s what we believers in Christ Jesus are here for, to make it better, or as best as we can before our Lord and Saviour returns. But we have to get serious about it, not only talk, but gallivant ourselves into action, helping those in need; that’s the vocation and purpose of Christ’s body, the church. Unfortunately, it’s an area in which we have not been doing as well as we should. But with things as bad as they are right now, it’s of the utmost importance that believers rise to the occasion and help alleviate the serious situation existing in our disaster filled world.
And the best place to begin is always with prayer. So, here’s this month’s prayer from the In Touch Devotional. Please pray with me. ‘Father, all my striving has one goal – to know You. Have mercy on me. I make mistakes, I stumble, but always toward You. Have mercy on me. I confess, Lord, that I long to rest with You. Have mercy on me. Teach me to experience You without wringing my hands. Have mercy on me. Forgive me for scrambling and striving – You’ve never required it. Have mercy on me. You’ve always been here and always will be. Have mercy on me. Amen.’
Yes my fellow believers, two things jump out at me in that prayer; first that our wonderful and merciful God doesn’t ever require us to strive and scramble, because if we dwell sincerely with Him, He always provides for our needs. And secondly, He has always been with us, and always will be. And until that fact becomes a permanent and active part of our lives, our spiritual walk will not be as comfortable and significant as it ought to be. And there are numerous scriptures where the Lord has promised to be with us, so let’s look at a few to remind ourselves of his gracious promise and thus renew our faith and trust in Him.
And the first one comes from way back when, when Moses told the Israelites on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Be strong and of a 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.’ (Deut. 31:6) Then there’s the personal outpouring of God’s favour in the life of Bruh Joesph. Yes, Joseph is one of our three Bros: we just don’t talk about him as much as we do the other two, Paul and David, but he was the forerunner of the Israelite nation in Egypt, and though he suffered much misfortune, the Lord was always with him.
As the Bible records in Genesis. ‘But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.’ (Gen. 39:21) Wherever Joseph went, despite his many misfortunes, he remained faithful to God and God favoured him with steadfast LOVE, so that he was always well looked upon. And it’s the same way the Lord will look upon us with favour and steadfast LOVE if we are faithful to His will.
And Isaiah made this pronouncement about the coming of Jesus, long before it ever happened. ‘Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’ (Is. 7:14) And what does ‘Immanuel mean? God with us! So the Lord didn’t just talk about being with us, but He sent His Son, God in the flesh to be with us! You can’t get any better than that!
And probably the most in your face and direct promise of God being with us, is when He said to Joshua: ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9) And believe me friends, the same promise holds good for each and every sincere believer in Christ Jesus! He is with us wherever we go!
The problem is that we have to believe it, do like Bruh Joseph and have strong faith despite all the unfortunate and unfair things that happen to us. Don’t think that he was not confused and wondering why his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, why Potiphar’s wife wrongly accused him of sexual abuse, and why the chief butler forgot for two years to tell Pharaoh about him. But despite all that stuff, he held on to the dream the Lord had placed in his heart, and because of his faithfulness, it eventually came true.
That’s how we have to be my fellow believers; strong in our faith, despite whatever happens that doesn’t sync with what we expect, for our God is faithful. As Hebrews tells us: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised.)’ (Heb. 10:23) And again there’s this promise through Isaiah to the people of Israel. ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) How much more can we ask eh?
Now listen to Zephaniah tell it like it is. ‘The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest (quiet you) in his LOVE, he will joy over thee with singing.’ (Zeph. 3:17) How much reassurance do we need of God’s faithfulness eh? And Bruh David lived it and said it in spades in our favourite psalm. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps. 23:4) And why do you think Bruh David escaped all the times that Saul tried to kill him eh? Because the Lord was with him, and will be with us too if we stick close and faithful to Him.
Now there are many more scriptures where God poured out His promise to be with us, but we’ll close with this one straight from the horse’s mouth as it were. (smile) It’s Jesus promise, when He gives the disciples the Great Commission: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) And if we can’t believe that, then I don’t know what else to say.
Now, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And it’s now our duty to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…the most important aspect of a successful walk with Christ…a heart overflowing with faith…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
SCRIP-BITS 