Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Hope And Trust For Battle
This morning just before I woke up I had one of those brief dreams that God gives me from time to time. In this dream I stood at a distance and saw a vision of an elongated capsule that was large in size. I saw a man looking at the capsule, and came to realize that the capsule represented this man’s job. He was very happy with it and proud of the capsule and he cherished it. Next to the capsule was an open space that as I remember is now was like a pristine forest and meadow. As I looked at this space I sensed a strong presence of God, as if I expected He would actually suddenly unveil our eyes so that we could see Him physically there. I was asking God what He was trying to show me and He said that the man put his trust and hope in his job. It made him feel comfortable. It made him feel as though he and his family were taken care of and would be okay. Then God said the pristine space represented where He was working and exists.
As I woke up God was asking me where do I put my hope and trust. As a husband and father, this is hard because we want to care for our families. I think the point God was making is that He does too. He wants us to know that He has a plan, and He is making that plan happen. He is trying to get us to the place where we will trust Him and know that He is our real source, our real provision for our lives and the lives of our families. As I was getting around then, God shared a scripture with me.
Psalms 146:1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:
9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
10 The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.
In this psalm we see that the psalmist is praising God and talking about where to put our hope and trust. He says that if we put our hope and trust in men, then our hope will die just like all men die and their thoughts immediately vanish. On the other hand, those that hope and trust in God receive His provision, deliverance, healing, and protection. Just like the man in the vision had “encapsulated” his job with his hope and trust, we need to solidify our hope and trust in God. Not because we are perfect will God move, not because we perfectly trust and hope, but because God is God and He cares for us, for that reason God moves. And we through our praise and prayers get His attention. He alone is God. He will fight for us and create a space where we live in victory.
Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. We love You and ask that You help us to see the substance of our hope and trust in You. Lord, You alone are the defender of the widow and the fatherless. You alone send the food to the hungry. You alone are the provider, the healer, the deliverer, and the defender we seek. We ask that today You send to us what we need today in deliverance, healing, defense, and provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.