Jeremiah 32:27 Is Anything Too Difficult For Me - Devotional Scripture

 

At this time, Jeremiah is under arrest for prophesying to the people of Judah. He told the people they were about to be taken into captivity because they would not listen to God. The king of Judah didn’t want to hear this truth.  He wanted his ears to be tickled with false promises of peace.

Outside the walls of the city was the king of Babylon and he was about to destroy the city and take the people into captivity. At this time, God tells Jeremiah that the captivity will not last long.  The difficulty is going to pass. God will bring His people back to the land and they will again buy land and build houses. (See Jeremiah 32:7-15)

God has so overwhelmed Jeremiah with this information that he trembles in his faith. The situation looks impossible. Jeremiah couldn’t see how God was going to bring them back to their land and restore them. God tells Jeremiah,

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me? Jeremiah 32:27

 

This is what we need to remember in every difficulty.  When we are sitting in the shambles of life, when it seems like everything has absolutely fallen apart; in every trial, we need to stop and say, “God, You have said that nothing is too difficult for you.” Because the answer to the question “Is anything too difficult for Me?” is no, nothing is too difficult for God. We have a God who delights in impossibilities. It's His specialty.

So what do we do? Where do we go? How do we find relief? How do we find hope? The answer is found in Jeremiah 33:2-3,

Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name, "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

When we are overwhelmed, when we tremble in our faith, when all we see is impossibilities, we need to call on the Lord knowing that He will answer us and trust that He will show us mighty things we did not know.

 

Serving God Not Man, Eph. 6:7 - Weekend Challenge - Devotional Scripture

"In Ephesians 6, Paul talks to servants and masters. He reminds both groups that we serve one Master who is in heaven. So we need to do everything with sincerity of heart, integrity, and respect because we are serving and working for Christ Himself. . . . What a privilege to serve God in everything we do, whether answering a phone or driving a car or doing housework or running a business. Let us work with a smile today, remembering that no matter what we are doing, we are serving God." Our Daily Bread - June 23, 2016

This weekend’s challenge is to smile in everything you do, remembering that you are serving God not man.

Put Others First - Phil 2:3-4 - Devotional Scripture

"It is all too easy - whether in business, family, or church - to view others from the perspective of how they can benefit us. We value them for what we can get from them, rather than focusing on  how we can serve them in Jesus's name." - Our Daily Bread - June 9, 2016

This weekend's challenge is to purposefully and intentionally put others first.  Look for opportunities to be compassionate when you don't feel like being compassionate.  Show love to others and serve them when all you really want to do is serve yourself.  Give up your right to be right and let the discussion go.  Show grace to others realizing that you have no idea what they are going through.

It is easy to say I'm going to put others first but it's quite another thing to do it. We can't do it in our own strength.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that it can be practiced. This weekend, as opportunities arise to practice selflessness, ask God to help you put aside your own agenda and think of others first.


 

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those Rejoice - Devotional Scripture

 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15

We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to weep with those who weep. At times, all we need to do is be close to those who are weeping and in that we let them know we care.   We don’t have to preach at them or speak something profound to them. We just need to weep with them without questioning God’s goodness in the process.

Sometimes, it is harder to rejoice with those who are rejoicing than it is to weep with those who are weeping.  One of the problems is that when something good happens to others, we often compare our lives to them and wonder why they get all the breaks.  Paul says, "Set your own troubles aside for a moment and rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

Ps. 139:23-24 Heart Inspection - Devotional Scripture

Earlier this week I shared how we can be positionally pure in heart through God’s cleansing (Matt. 5:8).  But this verse also has a practical application. The word phrase “shall see” means to gaze with wide-open eyes at something remarkable. The practical application of this verse is that the pure in heart shall see God moving in the circumstances of their lives. They will see His will being unfolded in their lives and they will see His hand of provision in their everyday experience. The pure in heart view life through the eyes of faith and they are blessed and filled with joy.   

How do we make this practical purity a reality in our lives? We need to give God free access to our heart.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

This weekend’s challenge is to allow God to inspect your heart. Ask God to show you anything in your life that is keeping you from seeing Him in your day to day circumstances. Ask Him if you need an attitude adjustment about something or someone. Maybe you are doing something that you know is displeasing to God and yet you continue to nurture it and act as if it will do you no harm. Be willing to lay  your heart open before the Lord and  He will reveal to you any wicked way in you so He can transform you to be more like Him and be who you really are in Christ; pure in heart.