Day: September 13, 2020

Waiting Upon God thro Hard Times

Habakkuk prophesies in Judah
before its overthrow by Babylonia. Honestly concerned with how God could chasten Judah by means of
a nation even more sinful than itself,
Habakkuk deals with perplexing
questions: Why is a just God silent? Why do pleas of the faithful seem
to go unheard? The reply comes in the statement of a timeless principle
of God’s sovereignty: God will deal with the wicked in His way and
in His time. Meanwhile righteous
people must continue to trust God.

Lord, we Trust by Waiting on You:
I will stand my watch & set myself
on the watch tower. And watch
to see what He will say to me…
Then the Lord answered me:
The vision is yet for an appointed
time; but at the end it will speak,
and it will not lie. Though it tarries,
Wait for it; because it will surely
come, it will not tarry. Behold the
proud… is not upright; but the just
shall live by his Faith (Hab 2:1-4).
Though the fig trees does not bud,
there are no grapes on the vines
and the olive crop fails… yet I will
rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful
in God my Savior. The Sovereign
Lord is my strength (Hab 3:17-19).

Lord, we note that to trust God
fully means to trust Him even
when we do not understand
why events occur as they do.
Help us to live by Faith by Waiting
upon You and trust that You God
will direct all things according
to Your purpose, Your way and
Your time. In Jesus’ precious name.

Lord, I have “heard all about You
and I am filled with awe by the
amazing things You have done.”
In our time of deep need, begin
again to help us as U did in years
gone by. Show us Your power to
save us. No matter what happens,
whether I see prayers answered,
I purpose to hold on In Faith.
And may my heart rejoice in You;
for You are my strength. Amen.

Oh Sovereign Lord, we need You.
Our strength is limited; but Your strength is endless. Fill us and empower us; enable us to do
all that You have called us to do.
May the same Spirit that raised
Jesus from the dead give us life
and strength to make thro all the
dark winters we are facing and
bear much fruit in Your time. Amen

Follow the Lord’s Direction (Sep 13)

Babylon the last and greatest enemy
of Judah will suffer the same fate
as the rest of Judah’s ungodly
neighbours. But Jeremiah concludes
his discourse with a note of hope.
Though Jerusalem has fallen as
predicted, her king Jehoiachin is
shown unexpected kindness in
Babylon. In the restoration of this
covenant-breaking king, Jeremiah
pictures the future restoration
of covenant breaking Judah
by her covenant-keeping God.

The sad truth that runs through
the book of Jeremiah is that people
want to rebel against God rather
than listen to Him. The wonderful
truth is that God is a God of hope.
The situations that we encounter
in Jeremiah were so hopeless that
no human solution was workable.
The answer was for God Himself
to be the answer; and to come in
person to save & restore His people.
Lord, we will Return & Seek You.
Lord, we will Rely On Your Defence.
Lord, we will Put Trust in You. Amen

Lord, we will Return & Seek You:
The people of Israel will Return
home together with the people
of Judah. They will come weeping
and Seeking the Lord their God.
They will ask the way to Jerusalem
and will start back home again.
They will Bind themselves to the
Lord with an eternal covenant that
will Never Be Forgotten(Jer 50:4-5)
Lord, my season of struggle is
made bearable by Your presence.
I know there is an end and I will
hope in it before I experience it.
Thank You for the gift of freedom
You bought for me on the cross &
in Christ I no longer walk as a slave.
Guard my steps and my thoughts
from places that will snare me.
And use me and enable me to help
others walk in Your freedom.Amen

Lord, we Rely On Your Defence:
See I will defend your cause and
avenge you; I will dry up her sea
and make her springs dry (Jer 51:36)
Lest your heart faint, and you fear
the rumour of approaching forces…
For the time is surely coming when
I will punish this great city and all
her idols. Her whole land will be
disgraced… Just as Babylon killed
the people of Israel and others, so
must her people be killed (v46-49).
Lord, things in life aren’t alway as
they seem. The situation appeared
bleak for Zion and rosy for Babylon.
But within one generation Babylon
had fallen and the children of
Jerusalem’s exiles were returning
to the city God had given to David.
Help us Lord in times of suffering
the need to develop a much bigger
perspective of hope for the future.
Help us remind ourselves of how
God has worked in the past and
also be watchful. In Jesus’ name.

Lord, we Put our Trust in You:
Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the
Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done.
It was because of the Lord’s anger
that all this happened to Jerusalem
and Judah, and in the end He
thrust them from His presence…
It came to pass… Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon and his army came
against Jerusalem & encamped
against it… By the fourth month…
the famine had become so severe
in the city that there was no food
for the people of the land. Then the
city wall was broken (Jer 52:2-7).
Lord, noted a leader bears special
responsibility as the fall of Jerusalem
is attributed to the sin of its king
Zedekiah. And that disobedience
to God eventually leaves us empty
and weak; even as we saw the army
caved in because of the famine.
Though death is the final pay-off
which all sinners will get, thank God
that in Christ we have been forgiven
and receive restoration. Amen.