Spiritual Gems from a Recent Quiet Time

Spiritual Gems from a Recent Quiet Time

I share with you some of the promises of the Word of God I have recently received in my quiet time.  First, Daniel 1:9 says; “Now God caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel.”  This verse supports asking Almighty God to place persons within our myriad challenges and situations whose hearts are favorable towards us.  Listening to “Money Matters,” a Christian radio talk show, encourages me to ask God to change the hearts of people who may initially treat me adversarially.  Elsewhere, scripture speaks of hearts of stone being turned to flesh.

Second, Psalm 142:5 says; “I cry to you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”  Actually, David writes this psalm while hiding in a cave escaping either King Saul or one of David’s other numerous enemies.  The entire seven verses are most helpful on any given day.

The “Parable of the Persistent Widow’s” brevity allows easy memorization which potentially yields a fallacy of thinking you have this text forever pegged.  Yet, I saw seemingly for the first time in Luke 18:7-8 the eternal promise that Almighty God will indeed grant justice to His children.  “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?  Will He keep putting them off?  I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.” 

Fourth, the Holy Spirit recently reminded me of a verse, Isaiah 50:7, upon which I stood firmly during a challenging time a few years ago.  “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.  Therefore have I set my face like flint and I know I will not be put to shame.”  I plan to commission a calligraphy rendering of this verse so that I may frame it for my offices at the church and at home.

Fifth, the stories of the Lord’s deliverance of Jehoshaphat against the Moabites and Ammonites in 2 Chronicles 20 and of Hezekiah against Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, in 2 Chronicles 32 contain immortal lessons of encouragement for anyone experiencing spiritual warfare.  In the former story, the seventeenth verse greatly edifies my spirit.  “You will not have to fight this battle.  Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” 

I reason I shall not have to endure a protracted struggle in order to resolve any longstanding disputes.  Practically speaking, the verse reminds me to simply show up and face life on its terms.  Heretofore, I would like to avoid a lengthy period of skirmishing.  Currently, I resolve to devote my time, money, energy and talents to worthwhile causes.  Upon achieving a resolution of whatever divinely ordained form to my adversities, I wish to enjoy peace. 

Moreover, I fervently and genuinely seek the Lord’s will in all matters.  Please join me in praying that He will sift any residual egomaniacal impulses.  I hope to avoid ingratiating self-seeking motives and self-centered fears for the fleeting emotional comfort they may bring.

Finally, in addition to my personal bedrock passages of Isaiah 40:28-31, 41:10-13, 42:16 and 43:1-3, I discovered Isaiah 51:12-13.  “I, even I, am he who comforts you.  Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?  For where is the wrath of the oppressor?”  Referred to as the gospel of the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah enduringly encourages and empowers us to recall the fact that we serve the Sovereign Lord of the universe.