By David Baines, Africa Mercy.
Scripture Reference:
“…God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able…”
(1 Corinthians. 10:13).
Devotional:
Most school kids don’t like tests and examinations. Adults share this dislike, but whether we like it or not, our Lord tests us, and he tends to do this at some very crucial times.
Jesus was tested while in the wilderness, but it is more accurate to say that he underwent three major tests from Satan at the end of his forty days, when he was hungry and exhausted (Matthew 4:2-3).
Here in England, we have had nearly seven years of wanting and waiting for the Africa Mercy to finish refit. The crucial testing hits us now, and we could worry about sea-trials, deadlines, storage space, visas for crew members, furniture for my school, the commissioning, and so on. It’s truly a time of Lent - of testing.
But we worry only if we fail to trust God. He knows our needs and our future much better than we do, and we have all His promises written in Scripture. How did Jesus preface his responses to Satan? “It is written…”
We strive to trust, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, but being human we reach a degree of exhaustion at some point. A man’s reach always exceeds his grasp. We may enjoy an outreach that is fulfilling both physically and spiritually, but there is always much more remaining to be attempted. Our ‘out grasp’ will be far less than perfect, but the Lord is patient and understanding. He will surely place more value on our faithfulness than on any statistics similar to scores on a school examination.
Jesus is faithful. One of my favourite psalms states: “O taste and see how gracious the Lord is.”
And that is a taste allowed to us in the fasting season.
Prayer Points:
* Pray for faith strong enough to carry us through times of testing.
* Pray for a devotion to the written word of God.
* Pray for revelation that there is no place for worry when the Lord is in command.
* Pray that folk will see something of Jesus in us and in what we do.
No comments:
Post a Comment