Day 11
Psalm 44:23 – “Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arouse Yourself, cast us not off forever!”
Matthew 8:24, 25 – “And suddenly, behold, there arose a violent storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered up by the waves; but He was sleeping. And they went and awakened Him, saying, Lord, rescue and preserve us! We are perishing!”
Mark 4:38 – “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?'”
Psalm 78:65 – “Then the Lord awakened as from sleep, as a strong man whose consciousness of power is heightened by wine.”
We might come to a point in our walk with God where we feel like saying, “God, why aren’t you intervening in this craziness? Why are you sleeping? Don’t you care about us?”
God’s reply is simple, “Why aren’t you resting in my presence like I told you? Where on earth do you think your strength comes from? Nowhere on earth! It comes from resting in MY presence! You think you need to struggle at a time when you really need to rest, and you grow lax at a time when you need to pursue Me even deeper. Nothing earthly can give you the strength you need for your life. Only My presence can strengthen you. Only My right hand can uphold you! Come to Me and I will give you rest.”
Even King David didn’t have the strength within himself to solve his problem in 1 Samuel 30. He was robbed of all he had, including his family! But the Word says, “he found strength in His God.” All the men around David reacted to the situation in their own way: blaming David for what happened and planning to kill him. But David did not react. By not reacting, he was able to lean on the Lord for what he needed. Sometimes, the hardest thing for us to do is stop ourselves from reacting. But in tough situations that are more than we can handle, that’s our only job. Don’t react to the situations around you! React to what God has done. React to His love and His goodness to you. React to Who He is and all that He’s poured into your life. You don’t have to take control, because the Lord is not sleeping. He’s right by your side, waiting for you to let Him step in.
Pursue your purpose in Him,
Anthony B.