God is Trustworthy..Craig Denison Ministries

 God is Trustworthy

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview: 

It’s vital to the Christian life that we as sons and daughters of the most high God allow our affections to be stirred by the loving, powerful nature of our heavenly Father. Too often we feel that God is distant or separated from us. Too often we allow misconceptions or lies to place a rift between us and experiencing God. It’s in reminding ourselves of God’s character that lies are broken and a pathway is laid for us to encounter his tangible love. Open your heart and mind and receive fresh revelation of the goodness of God this week. Allow your affections to be stirred and your heart to be filled with desire to seek the face of your heavenly Father.

Scripture:“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” - Psalm 9:10

Devotional:

Our heavenly Father calls us, his children, to place our trust solely in him for provision, well-being, and guidance. We see God call his people to a lifestyle of trust throughout Scripture, but time and time again the people of God take matters into their own hands. Why is trust so difficult? Why do we have a hard time placing the burden of provision, well-being, and guidance in the capable hands of our heavenly Father? The only good posture of our hearts is total trust in our God. The only way we will experience the full reality, love, and power of our heavenly Father is in trusting him. It’s when we trust him that we allow him to move in our lives. It’s when we trust him that we position ourselves to receive the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. It’s when we trust him that we allow him to work in and through us to see his will done on the earth. So, let’s allow God’s word to be our guide today as we open our hearts to receiving the courage and faith to place our trust in God.

Psalm 9:10 speaks to the core of trusting in God: “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” Trusting God is first and foremost a matter of knowing his character and faithfulness. We must know his name, or who he is, and know in our heart of hearts that he will not forsake us. Trusting God starts with a knowledge of his trustworthiness, but must make its way down to the heart. If we don’t allow God’s character and faithfulness to become a transformative reality of our heart, we will never bear the fruit of trust. So in order to begin a lifestyle of trust in areas in which we have taken control for ourselves, we must begin by asking God for a fresh revelation of his character and faithfulness. We must see God for who he is, reflect on his faithfulness as demonstrated in Scripture, in the lives of other believers, and in our own lives, and allow these revelations to transform our hearts’ desires and bear the fruit of trust.

Oftentimes it takes me being at my wit’s end, where there is nothing possible left for me to do, before I pray and ask God for his help. In reality, I should begin every part of my life with surrender to the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance. I should follow God’s leadership from the beginning. Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” My life should be a continual response to the love and faithfulness of God rather than a trial of my own strength ending in cries of desperation to my heavenly Father who longed to help me all along. God’s desire is that we would be a people marked by the peace that only comes from continual trust in response to his trustworthiness. Continual peace comes from continual trust.

Psalm 37:3-5 offers what I believe to be a blueprint for the abundant life God desires for each of us. David writes, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” When we place our trust solely in God we are filled with delight in him in place of the burden and weight of living life in our own strength. And when we delight ourselves fully in God, our desires come into line with his, allowing us to simply “do good” and “dwell in the land.” If we will trust in God he will both fill us with the desires he has for us and then satisfy those desires. When the people of God respond to his faithfulness with trust, he does mighty and incredible works. God delivered the entire nation of Israel through the trust of one man, Moses. He destroyed the walls of Jericho through the faithful marching of his people. He scattered the Midianites in response to the trust of Gideon. He delivered Paul and Silas from prison as they worshipped him in trust. The stories go on and on, but they all have this in common: God spoke his desires to his people, his people trusted him at his word in response to his character and faithfulness, and he did a mighty work in their favor.

Where do you need a powerful work of your heavenly Father today? Where do you need his help and guidance? Spend time meditating on the character and past faithfulness of your heavenly Father and place your trust in him in response to his trustworthiness. Your God loves you and longs to help you. He has a plan to deliver you from whatever comes against you. Just as he destroyed the enemies of his people time and time again, he will help you overcome whatever obstacle stands in your way today. Place your hope and trust in God and follow him as he leads you to a life of victory and freedom.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the character and faithful works of God.

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” - Numbers 23:19

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” - Nahum 1:7

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” - Hebrews 13:8

2. Reflect on your own life. Where do you need God’s help today? Where do you need his favor or guidance? Where do you need a miracle?

3. Place your trust in God, ask for his help, and follow his leadership. Spend time placing your trust solely in him. If it feels too difficult to trust him completely, ask for his help! Ask him to uncover whatever lie is keeping you from trusting him. Ask him to reveal his nearness, love, and power to you. Trust is meant to be a response, not something you conjure up. Allow him to reveal himself in deeper ways so that you can simply respond to his overwhelming reality, love, power, and faithfulness.

“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” - Psalm 9:10

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” - Psalm 62:8

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” - Psalm 37:3-5

May you grow in your knowledge of the trustworthiness of your God today. May you experience the joy of having the Creator of all working in the details of your own life. God is not too busy for you today. He doesn’t have better or bigger things planned than your problems. He is infinite, vast, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving. He longs to work in the little things along with the big things. Listen to him as he speaks Isaiah 43:1-2 over you today:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Extended Reading: Psalm 37

Comfort for Your Troubles..TRACIE BRAYLOCK

 Comfort for Your Troubles

TRACIE BRAYLOCK 

“[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” ‬‬‬‬2 Corinthians‬ 1:4‬ (NIV)‬‬‬‬‬‬

I only had one class on the third floor. As my friends and I climbed to the top of the staircase, I could hear the increasingly loud noises behind me, but I didn’t pay them much attention.

Just as we reached the landing, it happened. Mid-conversation, I was bumped into on both sides — first the right, then the left. As I fell to the floor, everything I was carrying flew from my arms and landed on the ground all around me.

The noises I'd heard had been coming from two students who seemed to be racing to the top of the staircase. I’m guessing they didn’t realize they’d knocked me off my feet because, after running into me, they kept going.

I was embarrassed, a bit disoriented and confused. It was one of those moments that made me want to close my eyes and just stay down so I couldn’t see everyone staring back at me.

Thankfully, my friends were there beside me. They helped pick me up, along with my books and papers, off the floor, dusting me off and letting me know the trouble was over. Then we continued to class together.

Without their presence and the relief they offered, I’m sure I would’ve felt more deflated and hesitant to keep going than I did.

Second Corinthians 1:4 explains an even better relief: “[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 

This verse lets you know that life, and the people in it, can knock you down and beat you up, yet you can remain encouraged. In the midst of your troubles, God is right there offering the comfort you need to get through your situation, preparing you to comfort others in the future.

God has also placed others in your life who have been through embarrassing and painful situations. So when you need to be lifted up, comforted and encouraged because life has knocked you off your feet, be receptive to the help that’s available to you — without apology, a second look or second thought. Refuse to allow embarrassment or confusion to keep you down when others are offering you support and reminding you that you’re capable of proceeding.

My friend, in this world, you will have troubles. But remember God redeems troubles for the comfort, salvation and sanctification of others and to enable patient endurance to be worked into you. (2 Corinthians 1:6)

Also know that God shares in your sufferings and in your comfort. In the midst of:

That relationship that seems too broken …
That diagnosis that seems like too much to bear …
That assignment that seems too burdensome to carry …
That incident that seems to have left you too bruised to continue …

You can keep your focus on God — embracing His comfort and trusting the process and the work He’s doing in and through you.

Dear God, thank You for comforting us and preparing us to comfort others. Help us, oh Lord, to continue on our journey, remembering that, even when we don’t understand what we’re going through, we can trust You’re working all things together for our good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Developing Faith through Adversity..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Developing Faith through Adversity

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Corinthians 11:23-30

It doesn't seem fair, does it? Paul spent his life serving Christ, and yet he experienced continual suffering. Why would God let one of His most faithful servants go through so much pain? This isn't just a question about Paul; it's an issue we face today. In our minds, the Lord should protect His loyal followers from hardships, but He doesn't necessarily do so.

Maybe our reasoning is backwards. We think faithful Christians don't deserve to suffer, but from God's perspective, suffering is what produces faithful Christians. If we all had lives of ease without opposition, trials, or pain, we'd never really know God, because we'd never need Him. Like it or not, adversity teaches us more about the Lord than simply reading the Bible ever will.

I'm not saying we don't need to know Scripture; that's our foundation for faith. But if what we believe is never tested by adversity, it remains head knowledge. How will we ever know the Lord can be trusted in the midst of trouble if we've never been challenged by hardship? God gives us opportunities to apply scriptural truths to the difficulties facing us, and in the process, we find Him faithful. For example, how would Paul ever have known the strength of Christ if he had never been weakened by pain, persecution, and adversity?

Depending on your response, trials can be God's greatest means of building faith or an avenue to discouragement and self-pity. If you'll believe what Scripture says and apply its principles to your situation, your trust in God will grow, and your faith will be strengthened through adversity.

5 Lessons from the Story of Noah that We Still Need Today..Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: “And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.” Genesis 7:5-7

5 Lessons from the Story of Noah that We Still Need Today
By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

If you aren’t convinced that God’s word still matters to you in your life today, let’s go straight back to one of the oldest accounts in the Bible, the story of Noah and the ark, and see if it’s truths stand the test of time. You are going to be shocked at how the living, breathing Word of God can speak into your life today.

1. We can grieve the heart of God with our sin.

God is a good Father and He loves His children. Just like any good Father, our disobedience and sin grieve the heart of our Heavenly Father. In Noah’s days, the people were so sinful that God’s heart was deeply grieved. God was grieved by sin then and He’s grieved by our sin now. He can’t just ignore it because He is a holy and righteous God.

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” Genesis 6:5-6

2. God always provides a way for us to begin again with Him.

God must judge sin but he is also merciful, loving, and full of grace. He will never leave us without a way to come back to Him. God wants a relationship with us and is always willing to go above and beyond to provide a way for that. Even throughout deep sin and a worldwide flood, God provided a way for Noah and his family salvation by shutting them in the ark.

He is willing to do the same for you today. It’s never too late for new beginnings because God will always provide a way.

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark…Then the Lord shut him in.”  Genesis 7:11-13,16b

3. We will not always understand God and His ways, but we can trust Him.

Noah must have wondered if God’s plan was best because, after all, a worldwide flood seems very harsh. However, God had an eternal plan in mind. He knew the sinful state of the world was self-destructive and loved the world enough to intervene.

His plan ultimately provided a way for you and me to come to salvation. God sees the bigger picture, so we must trust Him even when we don’t understand His ways.

In Isaiah 55:8-9 we are reminded that God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

4. We can obey God even if the world thinks we are crazy.

Speaking of things that are hard to understand, Noah must have faced lots of opposition. People must have been unkind and laughed as he built a massive ark when it had never rained like God told Noah that it would. Yet, Noah obeyed and held fast to what he knew was right, and God rewarded his obedience.

Sometimes obeying God means believing and doing things that the world won’t understand, but we know that God honors our obedience to him.

“And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.” Genesis 7:5,7

5. All things are possible with God.

As Christians, we believe that the Bible is 100 percent true, and that means that we believe in a flood that covered the whole earth. We believe in a God that warned, instructed, and protected Noah and his family and loved creation enough to send animals into the ark to protect them.

God is able to do far above what we know, expect, and even understand. That was true of Him then and it’s still true of Him today. He did it in Noah’s situation and He can do it in yours.

As if there weren’t proof enough, Ephesians 3:20-21 reminds us of that truth. It says that He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

A Prayer to Help Us Believe..Kristine Brown

 A Prayer to Help Us Believe

By Kristine Brown

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24 ESV)

When my husband and I first stepped into pastoral ministry, I struggled with the sheer number of needs we heard about every day. People carried so much hurt, and they brought their situations to us, wanting us to pray for them for healing, deliverance, or provision. I remember my stomach tied in knots, thinking about the responsibility of praying for such desperate needs. What if God didn’t answer the way we wanted? I worried my prayers would be ineffective, so I chose my words carefully and then wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. 

Over time I realized my worry over those prayers came from a deeper issue. I held back instead of fully believing in God to meet whatever need we brought to him in prayer. I wanted God’s help to simply believe. When the battles we face seem unconquerable, doubt can work its way into our hearts and minds. The word if becomes ingrained in our thoughts. What if things don’t work out? What if God doesn’t intervene? Yet even in our doubt, God will help restore our trust in Him when we ask.

Jesus knew we would have doubts in this life. The book of Mark shares the story of a man who came to Jesus with his mute son after the disciples had prayed for him. He approached Jesus with careful words, “...But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” (Mark 9:22) Jesus pointed out the man’s doubt in the very next verse, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” This desperate dad immediately asked Jesus for help believing, and we can offer the same prayer today. 

God provides a way for us to defeat doubt and live believing that He is able to meet every need. All we have to do is ask Him to help our unbelief. When we make the choice to believe as we pray, we not only release control to our God who never fails, but we also gain a life of freedom. Freedom from overwhelming worry and the responsibility of how things will turn out. So let’s pray today with renewed trust in our Heavenly Father. Let’s cry out with certainty, “I believe!”

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord,
Even though I know you hear my prayers and that you are working in my situation, I still struggle with doubt. Help my unbelief today. You are a faithful and ever-present God. I put my complete trust in you.

When doubt comes into my heart and mind, bring back to my thoughts the truth of 2 Thessalonians 3:3 which says, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” Father, you are my strength and shelter, and you have never failed me. Thank you for freeing me from worry as I walk in steadfast belief. Thank you for meeting my needs, Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

The Enemy Is Relentless..Anne Peterson

 The Enemy Is Relentless

by Anne Peterson


“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8

One thing happened after another. I’d almost catch my breath and another thing would go wrong. My daughter and I looked at each other as we said in unison. “This is warfare.” It was interesting. The first thing Jessie asked me was, “Mom what were you doing right before all this happened?” At first, I wanted to minimize what she was asking me, but instead, I cleared my mind and recalled exactly what I was doing. I was singing to the Lord, praising Him.

And I knew it was warfare. The enemy of our souls doesn’t want us worshipping God. The one he used to worship. And just knowing what was going on helped me know what to do. I needed to focus on truth, instead of believing the lies that were being shot at me.

Satan Is the Father of Lies
Just so you understand, Jesus himself was approached by Satan. And Jesus, the Son of God didn’t try to fight Satan on his own. He continually referred to God’s Word. He responded over and over, with the words, “It is written…" Satan is the one who tries to convince us that God doesn’t care about us. But he doesn’t tell us this when we are confident, or when we’ve just been victorious. He waits till we are weary. He waits till we are weak. But the good news is that the Holy Spirit who lives within those who have trusted Christ is stronger than Satan (1 John 4:4).

His Tactics Have Not Changed
Even back in the Garden of Eden, Satan set out to deceive Eve. He didn’t do it blatantly, but instead, Satan took what God had told Eve and made her question God’s words to her. He loves to just take things and twist them a little. “You shall not surely die,” the serpent said (Genesis 3:4-5). If Satan can get us to question God in any way, we are sliding down a slippery slope.

Satan Wants Us Confused
One helpful thing to do is to call another Christian when you start getting confused about a situation. The ESV version of 1 Corinthians 14:33 states that God is not a God of confusion. So you can bet that the enemy is trying that tactic to muddle up your mind, which makes it difficult to concentrate on the truth.

Satan Hates the Truth
Satan only knows how to lie. He hates the truth, so there is no better way to defeat him than by staying in the truth. Meditating on the truth and even memorizing it. The more we are in the Word of God, the easier we can discern when the enemy is in the picture. For example. Satan will try to convince us of things that would keep us stuck. When we are praying to God about a concern, Satan will either tell us that God doesn’t care about what we’re going through, or he’ll tell us that we don’t deserve for God to help us. Either tactic will get us to doubt the God who loves us.

Satan Wants to Thwart God’s Work
When we are responding to the Lord and using our gifts to follow God, the enemy has to try and stop us. If we’re successful, others may be watching and we may lead others to follow Christ. So Satan is continually trying to stop what God is doing. Being aware of this is so helpful. We can then jump back into the Word, bathing ourselves in what God has told us. And we will be refuting what the enemy is trying to do. But he has more than one tactic.

Another One of Satan’s Tactics

One thing that the enemy of our souls will do again and again is make us feel guilty when we have blown it. What I’m referring to, is when we feel encumbered with guilt. How freeing to learn that guilt is not from God. Paul tells us there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God’s Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us when we sin, but it is Satan that heaps guilt on us when we do wrong. He tells us how worthless we are and continues from that point on. Knowing what God says about us is the only way we can recognize it is the enemy who is whispering lies to us.

When Jesus took our sins on the cross, God took out His wrath on Jesus. Always be aware of the father of lies.

My Favorite Weapon against the Enemy
1 Peter 2:20 tells us: “When we suffer for doing wrong and we endure it, how is it to our credit? But if we suffer for doing good and we endure it, this is commendable before God.” Wanting to please God is what motivates me to go even further. So I’ve been praising God for who He is when I hurt because of the actions of another person. The truth is God is always worthy of our praise, and yet, sometimes when we’re hurting, we’re not in a place of praising God. I’m so glad we are free to choose. 

We were the joy set before Jesus when he endured the cross. And we can let Jesus be the joy set before us when we suffer. Because one day, we will no longer have the fiery darts to deal with. One day.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
The longer we walk with the Lord and study His Word, the better equipped we will be when Satan tries to defeat us. What lies has Satan told you? What have you found helpful in those times? Lord, I pray that you give us wisdom as we are in this world. We thank you that we were not left alone, but that you are with us. We thank you that you have given us your Word so that we can stand against the evil one. Thank you, Lord, that one day we will live in a world without Satan. We pray all this in your Son’s precious and Holy name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Always There

My Child, I see you are burdened 
by the cares of your world day and night.
So please, take my yoke on your shoulders,
learn of me— for my burden is light.
The enemy tells you the trials you face 
are proof that I never have cared.
But the enemy lies, and he will till he dies.
I have promised I’ll always be there.
-Anne Peterson © 2020