Mar 14 2022

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

In this verse, Jesus is assuring His disciples that they do not have to be afraid. Today, we'll look at this verse carefully to understand it even better.

Jesus calls them a "little flock." This means He recognizes that they are small in number. While many people rejected Jesus, the disciples are among the few who know He is God. Even though they are small, they are in God's hands and protection—they may be a little flock, but they have a mighty leader.

Jesus tells the little flock not to fear, and that is also a message for us today. It is easy to become afraid in this world. A quick glance at any news feed is enough to make us want to stay inside forever. However, this is not God's wish for us. He does not want us to live in fear, but instead, to live fully and completely in His arms. We can rest assured that we are secure in His kingdom, under His wings, and therefore, have no reason to feel afraid.

Indeed, it is God's "good pleasure" to give those who follow Him the kingdom. The Lord gives us the kingdom willingly—it brings Him pleasure to see it in our hands. God gives it as an expression of His grace, love, and kindness to each of us. He is delighted to welcome us into Heaven. We are welcomed by Jesus Himself because we are there through His grace.

As Christians, our eternal destiny is to dwell with the Lord forever in His kingdom. Nothing can prevent this from happening. No amount of suffering, pain, or hardship, or any kind of death will stop us from dwelling in His kingdom. We know our destination from the moment we become Christians. After that, our lives are simply a journey to it. This relieves us of fear because we know that all suffering is temporary and ultimately will have no bearing on our final place in God's kingdom. The most important thing in our lives—our relationship with Jesus, and our ultimate destination—heaven, are untouchable.

Dear Lord, I thank you for your grace, love, and kindness. I thank you that I have no reason to fear because I am safe in your arms. I thank you for giving me Heaven to look forward to and for being so good to me. In Jesus' name, amen.

Mar 13 2022

Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. :

David most likely wrote Psalm 40 after experiencing some kind of deliverance, possibly redemption from sin. The Psalm is a praise and prayer to God, and talks about how the Lord blesses those who trust in Him instead of turning to pride. It is an invitation to put our hope in the Lord instead of ourselves. We'll break down this verse to examine it more closely.

The Psalm begins by saying that the people who trust in the Lord are blessed. What does it mean to trust in the Lord? I think it means to be able to turn away from anxiety and worry and come to Jesus with our problems and questions. It means that we lay what is making us afraid at His feet, believing that He will know how to handle it better than we will. Trusting the Lord is synonymous with surrender—it means we give ourselves entirely to Him, accepting that whatever He does or prompts us to do will be right.

We receive many blessings from trusting in the Lord. When we cast our cares on Him, we no longer feel the burden of them. Instead, we have peace that surpasses all understanding. We are able to go to sleep at night without being afraid, to rest without feeling like we aren't doing enough, and to pray audacious prayers believing that they will be answered. Casting our cares on the Lord is saying that we know they are better in His hands, and then freeing ourselves from worry.

It takes a lot of humility to trust in the Lord. By trusting in Him, we're acknowledging that He knows better than we do—so much better that we're fine with not understanding how He is working or what He is doing. We are rejecting the lie that we could ever be self-sufficient, and we're living in the truth that God will care for us better and already loves us more than we could ever imagine.

As we grow in our discovery of this reality, we will be able to experience the many blessings that come with trust. We will be able to have peace in all circumstances, and, like King David, praise God for His unfailing love.

Dear Lord, I thank you for blessing those who trust in you. I want to trust you more and more so that I can walk in the fullness of everything that you have to offer me. I choose peace instead of self-sufficiency, and I thank you for your love for me. In Jesus' name, amen.


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