February 25

“You are my rock and my fortress—my soul’s sanctuary! Therefore, for the sake of Your reputation, be my leader, my guide, my navigator, my commander.  Save me from the snare that has been secretly set out for me, for You are my protection. I entrust my spirit into Your hands. You have redeemed me, O Eternal, God of faithfulness and truth.” Psalm 31:3-5 (VOICE)  

In circumstances and in sorrow, when our stomachs are tied up in knots, and our life feels pretty tied up too, our instincts may be to fight against what is happening; to wrestle through what we are feeling, and to strive in our own strength to find our way out.
 
However, a better way, the only way really, is to follow the example of Jesus, Who is the exact representation of the Father, and who gave us the most incredible keys of how to do life, when He came to earth to do life with us, and lead the way for us to follow too.
 
In the most difficult of moments, in the struggles and the challenges, Jesus never fought back, but instead He retreated inwards—into the presence of the Father, into the truth of God’s Word and His ways.  He found His life and peace in the secret place with, God the Father.  The One Who’s will He had come to do.
 
And in the most vulnerable time of His life, when His very body, broken and bruised, was on display for all to see, He lashed out at no one, merely stepping back instead, and with great meekness (power under control) He committed His very life into the hands of the Father.
 
Oh, dear heart, if this is what Jesus knew to do, shouldn’t this be the path of life we choose too?  What are the broken areas in your life right now? Is it your heart, your body, your marriage, your ministry for the Lord?  Is it finances or friendships that seem broken beyond repair?  What about, instead of fighting the good fight in your own strength and understanding, you simply step back, into the presence of the One Who loves you so and say, “Into Your Hands, my Faithful God….body, soul, and spirit, I surrender all.”  
 
Then leave those painful pieces, those broken promises that broke your heart, those things that just don’t work the way they should, into His strong and capable hands, and allow Him to do what only He can do. 
 
Jesus’s life, surrendered into the hands of the Father, became our life too.  Therefore, we know that whatever we entrust into His hands, He will fully take up into His care, and bring forth life in the most extraordinary ways. 
 
We can trust and believe in the One Who is faithful and true and that fact that His goodness is set towards us.  We can watch and wait, for He Who is your soul’s sanctuary, can do in one moment, what a lifetime of human effort could never do.  And, dearly loved one, please know, that all of this, He will most assuredly do for you!
 
 
Prayer:
 
Dearest Lord,
 
I thank You for Your promise that Your ear is turned towards me and that You  hear the cry of my heart.  You know the needs and You are the Lord Who brings the breakthrough.
 
Please Poppa, come today and do what only You can do.  My heart and my life, need it so.
 
Oh Lord, the God of Faithfulness, I follow the lead of Your own Beloved Son Jesus, and I put my trust in You.  Let Your undying love and glorious grace, keep me secure in Your love, sheltered and safe.
 
In Your Great and Glorious Name I pray.