May 30, 2013 … God’s Motives?

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 150

Passage of the Day #1: 2nd Samuel 22: 20 [with verses 19-20] [NLT] …
 19 They attacked me at a moment when I was weakest, but the LORD upheld me. 20 He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me. 
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 Contextual Study for today’s passage: 2nd Samuel, Chapter 22 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 14: 28-31 : [Oh, we of little faith. ] …[NLT] …  
28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Reference Passage #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 : [Yes, again!] …[NLT] …  
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.

Reference Passage #3: Romans 8: 28 : [Do we really believe Him?] …[NLT] …  
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.

My Journal for Today: How many times in our lives have we misperceived the motives of another and it caused great strain in our relationship with that person or broke down our ability to interact with him or her? And this especially happens when we think we trust someone; and then we perceive that that person’s motives are untrustworthy.

I’ve been called to lead a ministry to help Christian men deal with the after-effects of sexual sin in their lives; and you can imagine how the relational trust would be damaged in the marriage of one of these men, if/when a wife were to discover that her husband was deeply into internet p0rnography or having an affair.

And what about our relationship with God? Have you ever been in a place in your life when things didn’t go as you might imagine they should; and you question the motives of an all-powerful God in allowing these circumstances to transpire? I’ll bet you can think of a time or times when you stepped out in what you thought was faith; and life seemed to smack you in the face; and you wondered what God was doing. And then maybe you even backed off in relating with God because of your perceived mistrust of His motives.

I charge you to go deeply here into ALL of the reference passages to which I’ve either linked you or copied above and note at least two historical instances where two of God’s chosen one had his faith tested in a serious way and had to do a double-check to realize that God, in the face of some tough circumstances, still wanted to bring David or the Apostle Peter into a good place in their relationship with their Lord.

David had had to flee from Saul for those years; and finally in 2nd Sam. 22, from a song David wrote about these times, the future great King of Israel realizes that God really allowed all those years in the dessert to occur to bring him to a very special place (see the passage copied above).

Then there was that moment of faith and truth in the life-threatening storm, when Jesus came out to His men, floundering on the waters; and when Peter recognized who Jesus was, he had faith enough to ask Jesus to call him to come to His Savior on the waters of the storm; and we know what happened. Peter did step out of the boat at Jesus’ call; and for a moment of faith, Peter walked on water. Then he questioned Jesus’ motives; and Peter began to sink before Jesus rescued His disciple.

Remember the two other reference passages which I’ve copied above for your meditation. If I were to ask you if you believe that Prov. 3: 5-6 and Romans 8: 28 are true, I would bet that most, if not all of you, would declare that they are true because they are written into God’s word. I certainly believe they’re true; but then I recognize that there have been times in my life when my trust in God’s ways, especially when things are seemingly going wrong, have been seriously challenged. And in some of those times, I have to admit that I wonder if God really does cause ALL THINGS to work together for my good?

How about you? Do you trust God in ALL situations of your life … to desire to bring you from where you are to a better and safer place? Do you KNOW … ALWAYS … that God is allowing the bad circumstances in your life for a good purpose … HIS purpose?

David and Peter were finally able to come to this realization; and because of it, they were able to let God bring them through the valley of the shadow of death to a wonderful, safe, and secure place in their relationship with their God. Right now I’m in that place too; and it feels so good!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, thank You for bringing me through the valley of the shadow of death into this meadow of love and safety with You. … Amen