Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube images and lyrics from Tommy Walker leading in worship and singing … He Knows My Name … poignantly singing of how our Lord knows all our needs and will never leave us … “no matter where we go!”
=============
Highlight Verse[s]: Genesis 16:13 [NLT] … 13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, Who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” [from the Hebrew “El Roi”] She also said, “Have I truly seen the One Who sees me?”
… Jesus appears to Hagar and she realizes that God is always with her, seeing her every need.
==============
Highlight Passage [context]: Genesis 16:7-14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Hagar encounters the pre-incarnate Jesus at a time of feeling separate from God.
=============
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [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 show you which path to take.
…We must trust our Lord in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES since He is the one who always sees our life and leads us for His glory.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 28:19-20 [NLT] … 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
… Jesus’ “Great Commission” and great promise [bold/underlined] to those who are His disciples.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:19 [NLT] … 19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
… Paul reminds Christians that our God is the One Who sees and supplies all our needs.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 13:5-6 [NLT] … For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”[Deut. 31:6, 8] … 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” [PS. 118:6]
… God, thru the author, quotes from OT truths that God will never leave or abandon a true believer.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Patricia Raybon, uses a physical analogy to illustrate that God ALWAYS sees our lives perfectly and knows what is best for us. The ODB author writes …My first pair of eyeglasses opened my eyes to a bold world. [see PHOTO] I’m nearsighted, meaning objects close up are sharp and defined. Without my glasses, however, items across a room or in the distance are a blur. At age twelve, with my first pair of eyeglasses, I was shocked to see clearer words on blackboards, tiny leaves on trees and, perhaps most important, big smiles on faces. As friends smiled back when I greeted them, I learned that to be seen was as great a gift as the blessing of seeing.
In today’s ODB highlight passage, Hagar, felt alone and abandoned by everyone, especially by those closest to her; but she discovered and saw clearly, thru a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus (i.e, the “Angel of God”) that the Lord not only saw her needs but would be there for her ALWAYS. And so she acknowledged Him by calling Him “El Roi,” … the God Who Sees!!
I hope this helps us see that no matter where we are or what are our circumstances, God sees exactly where we are and that we can trust that He will never leave us or forsake us (see all the reference passages). And knowing those truths and believing them will allow us to deal with so many “downers” in life.
That is my prayer for us right now, … especially having received this reminder by song and scripture now as I am experiencing a lot of physical pain; and I’m so thankful to know that my Lord sees and knows my pain and will be there for me during these challenges.
=============
My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for seeing where I hurt and giving me the grace to deal with these circumstances.
=============
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me to pray for the relief to our pain and for anyone who needs to know that our “El Roi” will always be there for us !! … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment