“Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.” Job 11:6
I don’t think any greater understatement has ever been spoken!
In Matthew 6:11-13 Jesus tells us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
That word “deliver”, in the Greek is the word “rhoumai” and it means to rush or draw to oneself in salvation or deliverance. This word finds its origin in two words: “rheo” which refers to a rushing flow as in water & “rhusis” which refers to a flow as in blood. What a beautiful word!
Lord, evil surrounds us on all sides, in every way, please give us that daily bread of Jesus on the cross that reminds us of your mercies morning by morning. Yours The kind of mercy that decided to forgive us in the garden and provided the means of that forgiveness at the cross before we were even born. Help us to accept and receive your amazingly generous gift of forgiveness day by day, moment by moment. Help us to pick it up from the earth and wield it like the weapon it was created to be. Help us to swing that sword of the Spirit against the Enemy, the accuser of the brethren. DELIVER us from his evil, keep us far away from his temptations by helping us focus not on the problems, but on Your faithfulness. It is our shield and rampart in times of trouble. (Psalm 91)
Thank You Lord that You are the GOOD SHEPHERD and You don’t lead your flock into dangerous situations unless absolutely necessarily. I thank You that it is in those times of danger as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death that we will fear no evil because Your rod and Your staff will be a comfort to us. You are our defender. We are but weak sheep who don’t know any better. Help us to better tune our ears to hear Your voice, O Good Shepherd. Help us to follow Your feet through the darkness of night as the dew settles on the grass preparing to sweeten it for the morning munching.
You are good, help us to SEE Your goodness, right here in the land of the living, while it is still called TODAY! Help us to lay down and sleep IN PEACE because You alone, O LORD, make us dwell in safety. Help us to be still and know that YOU alone are God. Help us to remember the words of Moses to the Israelites in the moments before You parted the Red Sea. “The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) You have plans for us, and they are for our good and not our harm. Help us to focus on those plans; Your plans and not our own. Although the man plans the way, the LORD guides his steps. I call on that today LORD. Help us to remember who it is that guides our steps. Help us to see Your footprints in the sand during this time Father God. Help us to remember that we are NOT alone in this mess of a time. You have promised never to leave us or forsake us, and Your word never comes back void. You are incapable of lying so that means that You MUST be with us, not matter how alone the Devil tries to make us feel. You are good and you are not only just, but our JUSTIFIER. You’re not just the judge, you’re the attorney too. Thank You for everything that you do for us Lord. Thank You for pouring Your love out on us in such abundance that it puddles up in the streets like that water that collects after a day filled with rain clouds.
You cloak yourself in darkness to hide Your glory. You led the Israelites through the desert in a cloud by day and fire by night. Lord, I KNOW that You are cloaked in this darkness… somewhere, You are the silver lining to every cloud. You are the light in every fire. You are there, and I will find You. I will seek you with all my heart and I will find You. I will call to You and Your word in Jeremiah 33:3 tells me that You will answer me and tell me great and unsearchable things that I do not know.
Oh Jesus thank You for not leaving me abandoned in this hopeless place and time. Thank You for using people along the way to make sure that Your words were not just preserved, but made public! Thank You for using regular people to make sure that we today would have Bibles on our phones and in our pockets! Help us to remember what a tremendous blessing that is. Help us to remember that there are some places in this world right now that to have that Bible in their possession would mean a prison sentence, or death. We are so privileged to have the Bibles that we have, help us to remember that and to READ THEM!!!!!
Your word is the bread of life, give to us to eat from it fresh morning by morning. I pray that You will waken our ears to hear You calling us early in the morning to rise and shine our light into this dark world but first rising and allowing Your light to shine on us through Your Word. Lord, Your presence is such a gift, help us to never take it for granted.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen!
Tamar Knochel 