Friday 27 Sep 2013

Friday Reading: James 1:5-7

Key Verse: James 1:6
6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Devotion:
How many times have you come up against something that you have not understood and you have asked God to explain it to you? Ours is not to understand everything but to have faith that God does know everything. When we do have faith in God we begin to grow spiritually as we listen to Him and we also begin to see that no matter what does come into our lives, there is a purpose. Whether the reason for things happening in our lives is because of God or because of man will be a talking point that many will not agree on. If we do realise that God does allow things into our lives we will naturally seek some sort of explanation to justify why, especially if we do not care for what happens!

No matter how much we try to explain things to each other we will always fall short of the truth because the truth must come from God. God is not going to continue punishing us for our sins after we have brought them to Him in repentance. Once God forgives us those sins are removed from our record on a permanent basis. In other words it is as if they were not committed in the first place. God is a just God and this is what He has promised already.

Our problem comes in the form of doubt after we ask for explanations. If we have doubt that God will allow us to see why we have issues in our life then we may well not get the answer we are looking for. I know that I have asked many things of God and it is only when I have asked in faith, believing that He will answer that I have seen the answer clearly. When we have doubts it is those doubts which cover the answers we seek and hide what God would have us to see clearly.

If we do not have faith the accept the answer God is going to provide then it is as though we are asking for a bucket of water without having a bucket to hold the water in. We could put our hands out and gather a mouthful of water, but most of it would be lost through our fingers – those very fingers we thought were so good at handling things. If we have doubts in our minds, how are we going to accept anything that Christ gives us to accept?

Points to Ponder:
How do you see faith?

What doubts are holding you back?