Hunger – Praying Pint

53.d. Joshua 1:10-18

Jos 1:10-18  And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’” And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

John 14:23. Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Deuteronomy 5:27     Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

Psalms 90:1     Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Psalms 91:1   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Isaiah 57:15      For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Romans 8:9-11  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Revelation 7:15-17    “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The people of Israel engage to obey Joshua; All that thou commandest us to do we will readily do, without murmuring or disputing, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go. The best we can ask of God for our magistrates, is, that they may have the presence of God; that will make them blessings to us, so that in seeking this for them, we consult our own interest. May we be enabled to enlist under the banner of the Captain of our salvation, to be obedient to his commands, and to fight the good fight of faith, with all that trust in and love his name, against all who oppose his authority; for whoever refuses to obey him must be destroyed. (Henry)

I will not leave you orphans, or fatherless, for though I leave you, yet I leave you this comfort, I will come to you. I will come speedily to you at my resurrection. I will come daily to you in my Spirit; in the tokens of his love, and visits of his grace. I will come certainly at the end of time. Those only that see Christ with an eye of faith, shall see him for ever: the world sees him no more till his second coming; but his disciples have communion with him in his absence. These mysteries will be fully known in heaven. It is a further act of grace, that they should know it, and have the comfort of it. Having Christ’s commands, we must keep them. And having them in our heads, we must keep them in our hearts and lives. The surest evidence of our love to Christ is, obedience to the laws of Christ. There are spiritual tokens of Christ and his love given to all believers. Where sincere love to Christ is in the heart, there will be obedience. Love will be a commanding, constraining principle; and where love is, duty follows from a principle of gratitude. God will not only love obedient believers, but he will take pleasure in loving them, and will rest in love to them. He will be with them as his home. These privileges are confined to those whose faith worketh by love, and whose love to Jesus leads them to keep his commandments. Such are partakers of the Holy Spirit’s new-creating grace. (Henry)

There is a correlation between time spent in God’s Word in Faith, Belief, Trust, Obedience, and Reliance, and the Leading of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life expressed in love for God and others. The key here is “Time in God’s Word”. There is too much in our lives that draws and entices us to spend more time thinking about and doing worldly and fleshly stuff. I like to listen to Christian music. It is on all the time in my car and shop. If this was all I did for growth and maturing in my Love for God and the leading of the Holy Spirit in My life, it would be a sad and very limited expression of commitment, dedication, and desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Too often this is the case in many lives. There is limited time in His Word so they will get their dose of devotion by listening to a Christian music station.

Nothing can replace personal time in God’s Word in our growth, understanding, and knowledge of God and godly living. Nothing. If God’s Word was food and water for our souls, would we be wasting away and slowly dying from starvation and thirst?

God’s Word is:

A lamp to our path

Food for our soul

Living water

Our strength

Where we find peace, joy, hope, refuge

Instruction for righteousness

Knowledge and Understanding

How we know truth

Maturity and growth

How we discern false

How we hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit

How we know what is worldly and fleshly

How we grow in love for others

God’s Word should be our nutrition and food for living. Christian music is like a vitamin to help us rejoice and worship Jesus Christ.

44.i. “Now is the day of salvation”

2Corinthians 6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;

“Life is options up to a point, and then it’s decisions made.” But no decision we make is more consequential than choosing where we are going to spend eternity. The decision is not whether you are going to live forever but where you going to live forever. And it is a decision you cannot put off indefinitely. If you wait until you die to decide where you are going to spend eternity, then you will have waited too long. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “The ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation”. Where we choose to spend eternity will be reflected in how we live our lives right now.

The older I grow the more I am convinced that real practical holiness does not receive the attention it deserves, and that there is a most painfully low standard of living among many high professors of religion in the land. But, at the same time, I am increasingly convinced that the zealous efforts of some well-meaning persons to promote a higher standard of spiritual life are often not “ according to knowledge,” and are really calculated to do more harm than good. Let me explain what I mean. It is easy to get crowds together for what are called “ Higher life ” and “ Consecration ” meetings. Any one knows that, who has watched human nature, and read descriptions of American camp-meetings, and studied the curious phenomena of the “ Religious affections.” * Sen¬ sational and exciting addresses by strange preachers or by women, loud singing, hot rooms, crowded tents, the constant sight of strong semi-religious feeling in the faces of all around you for several days, late hours, long protracted meetings, public profession of experience,—all this kind of thing is very interesting at the time, and seems to do good. But is the good real, deeply-rooted, solid, lasting ? That is the point. And I should like to ask a few questions about it. Do those who attend these meetings become more holy, meek, unselfish, kind, good tempered, self-denying, and Christ-like at home ? Do they become more content with * Sec tlie work of President Edwards on this subject. FEEFACE. :vii their position in life, and more free from restless craving after something different from that which .God has given them ? Do fathers, mothers, husbands, and otherrelatives and friends, find them more pleasant and easy to live with ? Can they enjoy a quiet Sunday and quiet means of grace without noise, heat, and excitement ?CAbove all, do they grow in charity, and especially in charity towards those who do not agree with them in every jot and tittle of their religion ? ^ These are serious and searching questions, and deserve serious consideration. I hope I am as anxious to promote real practical holiness in the land as any one. I admire and willingly acknowledge the zeal and earnestness of many with whom I cannot co-operate who are trying to promote it. But I cannot withhold a growing suspicion that the great “mass-meetings” of the present day, for the ostensible object of promoting spiritual life, do not tend to promote private home religion, private Biblereading, private prayer, private usefulness, and private walking with God. If they are of any real value, they ought to make people better husbands, and wives, and fathers, and mothers, and sons, and daughters, and brothers, and sisters, and masters, and servants. But I should like to have clear proofs that they do; I only know it is far easier to be a Christian among singing, praying, sympathizing Christians in a public room, than to be a consistent Christian in a quiet, retired, out-of-the-way, uncongenial home. (Ryles)

Out of great mercy, grace, and love, Jesus willingly went to the cross and paid the price for our sins. What manner of people should we be? How should we live? How should we speak? How should we think? Do people see a new creation born again changed life? Does the light and love of Jesus Christ flow out of you?

Let your days be filled with a single thought: Let my thoughts, words, and actions today be filled with honor and glory for Jesus Christ.

41.l. “Reflect on this past year”

Psalms 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Isaiah 55:1-3   “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Jeremiah 31:25    For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

Matthew 5:6     “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Luke 1:53    he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

Revelation 7:16-17 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

What fills your desires? What consumes your time? What defines the purpose of your life? What are you chasing after? Could it be that you are chasing after things in this world to fill the void and emptiness in your soul?

When we give thought to what drives us and satisfies our soul and fills us with purpose, it is eternally important that we identify that longing within us as spiritual and godly hunger. Billy Graham, often said that this longing for purpose is the ultimate intent of our creator. It is a void (space/emptiness) inside each of us. It’s that void that many people try to fill with wealth, possessions, sex, drugs, alcohol, sports, gambling, power, beauty, work, recognition, etc…… They search for their purpose or significance to fill this void by every possible means but do so in vain.

The problem is, things that seem right in our eyes and even the culture that we live in are the things that will never fill this void. Our natural intents are toward every conceivable idea that seems right and has been confirmed by all means possible by others who say this is how they found purpose and satisfaction in their lives. The problem is that all of these attempts mask it, cover it with brief moments of satisfaction but will always fall short of putting one drop of soul-satisfying nourishment into this void. The only way to satisfy it is with more of the same or trying something different, but in the end, they lead you right back to where you were, or worse. The world offers what it can never give. The problem is that these may be brought to us through temptations by Satan and we are easily tempted by them, or worse we are not even tempted, we just choose to close our minds to things of God. Satan does not need to tempt us at all. How sad is that?

God stands at the door of our hearts, knocking. He offers forgiveness of sin. He fills those who repent, believe, trust, follow, and obey His Word to come into them and give them living water and the bread of life, not only now but for eternity. He promises to fill them with the Holy Spirit. To those who keep their eyes and focus on Him with the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ, he promises to fill this void with the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To these, their longing for purpose and satisfaction has not only filled but it is overflowing continually. You may think this is not true and how can this satisfy the emptiness I am feeling deep within my soul? It is a promise of God. He never lies. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son to redeem us. He gave us the written Word of God to encourage, convict, and lead us to the very point of exposing the void in our hearts with a purpose and satisfaction this world can never do. Intentionally choose to examine your heart in light of God’s Word and what satisfies it and gives your purpose. If you find an emptiness or void open the door to your heart and purpose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ anew with all you think, say, and do.

34.o. “He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The astonishment of the righteous is not modesty disclaiming praise, but real wonder at the undreamed-of significance of their deeds. In the parable of the talents, the servants unveiled their inmost hearts, and accurately described their lives. Here, the other side of the truth is brought into prominence, that, at that day, we shall be surprised when we hear from His lips what we have really done. True Christian beneficence has consciously for its motive the pleasing of Christ; but still he who most earnestly strove, while here, to do all as unto Jesus, will be full of thankful wonder at the grace which accepts his poor service, and will learn, with fresh marvelling, how closely He associates Himself with His humblest servant. There is an element of mystery hidden from ourselves in all our deeds. Our love to Christ’s followers never goes out so plainly to Him that, while here, we can venture to be sure that He takes it as done for Him. We cannot here follow the flight of the arrow, nor know what meaning He will attach to, or what large issues He will evolve from, our poor doings. So heaven will be full of blessed surprises, as we reap the fruit growing ‘in power’ of what we sowed ‘in weakness,’ and as doleful will be the astonishment which will seize those who see, for the first time, in the lurid light of that day, the true character of their lives, as one long neglect of plain duties, which was all a defrauding the Saviour of His due. Mere doing nothing is enough to condemn, and its victims will be shudderingly amazed at the fatal wound it has inflicted on them. There is an awful contrast between the ‘Come! ye blessed,’ and ‘Depart! ye cursed.’ It is even a more awful parallel between ‘eternal punishment’ and ‘eternal life.’ It is futile to attempt to alleviate the awfulness by emptying the word ‘eternal’ of reference to duration. (MacLaren)

This is a description of the last judgment. It is as an explanation of the former parables. There is a judgment to come, in which every man shall be sentenced to a state of everlasting happiness, or misery. Christ shall come, not only in the glory of his Father, but in his own glory, as Mediator. The wicked and godly here dwell together, in the same cities, churches, families, and are not always to be known the one from the other; such are the weaknesses of saints, such the hypocrisies of sinners; and death takes both: but in that day they will be parted for ever. Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd; he will shortly distinguish between those that are his, and those that are not. All other distinctions will be done away; but the great one between saints and sinners, holy and unholy, will remain for ever. The happiness the saints shall possess is very great. It is a kingdom; the most valuable possession on earth; yet this is but a faint resemblance of the blessed state of the saints in heaven. It is a kingdom prepared. The Father provided it for them in the greatness of his wisdom and power; the Son purchased it for them; and the blessed Spirit, in preparing them for the kingdom, is preparing it for them. It is prepared for them: it is in all points adapted to the new nature of a sanctified soul. It is prepared from the foundation of the world. This happiness was for the saints, and they for it, from all eternity. They shall come and inherit it. What we inherit is not got by ourselves. It is God that makes heirs of heaven. We are not to suppose that acts of bounty will entitle to eternal happiness. Good works done for God’s sake, through Jesus Christ, are here noticed as marking the character of believers made holy by the Spirit of Christ, and as the effects of grace bestowed on those who do them. The wicked in this world were often called to come to Christ for life and rest, but they turned from his calls; and justly are those bid to depart from Christ, that would not come to him. Condemned sinners will in vain offer excuses. The punishment of the wicked will be an everlasting punishment; their state cannot be altered. Thus life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse, are set before us, that we may choose our way, and as our way so shall our end be. (Henry)

30.s. “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Psalms 42:1-2   As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

John 6:27    Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Amos 8:11-13    “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

Psalms 107:9    For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalms 4:6-7   You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

Isaiah 55:1-3   “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

John 4:14     but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Isaiah 65:13    Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame;

This describes a profound thirst and hunger that cannot be satisfied by a sip or snack. This is a longing that endures and is never completely satisfied on this side of eternity. This desire is real, natural, intense, can be painful, and is a driving force. We surely hunger for many things: power, authority, success, comfort, happiness – but do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Having the right heart, mind, and soul desire(s) will affect what we thirst and hunger for. If it is more, power, ease of life, success, etc then there will be a hunger and thirst that is never satisfying. It may satisfy for a moment in time but loses its ability to satisfy the longing of the soul. The soul hungering and thirsting for righteousness, holiness, godliness, with a heart and soul-deep desire to humbly honor and glorify Jesus Christ, will be satisfied and nourished with living water and the bread of life – Jesus Christ. Though their hunger and thirst continue for knowledge and understanding of the love of God, their soul is satisfied in this pursuit all their days. True happiness and satisfaction for our souls will never come from what can be obtained in or from this world. It is only found in humble surrender, trust, reliance, and obedience in believing and following Jesus Christ. That is our hope, our rest, our refuge, our eternal joy. Hunger and thirst for things of God and you will be satisfied, blessed, and find a satisfying and lasting peace that passes all earthly understanding.

28.z. “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small”

Colossians 1:11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Isaiah 45:24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

Ephesians 3:16    that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Philippians 4:13     I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Proverbs 24:10     If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

2 Corinthians 6:4-6   but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities  beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;  by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;

Hebrews 12:1-2   Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

His strength is there to help us meet all of life’s challenges and to endure and overcome problems with circumstances (patience) and people (long-suffering) with joy. We find it easy to be patient and long-suffering when everything in our lives is free from trials and troubles. In other words, we think we will be patient and long-suffering when they invade our lives. We think we will be strong, steadfast, face it with courage, and will honor and glorify Jesus Christ through it, and then, Bam!! life happens and just the opposite happens. Our greatest failure is trying to or thinking that we are facing the trial or trouble alone and in our own strength. When we do, subconsciously we may know it is beyond our ability, but still, we plod on trying to overcome it in our self-reliant way. We may even consciously concede to the fact that is beyond our ability, but we still try to rely on ourselves. Why is that? Sometimes it is because of our spiritual growth or lack thereof, living in sin, not having a desire to surrender it into God’s hands, shallow faith in God’s power, thinking that we are not worthy of God’s help, or a host of other reasons. It is hard to yield to God’s power, strength, purpose, and plans. It is hard to wait on the Lord. Should it be? All throughout our lives, we must continually grow in faith, hope, trust, reliance, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. Learning to do this takes continual practice, surrender, and yielding. It is with an intentional choice and desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do that we find learning applicable. God’s Word becomes more than food for our souls. It satisfies, fills, empowers, and we learn to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. How do we begin to apply this in our lives? Commit and Discipline yourselves to be in His Word and then practice surrender, yielding, seeking, and waiting on the Lord. Will we fail at times? Yes. However with continual practice, we will become more and more steadfast and resolute in our daily lives, and when trials and troubles fall upon us our natural reaction will be to place it in God’s control, power, purpose, and plans.

28.u. “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content”

Philippians 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Genesis 28:20   Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

Matthew 6:31-34    Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Hebrews 13:5-6   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

1 Timothy 6:6-9   But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

How do we know contentment, happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, peace in all circumstances? Where is it to be found? How is it demonstrated? When our circumstances place us in a time of prosperity and plenty we think this is how and where we find contentment. Not true at all. Ease of life, prosperity, abundance, peace, and comfort is no guarantee of contentment. In fact, it is where neglect and complacency of God’s Word, more times than not, takes place in our lives. Think about a trial or troubled time in your life. Did you grow closer to God and seek Him more fervently? Was your trust and belief in Him alone firm and trusting? Did you come to a place where you were beyond self-reliance or reliance on others and placed your heavy burden into His hands, relying on Him alone? Did you experience contentment and peace placing it in His hands? Godly contentment, happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, and peace are not based on the circumstances of life. They reside in our hearts and minds. It is when we surrender and yield our lives, days, minutes, and seconds of every day to the will and purpose of God, knowing and trusting in Him alone, and where we live seeking and desiring all we think, say, and do for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ, is where we find contentment. Paul learned it. He lived trusting God was in total control of everything. Whatever situation, in plenty and in want, Jesus strengthened Him. If our commitment is shallow and surrender of self to the purpose and will of God each day is non-existent, we will find ourselves missing out on contentment, happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace.

25.v. “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me”

2 Corinthians 11:24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Matthew 10:17    Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,

Deuteronomy 25:3    Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

Acts 16:22-23   The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.  And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.

Acts 7:58-59   Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.  And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Hebrews 11:37   They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—

When I read of these accounts of what happened to Paul and others, I wonder if I would have continued preaching after the first beating, whipping, or shipwreck. I say wonder, but in reality, I am more ashamed. I know the answer and I seriously doubt that I would have continued. I would have thought God was telling and showing me to stop what I was doing. Quit this mission. Don’t stop preaching but do it in a more friendly society. Maybe ever after starting a church with these friendly people, stay there in the security of being safe. Such is the way we think or have been influenced to think. God is with us and we are blessed when things are all fine and good, and He is not with us when trials, troubles, and misfortune overwhelms us. When God’s word says He is our Rock, Fortress, Refuge, Power, Strength, Shield, Protector, Healer, etc…… God’s Word is telling us that we will face trials, troubles, sickness, loss, the threat of being overpowered, emanate danger, etc…. It is in these times when Love, faith, and hope, in Him alone, that we find a resting place and can stand firm at His feet with His loving arms wrapped around us. It is very hard for us to imagine trials that take us to the edge of life and death. We live with a sense of security, prosperity, and safety that essentially encompasses most of our society. Just look around, how many are truly seeking, and see a need to trust God? When there are no trials, troubles, sickness, and loss we seem to associate that with being right with God and soon become complacent and neglectful to study His Word, pray, and keep a check on what we say, think, and do. It is often in times where trials, troubles, sickness, and loss are where we finally yield and surrender to rely on, cling, and trust in God alone. Oh, that we were always in a daily state to yield and surrender all self or worldly reliance and truly rely on, cling to, and trust in Him alone. Where we would not allow peace, prosperity, and safety to blind us from all of the honor, glory, and praise due Him.

25.k. “But as servants of God”

2 Corinthians 6:4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left

Romans 14:18    Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-11   For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,  but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Romans 5:3-4    Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

Colossians 1:11    being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy

Hebrews 12:1   Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

James 5:7-10    Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Revelation 3:10    Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

We often think of patience as a passive thing – the ability to sit around and wait for something to happen. That is not the idea of the word Paul used here. It is an active endurance instead of a passive waiting. The ancient Greek word hupomone “does not describe the frame of mind which can sit down with folded hands and bowed head and let a torrent of troubles sweep over it in passive resignation. It describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it transfigures them.” (Barclay)

“Nowadays it is not the violence but the mockery or the amused contempt of the crowd against which the Christian must stand fast.” (Barclay)

Paul knew he needed endurance, and he knew many things in his life drew him to seek that endurance. Some of them were the general trials of life, some were sufferings directly brought by others, and some were self-inflicted. Not every trial was the same, but they all made him need endurance.

The idea of on the right hand and on the left is of holding both offensive and defensive weapons. It probably has in mind “both advancing and being attacked.” “Particularly, the shield and the sword; the former on the left arm, the latter on the right hand. We have the doctrine of truth, and the power of God, as an armour to protect us on all sides, every where, and on all occasions.” (Clarke)

25.j. “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,”

2 Corinthians 6:3 Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Ezekiel 16:8    “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.

Luke 19:42-44    saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Hebrews 3:7     Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,

Hebrews 3:13   But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 4:7    again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

God has an acceptable time for us to work with His grace. God has a day of salvation that will not last forever. This is no time for Christian lives consumed with ease and comfort and self-focus. It is time to get busy for the Lord and to be workers together with Him. What is it that keeps us from seeing, knowing, and doing the Work of God? Is it trials? Is it ease and comfort? Are we deceived or influenced into believing He can’t or won’t use us? Do we find excuse after excuse, time and time again? I am not knowledgeable in the bible enough to be used by God. I am too busy. I am not good enough. I am not brave enough. I am not worthy enough. The list is as long as the number of excuses we make that keeps us from making a commitment to listen and then obey. Is the world influencing your ability to listen? Does it steal time away from working for God? Does it deafen your ears to hear His leading and calls for action in your life?

When we understand that our purpose in this life is to honor and glorify God in all we say, think, and do, it is then we will begin to understand His leading and calling and purpose and plans for our lives. Today is the day. Now is the moment. Right now. Make an intentional choice to make God-honoring and God-glorifying the reason for all you say, think, and do.