Day 19: Gaining and Losing

Luke 14:25-35; Genesis 26; Psalm 19

Jesus talks about considering the costs, weighing the consequences.  I cannot be Jesus' disciple if I love my husband, my mother, father, or brother more than I love God.  We have to be willing to make people angry if God is calling us to do something.  We have to be willing to disappoint someone if God is calling us to obey.  The cost of following The Lord is nothing less that our lives, nothing less than everything.  Are we willing?  What will I lose and gain if I give everything to The Lord?  I'll loose my unrest and gain peace.  I'll lose my fear and gain hope.  I'll lose my burdens and gain forgiveness.  I'll lose my uncertainty and gain direction.  Yep, sounds like trading it all for The Lord is worth it.

Isaac, sadly, doesn’t learn from the mistakes of his father in this situation.  He was more concerned about himself and didn’t trust God's word.  And yet, even though he disobeys, demonstrates his lack of faith, The Lord still bless him.  It is amazing that God so diligently cares for his people.  When Isaac faced struggles with other people, he just kept going.  He tried and tried until the outcome was good.  Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, I feel like a poor teacher, an inadequate XC coach, and an absent wife.  I try not to get discouraged, but to keep on going, but it is hard.  I trust in The Lord—I just need help to laying all my cares and worries before God.  We all need to learn that we  cannot do things on our own; we need God.  So I pray that the Lord will take our burdens away and the walls down so that we may live freely for him, unhindered by things that don’t matter to the kingdom of God.

God shows up, seemingly randomly, to remind Isaac of his promise.  He must have been struggling in his faith or with obedience, or he simply needed a reminder in order to do the right thing when the group from Gerar showed up. Whatever the reason, God knew he needed it, and I know that each time we open God's word, he is trying to remind us of his promises to us.  We just need to have faith and stand firm and keep listening for God.

I hope that we keep our hearts and lives focused, trusting in The Lord no matter what, and learning from his teachings.  I pray that we would recognize that God forgives us of our sins, the ones we know and the ones we don’t know.  I know that we can be free from the bondage of sin and be able to keep control of ourselves and please God with his help.