CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 784

“It is Personal”

Acts 9:15 (ESV)   But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

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“I know, I know.  We are Your chosen people.  But, once in a while, can’t You choose someone else?” – Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof

Have you ever felt like everyone and everything in the world was against you only to have a well-meaning friend say ‘Hey, you don’t have to take it personal’?  Perhaps you do your best to preserve the integrity of your Christian walk before God and your fellow man, yet you see those who live in open debauchery prosper while you struggle with trial after trial.  You can relate to Tevye’s comment to God because it feels, well, like its personal.

It is personal.  But that does not mean that God is being mean-spirited and needlessly picking on you.  That is not the nature of Father God.  It does mean that God is working out His plan in your life for your good, the good of others, and for His glory.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

Being Christian means much more than joining a church social clique. It means wholeheartedly and steadfastly serving Him whether we are in the difficult trenches of life, the dry valleys, and fertile plains or on a high mountain top experience. We can take it personal as God does a work in our spirit to shape and mold our character for His greater plan and purpose.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

It is difficult to be in this world and not be part of it.  It is hard to maintain an eternal perspective when our flesh desires the material comforts and the relationships that we are sometimes denied for a season as we step out in obedience to God’s call upon our lives.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. – Matthew 19:29

By His indwelling presence we have to dig deep and gut through our emotions to experience His peace.

“…in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:31

May you take it personal realizing that it is the loving hand of the Master Potter that molds you and shapes you.  May you take it personal as you acknowledge His steadfast love and presence in all of life’s circumstances.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:21