"Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. " Job 22:21-28
I am doing a bible study on healthy eating and this was one of the verses this morning. I though well God, there ya go. That's what you are saying to me again and again. It seems so simple. The love of God right now is amazing to me and I am just enjoying the sweetness of his presence. This verse this morning was just more confirmation of what God is calling my family to do.
Submit and be at peace. Don't submit and be in chaos. Submit and accept it as a gift, no matter how painful it is, God doesn't bring the pain, but he can use that pain to bring beauty into our lives. Prosperity...we always think money. I want to be prosperous in the Word of God. I want to be prosperous in His blessings and his teachings for me. Material is of no value in His kingdom, not that he wants to be without or to suffer from lack, but he feeds the birds without need of huge homes, he can do it with out depleteing the earth of it's resources. He wants to do the same for us.
Psalm 81:10-12" I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices."
Wow, God's word is so simple sometimes. You can listen and submit to my words or I will let you be stubborn and do it the hard way. Yeah, I think I have walked that way a few times that God gave me over to myself. Wasn't pretty.
There are a lot of "If/Then"s in this passage...God wants us to wait in anticipation. Like all of creation waits on tiptoe (Romans 8:18) for God's purpose to be fulfilled in us. We need to line up with the rest of creation and find our place of anticipated acceptance of God's provision. Like a little bird with out mouths open waiting for the food. If we will submit, listen, put aside our flesh's desire to self-satisfy THEN, then, then....He will fill us so full that we overflow. THEN we can impact the lives of others. When we allow Him to fill our needs...THEN, there is plenty to go around.
The rest of that chapter of Job verses 29-30 says, "When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast. He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
Hallelujah! Or modernly translated...Woot! Woot!
Lord, I willingly submit and open my mouth to receive what you have for me. I accept your instruction and I tattoo your words on my heart. Lord, thank you for your provision. Thank you for your pain as you sacrificed your Son and again for your pain as you wait for our lightbulbs to go on. Lord, I know that you live a life of expectancy and not a life of expectations. Lord, today I choose to lay down my expectations and live a life of expectancy in you. In my life Lord be glorified. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
right on. when you don't submit at peace you might as well do your own thing - that was my experience. yielding to God brings a sense of expectation that comes with persistence, character and hope (i'm studying hope right now, it's been fun). I admire you and I love you. I'll keep praying for your Christian walk sister.
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