Wednesday, April 9

The secret of stability

Worthy Ministry of George, Rivka, Elianna, and Obadiah devotion.

Isaiah 33:6 "And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure."


Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is -- who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings? This is what George Muller wrote in His diary on May 9, 1841:

"Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed...by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart."

The word faith in Hebrew is “emunah” (em-oo-nah). But interestingly, in our Hebrew Bible, the word stability in the verse above is written “emunah”! Faith and stability are linked one to another. How do we become more stable and settled despite the circumstances surrounding our lives? By gaining faith! "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

When we search for wisdom and knowledge in His word, we become more stable in our walk! Let’s aim to spend more time in the Word and gain more stability in our lives.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah


Turbulence has been a hallmark of my times lately; family, friends, church, finances, and even the direction of the Call have all undergone vast and disturbing changes often without my input or regard for my comfort. And yet, I have been 'content', if not downright 'at peace' during the worse of the raging seas. About the only thing that hasn't been affected is my writing, although I don't know what (if any) benefit the few readers I have as regulars are getting from it. But, God has put it on my heart to write what I experience or feel comes from Him and His word, so I'll continue until the moment that changes.

When I set out on this journey over four years ago now; to serve God in the capacity that He has shown me and developed me to, I have spent a majority of my time disturbed. Faced with the desire to know God, live according to His decrees, and do so in the way that He has shown me to do has me constantly uneasy, uncomfortable, and undone. Looking into the past, of who I was that was the root of who I had become prior to God's calling me into the shelter of His loving and grace-filled arms, forced me to look at the disparity of the man God designed me to be and the duality of society's definition coupled with my own developed sense of self.

I fell to my knees, but that wasn't low enough the more I have approached God in relationship. I've fell to my hands and knees, but still the weight of God's glory and holiness were still heavy upon my heart. And I finally found the 'eat carpet' position, where I've tried to defy the laws of matter and become part of the carpet, but still I can feel God's holiness and authority upon my soul. I have cried out in anguish about the heaviness of a relationship with such a glorious and honorable God.

And God showed me that it is not myself that has enabled me to live in relationship with Him, although it is a designed purpose of humanity to be in relationship with God. It isn't my good deeds, helping those who are in need; being a good friend; serving others that has enabled such a beneficial relationship (for me) to exist. It isn't even my faith that has given me a right to declare myself a child of God.

And it is not me who gives me the grace to live in a world that is broken and fractured. A world that has as its' greatest hope that all Christians disappear where they no longer bring such utterance of Truth to the ears of those who thirst for it. No. It isn't me who can live in relationship to God.

It's all part of God's gift of salvation. It's all part of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It's all the growth and the knowledge imparted of the Holy Spirit that gives me the ability to live under the shadow of my King's glory and belong.

And if He gives me all that, what's a little measly bit of contentment, of peace, in these storms that threaten to tear my world apart? How can the forces of the Evil One trump the mighty hand of the Creator? How can I not help but think that, despite the financial crisis, the relational disconnections, and the failures, that God will make perfect His will for me in all of this? I can't, and it was when I realized that that I was able to embrace the peace despite the raging winds.

It's all part of the gift He started so long ago; redemption, restoration, and re-creation.

Why are most of us too foolish to realize a peace that defies the times?

"My peace I leave with you, My peace I give you."

Perfect peace from a perfect man who is God.