We Wait, He Works

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

Only a few things have gripped me with greater joy than the truth that God loves to show his God-ness by working for me, and that his working for me is always before and under and in any working I do for him.

At first it may sound arrogant of us, and belittling to God, to say that he works for us. But that’s only because of the connotation that I am an employer and God needs a job. That’s not the connotation when the Bible talks about God’s working for us. That’s not at all in Isaiah’s mind when he says, God “works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

The proper connotation of saying God works for me is that I am bankrupt and need a bailout. I am weak and need someone strong. I am endangered and need a protector. I am foolish and need someone wise. I am lost and need a Rescuer.

God works for me means I can’t do the work. I am utterly in need of help.

And this glorifies God not me. The Giver gets the glory. The Powerful One gets the praise.

Listen to the way the Bible talks about God working for you, and be freed from the burden of bearing your own load. Let him do that work.

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

“The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you. . . . Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:12, 15).

“To your old age . . . I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

“I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

“Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11).

“Work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work” (Philippians 2:12–13).

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY OCTOBER 06, 2025.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR THANKSGIVING IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 18.)

READ: Psalm 103 vs 1 - 5:

103:1: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name!

103:2: Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:  

103:3: Who forgives our iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 

103:4: Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 

105:2: Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

INTIMATION:

God is responsible, and the performer of every good thing we have seen in our lives. He is the doer of all the invisible happenings in our lives in accordance with His goodness and mercy. He is responsible for all the benefits, especially intangible benefits, accruing to us in life, and giving Him thanks always help us avoid taking God's provisions for granted. 

Thanksgiving is an integral part of our relationship with, and praise to God. Giving Him thanks is His Will for us in Jesus Christ, realizing all He wrought for us in Christ. The Bible, in Revelation 7 vs 11 - 12 says, "All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

All we have are gifts from God—life, faith, salvation, possessions and and so on. (John 3 vs 27; Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9; James 1 vs 17.) When someone gives you a gift, the appropriate response is 'thank you.' Thanksgiving, therefore, is also a proper response to God at all times, and in everything. The psalmist says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night." (Psalm 92 vs 1 - 2.)

The bases of praise, and thanksgiving is declaring God's character and attributes. When we recognize and affirm His goodness we are holding up His perfect moral nature for all to see. With genuine praise and thanksgiving we ascribe to God all the glory due to Him. We cannot thank Him enough for His great and wondrous acts in our lives. 

In the passage we read today, David tried listing some of the benefits accruing to us daily from God for which we should always give Him thanks and praise: He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, satisfies our desires, and gives righteousness and justice. We receive all of these without deserving any of them. No matter how difficult your life’s journey, you can always count your blessings—past, present, and future. And the praise we offer to Him benefits us because it takes our minds off our problems and needs, and focuses on God's power, mercy, majesty, and love. 

God has graciously adopted us as His children who are born of His Will, therefore, we should rest assured of His presence in our lives at all times. Consequently, in everything that happens to us, we should be thankful for God's presence, and for the good that He will accomplish through the happenings, knowing that, "All things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8 vs 28). 

It’s noteworthy that God works in 'all things,’ not just in isolated incidents, and for our good. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. The psalmist in Psalm 95 vs 2 says, "Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving....." Therefore, we should always acknowledge God's goodness, and His presence with thanksgiving. God is pleased when we give Him thanks. He uses our responsiveness to teach us more about Himself, revealing Himself more to us for our benefits.  

Your offer of thanksgiving will not be in words only. Just as we naturally show appreciation for what others have done to us both in words and material offering, we should do the same to our Father in heaven. Your material offering in thanksgiving is an application to God for more. God will ever reciprocate all your offerings to Him, and in greater dimension. 

Thanksgiving should be in all areas of life, and If you are truly thankful, your life will show it. As an integral part of our praise to God, it is what we do ourselves. This is the instruction of the Lord. (See Leviticus 7 vs 28 - 30). God told the people of Israel to bring their offering personally with their own hands. They were to take time and effort to express thanks to God. It’s quite obvious that you are the only person who will express adequately your thankfulness to God and to others who have blessed, or helped you.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your praise will be in my lips always, and I will thank You, O Lord, for Your presence, doings, and the good that You will accomplish through any circumstances of life that I face. Endue me with the spirit of praise and thanksgiving to You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Happy God

 The Happy God

Sound doctrine [is] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed [that is, happy] God. (1 Timothy 1:10–11)

A great part of God’s glory is his happiness.

It was inconceivable to the apostle Paul that God could be denied infinite joy and still be all-glorious. To be infinitely glorious was to be infinitely happy. He used the phrase, “the glory of the happy God,” because it is a glorious thing for God to be as happy as he is — infinitely happy.

God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination.

This is the gospel: “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” That’s a quote from the Bible! It is good news that God is gloriously happy.

No one would want to spend eternity with an unhappy God. If God is unhappy, then the goal of the gospel is not a happy goal, and that means it would be no gospel at all.

But, in fact, Jesus invites us to spend eternity with a happy God when he says, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). Jesus lived and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full (John 15:11; 17:13). Therefore, the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.”

The happiness of God is first and foremost a happiness in his Son. Thus when we share in the happiness of God, we share in the very pleasure that the Father has in the Son.

This is why Jesus made the Father known to us. At the end of his great prayer in John 17, he said to his Father, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). He made God known so that God’s pleasure in his Son might be in us and become our pleasure in him.

Recover Your Authority by Paula Whyte

 

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 05, 2025.

SUBJECT: THOSE WHO CONSIDER THE POOR ARE BLESSED!

Memory verse: "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.” (Proverbs 19 vs 17.)

READ: Psalm 41 vs 1 - 3:

41:1: Blessed is he who considers the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

41:2: The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

41:3: The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness: You will sustain him on his sickbed.

INTIMATION:

The Bible often speaks of God’s care for the weak, poor, and needy, and of his blessing on those who share this concern. Providing for the poor is not just a suggestion in the Bible. The need for believers to care for the poor is a constant theme in the Scriptures. But often we do nothing, rather we are caught up in meeting our needs and desires. Perhaps we don’t see enough poverty to remember the needs of the poor. God said neglecting the poor is a sin. Helping the poor is a command that may require a change of attitude on your part. 

God wants our generosity to reflect His own giving. Helping the poor is also an active part of religious life. As He has blessed you, then you should bless others. God has a special concern for the poor. He insists that those who have material goods should be generous with those who are in need. He who gives to the poor is assured of deliverance, blessing, strength, and mercy from the Lord because he had shown the same to the poor. 

When you show mercy to others, the Lord will show you mercy as well: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5 vs 7.) We should reflect God’s concern for the poor by giving and by helping those less fortunate than ourselves. God counts on believers to provide for the poor, and we should use what God had given us to aid those less fortunate. Look beyond your regular giving and think of ways to help the needy. This will help you show your regard for God (as Creator of all people), and His creation. When you share God’s goodness to you with others, you draw them to Him. It is a practical and essential way to make faith work in everyday life.

Many times we do nothing, not because we lack compassion, but because we are overwhelmed by the size of the problem and don’t know where to begin. God doesn’t expect you to eliminate poverty, nor does He expect you to neglect your family while providing for others. He does, however, expect that when you see an individual in need, you will reach out with whatever help you can offer. 

Many people conclude that people are poor through some fault of their own. This kind of reasoning makes it easy to close their hearts and hands to the needy. But we are not to invent reasons for ignoring the poor. We are to respond to their needs no matter who or what was responsible for their condition. There is no excuse for ignoring the poor and needy within our reach.

It is everyone’s responsibility to care for those less fortunate. Families should help other family members, and towns are to help their community. One will not only seek out the poor to help them, one will ensure to make it easy in society for the poor to survive. 

Helping and caring for the poor and less privileged amongst us is a demand placed on us by God, and it is strictly for our own benefit because God has promised to reward us with deliverance, blessing, strength, and mercy. And God is not a man that He can lie and the son of man that He can repent or change His promise. What He says He will do is as sure as day and night.

Prayer: Abba Father, I know Your word is yes and amen. Endue me with the spirit of generosity, especially to the poor and needy in our society, that I may obey You in giving and showing mercy to others and quality for Your rewards, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Justice Will Be Done

 Justice Will Be Done

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.

And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt and bitterness is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone.

That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it.

So we hold on to anger, and play the events or the words over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he (or she) be so happy when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong! We can’t let it go. And our bitterness starts to poison everything.

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to us by God to lift that burden from us.

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you?

Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. There was.

But it also does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No they didn’t.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the One to whom it belongs. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You lay it down. I will pick it up. Justice will be done. 

What a glorious relief. I do not have to carry this burden. It is like taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 04, 2025.

SUBJECT : ATTRACTING GOD’S COMPANIONSHIP!

Memory verse: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6 vs 8.)

READ: Psalm 101 vs 3 - 7:

101:3: I will not set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

101:4: A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.

101:5: Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.

101:6: My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

101:7: He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

INTIMATION:

God desires to be our companion. Companions come in different sizes and shapes and for various reasons. But we will examine a very specific kind of companion: the teacher-mentor, which is God's kind of companionship.

In our memory verse, God tells us the manner in which we are to walk with Him. God is ready to teach us, to let us be with Him, to be a true and faithful companion, if we will seek such a relationship with Him. God’s kind of companionship is the teacher-mentor, the Superior Being with ordinary man, a privileged association of the Creator with the created.

There are four areas that constitute the major ingredients for a relationship that would be described as a companionship. These areas are: (1) Agreement (2) Experience (3) Conversation (4) Learning. These ingredients are required in our companionship with God.

God defines the first one: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3 vs 3.) So agreement is the first requirement. You have to want to spend time together. With God we know this is the desire of His heart. He tells us in many different ways in the Word that He desires to be with us.

The second is that you would share experiences together because you are together by definition. One of the special privileges we have as believers is sharing our heart with God, and in turn learning more about His heart toward us and others. We get to see His overwhelming goodness, infinite patience, unchanging love, and unending mercies as we read the Bible—His "Code of Conduct," and "Owner's Manual" to us. The Holy Spirit makes the Word come alive in our hearts and points things out from it that are specifically for us and our situation. 

The third ingredient is conversation. There should be conversation between you and God. Not just one way, but rather an exchange of ideas from both parties. Think of your own experience where you have been with someone who monopolizes the conversation, or who does not let you talk but only wants you to listen, you feel uneasy, dominated, and useless in the conversation. You may feel you are only a listening board, and your opinion matters little since it is rarely sought.

Sometimes we are guilty of doing this to God. We rush into His presence with our "want" list and then, in essence, after presenting our requests and/or complaints, we close the time with "In Jesus' name, Amen." No time to hear His input, no time to seek His advice. Only a time to "dump" on Him. Yes, the apostle Peter advised us in First Peter 5 vs 7 to give the Lord all our burdens and cares. Surely, we are to present our anxieties to Him, but then, we are to wait for His response.

The fourth ingredient is learning. A relationship that culminates into companionship entails learning from superior partner. As we spend time with God, our relationship allows us to learn about Him, about ourselves, and about others. We come to appreciate Him more as we get to know Him better. We become more relaxed in His presence as we are now His companion. Consequently, we understand ourselves better; our strengths and weaknesses, how to overcome them, why we do things the way we do, how to change our negatives responses, and the likes. We also learn much about others and how better to interact with them, showing forth all the fruit of the Spirit.

Somebody will quickly ask, 'How do we hear from God or learn from Him?' A classical illustration is made with a product you bought from the store. The manufacturer is in Germany, but has included a manual in the package to enable you study and know more about the product and how to use and/or operate it. The same is true of our relationship with God. He has given us His 'Code of Conduct," and owner's Manual' -the "Bible" for our study. In it God speaks and you hear from, and learn about Him. As the spiritual relationship develops, God can speak to you in a vision, an audible voice or even through others in such relationship with Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my faithful companion, and has promised to be with me till the end of age. Thank You Lord for fighting my unseen battles, and giving me victory. Help me to walk humbly with You at all times, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!