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The grace of God takes you from where you are, to where He wants you to be in your life, in your walk with Him. It happens through a process that continues all through your life, as you are in a divine conversation with Him, receiving His word of promise that can never fail. Call unto Me, and I will answer you, to show you great and mighty things that you do not know. [Jeremiah 33:3] A familiar verse it could be to you, but approaching it through new grace that comes to you each new day, can find you receiving truth that is very fresh and uniquely relevant in your life’s circumstance. And it will see you reign in life through the One Man Jesus Christ !
The context in Jeremiah’s life :
It was a painful time in the prophet’s life, when he was unjustly imprisoned, for speaking what was right, and more importantly what was genuinely and truly from God, and not lying words that the people wanted to hear. [Jeremiah 33:1] This can so often happen in your life, when you are a child of God, for the world around you lies under the sway of the evil one.And also made clear in the same verse, is that, it was for the second time that God’s word came to Jeremiah. This can bring so much comfort in your heart and mine, for so very often, we need God to speak again and again to us, and into our situation. It is why ever so often His word comes to you saying, ‘Do not fear’ in your troubling situation. He never gives up on you, and His love for you goes on and on and on !
The next verse then goes on to describe the nature of who God is, that He is the One who formed and established it all. [vs 2] It is so very important for it is then that you can take your eyes off your problem to focus on the All Powerful God, with whom nothing is impossible. And, the faces of those who look toward Him will never ever be put to shame ! To keep your eyes fixed upon the Lord Jesus, who is the author and finisher of your faith, is the counsel of God’s word; for He who began a good work in you, will surely and certainly carry it through to completion. And, it is after His nature is described, one that is ever unchanging, that God Himself speaks out His promise, inviting His people to call out to Him, so that He may answer them to show them what they did not know. [vs 3]
The promise of the verse above, involves three important aspects :
1. It begins with a calling upon Him, one that signifies a relationship between you and God.
2. Secondly, as in any good relationship, there is reciprocation, a response from the One whom you call upon; it is never a labor in vain. He answered to redeem you, when you called upon Him as a sinner, and made you a saint. How much more, will He answer you, now that you are His child !
3. And through what He speaks to you, He reveals and shows you truth, that you can receive and apply in your circumstance, and come out victoriously; truth that would otherwise have remained beyond your own finite and limited knowledge and understanding. Relationship is the key to it all.
1. Calling upon Him as His child :
As His child, you enjoy the privilege of calling upon Him and drawing near the throne of grace with confidence, all because of your relationship with Him. People may try to restrict your access to them, by having more than one phone, and not giving you their personal and special number. But, God has only one number, and you can go to Him directly anytime, for Christ is your Mediator in the presence of the Father.
People may be unapproachable, or beyond your reach when you try to call them in your moment of dire need. But the God who dwells in unapproachable light is always available, and remains your ever present help in your time of need. Approaching people who hold some official authority could fill you with anxiety, but you have a God who has all authority in heaven and earth, to whose presence you can go freely and in liberty. You have freedom, for it is the expression of your relationship with Him.
Sons and daughters & not slaves :
You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry ‘Abba Father’. [Romans 8:15] There is a vast difference between a slave calling upon the master, where there would invariably be various rules and regulations, together with protocol that needs to be observed, and a son coming to his father in liberty and love. It is the privilege of the relationship that he enjoys with his father that enables him to draw near with such ease, without any terms and conditions that need to be fulfilled.
And, thus it is in the kingdom of God, when you are His child. It is with the freedom to call upon Him anywhere and anytime that you can boldly approach the throne of grace, for you know the One who is on the throne ! You are His son or daughter, heir and co heir with Christ. You can call Him the King of Kings, the Lord God Almighty and many other titles you can give to Him, even as the book of revelation describes His glowing brilliance, in terms most wondrous. And, they would all be absolutely true. But the greatest and most precious of it all would be the privilege of calling Him your ‘Father’.
It is what the Lord Jesus revealed Him to be, while teaching you to pray unto the Father, who loves and cares for you. And even the very minute details of your life, are in His thoughts for you, for He is mindful of you, as the psalmist declares. It is the privilege you enjoy when you are born again; for to be born again is to be born of God. God Himself, becomes your Father !
Your lineage begins with Lord Jesus !:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name. [John 1:12] When you trace your lineage in physical terms, it will take you all the way back to Adam, in the garden of Eden, who failed in the most favorable of circumstances. But when you are born again, your lineage begins with Christ. You are then a new creation in Christ, where the old things have passed away, and everything has become new. You are no longer in the lineage of your earthly ancestors, to be bound by the futile ways inherited from your forefathers ! And, it is a truth that ought to excite you as nothing else can!
In the world you may have a lineage that goes way back, a family tree with many branches, good and bad ! But with God, you begin with Christ. And, there can be no greater title that can be given to you, that is higher than being called a ‘child of God’. It is His love that has been lavished upon you, that finds you being called by that privileged name. [1 John 3:1] And you become part of an illustrious family, the one that bows its knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family on heaven and earth is named. [Ephesians 3:14,15]
Your times are in His hands ! :
It is a privilege that is yours, to be a part of the family of God, through your relationship with Him. And where there is privilege, there are also rights that become yours. Rights that involve responsibilities, for one without the other will inevitably lead to rebellion. It is where God’s mercy and grace come into play. You can now boldly approach God’s throne of grace, to receive mercy, and grace to help you in your time of need. [Hebrews 4:16]
Mercy deals with your past sins, and grace empowers you in your present and future, giving you the wisdom and strength not to sin. You will find that sinning need no longer be a continual habit in you, and even when the sin principle, the sinful nature causes you to sin, if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. [1 John 1:9]
Summing it all up, your times, all of your past, present and future are in the hands of God. And, He is your Father !
You are an adult member of His family :
A child though he is a heir, is no different from a slave, for his inheritance is kept under guardians and stewards, until he grows up. [Galatians 4:1] It is how the world operates. And sometimes in human families, you will find that a member of the family is not counted as having any significance in the grand scheme of things, though he may be a grown up person !
With God though, as a member of His family, this will never happen. He treats every one of His children as an adult member in His family, enjoying equal rights in His inheritance, however lowly and insignificant the may appear to be in the world’s perception. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. [Galatians 3:26,29]
Sons and heirs :
All God’s children are His sons and heirs, enjoying equal rights and privileges. He gives to each one of His children, a hundred percent attention, hundred percent of His time. He is well able to do it. It is why He is God ! There is no partiality with Him. And, the more convinced you are that your prayers are heard by Him, the more effective you would be in your life, through receiving right answers from Him, to your prayers. For, if Billy Graham was praying right next to you, do you think that God will attend to his prayer before yours ?! Most, certainly not; but the only problem could be that while Billy Graham would have the conviction that his prayers were being heard, you could be convinced that God will hear your prayer only if it is through another person, supposedly more spiritual than you !
And, the second aspect of the promise that comes to you from Him is that, He not only hears, He also responds.
2. He will answer you :
You can always find your comfort and rest in the wonderful assurance that God will certainly respond, when you call upon Him in faith. And, it can lead you to be inspired to draw near to Him, and call upon Him in your time of need. It is what the Lord Himself reiterated as He taught the multitudes saying, ‘Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened’. [Matthew 7:7]
And the apostle John, in his epistle, captures it all very clearly and with certainty, to say – And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. [1 John 5:15] Therefore, do not look at how messed up and unworthy you are to call upon Him, but be confident in the assurance that He has heard and also answered you. He heard you when you were yet a sinner. How much more, now that you are His child ! In human relationships, people can ignore your calls, refuse to respond, or block you out altogether. But, if only God did that to you and I, which He never would, we would be doomed forever ! He hears your every cry and prayer and also answers. The psalmist describes His loving attention very eloquently in words that have been comfortingly familiar down the years.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so does the Lord show compassion to those who fear Him. [Psalm 103:13] He indeed knows how weak and vulnerable you sometimes are, when exposed to the vagaries of life, how fragile your inner condition can be. And He shows compassion by intervening in your situation to bring life into what appears to be hopeless and dead. It was compassion that the Lord exhibited as He stood before the tomb of Lazarus. His love was expressed as He wept; and with compassion He intervened to bring a favorable change in the situation, to bring a dead man back to life ! And today He is present in your life, to show His tender compassion toward you. He knows how much you have gone through, and how much pain you can withstand. He answered even the wordless sighing of the Israelites, to intervene and demonstrate His power, as He brought them out of Egypt, their place of bondage, with His own arm that was not too shortened to save !
He is the same good, good Father, even this day. When a baby cries, everyone is made aware that it needs something, for its crying to cease. But it takes a mother to know and answer the needs of the baby, even before it broadcasts it to the world, in the only language that it knows ! Today, you are the child of the God who carried you in your mother’s womb, and He has promised to carry you, even in your old age. For, even the strongest man has his own weakness; and it is at that point of weakness, that God manifests His strength, even as a father shows compassion towards his children. You and I need to be overwhelmingly grateful that we have such a God, who is so mindful of us to attend to our need even before we become aware of it.
He answers, even before you call :
‘Before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear’. [Isaiah 65:24] It is the nature of His word of promise to you. He answers even before you call; He intervenes and works – even as you are still speaking to Him. The classic example that illustrates it, would be the incident where Peter got out of the boat, walked on water towards the Lord, till his focus shifted to the wind and the waves. And, beginning to sink, even as he was crying out to the Lord to be saved, the Lord’s hand was already reaching out to save him. It happens even now, when you believe and call out the Lord in faith, for the intervention of the Lord in your child’s life. He may be thousands of miles away, but even as you are praying, the Lord will intervene in his life, to begin His good work in him, one that He would carry on to completion. It is as the apostle says, ‘Behold, now is the favorable time; now is the day of salvation’. [2 Corinthians 6:2] The day of salvation is a part of the favorable time. As He is listening to you, He is also stretching out His hand to heal you, and strengthen you, and sometimes even as the psalmist describes, it is the inner man that needs it.
In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. [Psalms 138:2] Thus, it always needs to be a divine dialogue, even as you read the word of God. There ought to be in you, an expectation that He will respond to your call, for it is all about being in a relationship with Him. And you will find that your expectation is greatly exceeded, by the response that comes from Him ! And finally, He will reveal to you, what can only come from Him.
3. He will tell you :
He will reveal to you things you do not know, and also things that you know, but are beyond your understanding. It is why there is always the need to know God’s will, and also keep it as the guideline in any issue that crops up, though of course it is not to be used as an escape clause in wriggling out of a decision that you fear may disturb your comfort level ! Regarding what He reveals to you, it is important to keep in mind, that by stating that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge, and that the hair in your head is all numbered, the Lord establishes the truth of how minutely God knows and is involved in the affairs of your life. And, it is why you can be free from worry, the Lord has declared. For you may not know all things, but you know the One who knows all things !
Your life is in His hands ! The All knowing God reveals to you not all that you want to know, but all that you need to know, the knowledge of things that you can handle. And some things, even if He being the greatest Teacher of all tried to explain, you would not be able to grasp the truth of it with your finite mind. ‘Grow up, and then you will know’ is what a little child is told by its parents sometimes when it enquires about something that it cannot understand at that tender age. And similarly, when you have questions in you, sometimes all that you need to do is to grow in the knowledge of Christ. And as you grow in Him, you will know that the only thing that you need to know is that, your life is in His hands !
Some things that God says to you can be received by faith without questioning, even as Smith Wigglesworth has expressed it –‘God has said it; I believe it; and that settles it’! You do not need to know the intricate details of your future, but rather, you can find your rest in the truth that your times are in His hands; that you are engraved in the palm of His hand, and that He would never leave or forsake you.
Concerning things difficult to understand :
Sometimes what happens in your life can be very contrary to your actions, for you may do what is good, and find bad things happening to you. And, they are nothing but repercussions of something bad that you have done, is how the world would try to explain it. Even Job’s friends tried the same approach, though Job continually professed his innocence to them. But the backdrop of the first two chapters of the book of Job, which also describe the glorious finale that the Lord brought about in his life, to make his latter days greater than the former, vindicate him. ‘I know my Redeemer lives; and even if my flesh decays, with my own eyes I will see him intervene in my life, to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living’, was the revelation truth from God in which he found his rest, to weather the storm and come through victoriously !
What is good, and what is better :
Life’s events often involve decisions, that involve a distinguishing and discerning between what is good, and what is better, and most suitable for you. And often without knowing what is better, you may end up settling for the second best. But God wants you to experience the best; and He knows what is best for you. And when you call upon Him, He will answer you and show you what is the very best for you.
In your line of education, He knows and will reveal what is suitable for you, that you may excel in it for His glory. You do not have to follow the flock, in taking up the option that everyone around you is doing; and all with the sole aim of making money as fast as you can. When you are contemplating marriage, He will show you, as you call upon Him, and reveal to you the best that He has for you, the suitable helper who will complement you in fulfilling God’s vision for your life. The pattern of the world need not be yours, for it goes merely by the superficial, outward criteria alone. In any confusing or troubling situation, when you call upon Him, His revelation will show you the solution that satisfies you.
1. The Lord showed Moses the tree :
It was at the waters of Marah; and just three days after a miraculous Red Sea crossing, the Israelites were back to their grumbling ways once again, as they complained to Moses about the bitter water that they were unable to drink. And Moses cried to the Lord, and He showed him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and it became sweet. [Exodus 15:25] Moses called upon the Lord, and He answered to show him the tree. The provision was already there, but Moses did not know that ! Even today, the provision and help that you need is already there; and God will open your eyes to reveal it to you as you call out to Him in your need. It was what he did in the life of Hagar, the maid servant of Sarah, as she cried out to the Lord that her son may not die of thirst in the desert. The Lord opened her eyes, to show her the water that was already there !
And now, in the new covenant, as you cry out to Him in your bitter waters, God points you to the Cross, where all your curses have been already carried away by His Beloved Son. He shows you the way to experience sweetness in your life, the provision and magnificent solution that is already available at the foot of the Cross ! A foreshadowing of it took place yet again in the lives of the Israelites, pointing to us the lessons to be learnt, the pitfalls to avoid.
2. God showed Moses the Rock :
Now, it was at Rephidim, where the people complained and came against Moses, to the point of wanting to stone him to death, because they wanted water. It was yet another difficult situation, and Moses cried out the Lord, who answered to show him what he needed to do with the staff in his hand, something that was very different and new for Moses, unlike anything that he had done with his staff before.
‘Behold I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock. And water will come out of it, and the people will drink’. [Exodus 17:8] Water gushed out for the people and even their livestock to drink, as Moses did what the Lord told him, and showed him to do. It was a miraculous provision that once again pointed to the Cross of Calvary, where Christ the Rock, would one day lay down His life to carry away the sins of the whole world that you and I may drink of the waters of salvation ! And, it is He who has opened your eyes and given you the discernment to know the truth of the divine exchange. The truth of the finished work of the Cross is what is remembered and celebrated today as the Eucharist. It is at the Lord’s Table, that you proclaim that your sins have been canceled, and you have been made righteous and whole. You only have to speak it out !
3. God told Moses – ‘Speak to the Rock’:
When the same problem arose once again, what God told Moses was similar, but with an all important difference. ‘Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and tell the rock to yield its water’. [Numbers 20:8] Once again it points to the Cross, but with an all important difference. Sin and its punishment has been dealt with. And now, you and I can find our needs met through Christ, and in Christ, when we speak out and appropriate all that has been available to us, the table that has been prepared for us, that we may partake and see our cup overflow with God’s blessings. Eternal redemption is now yours to enjoy and experience, forever !
The ROCK – CHRIST JESUS :
And all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. [1 Corinthians 10:4] As you live now in the victorious aftermath of the Cross, instead of trying in your own effort, it is all about trusting in the finished work of Christ on Calvary, and speaking in a divine dialogue, to the Rock who is Christ Jesus. He is your Source, your strength, your security, your Provider; and all that you need He richly provides to you, in Him and through Him. What you need in life, and what you do not know concerning your life’s circumstances, what you may not understand, He knows, and He understands. And He will reveal what you need to know, and give in abundance all that you need in life.
As you speak to Him, He is the compassionate Lord who will speak back to you in a way that you can never misunderstand. Everything that needs to be done He has already accomplished on the Cross, the place where the new covenant has been ratified, that you may be blessed and made righteous and whole. He is the Rock, who needs to be the firm foundation of your life, its cornerstone and also its capstone.
For, He is now the Risen Lord, who is alive forevermore :!
And as you call unto Him, He walks with you and He talks with you, along life’s narrow way, and tells you that you are His own, a sheep of His hand. It is indeed a privilege to call upon Him, as He listens to you and responds with clarity, to lead you in His grace and power, to the place where God wants you to be in life. And, whenever you come to a point in your life, where you do not know what road to take, you will hear His voice in you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it ! You have a mighty and awesome God, who is your Father !
Giving thanks unto Him therefore, remember and celebrate what He has accomplished through His Son on the Cross, so that your life may be transformed and blessed, to be a reflection of His wondrous love. And, may the Spirit’s voice fill your heart, and the Word dwell richly in you, to become your guiding light every step of the way in your life. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
