YES AND AMEN

The scriptures declare that in Christ all the promises of God are yes and amen. Which makes sense since Jesus is Lord and Savior. So he would naturally be Lord over the promises of God too.

Some have taken this to mean that as Christians we can expect to claim any promise of God like it is meant for us personally. On a literal edge I do accept this as reality. But I do respect the Lord’s sovereignty I terms of how he keeps those promises.

I do feel it is disrespectful to the Lord to question why there is some thorn of circumstance in one’s life that never seems to go away. Or to feel a bit discouraged when we see someone else having a great blessing in their lives while we end up in some valley. That happens too often in life.

And naturally whenever somebody has some success they become a self-professed expert on how to gets God’s blessing. That often ends up when their circumstance changes to being case of amnesia!

I was reflecting on this issue the other day when I like to think God’s spirit sort of open my mind to a thought. Jesus admonished us to seek ye first the kingdom of God. It occurred to me that in reality that meant that above all we should seek the Lord as a person. We should savor and rejoice in that relationship. It should be our first thought and the one that matters the most.

I’m not speaking in terms of suddenly becoming somebody who sits around and only spends time praying. I’m speaking of taking the time to keep God center in one’s thoughts. To truly let Jesus be the Lord of one’s life by surrendering our secret crannies of desires to him.

While some might think that is a matter of common knowledge I really wonder how often we slipped into the state of spiritual lethargy. Oh we know the words and how to pray, but so often isn’t easy to simply do it more with our lips than our hearts.

Life’s bouquet may not always smell sweet. It may not always be about things that make us happy.

I think that being human we shall all fall short in our relationship with the Lord from time to time. By his grace we are able to start over and keep going if we let ourselves embrace the truth of our essence.

To seek first the kingdom of God is to me something that includes seeing the Lord in the midst of our darker moments. For he is with us even then.

When we stroll and stumble on the plain of spiritual honesty, then the other things of life are added. Not according to our desires, but according to God’s wisdom. In some cases that includes keeping us from things that will separate us from him. That is a blessing not everyone always treats as a blessing. May we seek it too in a quest for the kingdom of God.