Category: Thoughts for Today

"But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust [confidently] in the loving kindness of God forever and ever." Psalm 52:8 AMP

David was up against a mad man. King Saul had truly left being in the presence of God and moved toward depending upon his own resources, but David depended on the Lord and His mercy. Saul and Doeg (see 1 Samuel 21-22) did something so evil. Because Ahimelech assisted David, Saul not only had this priest of God killed, but

“eighty-five men who wore the [priest’s] linen ephod. And he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants…”

1 Samuel 18 b-19

David knew that God would seek justice. David stayed faithful to God. He said that he was “like a green olive tree.”  Saul became an uprooted tree. But David was an olive tree. An olive tree lives for many years and it keeps baring fruit. According to GotQuestions, the olive tree is “an extremely slow growing plant. The olive tree requires years of patient labor to reach full fruitfulness.”  

David was known as a man after God’s own heart. He recognized that he needed to stay under God’s protective refuge. God is the Farmer who tenderly, patiently, and lovingly tended to David’s growth. And David, even when he messed up, would always go back to God. There were times when David had to be pruned so that bad fruits would be removed. But that is the journey we take. We have to stay under the Farmer’ patient labor of love for our lives. 

Jeremiah was shown this through God being the Potter:

“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and saw that he was working at the wheel. But the vessel that he was making from clay was spoiled by the potter’s hand; so he made it over, reworking it and making it into another pot that seemed good to him.”

Jeremiah 18:3-4 AMP

We were once wild olive trees. Trees that produced no fruits. But because of Jesus Christ we were grafted into “a green olive tree in the house of God.”  There will always be evil roaming this earth. But just as David did, we are called to “trust confidently in the  lovingkindness of God forever and ever.” God is shaping our lives and pruning us as we go through each day. It is all for His glory. Because ultimately that is our purpose, to glorify God with our lives! 

Thought for today: You are in the right position when you allow the glory of the new life to cause you to act. Live in the Acts of the Apostles, and every day you will see some miracle worked by the power of the living God.

~Smith Wigglesworth Devotional

How many opportunities for action do we miss out on in this life? How many times do we feeling the stirring of God to take action but because of our own ways we choose not to act upon them? “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 . God wants to daily establish our steps. He desires for our hearts to be connected so that we see clearly the path that He longs for us to take. Too often the conditions of our hearts interferes with us doing the work that God has put in front of us.

Recently when I was in Rwanda, the Lord gave me an opportunity to have open ears and to take action. A young waiter at our hotel was asked by our team if he knew Jesus. His reply was, “Yes. But I am weak.” God allowed me to hear the words that poured from this young man’s heart. He was weak. Which meant, he had fallen away. I took the opportunity to ask him if we could pray together after dinner. He looked up with hope filled eyes and said yes. After dinner I approached him. He shared his testimony of how he had fallen into the pit. It was deep. We talked about what it meant for him to confess his sins before God and to repent. I encouraged him to find a quiet place after work to go before the King of kings. I prayed for him and over him. Later he approached me again. He said to me:

“I want you to know that this is no small thing that you have done for me today. This is my first time working this shift. Ever. You may have thought that you came here for yourselves to eat dinner, but I believe that there are no coincidences with God. You came here tonight not to eat, but for me. One day when we are in heaven, I will be standing on your shoulders!”

Serge

My heart was overflowing with pure, simple joy. This is what it is all about. God had me in the right position. I chose to act. And a young man who had been trapped in the pit was carried out. A miracle happened that day because the power of the living God allowed me to have ears to hear and the boldness to act. This is what life is about.
Will you look for opportunities for action in your day to day God adventures? Ask God to show you. Let Him be your guiding Light every single moment, every single day! It doesn’t matter what continent God has you on, the love of Jesus can be shared no matter your latitude and longitude.