Devotions for Dieters

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Kerri wished she could lose weight just a little bit faster. She really didn't have anything to complain about. Since she started her diet, she had consistently lost. There were days, though, when she simply got tired of dieting. She doubted whether she was ever going to lose the weight she wanted to lose. All those times, she turned to God for encouragement. Talking to the Lord always made Kerri feel better. She really believed that He knew what she was going through. If God could be patient with her when she complained about her diet, she figured she could be more patient as she attempted to lose weight.

Today's thought: Without patience, I'll never lose weight!

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No Fear

Isaiah 41-42, 1 Thessalonians 1
Key Verse: Isaiah 41:10

Have you seen this on a T-shirt, cap or car window--"No Fear"? It's a strong sentiment, but I sometimes wonder if the words match the reality of life. When life is going well and we are moving along in familiar circumstances with things seemingly under control, it is possible to have no fear. The problem is that what can look like smooth sailing may at any time change to treacherous waters without warning. A person might be tempted to change out of their "No Fear" T-shirt at the same time!

Yet God wants us to be "No Fear" people, not in apparel but in the calmness of our hearts. He tells us not only in Isaiah 41:10 but elsewhere that we should neither fear nor be dismayed.

As is the case with God, He does not just tell us what to do but also enables us to do it. He says, "For I am your God." Remember this! Realize this! Be strengthened by this truth!

What this means is that He will strengthen and help us. He will also uphold us with His righteous right hand. Help is not on the way; help is here!

Knowing this truth is one thing. Making it real is another. To help calm your fears, memorize this verse. Then when you are starting to feel uncertain, remind yourself of this truth. And one other thing--pray this verse. Ask God to keep you from fear and to help you feel His strengthening so that you will know that He is upholding you.

Begin right now to memorize this verse. Learn it well and say it often, especially when fear begins to show itself in your heart.

Genesis 15:2-4

But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."

I Wonder

Henry Drummond, a 19th-century Scottish evangelist, observed, "Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can't believe; unbelief is won't believe. Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is being content with darkness."

When God promised to bless him (Gen. 15:1), Abraham responded, "How are you going to do it?" This was not a lack of faith, because Abraham believed God was going to keep His promise; he simply didn't understand how God would do it. Since "blessings" were always believed to come through children (Ps. 127:3-5), and Abraham had none (nor from a human perspective did it look like he would have any), he inquired as to how God was going to do it. God honored that question and told him, "One who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Abraham was satisfied. The case was closed.

It's not wrong to ask questions about God's plan; it's only wrong to question the rightness of God's plan. There's a subtle but important difference here. It's only natural for people to want to know, "God, how do You plan to pull this off?" In essence Abraham said, "I'm to be the father of a great nation, and yet I have no children. I know You can do it, Lord. But I'd sure like to know how."

If you're wondering how God will work His will and His way in your life, it's perfectly legitimate to ask. But always ask in faith. Feel free to question how God is going to work out His plan, but never question His ability to work out that plan. The first is inquiring faith; the second is irreverent unbelief.

Doubt asks how; unbelief asks why.

Dead Faith

Years ago there was a "God is dead" movement in theology. Of course, He is very much alive, as Psalm 115 tells us: "But our God is in heaven. He does whatever He pleases" (v. 3). The problem with people is not that God is dead but that their faith is dead. They do not have living faith in the living God.

The psalmist addresses three groups of people in this passage. First, he speaks to the nation. "O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield" (v. 9). Then he talks to the priests. "O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield" (v. 10). Then He talks to all believers. "You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield" (v. 11).

If we are going to have the kind of relationship with God that we ought to have, if He is going to be to us the living God with living power and blessing, first of all we must trust Him. That means to rely on Him, to believe that what He says is right and true, that He does not lie. It means to believe that what God is doing is the best thing for us. He is our Help. He is our Shield. He is our Provision. He is our Protection and our Security. He also is our Sufficiency.

Second, we must fear Him. "He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great" (v. 13). The blessing that He gives is the best blessing. To fear God means to show reverence to Him, to respect Him when He speaks and acts, to have a heart that does not tempt or test Him.

Third, we must bless Him. "But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!" (v. 18). We are always asking God to bless us, but the psalmist says, "We bless God."

* * *

When you fear the Lord, trust Him and experience the blessings He has for you, you cannot help but bless Him. If your relationship with Him is what it ought to be, then you will be praising Him "from this time forth and forevermore."

Fruit and Faith

And in the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

There is an old legend about a great teacher who was walking through an orchard on a windy day. The teacher came to a fence which divided the grove from an adjoining forest and he imagined that he could hear the trees talking to each other. The maple trees taunted a group of nearby fruit trees, "Why don't your leaves rustle in the breeze like ours so that you could be heard from a distance?"

"We don't need such useless fluttering to draw attention to our presence," was the reply. "Our fruit speaks for us!"

The story of Jesus cursing the fig tree is a story of fruit and faith. As our Lord approached the cross during the Passion Week, many outstanding events took place. On Palm Sunday He triumphantly entered the city of Jerusalem, but he retired to the house of His friends in Bethany that evening. On the morrow He made His way back to the city of Jerusalem early in the morning. He was eager to be about His father's business and did not want to disappoint the people who would come early to hear Him teach in the Temple. Because He had risen early and left Bethany before the breakfast hour, Jesus and His disciples were hungry. On the way He spied a fig tree in full bloom.

The fig tree is unique in that the fruit appears on the tree before it comes to full bloom. Figs generally appear in February, followed by leaves later in the spring. Thus when Jesus saw the tree in full bloom, He had every right to expect that there would be figs which He and the disciples could use for temporary sustenance. When He arrived at the tree, however, even though the tree was in full bloom, it was barren of fruit. Jesus cursed the tree saying, "No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever" (Mark 11:14).

When Jesus and the disciples returned in the morning to the site of the fig tree, they saw that the tree had dried up from its roots (Mark 11:20). The disciples were astonished at how rapidly the cursed tree had begun to disintegrate. When Peter called this phenomenon to the Master's attention, Jesus said, "Have faith in God." The cursing of the fruitless fig tree was done deliberately to teach the lesson-"Have faith in God." Jesus continued to illustrate this when He said, "For verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass he shall have whatsoever he saith" (Mark 11:23).

Some years ago a group of botanists went on an expedition to a remote part of the Alps. They were searching for new varieties of flowers. One day they saw a beautiful rare species growing at the extreme bottom of a deep ravine. It was almost impossible to get at. Someone would have to be lowered into the gorge to retrieve the rare flower. The botanist noticed a local Swiss boy standing nearby and asked him if he would get the flower. A rope would be tied around his waist and the men would lower him to the floor of the canyon. The young boy peered thoughtfully into the chasm. "Wait," he said, "I'll be right back." The lad dashed off. When he returned he was accompanied by an older man. The boy said to the scientists, "I'll go over the cliff now and get the flower for you but this man must hold the rope. He's my dad."

Fruit and faith go hand in hand. The incident of Jesus' cursing of the fig tree illustrates this beautifully. If we are to bear fruit, we must have faith in the one who holds our hand. Whatever the task given to us, we will be only as successful in completing it as our faith in the Father will permit.

MORNING HYMN
I would be true, for there are those who trust me
I would be pure, for there are those who care.
I would be strong for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

Seeing God in Your Circumstances

Philippians 1: 12-21

The life of the indwelling Christ enabled Paul to be free from worry and self-care during his imprisonment, which could have led to death.

Paul was bold and unashamed and was concerned only that Christ would be magnified in his body regardless of what awaited him--life or death. There was no wavering on his part.

We tend to think that these tremendous qualities were true only of the great men of God, such as the Apostle Paul, but that it is impossible for us to attain them. Somehow Satan blinds our eyes to the fact that we can have the same determination to glorify Christ in our lives that Paul had in his.

The same Christ indwells us, not only to give us the desire to glorify Him but also to enable us to have the boldness to carry out that desire.

Having told of his desire to please Christ in everything, whether through life or through death, Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21).

This was the basis for Paul's being able to live victoriously in Christ. He was not concerned about drawing attention to himself; rather, he wanted to glorify Jesus Christ in everything. All of Paul's life was focused on Jesus Christ.

It is good for each of us to weigh his or her activities and ask, "Are the things I am doing all done to further my own interests, or are they really glorifying Christ?"

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20, NASB).