IF YOU ONLY KNEW

John 4:10: Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

I expect we’ve all looked back on life and said to ourselves at some point, “If I only knew then, what I know now!” They say experience teaches us all, but it can be unpleasant sometimes. Thank God there is another way because 2 Timothy 3:16 says God’s word will teach us what to do if we’ll obey it.😊

God has given us the Holy Spirit who has all wisdom and, as we saw yesterday, if we’d only ask Him first about everything, we’d save ourselves some heartache! Do we ever find ourselves having knee jerk reactions to situations especially when we’re tired? Or worse, we don’t even want to ask and then suffer the consequences, or maybe we do ask but don’t like God’s answer and think we know better!

Jesus is saying to each one of us every day. “If you only knew the great love I have for you, how much My heart is to bless you, if you only knew how much I have already placed inside you for you to call on, if you only knew and believed My great love casts out all fear, if you only knew the good plans, the mercy and compassion, the favour your Father has for you.”

Jesus didn’t tell the lady she would never know, so tough luck! He said “If you only knew what I have for you, you would ask and I would give you ….” God is still saying the same thing to us.

So let’s do whatever scripture is instructing us to do. Do the asking, seeking and knocking, and do it in faith, not in doubt or desperation, and even if it’s not the answer we thought we wanted, it will be right! May our expectation be one of good because it says to taste and see that the Lord is good, not mean or stingy or hard hearted!😊

Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe…

God wants us to know and believe what He has stored up for us, so be encouraged and ask so we can receive all the good He has prepared for each one of us, and thank Him for it.😊 In Jesus’ name. Amen.

WHO ARE WE CONSULTING?

Joshua 9:14 NLT So the Israelites examined their food but they did not consult the Lord.

Some people consult their horoscopes, others consult a friend, many are waiting to consult their doctors, while others consult AI or Google! But if we’re wise, the person to consult first about anything and everything is God Himself!😊

When Joshua had won mighty victories over two kings in the land, the Gibeonites pretended to have travelled many miles in order to deceive Joshua and his people into thinking they were not a threat, so they wouldn’t kill them all! 

Unfortunately Joshua and the Israelites consulted the evidence before their eyes, of stale bread and worn out sandals, but didn’t consult the Lord, and they signed a covenant to protect the Gibeonites which was a big mistake because they actually lived near by! They were conned!

When we read that story we realise how important it is to consult the Lord first in our lives about our decisions, about what we’re ‘allowing’ to infiltrate our territory. So often it’s tempting to look at what we can see physically rather than what God says in His word!

For instance, when God tells us to do something, we’ll often look at our bank balance first to see if we can afford it! When an infection or sickness hits us, do we look at the evidence of the doctor’s report or how we feel, and just accept it, or do we ask the Lord to help us fight it off and resist the thing, standing on His promises?

Our culture teaches us to accept a lot of things, when in reality God has equipped us for every battle, whether it’s financial, emotional, physical or relational and promises us the victory.

God tells us we’re strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, so let’s always consult Him first about everything, so we’re not deceived by the enemy and not give him even an inch in our lives. As God keeps reminding us, we are more than conquerors, let’s believe it! Amen.😊

Photo by Medienstürmer on Unsplash