DO YOURSELF NO HARM

Acts 16:28 NKJV But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, ….

Paul and Silas were in prison with their backs beaten raw but they were still praising God when God broke the prison doors open with an earthquake! The terrified jailer was about to draw his sword to end his life, and bring disaster on his family, when Paul shouted out, “Do yourself no harm …” 

I was reminded in church recently to do ourselves no harm because Jesus is here to rescue us from whatever situation we’re in. We tend to think of self harming when people cut or starve themselves but it’s possible to harm ourselves with eating unhealthily or by being addicted to wrong things, even too many hours on the internet.😊

It’s also possible to harm ourselves with negative thinking which undermines our confidence or eats away at our faith in God’s promises. We may be tempted to think we can’t do something, which harms our future or stops us being all God has anointed us to be. We harm ourselves when we believe the enemy’s lies instead of God’s infallible word!

Perhaps we’ve all harmed ourselves at some point without realising it or recognising it, but today God is drawing it to our attention; to stop sticking swords in ourselves when He has provided us with a Saviour who delivers us from anything and everything that has the potential to harm us. He reminds us we are no longer condemned, no longer guilty or shamed, but declared righteous in Christ, no longer unwanted but loved and accepted by Him.😊

The jailer found that out when he went on to ask how he could be saved, and what started as two beaten up guys praising God in a prison cell, ended up with a whole family being wonderfully saved! Hallelujah!😊

So Lord Jesus we ask You to rescue us from anything that would cause us to harm ourselves today and bring us into that place of total peace and rest in You. Amen.

THE GLORY OF SUNRISE

Romans 8:32 NIV He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?                                                                                         

My friend sent me some glorious pictures of yesterday’s sunrise up in Inverness. They went from the first peak of the sun, setting the sky on fire, to a steady revealing of its light as it reflected off the clouds, and the fields and trees began to glow. We don’t always get to see sunrises as spectacular as that, but it doesn’t mean they’re not happening.😊

In the same way God is doing things in all our lives when His light begins to rise over our circumstances. At first it’s so dark and we can’t see things ever being any different, but our God is the God of all hope and comfort. He is the God who brings light in our darkness and just as He gives us glorious sunrises He is doing the same thing in our lives.

As I looked at the series of photos she sent, I realised we don’t always recognise what’s going on in the background but it doesn’t mean it’s not happening! God paints the sky every morning with colour and beauty which is totally breathtaking, whether we see it or not. Why would He not do the same in our lives? …how will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?

Let’s lift our eyes upwards again today and thank God for all He is doing on our behalf, even though we may not be able to see it yet. He is painting something into your life and mine which will be breathtaking if we’ll take our faith and the time to believe Him for it and look for it.😊

What kind of beauty is it? It’s the beauty of loving relationships, of caring friendships, the wonder of peace in our hearts that’s beyond our understanding, it’s the deep security of knowing we’re accepted and loved by the One who paints the sky every single day with His breathtaking glory of colour and wonder, and it’s the miracle of His generous provision and protection every day of our lives.

Most of all it’s the beauty of being able to have a personal close relationship with the One who hung on a Cross for our sakes, to be one spirit with Him. Sometimes we forget, but today God is reminding us Jesus His Son, and the wonder of all He gives us, are rising and being revealed in our lives too.

Thank You Lord. Amen.😊

Photos: Courtesy of W.Girling