A Determined Mind
1 Chronicles 22:11-19
"Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged."
(1 Chronicles 22:13)
I had been the recipient of some very harsh words and was back in my small office, now licking my wounds. I knew it was a good practice to go to the Scriptures for comfort in any situation, so I opened to 1 Chronicles and began to read. Eventually I came to the words in our text. They were like a neon sign to me. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged... Is not the Lord your God with You?" These were the words I needed to hear at that moment. Each verse reminded me of God's presence, wisdom, direction, and encouragement for my wounded heart.
Most of us have encountered some form of injustice. No matter what the nature of it, we can be assured that our Savior has known how it feels. But ever-focused on the will of His Father, He remained strong and courageous, compassionate and self-controlled through even the injustice of His death on the cross, all for the love of you and me. Every wound He endured was because He had you in mind. Indeed, He never has and never will fail us.
INSIGHT
Looking beyond our immediate situation to what Christ has done for us will replace fear, regret and anger with gratitude and joy.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Nehemiah 8-9
Psalm 35
Mark 14
1 Chronicles 22:11-19
11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents[a] of gold, a million talents[b] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."
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