Author: astherainandsnow

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you… If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:1-9,11

Accordingly: In a way that is appropriate to particular circumstances; in accordance; correspondingly. So; consequently. Agreeably; suitably; in a manner conformable.

What is true determines all that follows. For a Christian who has passed from death to life, from slavery to freedom, from condemnation to forgiveness, there is much that accordingly should follow. He is to live in such a way that no longer indulges the flesh but honors Christ. No longer tethered to sin’s oppression and allure, he is free to live according to the Spirit, to serve and obey Him rather than self. The challenge is the daily will and decision to do so.

As believers saved and kept by Christ, our lives should be characterized by the Spirit rather than the flesh. By God’s supernatural work, our shame has been replaced with righteousness and belonging, and our weakness has been transformed with resurrection power. We no longer think or behave as unbelievers with doubt and confusion, but with renewed minds conform mindset and actions to the Spirit’s sway. (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:17-32)

What about our status as those saved by Christ? Do we grasp the practical realities of the spiritual work of our Savior? Do we seek to understand the ramifications of our position in Christ, and exercise their outworking? (2 Corinthians 5:17,21)

How does it bear out in our living? What does our salvation mean in daily choices and interactions? How do our decisions reflect that we have our minds set on the Spirit? How do we portray in demeanor, attitudes, and words our freedom from condemnation? Are we self-deprecating and critical, or quick to express gratitude and extend grace? Are we grouchy and vengeful, or eager to share, love, and praise?

Lord, in gratitude for and the power of all You have done, may I live zealously and confidently according to my status in Your grace, to the praise of Your goodness and glory.

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

“He will render to each one according to his works…

“For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Romans 2:1-6,13

Pride and lip service harden many a heart. From knowing the plain truth of God and refusing it for love of self and sin, to indulgence in all manner of dishonor, man has distanced himself from the sweet communion God intends. Still, His mercy comes, beckoning response. Presuming upon repeated forgiveness without genuine repentance makes for precarious standing before the Almighty. (Romans 1:18-21,24,28; 2:7-11)

As sinners saved by grace, we can be tempted to assume the Lord makes light of our ‘occasional faltering.’ Surely as sin rages, grace abounds, but never with the intention of carelessness before the holy Judge. Are we to go on sinning that grace may abound? May it never be! He disdains cocky smugness. (Romans 5:20-6:2; 11:20-22)

Presuming upon God’s rich kindness and forbearance to indulge sloth and carelessness is shortsighted and wrong. It sets self as all-important and sin as unimportant and ignores the supremacy of Christ. He is sovereign, we are not, and we must guard against inverted man-centered thinking. Taking hold of His patient and daily mercies to renounce sin and renew devotion honors His benevolence. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

What if we beheld and received His mercy for the spiritual wealth it bestows? What if we allowed its grace and reordering to seep deep into conscience and will to purify our affections and wandering? What benefit to our outlook and determination could be manifest if we surrendered arrogance and indulgences? From a realistic perspective of self and a high view of God, will we invest His kindness in these actions? (Romans 6:12-14)

“Come, thou Fount of every blessing;
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above;
praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of God’s unchanging love!

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.” ~Robert Robinson (1758)

Lord, may I presume upon Your mercies only to inspire wholehearted devotion and worship, and may I honor You with every benefit You bestow.

“Solomon loved the Lord… And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place…  At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’  And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.  And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.  And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.  Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?’

“It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.” 1 Kings 3:3-10

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do…  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.⁹ Pray then like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.'”

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 6:7a,8-13; 7:7-8

“He said to them, ‘What do you want me to do for you?'” Mark 10:36

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14

“You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2

The spotlight in scripture on powerful prayers is on the Ask-ee, not the asker. Repeatedly, when bold and specific requests are spoken and answered, the pleas are based on the wealth and worthiness of God to whom they are voiced. When Jesus modeled prayer, He began with the hallowed name of His Heavenly Father. He is the One who’s opened the avenue for communication, He’s the One sufficient and generous and gladly able to respond and fulfill. (1 Chronicles 29:10-18; Nehemiah 9:5-6; Daniel 9:4-10)

How do we ask of the Lord? When our mindset is get-get, we approach Him with me and my wants at the fore. But when even the seeking seeks first His best and will and glory, our thinking is filled with the Whom we address. His highness and greatness fills and transforms our very asking to align with His ways, character, and purposes.

How might our love for Jesus and the effectiveness of our prayers be heightened if we developed a higher view of God?

Father, fill my mind and desire with You as the impetus and end of prayer, that Your glory abound.

“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
    that you set a guard over me?..
I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
    Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
What is man, that you make so much of him,
    and that you set your heart on him,
visit him every morning
    and test him every moment?
How long will you not look away from me,
    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
    Why have you made me your mark?
    Why have I become a burden to you?” Job 7:11-12,16-20

“What is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor.”

“You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 8:4-5; 139:2-10

Job in his misery desired death over the ministrations of God. Could the mighty One not leave him alone to suffer? David in his smallness could not comprehend the intimate involvement and concern of God. This Sovereign knew him inside out and was always near- discerning, keeping, watching, tending. The Lord sets His keen and caring eye on His children whether they desire it or not, true to His character and always to their good.

The abiding presence in our lives should bring comfort and a sense of well-being, yet sometimes we chafe at the holy intrusion in our otherwise selfish lives. Ever with us, He refines, convicts, and directs, when in the flesh we may want to set our own course and do what we want, answering to no-one but desire. How do we receive this Watcher of mankind?

What miseries are we nursing in self-pity or anger that have hardened our hearts toward the Lord’s involvement? What issues would we rather ignore and not deal with, that His presence brings to light? Would we seek Him to renew our minds and change rebuffing to receptivity to His ever-present, loving, righteous care? What difference would we ask Him to make in our attitude toward life circumstances that can show off His strong love for His own? (Romans 8:35-39)

Keep me grateful and faithful, O Watcher of mankind, and ever honoring Your presence and purposes.

“He entered Jericho and was passing through.  And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.  He was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner…’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house… For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’” Luke 19:1-7,9-10

“He left Judea and departed again for Galilee.  And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink…’  Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water…’

“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.'” John 4:3-7,10,34

Journeying with Jesus, we never sense hurry or aimless wandering, but a measured serenity full of purpose. He was, in the three years of public ministry to which we are privy, intent on His Father’s will, tucking into each day all and only what His God ordained. Some days were packed with individual and crowd interactions layered with a plethora of emotion and reaction, many days passed in details we hardly know. Always He made time to pray, and always He was driven by His Father’s next right thing to do, unfettered and unhindered by any opposition. (Luke 5:16; 6:12-13)

Are we so focused? A too-detailed plan can get upended by interruption, and loose availability by wasteful indulgences or meaningless pleasures. How do we set our course? Where lie our compulsions? Do we begin well after commending our days to the Lord in prayer, then get yanked off course by criticism or disheartening obstacles, or lured away by glitzy distractions or whimsy? Would we yield to God every must and have to for His use and purpose? (2 Timothy 4:7)

When we turn both motive and motor over to God, He will tune our compulsions to His holy specifications. We learn to trust His divine direction and the fuel of His Spirit as we go about our days. Moments and hours offered to Him become significant and fruitful in the tasks, services, and interactions He supplies.

Lord, may I daily start by offering myself a living sacrifice, and end knowing I have done Your will, to Your pleasure and glory. (John 17:4; Romans 12:1-2)

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

“I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.  And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“’Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.’

“After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened.” Revelation 15:1-5

Vision after vision, the Lord revealed to John what was to come. The contrast and combat between the beasts and the blesseds was certain and ferocious, and his glimpse of heaven revealed the triumph to come. The tangle of the world would be undone, the fierce tenor resolved. The beauty of sight and sound met his senses with a glorious glimpse that all would be well. (Revelation 13:11-18; 14:8-12)

It takes looking, wondering, acceding my preconceptions, and worshipping to grasp what heaven will be like. In the mire of here and now, when injustice, vitriol, and hopelessness spread like fog to hide heaven’s delights, the Scriptures beckon us to rise above it and behold. These signs in heaven serve to instill confident, substantial hope that fortifies our faith and renews joy day to day.

Do we actually believe that God’s wrath now being outpoured will one day be complete? Can we hear through the dissonance of this madding world the joyous strains of Moses’ songs? Are we complacently settling for mundane, banal, and ugly when our spirits can soar and sing within the Lord’s promises? (Exodus 15:1-18; Deuteronomy 31:30-32:43; Romans 1:18)

If we’re weighed down with earthly cares, would we ask God to lift our eyes to His heavenly hope? If we’re unsettled and fretting, would we grip His assurances? When we brood that all is dark, would we ingest His light? What difference is heavenly hope making in my outlook and plans? (Psalm 27:1; 119:105)

“I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
‘Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.’

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught a joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
‘Lord, lead me on to higher ground.’ 

Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith, on heaven’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.” ~John Oatman, Jr. (1856-1922)

Lord, may heaven’s sure hope compel my living and infuse my praise.

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’  At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.  And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.  Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,  and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

“And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures… and day and night they never cease to say,

‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!‘

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,  the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.’”

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’” Revelation 4:1-6,8-11; 7:9-12

John’s visions in the Spirit were both otherworldly and all-enthralling. Every sense was taken up with the splendor: every word was music, every sight captivating, all was beautiful. To be before God and behold God evoked an innate cry of Amen.

Amen: so be it; a solemn asseveration of belief; truly, verily; to approve warmly; to concur heartily or emphatically; to ratify.

If ever we struggle in our prayer time, pour over these passages and say Amen. To fill the mind and heart with the exquisite beauties of Christ Jesus moves us- to our knees, to hush, to wonder, to exhilarated praise. Worship refocuses our sights and priorities. It loosens the pull of the world and its gloss by turning us to the glories of heaven. It shines light on our sins so we can repent. It dissolves errant soul ties as it warms our affections toward the Lord.

In what areas are we dry or directionless? Where has love waned? Where has compassion calloused? How will I revive my worship today? (Revelation 2:4)

Lord, lift my soul to praise You as worthy. Amen.

“When they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots…

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ And some of the bystanders said, ‘This man is calling Elijah.’  And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split… When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’

“There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him…

“When it was evening, there came… Joseph, a disciple of Jesus.  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus…  And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud  and laid it in his own new tomb.” Matthew 27:35,45-51,54-55,57-60a

In the hours crackling around the crucifixion of Jesus, many were swept into the variable crowd. They witnessed His brusque treatment by soldiers, His silence before mockers, and some even took part in deriding this man doomed to die. Simply curious, or instigating conflagration, each was part of a pivotal moment in history that defined their heart. (Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 26:59-63; 27:27-37,39-41)

While in the flesh, we deal daily with a madding world. Constantly challenged and sometimes crushed by a myriad of voices and persuasions and options, we’re called to take a stand. Opinions and reactions to Jesus abound, with many ignorant altogether. Confronted with Him and the truth of His crucifixion, we are forced to respond. Whether silent or horrified or awed, passionate or inquisitive without commitment, we display by word and action who we say He is. (Matthew 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20)

What is my involvement with the Lord Jesus? Do I stand by at a spiritual distance and allow others to make assessments, feed me information, shape my thinking? Do I skirt intimacy with Him, resisting vulnerability and believing I’m safer sequestered in the shadows of self-rule? Do I shrink with fear of being publicly identified with Him, choosing to blend or join in with those who taunt, accuse, reject, or ignore Him? Or am I bold to stand by His word? Would I offer Him a sponge to revive when all others revile? Do I step up and out to defend His name? How I treat Him indicates my state of reverence and belief. (Matthew 26:58)

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the trumpet call obey;
forth to the mighty conflict
in this his glorious day.
Ye that are men now serve him
against unnumbered foes;
let courage rise with danger
and strength to strength oppose.” ~George Duffield (1858)

Lord, help me stand by You always in glad faith and bold witness, to the praise of Your glory.

“A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. At the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” Luke 14:16-24

“You prepare a table before me.” Psalm 23:5

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” Isaiah 25:6

The free and scrumptious bounty offered by the banquet host should have been enticing, but the pull of lesser things detracted from the greater satisfaction. Both possessions and people took priority over rich fare they’d not yet tasted. They didn’t want to make any effort toward what was theirs by faith, choosing what was theirs by urgency, preference, or self-procurement. Those who partook were those who knew their need and humbly, gratefully, and empty-handedly came to receive.

Oh, what goodness the child of God can refuse! We’ve been given every spiritual blessing in Christ, and enter each day as owners with the opportunity to become users. Our Lord prepares a regular table for us to feast on His all things, yet ignorance and busyness and pressures tend us toward our default ‘already know.’ And that is often struggles, spiritual hunger, weaknesses which we by rote confront in our own strength with our own remedies to endless frustration. Each pang could be met and fed and helped at His feast. Whether refusal stems from neglect, laziness, or willful rejection, the banquet, by grace, remains ours for the taking. (Romans 8:32; Ephesians 1:3)

What will it take for us to pull away from our occupations and possessions to be refreshed in the Lord? Though flesh challenges and relational responsibilities do not let up, He invites us to let go for seasons in order to gain fresh perspective and be renewed by God’s word, encouraged through fellowship, and fortified by His promises and gifts.

What specifically occupies mind, heart, and hands at present? How might the attending conundrums be transformed by feasting in time and attention with the Lord? What anxiety should dissolve in His peace, fear be swallowed by faith, confusion be redirected with His wisdom?

Lord, keep me coming, and partaking, and satisfied in You alone.

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’  And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'” Mark 4:35-40

Jesus ordered the training of his disciples to reveal both Himself and them. He walked with them step-by-step through many life situations, and as He divulged through Word and deed aspects of His own character, their responses unfolded the truth about their own hearts. By grace, He moved them from fear to faith, from the human to the divine.

In each of us God has planted a certain innate fear. He fashioned sensitivity to danger and evil as protection, and consciences quickened by the Holy Spirit to detect temptation. Through the ongoing process of sanctification, He molds and redeems our impulses.

When we face each day in our own sufficiency and strength, we tend toward worry and fear because we cannot control our circumstances. When we choose to rest in the sovereignty of God, trusting His grace and order of all things, a transformed fear leads to reverent worship of Him is who is on the throne.

Do I worry and tremble at waves that engulf me, or do I fall and tremble in honor before the One who controls the waves? Do anxieties keep me up at night, or cause me to bow down on my knees before the One who speaks peace? Is my fear of man and what-ifs greater than my trust in God? Which kind of fear rules my emotions and influences my attention? (Proverbs 29:25; Isaiah 51:12; Hebrews 13:6; 1 Peter 3:14–15)

“Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
in every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.” ~Catharina Schlegel (1697-1797)

Fearing this God puts to peaceful rest all else that in the flesh we would otherwise fear.

Lord Jesus, in every circumstance may I fear You aright and honor You with the trust and praise you deserve.