As the rain and snow

“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his multitude:

‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
    Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and forest shade,
    and of towering height,
    its top among the clouds.
The waters nourished it;
    the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers flow
    around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
    to all the trees of the field.
So it towered high
    above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
    and its branches long
    from abundant water in its shoots.
All the birds of the heavens
    made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
    gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
    lived all great nations.
It was beautiful in its greatness,
    in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.
The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,
    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
neither were the plane trees
    like its branches;
no tree in the garden of God
    was its equal in beauty.
I made it beautiful
    in the mass of its branches,
and all the trees of Eden envied it,
    that were in the garden of God.

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out… 

“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below.” Ezekiel 31:2-11,18

Beauty, majesty, strength. The lofty trees described as Assyria had no match for their renown, influence, or regal spread and shade. Yet, impermeable, immovable, impossible to conquer? No! Egypt be warned: The God most High would not compete with nations arrogant with pride. He is God and may use their glory temporarily for His purposes, but He limits their power and brings low all who attempt to take His place. (Ezekiel 31:12-17)

There is an alluring thrill that surges when being used by God. He inspires our gifts and vitality, and might give glimpses of the effectiveness of our influence or success. But the Lord cautions His own never to become smug in strength, never haughty about our resources or fame, never to touch His glory. (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11; 1 Corinthians 4:7)

Have we any measure of success in work or ministry? If so, daily recount the Lord’s goodness and favor, and thank Him. Spend time adoring His vast majesty, endless creativity, and infinite wisdom. Marvel that He has appointed our place and blessed His work through our applied dominion. Rejoice in His faithfulness to His plans. (1 Chronicles 29:10-14; Psalm 8:3-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Where are we tempted to vaunt our abilities, successes, or accolades? How have we slipped up onto the throne of our lives, or domain of authority? When will we relinquish all smack of pride and pomp and bow in humble praise?

Lord, help me yield daily to Your throne to exalt Your high name and purposes.

“I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. 

You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
I said, ‘Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.’
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
‘Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?’

Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.^‘

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people…

When the waters saw you, O God,..
    they were afraid.
The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder…
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock.” Psalm 77:1-20

The day of trouble brought nights of tossing and sleeplessness. Moaning, mired in despair, bereft of hope, the psalmist asks if there is any relief, and comfort of presence and palpable love. His answer comes in meditation, remembrance of years of wondrous works by his Most High. He needed no audible response, but to consider God’s goodness and power. To remember God Himself.

Life circumstances can press hard. Challenges at work, at home, in battling thoughts and flesh might seem endless, enough to disrupt sleep, and peace. We ask for answers, why and how long and please relief. Stewing in the troubles will never bring hope, but turning attention to the Sovereign One will.

When was the last time we appealed to God’s years, considering His infinite knowledge, might, and plans spoken and fulfilled? How well do we know the Scriptures to marvel at His ways with men and kingdoms, weather and events and transformation of the human heart? How often do we trace and marvel at His hand in our own lives, through years of abiding, protecting, guiding, providing, sanctifying? How has He saved us, met us in difficult seasons, healed brokenness, redeemed lost years? Do we readily thank Him for His training, delivering, comforting, interceding? (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Answers for us come in the attributes and actions of God. Will we trust Him in our turmoil and go forth accordingly? We can act in confidence because He acts on our behalf. He who led His people like a flock through the sea is faithful to lead and love His people still today.

Father, help me meet troubles with the strength and assurance You exhibit and impart.

“A man of Bethlehem, Elimelech and… his wife Naomi, and… his sons Mahlon and Chilion… went into the country of Moab. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives: Orpah and… Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so the woman was left without her sons and husband.

“Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from Moab, for she had heard… that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out.., and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!’ Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept… and said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people…^‘ Then they… wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

“She said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.^‘ Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

“So the two of them went on.” Ruth 1:1-19,14-19

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

“Encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

The desire and willingness of Ruth to remain alongside her mother-in-law Naomi is nothing other than unusual, and divine. Yes, Naomi was the mother of her foreign husband, but he had died, and if she was returning without husband or sons to her home country that would mean a large and lonely change for this young woman. It was her God who drew Ruth to commit to uprooting, traveling, and relocating to Bethlehem. Her pledge is firm and far-reaching.

We meet many similar heartaches in this life: famine of finances, friendship, hope, soul. We lose people we love, and have our plans upended in ways we would never expect. Yet the Lord in His Body provides people to come alongside, to stand by us, walk with us, encourage us to keep on. He calls us to do the same for those who hurt, grieve, and need companionship whether they are aware or not.

Whom has the Lord provided to stand by me when I most needed it? How am I bearing in love and faithfulness with others? What have I learned from my own sorrows or hardships that enables me to care and sacrifice for another’s help or encouragement? How might I come alongside a brother or sister today? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Father, help me readily, joyfully, sacrificially, faithfully serve others as You have me.

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means.., and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints..— they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.  We urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. As you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

“I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:1-9

In the middle of a stark contrast between extreme poverty and an overwhelming flow of generosity sits grace- pure, shiny, and effervescent. Paul informs the Corinthians of this loving act by the Macedonians to incite gratitude and wonder at God’s grace at work, and hopefully a similar free flow of giving on their part for the needs of others. Love for Christ will mimic His sacrificial expression of love at Calvary.

When the child of God makes a donation, it may be from duty or habit, possibly even peer pressure or guilt. Often it is more rote than thoughtful, a particular instead of prayed-over amount. The Lord calls us higher, to give cheerfully as an expression of delight and thankfulness for His bounty, and willingly from what we have, whether we think we can or not. (2 Corinthians 9:5-10,13)

When we’re in a place of financial comfort, do we treat it as all ours? Does gratitude to morph into desert, the gift graciously given into a selfish right earned? When was the last time we gave time or prayer or resources compelled by God’s grace, in gratitude to Him? Do we give to people or a ministry measured by what we perceive we have, or considering what we could live without? Contemplating God’s abounding grace will adjust my attitude toward the abundance He’s entrusted to me. (Luke 21:1-4; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 8:10-16; James 1:17)

When we give ourselves first to God, grace seeps in and is celebrated as it is absorbed and expressed. Loving Him, we cannot help gut give according to the bounty we’ve received, and this multiplies in wide thanksgiving and glorifies God. Grace that has brought us this far will surely lead us onward in lives of hearty gratitude and eager generosity. (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 8:19-21)

“The ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:12

Lord, continually tap me on the shoulder with Your grace, and prompt joyful, generous giving in response, to Your ends and honor.

“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’  And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’  And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’ And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour?  Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’  Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’  And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.  So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.  Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.'” Matthew 26:36-46

The postures in Gethsemane tell much about the will of its cast: Jesus and His disciples. The garden was a natural place of quiet, an invitation to be still and ponder, commune with the King of creation, and pour out deepest needs. This night it was darkened by a shroud of ignorant confusion and drowsiness on the part of the disciples, and looming dread and agonizing sorrow for the Messiah. The will of the disciples was lulled by temporal need, and that of Jesus by His eternal purpose folded into the will of His Father.

How we face any temptation, conundrum, or difficult acceptance or surrender is determined by our mental and spiritual resoluteness. Caught up in the flesh and its temporary demands and impulses, we will succumb to its sway in most circumstances, eschewing God’s higher call. However, when we are focused on pleasing the Father and trusting Him for resolve and resilience in the face of challenge, we will persevere in His strength. We may agonize in letting go of control, or accepting the hard road, but we will have faith to entrust ourselves to God’s high sovereignty.

Do we struggle with spiritual somnolence, choosing to indulge in a bombardment of distractions and opinions and pleasures of the flesh, numb to the devil’s wiles? Are we spiritually ignorant or apathetic, asleep to the Spirit’s convictions and warnings? When was the last time we battled, on our knees, in prayer, and ended with true release, “not my will but Your will be done”? To sit with sinners or slouch in temptation works against a strong stance in God’s good will. (Psalm 1:1-3; Matthew 6:9-10; Luke 22:31-32,42; 1 Peter 5:8)

Lord, keep me spiritually alert and entwine my will wholly with Yours, that Your purposes and name are exalted.

“Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” Ephesians 6:10-18a

Paul depicts the two realities of every child of God: flesh and spirit. His words warn of the unseen battle in the heavenly realm that breathes its fire on every creature here below. If we fret in the domain of color and conflict that cajole and confuse, and fail to recognize the black and white of evil and good, we can be trampled by the enemy. Beware, take every thought captive to Christ and His truth, and wage war with divine armor in the strength of His might.

The reason we can be so ineffective at fighting sin, the devil, and the world is that we either rely on our own wits and will, or we ignore the power and vitriol of the unseen forces against us. We cannot fight spirit with flesh. When we deem ourselves God, in attitude and attempt, the Lord will put us in our place to expose our futility. (Ezekiel 28: 1-9)

How seriously do we take the vicious spiritual battle about us? Where does the culture taunt our convictions and rattle our resolve? How has the devil provoked us with the ruse of moral laxitude, justified dishonesty, or esteem of self? What strongholds of shame, resentment, unforgiveness, entrap our souls? Will we, by immersion in the Word and focused prayer, submit ourselves to God and His armor?

“Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me save that thou art.
Thou my best thought by day and by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight.
Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tow’r;
Raise thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’ns Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.” ~8th century Irish

Lord, keep me aware and not afraid of spiritual battle, trusting Your Spirit’s victory.

“Thus says the Lord God: ‘I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.  On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.  And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 17:22-24

The Lord through His prophet described His activity with Israel, expressing warning as well as hope of restoration. His interaction with His people was always purposeful, achieving His ends as well as showcasing His attributes. The aim in His messages was that all would recognize His divine majesty and omniscient power, and know He is the LORD.

Not only has God created all things, but He is intimately involved in their growth and livelihood. While the prophet’s message is analogous for His people Israel, the illustration of choosing a sprig from a perch known only to His Highness and planting it to bear fruit beckons all to robust living. The selecting, establishing, and filling with holy purpose are His way and gift. As His people grow noble and spiritually wise and productive, many will be drawn to rest in His shade of grace.

Where do we fit in to this picture? From where did He pluck us to be His child? Where has He planted us as His tree in a dark world forest- at home, work, or community- to stand for Him? How is He providing, through teaching or encouragement of friends or specific opportunity, for us to flourish and spread our branches of service and love?

How hearty have we grown? What nourishment do we daily take to remain strong in Him? What about our lives gives evidence to His life and causes others to know He is Lord, of us and of the world? The more we entrust to Him our every twig to take and strengthen and use as He wills, the wider will be His reach through us, and the more He’ll be magnified and adored.

“This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!” ~Maltbie Babcock (1901)

Lord, I entrust to You every twig of ability, desire, and energy to become a spreading branch of grace and love that magnifies Your name and saving power.

“God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
But the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!

Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
    exult before him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity…

O God, when you went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness,
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished…

The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
You ascended on high,
    leading a host of captives in your train
    and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily bears us up;
    God is our salvation. 
Our God is a God of salvation,
    and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death...

‘Bless God in the great congregation,
    the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!..’
Summon your power, O God,
    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us…

O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord
to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!” Psalm 68:1-9,17-20,26,28,32-35

God Almighty is often pictured as on the lookout from His heavenly abode and on the march for His people. Transcendent and limitless, He condescends to know and save and bear up His beloved children. Lord of Kings and kingdoms, individuals and nations, He is worthy of trust and praise.

And why does He seem such a peripheral part of our lives? Why do we relegate Him to times of most urgent need, or sadness? Why do we delight in all He has made yet neglect to thank Him for His many gracious, good gifts?

In the routine of days, we can unknowingly slide into mediocrity and sloth and spiritual sedentariness. We surreptitiously slip into softer rhythms from zeal, and quieter ease from boldness, and grow accustomed to weak, directionless living. The God of the skies, over all and seeing all, rides the heavens to our help, yet, we see Him not. (Deuteronomy 33:26)

When has God protected us, freed us, led us, provided for us? Have we not gazed up from our importances and beheld His majesty that daily interjects our lives? Blessed be He!

What strength of mind, body, or soul are we lacking? Where do we need His rain of inspiration, peace, hope? Will we look up to call on His might today?

Lord, may Your power and strength work in and through me, for Your purposes and glory.

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

When Jesus takes ahold of one of His children, everything changes. We are new creations with new desires, outlook, motivations, and practices. Certainly the life we now live by faith, while being folded into His light and fueled by His Spirit, is imperfect and constantly being sanctified. Yet, it throbs with new blood and moves to new rhythms and reorders the mindset to regard life from a spiritual point of view. (Psalm 36:9; Galatians 2:20)

Often we frustrate ourselves because we wallow in old ways and can’t seem to change. To live victoriously with a new mindset we must avail ourselves of all that is now true, and reckon ourselves dead to sin and no longer living for self and the world. Life here on out is a series of choices to put off the old self, put on the new, and see others and our purpose with Christ’s eyes. The bent to please self has been loosened and is now free to lean toward serving and sharing the gospel with others. The propensity to indulge the flesh is free to delight wholly in the Lord. (Romans 6:1-8,12-13)

How indicative are our passions of Christ’s redeeming work and power? How has a Spirit-planted mindset refocused our hearts and energized our mission? What steps can we take, with determination and vigor, to absorb and live out the mind of Christ? (1 Corinthians 2:16)

“Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise.

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.” ~Frances Ridley Havergal (1874)

Lord, give me a heavenly mindset that translates to godly living that serves others and honors You.

“Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit..! Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, I am against you… My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. You shall know that I am the Lord God. 

“Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation is laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Thus will I spend my wrath.., and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 13:3a,8-16

The righteous Lord, as the source of truth and only wise God, knows everything. His all-seeing eye penetrates, His mercy warns, and His holiness condemns the whitewash of lies and deception that are prolific among false prophets. Their misleading messages and profane practices that dishearten and destroy God’s people will be exposed and held to account. God’s truth alone sets free. (Ezekiel 13:16-23; John 8:31-32; 14:6); 1 Timothy 1:17)

Cultures are littered with whitewash: walls that divide in the name of self-righteousness, lies that keep us from seeing what is really true, structures that ostracize. People put up veneers to pretend to be what the are not, to ‘polish’ what’s actually broken and miserable, to hide inadequacies, failures, besetting sins they’re afraid to expose. But the Lord sees through them all, and works to break them down. His uprightness will not stand for such ongoing corruption.

How keenly do we recognize falsehood that’s so widely disseminated? Unless what we listen to and read is filtered through the inerrant word of God, we cannot be certain of its verity. As tempting as it is to trust another, it’s important to align beliefs with God’s truth directly.

What steps do we regularly take to be enlightened by the holy scriptures? How specifically and often do we pray for the Spirit’s guidance and understanding? Being assured of God’s truth enables effective witness in the world. (John 14:16-17; 16:13-14)

Lord, ground me in truth with tenacity and grace to break down walls of falsehood for Your kingdom’s sake and glory.