Be in the presence of your creator

[kpowell]

Bible Texts:
Isaiah 43:2
Isaiah 45:3
Phil. 3:12–15

Devotional
'I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name' (Isaiah 45:3).

When things go wrong in our lives we asked God the question 'why?' However, God doesn't always tell us why because He wants us to know the who. David goes from talking about God, 'The Lord is my Shepherd,' to talking with Him, 'Thou art with me' in Psalm 23. The question is, what happened in between? Well, David learned that no matter how dark the way is, the Lord is there to guide us. He discovered that it's better to walk through the valley with God than stand on the mountaintop alone. What has been your experience with God? God didn't say that you won't have trials, bad experiences, or sicknesses, but He promises, 'When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee...' (Isaiah 43:2).

When you feel like things are getting out of control and you don't know what to do or you feel you're out of your depth or in over your head, look to Jesus and claim this promise.


We can gain victory over temptation only by God’s transforming grace and, at the level of thoughts and intentions, we should claim that promise to stop sinful thoughts.
We will always have sinful natures until Jesus comes. But if we are in Christ, we are fully covered by His righteousness. Although we are not yet perfect, we are considered already perfect in Him
(Phil. 3:12–15).

“When we are united to Christ, we have the mind of Christ. Purity and love shine forth in the character, meekness and truth control life. The very expression of the countenance is changed. Christ abiding in the soul exerts a transforming power, and the outward aspect bears witness to the peace and joy that reign within.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 337.
Only by a daily surrender, a daily death to self, a daily determined effort, by faith, to be obedient to Jesus can we have this kind of transformation in our lives.