5-5-5 Daily Devotions: Weightlifting

Weightlifting 1 I The Weight of Circumstances

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

How important do you feel, and why?

A prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!” For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered. We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury. You spread out our sins before you— our secret sins—and you see them all. We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan.

Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants! Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful! Psalm 90:1-17 NLT

Moses was considered by God to be a “friend”! What do we learn from this man’s attitude towards:

God?
Himself?
People?
Life?

Lord, I pray like Moses that you would satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Show us your glory and make our efforts successful!

Do you believe REAL power takes power from others or gives power to others?

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! Psalm 147:5 NLT

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. Philippians 2:12-18 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God knows our circumstances…is in our circumstances…and can change our circumstances.

God’s power does not invalidate your power to make choices; rather, God’s power gives you the desire and power to make good choices that help you and others.

What choice is God calling you to make right now?

Do you believe God is good all the time? How would you like to express your gratitude?

Are you open to 1) trusting that God can change your circumstances, and 2) trusting God even if he does not change your circumstances?

Lord, I want to live on your terms with the faith-filled understanding that your ways, thoughts, and plans are far better for me than the ones I have come up with. Teach me to trust you, and help me to see you as you are, not as I have sometimes wrongly imagined you to be.

Do you tend to react first, or do you stop, think, pray, and then act?

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath. To be sung to the tune “Dove on Distant Oaks.”

O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me. But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me. They come together to spy on me— watching my every step, eager to kill me. Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised; Yes, I praise the LORD for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help. For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light. Psalm 56 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God knows our circumstances. Our God is omniscient.

Consider how David stopped, thought, prayed/sang, and then was prepared to act. What difficulty are you facing? Take time right now to:

Stop…settle your heart/mind and focus…
Think…what is true about God, what God says about you, and the situation?
Pray/sing…express to God what is true, what you are worried about, etc.

Lord, thank you for rescuing me, keeping my feet from slipping, and letting me walk in your presence! Teach me to stop, think, and pray so that I can act according to your ways!

How do you “know” when something is true that you cannot see or touch or feel?

“Have any of these prophets been in the LORD’s presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen? Look! The LORD’s anger bursts out like a storm, a whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not diminish until it has finished all he has planned. In the days to come you will understand all this very clearly. “I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying. If they had stood before me and listened to me, they would have spoken my words, and they would have turned my people from their evil ways and deeds. Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the LORD. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the LORD. Jeremiah 23:18-24 NLT

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. Psalm 139:7-8 NLT

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:15-21 NLT

Sermon Insights: God is with us. Our God is omnipresent.

What do we learn about God, his heart, and his presence through these Scriptures?

When you cannot see, touch, or feel something that is very real and very true, what is your basis for believing it to be true?

Do you take comfort in what Jesus promised?

Lord, through my fear of uncertainty, sometimes I can “pump the brakes” on trusting you. Help me know what is true about you and what is false so that I can have unshakeable faith in you!

How do you determine the Lord’s leading in your life?

Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the LORD: “O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve. You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt—things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day.

“You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror. You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before—a land flowing with milk and honey. Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.

“See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.” Jeremiah 32:16-25 NLT

Sermon Insights: God can change our circumstances. Our God is omnipotent.

Pastor Greg shared the “power along the way” principle. While we would like to see God’s power and provision ahead of when we need it, God gives us his power “along the way.”

How is God asking you to trust him in the middle of your uncertainty?

Are you cultivating a humble, learning, trusting heart towards God?

Lord, sometimes I’m tempted to go my own way, and when the path gets dark or difficult, I reach out to see what you can do for me. I’m sorry I sometimes fall into the trap of wanting to “use” you rather than trust. Help me have a humble, learning, trusting heart no matter what.

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Weightlifting 1 I The Weight of Circumstances

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