Your Name in My Life

Read: Revelation 9

"The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk." Revelation 9:20

Examine:

The stubborn refusal of mankind to repent of his ways is revealed in this text. As the plagues rain down from heaven, the hearts of men and women refuse to repent of their ways and turn their hearts towards God. The darkness of their sin has trapped them in a place that has become unreachable.

Apply:

Pain and abundance have a way of revealing the contents of my heart. When I have everything I need where does my heart drift? Likewise, when life comes unhinged and painful where does my heart go? It is critical to pay attention to the direction of my heart during these times. In both circumstances, the thing God desires is to have me repent of my idol worship and turn towards Him.

Pray:

Father, You know the season of my life and the circumstances that You have orchestrated. The only certainty in my current situation is that nothing is certain. The basic foundations of my normal life have been flipped upside down and I quite literally feel as if I have no place to go. This has ushered in a season of testing and has revealed the depths of my faith and the darkness of my own sin.

The depth of my faith has definitely grown. As I look back over the course of the last 6 months it took a really long time and many twists in circumstances for me to hit bottom and start to doubt You. I am grateful for the work You have done in my heart and I sit before You this morning and honestly confess my need for You to strengthen my faith so that I may complete this race with an integrity and strength that will give You glory and praise.

The darkness of my own sin is still amazing. As I sit with the list of things You have revealed to me this week, it is overwhelming to consider the amount of grace You have poured out on me and honestly it is tempting to be discouraged when I consider how much work is left to be done in my heart. I release my sin to You this morning. Continue to tear down the idols I worship and I keep my heart tender towards repentance.

Father, I trust You. It has never been more difficult to say those words than it is right now. Nothing in my life is following any form of logic and I can't see more than a few feet down the road. Give me Your heart today and reveal to me the depth of Your character. I pray that Your presence be so tangible in my life today that it will silence any voice that would tempt my peace to flee, shake my faith from its stand, or drain Your hope from my heart. I trust You. I believe in You. I choose today to stand firm in Your calling and to believe that You will defend the fame of Your name in my life.