Tag: God is King

Since God is King, What is Our Response to His Kingship?

♥ ♥ Day 4 ♥ ♥

Our Response to God’s Kingship

When God brought His people out of Egypt, He was their only hope.

Powerless to change their circumstances, they were at the mercy of a human ruler who showed no mercy. When God stepped in, He showed His power and authority over the Egyptians gods through the plagues. Then he went head to head with Pharaoh. This way of delivering His people was meant to show His absolute rule. “…and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” (Exodus 14:4)

And His people’s response?

Worship

“Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord…” (Exodus 14:31-15:1)

When we see God’s Kingship firsthand, worship is our first response.

1 Chronicles 16:24-25

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

Psalm 67

Psalm 115

Psalm 5:11 

Trust

What about the times when God works in ways we don’t understand? Times when He doesn’t do what we think He should when we think He should?

What is our response to His Kingship then?

He is still King.

We can cling to the kind of King He is and His heart toward the helpless.

We can tell Him we don’t understand. We won’t be the first to bring that up with Him.  As King, he has no obligation to share His plans with us.

In His grace and mercy, He proves His character and shares His promises with us in His Word. And that is our anchor in times of questioning.

Isaiah 45:9-10,18                               Psalm 20:7

Job 38-41                                          Psalm 31:14-15,24

Job 42:1-6                                         Psalm 37:5-7

Proverbs 3:5-6                                   Psalm 62:8

Psalm 13:5

Which verses stood out to you most today?

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This is Day 4 of The Hope of the Helpless, a 7-day devotional I wrote as a guide for praying for orphans.

The Hope of the Helpless walks us through God’s heart for the  helpless, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to join Him in caring for them.

In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Orphans, I am posting a devotional from The Hope of the Helpless each day this week.

I am looking forward to your responses, to having real  conversations about orphan care, and to talking through your questions.

If you would like to receive these posts directly to your inbox, subscribe to my mailing list on the sidebar.

 

 

 

If God Is King, What Kind of King Is He?

♥♥Day 3♥♥ 

What Kind of King is He?

Having someone in authority over us is fearful when we don’t know what they are going to do with their power. On the human level we have experienced leaders who wielded their authority in abusive ways.

If God is in control, what is He going to do with that control?

What kind of King is He?

He is the kind of King who was so concerned with our salvation, so moved by His desire to see His people face to face in eternity, that He who was 100% God also became 100% man.

Jesus went through the cities and villages, proclaiming the Gospel and healing every disease and every affliction. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

Jesus knew the people in the crowds were created for more than being harassed and helpless. He healed them physically to show His power to heal them spiritually as well.

He is the kind of King who lived in the broken world we live in and has felt every emotion we feel.

He knows what it is like to be abandoned.

He knows what it is like to feel broken-hearted over the helpless.

Knowing what kind of King God is helps us trust Him, especially when we don’t understand what He is doing.

When His path is untraceable, we can trust His heart.

List the words and phrases that describe the kind of King God is.

Isaiah 54:10                                       Psalm 12:5-8

Psalm 99:4-5                                      Psalm 146:9-10

Psalm 10: 16-18                                   Psalm 147:5

Deut. 10:14-15, 17-18                          Zephaniah 3:17

Psalm 9:7-10                                       Hebrews 4:14-16

Psalm 107

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This is Day 3 of The Hope of the Helpless, a 7-day devotional I wrote as a guide for praying for orphans.

The Hope of the Helpless walks us through God’s heart for  the helpless, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to join Him in caring for orphans.

In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Orphans on November 11, I am posting a devotional from The Hope of the Helpless each day this week.

I am looking forward to your responses, to having real conversations about orphan care, and to talking through your questions.

If you would like to receive these posts directly to your inbox, subscribe to my mailing list on the sidebar.

 

Who’s In Charge Here?

♥ ♥ Day 2 ♥ ♥

 God is on His Throne

In this world, infants lie five to a crib in orphanages, the room reeking of the smell of diapers needing to be changed.

Little ones fervently pray for a family to belong to, countries shut down adoption for political reasons.

In this world parents choose drug addiction over their own children.

In our honest moments the questions bubble to the surface.

Lord, where are you?   Do you see what is going on?

Do you care?

When a king sits on his throne, it shows a position of authority.

When we say God is on His throne, we acknowledge that God is King of everything He created. Whether people choose to recognize it and follow Him or not, this truth remains.

He is King.

Kingship is difficult to grasp. We like to think we are in control of our lives. We like to think that we can bend circumstances to benefit us. But acknowledging God’s Kingship is vital to reaching out to the helpless, because the hope of the helpless is grounded in God’s position as King.

God’s dominion is total. He carries out all that He wills, and no one can stop what He has planned. He is sovereign over the every-day events of life as well as the big events.

God never leaves His throne. He never sleeps, He is never caught off guard. He is constantly moving forward with His plans for His people, His plans to build His Kingdom.

And the end goal of His plan? Relationship with His people. They shall see His face.  This plan guides His rule as King.

I believe the heartbreaking situations grieve God’s heart, because He knows every name of every baby crowded in those cribs. He formed the heart of every child to need the connection of a family.  I also believe that the heartbreaking situations will not have the final say.

There are things that happen that won’t make sense on this side of eternity. But we can cling to this truth:

God is King. He sees. He hears.  He knows. He redeems.

Write the words and phrases that describe God and the way He rules as King.

Rev. 4:11                                   Psalm 11:4

Psalm 45:6                                Psalm 93

Psalm 47:1-2                             Psalm 96

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This is Day 2 of The Hope of the Helpless, a 7-day devotional I wrote as a guide for praying for orphans.

The Hope of the Helpless walks us through God’s heart for the helpless, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to join Him in caring for orphans.

In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Orphans, November 11, I am posting a devotional from The Hope of the Helpless each day this week.

I am looking forward to your responses, to having real conversations about orphan care, and to talking through your questions.

If you would like to receive these posts directly to your inbox,  you can subscribe to my mailing list in the sidebar.