THURSDAY March 2nd
1 John 3:2
‘Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.’
Firstly from our text today as we continue in this chapter, we are God’s children now! Yes, today, if you have given your life over to the Lord Jesus Christ you are a child of God. There may be those things going on in your life, in your family at present that cause you to feel that your life is filled with care, you may seem to feel you are daily being burdened with so many things, well, we have a heavenly Father who cares about us, and is concerned about every minute details of our lives, our families, our work situations, school, college, university, all those things that daily press against us and we can come to him.
There are times when I have a plan for the devotion that I am about to prepare but I have an inner witness to divert, yes, stay with the text but bring something different, and although I am writing this a number of days before it goes out, in God’s timing, what he has placed in my spirit will become real to someone. Maybe more than one. This is where I ended up, it was with the words of a hymn which although well-known should become more real to us when we realise that the ‘friend’ we are referring to in its words, is more than just a friend, in the context of our previous devotion, he is our ‘beloved’ Saviour and he cares for us.
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Beloved, now, yes today, we are the children of God and we can take everything to him in prayer, he not only loves us, he cares deeply for us.
‘But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”’ Matthew 6:30–34.