Two words have been on my heart this morning. They started when I woke up and then did my morning prayer time. The words are knowing and known.

As I reflected on this I realised my heart is all about knowing Jesus more and more. More of who He is, what He has done and what He is going to do. And this knowing is not just head knowledge but heart knowledge.

Like most of us I come to know Jesus more as I spend time with Him in prayer, as I read His words in the Bible and as I consciously try to walk with Him each day. It is about joining Jesus on the road of life.

Out of this knowing Him comes the second word known. Out of the outflow of His love and presence in my life, I want to make Him known to others. It is like an ongoing circle, the more I know Him, the more I want to make Him known.

Without even really noticing these two words have been embedded in my life. Knowing Jesus and making Him known. This is my heart right here. This is what I desire to do. At the end of my life if someone described my life, I would be happy if they said the bolded words.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I pray each and every day I will come to know You more and more. I pray out of this knowing that I would help others come to know You too. I ask in Your name, Amen.

Psalm 18:1-3 NLT – I love you, LORD; you are my strength. [2] The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. [3] I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.

I love theses verses. It is David’s response to God saving him from his enemies. I love the way he says “God is my…” a number of times.

David says God is his rock, salvation, fortress, place of safety, shield and strength. He proclaimed who God was to him after a very difficult time.

As I reflected on this I realised that sometimes we need to go through the valley of hard times to really appreciate who God is to us.

At times in my life I quoted Scripture to help me in times of need. This is a really good thing. But it wasn’t until really hard times came that I learned to hold on to the God who backs up the Scriptures.

I found in these times I learned to hold on to both the Scriptures for comfort and assurance and also the God who loves me and holds me in the palm of his hand.

There is nothing like really hard times that bring us to the point of falling on our knees before God and crying out to Him. It is a place where we come to the end of ourselves and the beginning of Him.

It is in this place where we learn, like David did, that God is our rock, our fortress, our strength and our safe place. He is the one we can run to in our times of need.

Prayer

Dear God, I thank You for being my rock, my fortress, my strength and my safe place. I pray that when I go through hard times I can run to You to be my refuge. Amen.

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It is great to know that if we are in relationship with Christ nothing can separate us from Him. Unlike human relationships that often break down over time through stressful situations, nothing in all creation can separate us from Christ’s love. His love for you is eternal, never ending and complete. His love for you is unbreakable!

Prayer

Thank You Jesus that nothing can separate me from Your love. Help me to remeber this truth always. I am Yours and You are mine. Amen.

Psalm 107:10-16 NLT – Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. [11] They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. [12] That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help them. [13] “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. [14] He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. [15] Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. [16] For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.

In this passage we see the people were in chains and then they cried out to God. Once they did this, He freed them. Let us look at the progression.

1. The people were in chains of misery. Why? Because they rebelled against God’s Word and counsel. (V11-12)

2. They cried out to God for help and HE saved them (v13)

3. HE led them from darkness and broke their chains (v14)

4. The people praised God for saving and releasing them (v15-16)

All true freedom starts with crying out to God. HE alone is the one who can truly set people free. In this life we can be bound up by so many things, but only God can truly free us.

Prayer

Dear God, I feel like I am bound up in chains. Today I come to You and cry out. I ask that You will free me. Help me to listen to Your Word and Your counsel. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.