Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
This is a message from Daughters of Grace and Purpose, delivered by Toni Walwin. It discusses how we can feel discouraged and question God when facing challenges. It emphasizes the importance of staying obedient to God and seeking forgiveness for any sins that may distance us from Him. The message highlights Psalm 139, which reminds us that God knows us intimately and is always present in our lives. It encourages us to trust in God's unconditional love and not be controlled by our emotions. The message concludes by emphasizing that God loves and forgives us, no matter our past mistakes, and encourages us to surrender our hearts to Christ for salvation. It reminds us that God hears our prayers and is actively involved in our lives. Hello and thank you for joining Daughters of Grace and Purpose. I'm Toni Walwin and I pray all is well with you and your family. There are times or seasons in our lives when we get discouraged, we tend to want to quit, which then leads us to questioning God. Why is this happening to me? Or when we get to the why and there's no answers, we start to feel alone and wonder if God doesn't hear us or even if he cares. Sometimes our perception of God as distant or silent has much more to do with where our feet have wandered. When we wander from a path of obedience, it creates distance between us and our Holy God. We must pray and ask God to search our hearts and remove any sin that interferes with our relationship with him. When our emotions bring us down, they start to dominate our feelings, which can ruin our thought process and that leads us down a dangerous path of doubting God's unconditional love for us. We do not want to be on that path. Amen? We do not want to be controlled by or led by our emotions. We want to be and need to be led by God. I would like to share some words of encouragement from Psalm 139 verses 1 through 14 and it reads, You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Before word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You hear me in, behind, and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created me. You created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. This message is to confirm, clarify, and to make very clear that, yes, God knows you. The Lord knows whatever we think or do. The Lord is always present. He sees us. He is with us wherever we go. The Lord was even present before we were thought about. And there's nothing about life or in life that can outrun or outdistance the truth even to the end. God is still there. In Psalm 139, David pointed out that God does not condemn, He blesses. That's found in chapter 5 verse 17. He sees every dirty, messy, crazy part of our lives even when we don't bring it to Him. He sees it. He still sees it and knows all the details. God could condemn us for the mess that He sees, but He delights in His creation and continues to pursue a relationship with us. What a loving God we serve. He loves us and will never leave us. He is always near. God watches all of us constantly. He sees everything. We cannot hide from Him or keep any secrets from Him. He knows our thoughts. He is omniscient, which means He knows everything there is to know in His universe. Oh Lord, You have searched me and known me. The beginning of Psalm 139 shows us that God's knowledge of all things does not limit His intimate knowledge of us. He knows our place in His creation. That's found in Psalm 139, 2 and 3. He even knows our thoughts. And you ask the question, yes, God knows you. Here's some food of thought. Think on this for a moment. Do you think there is anything that is so deep in our heart of hearts that God might not understand about you and me? And what are the advantages of God knowing everything about you? And here's this, how could this be a source of motivation in your life? And the final question, even though we can't get away from God, what do you do sometimes to hold Him at a distance? We are precious and honored in His eyes. God speaks in Isaiah chapter 43 verse 4 and it reads, we are precious and honored in His eyes. God speaks to us in Isaiah 43 and 4 and it reads, since you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. In God's eyes, we are precious and honored. Yes, believe it, God knows you. In Romans chapter 5 verse 8 and it reads, but God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God's love goes beyond willingness. God's love goes beyond willingness to die for a good person. He is supremely willing to demonstrate His love so much that He gave His Son for sinners so that all can see it. When the Father thinks of you and me, He thinks of us with joy and happiness. He wants to come alongside us in both the good and hard places and speak life, hope, and peace to us. When God sees us, He no longer sees our wickedness because our sins have been paid for and cleared by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, justice has been served on our behalf through Christ. God is perfectly just in loving people who once hated Him and sinned against Him. God is not expecting our perfection, just our faith in His unending grace and forgiveness. In Romans chapter 3 verse 22 through 24 and it reads, this righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. You may feel like your sins are too serious or that you have made the same mistake too many times, but no matter how much we have sinned, we have a choice. We can and must always repent and we will be forgiven. The Word tells us so. Jesus Christ has provided total forgiveness from all sins. We all deserve to be punished for our sins, but Jesus took the punishment, but Jesus took the punishment we deserve. God in His grace freely makes us right in His sight. Are you trusting Christ and Christ alone for your salvation? If you are unsure today, right now, humbly surrender your heart to Christ. 1st Colossians chapter 2 verse 13 is a promise and it reads, when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive in Christ. Believers had a spiritual circumcision performed having the power of our sinful impulses stripped away by the grace of God. Yes, God knows you. It is a comfort to know that God not only sees you and me, but He hears our prayers. He is a living God. He is not a deaf or mute idol. He responds to the cries of our heart. In 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 12 and it reads, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayer, but the faith of the Lord is against those who do evil. In this scripture, Peter affirms David's statement that God sees all of this. He is watching. He's paying attention. He knows and He cares about those set apart for His purposes. Specifically, God is paying attention to the righteous. Peter has already made it clear that Jesus, perfectly righteous, paid the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross and that's found in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 22 through 24. Paul adds that those who trust in Christ have been made righteous by what He has done for us and that is found in Romans chapter 3 verses 21 through 25. Throughout human history, God has initiated communication with humanity by speaking audibly and that's found in Exodus chapter 3 and Exodus chapter 19 verse 9 and in 1st Kings chapter 19 verse 12. He also speaks to us through the glory of His creation. The Holy Spirit communicates with us through dreams, visions, words of knowledge, and prophecies. That's found in Joel chapter 2 verse 28, 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verses 1 through 11. God speaks through His Word, the Bible. That's found in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 16 through 17 and it reads, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof
