Page 59 - Living Light Spring 2024

Wednesday May 8 - Which wisdom?
“Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Peter did not know what he was saying.) Luke 9:33
This was some prayer meeting. Moses and Elijah had joined them unexpectedly and now they were about to take their leave. What followed may seem strange, even ridiculous to us, but I suspect we would have had the same idea as Peter. Let’s build shelters for them! Let’s sustain this wonderful time we are having; perhaps if we make them comfortable they would stay with us?
This is us taking control, rather than accepting God’s narrative. How often do we do this? The fact that there are 40,000+ church denominations tells us quite a lot! Many times we may be sincere in our motivations, but, perhaps, in God’s eyes... sincerely wrong! Our response to prayer needs to be one of godly wisdom, as spoken about in James 3:17: ‘But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace- loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.’
So, when God acts as a result of our prayers we need to fix our eyes on him and not on our own plans, even if they seemed right at the time. His ways are not our ways – never forget this. Building shelters may be the right thing to do in other circumstances, but here Peter’s ‘wisdom’ is dismissed thus: ‘he did not know what he was saying’.
Father in heaven, please help me to exercise godly wisdom when you respond to my prayers. Amen.
Thursday May 9 - Fear not!
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they
were afraid as they entered the cloud. Luke 9:34
Continuing with our theme that this was no ordinary prayer meeting, we have a new supernatural development. A cloud descends and engulfs Peter, James and John. It was said that this was a fearful experience for them. This is interesting, as it seems to indicate a ‘blip’ in their faith – surely their Master was with them, so why should they be afraid?
Of course, if we all trusted God in all situations then fear would not get a look in: ‘His faith is strong, and he trusts in the Lord; he is not worried or afraid...’ (Psalm 112:7,8 GNB). Despite having Jesus with them, fear clutched at them, though it didn’t prevent them from entering the cloud.
This is the lesson for us. We are all going to have times where fear raises its ugly head. How do we respond? If we know that God is with us – as he was in this situation – then we need to just get on with it. The very act of obedience is going to have its rewards. Peter, James and John were going to hear the very voice of God – a privilege indeed, certainly only granted to a few. This should have been all the assurance they needed that they were in a good place!
Father in heaven, please help me to respond with faith and not fear as you speak to me. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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