#23 HE CHANGES THINGS 8-23-26
There are some things in life that we cannot change. We cannot change yesterday. We cannot undo words that have already been spoken or decisions that have already been made. We cannot control every circumstance, every person, or every tomorrow.
But there is One who changes things.
When Jesus enters a life, things change. When prayer reaches heaven, things change. When a burden is placed in the hands of God, things change. The circumstances may not immediately change, but the person standing in the circumstances can change.
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).
There are two things we must learn when life becomes too heavy for us to carry.
CALLING ON THE LORD
The first response of faith is to call.
“Call upon Me, and I will answer you” (Jeremiah 33:3).
Prayer is not a religious exercise for people who have nothing else to do. Prayer is the cry of people who know they need somebody greater than themselves.
When Peter began to sink beneath the waves, he did not deliver a sermon. He did not develop a five-step survival plan. He cried, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30).
And Jesus reached down.
Sometimes your prayer does not need to be long. Sometimes all you have is, “Lord, help me.” Sometimes the strongest prayer you will ever pray is simply the admission that you cannot handle this without Him.
Call on Him when you are afraid.
Call on Him when you are confused.
Call on Him when you are tempted.
Call on Him when you are hurting.
Call on Him when you have failed.
Call on Him when you do not know what to do next.
The Lord is not irritated by the cry of His children. He invites it.
FALLING ON THE LORD
But there is something deeper than calling on the Lord. We must also fall on the Lord.
Calling is asking Him to help us. Falling is trusting Him enough to let Him carry us.
“Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).
There comes a moment when you have to stop trying to hold everything together yourself.
Fall on His promises.
Fall on His mercy.
Fall on His wisdom.
Fall on His strength.
Fall on His grace.
You do not have to understand everything to trust Him with everything.
A child who falls into his father’s arms does not first demand an explanation of how strong his father’s arms are. He simply trusts the father to catch him.
That is faith.
And sometimes God allows us to come to the end of ourselves because that is where we finally discover the sufficiency of Him.
Paul learned this when he heard the Lord say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
HE CHANGES THINGS
When we call on the Lord, we discover that He is not distant.
When we fall on the Lord, we discover that He is strong enough to hold us.
And when we trust the Lord, we discover that He can change things in ways we never could.
Sometimes He changes the circumstance.
Sometimes He changes the situation.
Sometimes He changes the people involved.
And sometimes He changes us.
But He never wastes our prayers.
So call on Him.
Then fall on Him.
And when you have called and when you have fallen, keep trusting Him.
Because the God who changed water into wine, darkness into light, death into life, and a cross into the doorway of redemption is still the God who changes things.
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Lord, teach us to call upon You before we run to ourselves. When our strength is gone, teach us to fall upon You. Change what needs to be changed, but more than that, change us. Give us faith to trust Your wisdom, patience to wait upon Your timing, and confidence to know that nothing is beyond Your power. Amen.
BDD