Day by Day

 

In my recent article called "Does Being Saved Make All Your Troubles Disappear?" I wrote about the fact that the Lord does not make all our troubles go away when we come to Christ. But He does give us the grace and strength to face each day, to endure our trials, and to be of good cheer in the midst of them. 

Today I'd like to share with you a very special Swedish hymn written in 1865 by Lina Sandell-Berg, which is one of my favorite hymns. She wrote it at age 26, several years after witnessing her father,  Pastor Jonas Sandell, drown in a tragic boating accident in 1858. The hymn was written during a period of deep personal grief, serving as a testament to her reliance on God's strength and presence, taking life one day at a time just as our Lord Jesus taught us to do. Despite her tragedy, she found comfort in her faith in Christ, composing this lovely hymn that reflects a deep, personal assurance of God's care in the midst of trials.

In The Lord's Church today, we sang this hymn together, as we often have so many times before. Here is the video recording of it with the view outside our window earlier in the morning at sunrise. My son Christopher is playing the keyboard, as he usually does during our worship service.

Lyrics:

Day by day, and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,

He whose name is Counsellor and Pow’r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”

This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,

So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation,

Offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till I reach the Promised Land.

Closing Words

Are you going through deep trials or experiencing personal tragedy at this time? Let me assure you that Jesus cares and He would like to help you through it. Just call upon His name today and ask Him for His presence, grace, and strength to get through it, and ask Him to hold your hand. I can assure you that He will do it. Then trust in Him, take it one day at a time, and don't worry about tomorrow.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Does Being Saved Make All Your Problems Disappear?, The Blessings of Being in Christ. The Love of Jesus, Having the Love of God in Your Heart, Compelled by Love, One Thing, Seven Things That Accumulate Building Materials in Heaven, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

What We Should Always Be Doing

There are several things that the Bible says we should always be doing. I have found at least twenty-two of them in Scripture. Let's take a look at God's Word and see what they are.

Always Pray
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luk 18:1)

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  (Luk 21:36)

Always Do What Pleases the Lord
"The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him." (Joh 8:29)

Always Keep Your Conscience Clear
"So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man." (Act 24:16)

Always Do As Love Does

[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1Co 13:7)

Always Give Yourselves Fully to the Work of the Lord
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1Co 15:58)

Always Being Given Over to Death for Jesus

"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body." (2Co 4:11)

Always Confident
"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord." (2Co 5:6)

Always Giving Thanks to God for Everything
"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph 5:20)

Always Pray in the Spirit
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." (Eph 6:18)

Always Rejoice in the Lord
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Php 4:4)

Rejoice always, (1Th 5:16)

Always Full of Grace
"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Col 4:6)

Always Strive To Do What Is Good For Each Other
"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." (1Th 5:15)

Always Be Gentle
"...to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone." (Tit 3:2)

Always Be Prepared to Give an Answer
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect," (1Pe 3:15)

Always Keep Your Eyes on the Lord
"I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psa 16:8)

Always Be Mindful of God's Unfailing Love
"...for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness." (Psa 26:3)

Always Extol and Praise the Lord
"I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." (Psa 34:1). We never take a vacation from praising God.

"For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good." (Psa 52:9)

Always Have Hope
"As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more." (Psa 71:14)

Always Seek His Face 
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." (Psa 105:4)

Always Do What is Right
"Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right." (Psa 106:3)

Always Obey God's Commandments
"I will always obey your law, for ever and ever." (Psa 119:44)

Always Trust God
"Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." (Psa 62:8)

My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. (Psa 119:20)

Closing Words

Therefore, based on what we have read in God's Word, there are certain things we must always do. To summarize them, we should always pray, always do what pleases the Lord, always keep your conscience clear, always do as love does, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, always being given over to death for Jesus, always be confident, always give thanks to God for everything, always pray in the Spirit, always rejoice in the Lord, always be full of grace, always strive to do what is good for each other, always be gentle, always be prepared to give an answer, always keep your eyes on the Lord, always be mindful of God's unfailing love, always extol and praise the Lord, always have hope, always seek the Lord's face, always do what is right, always obey God's commandments, and no matter what, always trust God. May the Lord help us to do so. Amen.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, The Wardrobe of the Saints, Following in His Steps, and Living on Earth as They Do in Heaven. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

Hope for You

If you are following Jesus in righteousness, holiness, and truth, there is hope for you today!  Look with me through the Word of God and see it for yourself.

Hope in the Lord
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. (Lam 3:24-25)

The Hebrew word for “hope” in verse 24 is “yachal,” meaning “to wait; by implication to be patient, hope: - (cause to, have, make to) hope, be pained, stay, tarry, trust, wait.” (Strongs).

The Hebrew word for “wait” in verse 25 is “qavah,” meaning “(figuratively) to expect, look, wait (for, on, upon).” (Strongs).

In the Greek Septuagint, the word for “wait” in verse 25 is hypoménō meaning 1) to remain to tarry behind; 2) to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee; a) to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ; b) to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments.

“My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.” (Psa 62:5)

“For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth.” (Psa 71:5)

"O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption." (Psa 130:7)

"O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever." (Psa 131:3)

"How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God," (Psa 146:5)

Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD. (Psa 31:24)

“For I hope in You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.” (Psa 38:15)

"And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” (Psa 39:7)

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.” (Psa 42:5)

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” (Psa 42:11; 43:5)

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.” (Psa 130:1-8)

Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Is 40:28-31, NIV)

A Hope Both Sure And Steadfast That Enters Within The Veil
“In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 6:17-20)

A Better Hope
“(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” (Heb 7:19)

Born Again To A Living Hope
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1Pe 1:3)

Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
“to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27)

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,” (1Ti 1:1)

Hope Remains
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  (1Co 13:13)

Abraham Believed in Hope Against Hope
“In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Rom 4:18-25)

In the Kingdom of God, Hope Does Not Disappoint
“And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom 5:5)

We Hope For What We Do Not See
“And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Rom 8:23-25)

In His Word Do I Hope
“I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.” (Psa 130:5)

“Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope.” (Psa 119:49)

Hope for His Lovingkindness
“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,” (Psa 33:18)

Not Ashamed of Our Hope
“Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.” (Psa 119:116)

Your Faith And Hope Are In God
“who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” (1Pe 1:21)

The God Of Hope
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  (Rom 15:13)

So we should hope in the God of hope.

We Have Fixed Our Hope On The Living God
“For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” (1Ti 4:10)

Let Us Hold Fast The Confession Of Our Hope
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;” (Heb 10:23)

The World Has No Hope
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” (1Th 4:13)

“When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes.” (Pro 11:7)

Give An Account For The Hope That Is In You
“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” (1Pe 3:15)

Plans to Give You a Hope
“'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11)

The Hope of Those Who Fear the Lord Will Not Be Cut Off
“Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off.” (Pro 24:14)

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always. Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.” (Pro 23:17-18)

So That We Might Have Hope
“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom 15:4)

The Hope Of The Righteous
“The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes.” (Pro 10:28)

The Hope of Righteousness
“For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.” (Gal 5:5)

One Hope
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4-6)

The Hope Of The Gospel
“Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” (Col 1:22-23).

A Continuous Hope
"But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more." (Psa 71:14)

A Purifying Hope
“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1Jn 3:3)

Fix Your Hope Completely On The Grace
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1Pe 1:13)

Hope Laid Up For You In Heaven
“because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel” (Col 1:5)

The Hope Of Eternal Life
“In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,” (Tit 1:2)

The Hope Of Salvation
“But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” (1Th 5:8)

“I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, And do Your commandments.” (Psa 119:166)

He Has Given Us Good Hope By Grace
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” (2Th 2:16-17)

Know The Hope Of His Calling
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” (Eph 1:18)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note:  Also see Keeping Power of God, The Love of Jesus, The Loving God Who Bids Us to Come, You're Better Off Following Jesus, Garments of Godliness, Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations, Rachael Mushala Testimony of Hell, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Faith Works!, Keeping Sundays Holy, Separation from the World, and Is Tithing Required? You can access the Seeking the Lord Main Directory or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

From Self-confidence to Confidence in the Lord

My five-year old son recently asked me what the word “confidence” means. That led to a great discussion around the dinner table. Confidence is trust or reliance upon someone or something.

There's a big difference between self-confidence and having confidence in the Lord. Self-confidence is believing in yourself. It’s like the little train that thought it could. It’s the attitude that “if I think I can do something, then I can do it.” It’s summed up by the expression, “You can do whatever you put your mind to.”

But you will find no place in the Word of God where we are taught to have such self-confidence. It’s simply not Scriptural. This philosophy comes from the world, and it’s quite a central part of today’s self-help, New Age teachings.

On the other hand, confidence in the Lord is knowing HE can do it. This is not semantics or a minor variation of self-confidence. It’s the opposite of it!

From Self-Confidence to Confidence in the Lord
Moses is a great example who illustrates this for us. At age forty, Moses was self-confident and killed the Egyptian. He already had the burden in his heart to deliver the Hebrew people from the cruel bondage of their taskmasters. But he went about it in his own strength. And being the bold, strong man that he was, he managed to free one Hebrew from one situation. But he was not yet ready to accomplish the mighty works God had prepared for him to do. He could not fulfill God’s purpose for his life yet, because there was still too much Moses in him. He was in God’s way.

Once he realized his crime was discovered, he fled for his life to the backside of the desert, to a place called Midian. There he married a woman and tended sheep for forty years in obscurity. But by age eighty, he had been humbled greatly. When God spoke to him from the burning bush, he was quite self-deprecating. The Lord told him to speak to the king and tell him everything the Lord spoke to him. Moses basically responded by saying, "Lord, you know I'm such a poor speaker. Why should the king listen to me?"

But the Lord assured him that he would provide a spokesman for Moses in his brother Aaron. The Lord also promised to back up His word with power. So Moses obeyed God and went before Pharaoh. He did so not in his own strength or in any kind of self-confidence. He had long ago given up on trusting in himself to do anything. In the end, God used him mightily. He successfully led the Hebrew people out of Egypt with great signs and wonders. And he proved to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of Israel. It was all through his confidence in the Lord.

Trusting in man 
Perhaps those who trust in themselves are not aware of the warnings in Scripture about that.  The prophet Jeremiah said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.'" (Jer 17:5-6).  No matter how you read this, you don't want to be found trusting in mankind or depending on the flesh, including your own self.  Jeremiah continued to say that "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9).  If your heart is more deceitful than all else, then why trust it?  Why put your confidence in it?

Not that we are adequate in ourselves
The apostle Paul stated that he had no confidence in himself. He wrote to the Corinthians:

"You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2Co 3:2-6)

So as he wrote, he did not consider himself adequate in himself and did not consider anything he did as coming from himself. Rather, his adequacy was from God. He said, “We have confidence toward God through Christ.”

We can do nothing without Jesus
Even Jesus knew that He could do nothing apart from the Father. He said, "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (Joh 5:30). He was completely dependent upon the Father who sent Him.

Jesus also taught that we can do nothing without Him. He said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (Joh 15:5).

We need to understand our relationship to Him. He is the Vine and we are the branches. A branch on a grapevine cannot bear fruit on its own. It must remain connected to the vine. The same is true of us. Those who abide in Jesus bear much fruit. But apart from Him we can do nothing.

I can do all things through Christ
So how can we do anything at all in life? How can we serve the Lord? If I can do nothing and I am confident that the Lord can do all things, shouldn’t I just sit back and wait for God to do it? Why should I attempt anything?

Well, Paul had the right attitude. He wrote: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phi 4:13). This is true, biblical confidence. Not a confidence in oneself, but a confidence in the Lord. And look at the fruit from Paul's life! He wrote half of the books in the New Testament Scriptures. He moved in miraculous power, healing the sick, raising the dead, and taking the gospel to every region of the known world.

Paul was confident that he could do all things, but not in his own strength. He said that he could do all things through Christ. He knew that it was Christ who strengthened him and through Christ, he could do everything.

This is how each disciple of Christ should live today. It should be with this same attitude.

Trust in the Lord alone
When you really get this and understand it, you will trust in the Lord alone.  You will heed the words of wise King Solomon, who said, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding."  (Pro 3:5).  As wise as he was, even he did not lean on his own understanding, but trusted in the Lord alone.

When you do this you will be blessed! "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit." (Jer 17:7-8).  When you trust in the Lord, you'll be like a tree planted by water, green and fruitful.

Putting it all together
Don’t listen to people who say, “Just believe in yourself.” That's a worldly, New Age philosophy. If you have that attitude, you may get some results, but you will eventually find that you cannot do all things. There will be something you cannot accomplish, and you will be devastated to discover that believing in yourself does not work. Don't trust in your own self, but trust in the Lord. He can do more in three minutes than you can do in a lifetime.

As long as Moses was self-confident, the Lord couldn't use him. Moses was in the way. But once he became humbled, the Lord used Him mightily and with great power.

A Scriptural attitude is "Lord, I can do nothing without you. But I can do ALL things through Christ, Who strengthens me."

One thing that no person can do for himself is to save himself from perishing. Only Jesus can save you. That's the reason He came to earth, died on a cross for you, and rose from the dead. Whether you have known Him for many years or have never known Him, I encourage you today not to trust in yourself or any man, no matter if that person is with the Lord in heaven or alive on earth. Rather trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.