He Holds Your Future
ICS Daily Devotions
James 4:1-3 (NKJV) Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
God does not condone covetousness, desire for pleasure, lust, and self-seeking. Therefore, He will not answer certain prayers of ours. Because He loves us, He won’t grant us anything that He deems will make us proud, draw us away from Him, and destroy us as a person. An idol does not need to be a clay figurine, but it can be anything from the corporate position that has become our identity, the company that we feel we must work for, our pride, or the lifestyle that we want to maintain but does not align with the consecration that God wants us to have. Therefore, when our prayers are unanswered, we should check our hearts to see if our prayer requests are self-serving.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Anxiety and fear are not of God. God is not the source of fear but the source of love, power, and security. The way to overcome fear is to crowd it out with faith—not blind faith, foolishness or presumption, but faith that is anchored in the Word of God and His character. The Word of God—whether it is Logos, the written Word, or Rhema, a personal Word from God—builds our faith in Him. We don’t need to live in fear of the future because our future is in God’s hands.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
When faith is anchored in our hearts, we will be certain of something even though we may not see it yet. However, if we lack a correct perspective and understanding of our standing before God, our faith in God will be hindered. Jesus was made sin for us. He took our place and was judged for our sins. Today, as long as we call upon the name of Jesus, all of us can be saved. Therefore, as New Testament believers, we should be humble yet bold enough to take hold of what is rightfully ours as children of the living God instead of being deceived by the devil.
Sermon Series – We are entitled to our Bread
