Feb 09, 2024 The Most Important Five Minutes of Your Day – Words of Grace Blog – February 11, 2024
The most important time of your day is when you settle in your mind what is already settled in heaven, that the counsel of the Lord will stand, and his purposes will be accomplished.
The questions of life abound, and many of them leave us unsettled. This weekend you will be thinking about the serious and consequential matters of war and politics. Your concerns may be personal as you ponder the conflicts and challenges you are facing. Or you may take a break from the serious and spend the weekend predicting which team will win the Super Bowl.
Whatever the case, we all spend our mental energy on issues and events about which we don’t yet know the outcome.
That was the case for the Jewish exiles addressed in the book of Isaiah. They were, in fact, told the outcome of their crisis. They just had a hard time remembering and believing what the Lord said.
There they sat as the chosen people of God now held captive in Babylon. What would happen next? Had God forgotten them? Was God able to deliver them? Would the pagan, anti-God, forces win? Were they doomed?
Into this situation, the Lord spoke. In Isaiah 46 the Lord said his counsel shall stand, and he will accomplish all his purpose. He has spoken, and he will bring it to pass. He has purposed, and he will do it. He will carry his people. He will save them. He will show his glory in all he does.
This message continues into the New Testament. We read in Ephesians 1 that the purposes of God are carried out in the saving work of Jesus Christ which displays his grace for sinners and brings glory to him. In Romans 8:28 we are promised that all things work for good for those who are called according to God’s purpose.
The message of the Bible is that God is purposeful, that his purposes are accomplished through Jesus Christ and so they will stand, and that you and I by grace through faith are included in his plan. He will carry us through.
But what about now? The world is in turmoil, and it seems like things are spinning out of control. And the troubles of our personal lives can eclipse in our minds the global crises of the day. What are we to do today?
“Remember this and stand firm” (Isaiah 46:8 ESV).
The most important five minutes of our day are the first ones when we remember the word of God and mentally stand firm. When we fix our minds on the great realities of God’s power to carry out his purposes and his grace to include us in them, we will be better prepared to live with unanswered questions without being unsettled. When we look to Christ who died and rose again for us, we will assure our hearts that he will also carry us to the end.
This Sunday at Grace Community Church we will spend the worship hour remembering and rejoicing in our great God. Join us.
-Scott